Safety in Numbers

My number one criteria for a safe date is to meet in a public place. When you do, you're creating your own safety zone. Essential For not only feeling relaxed emotionally, but releasing your body from guard duty as well. Your shoulders drop, your eyes stop darting left and right, your breathing deepens and slows. Isolated, dark, quite places may be great for romance, but on a first date, the goal is to get comfortable with each other. And comfort comes with safety. And safety comes in well-trafficked public places where you can let your guard down.

Here's a list of safe things to do on a first date:

Safest	Less Safe	Unsafe
Outdoor Concern	Meeting at a bar	Going For A Drive
Roller balding in the park on Saturday	A Private Party (Unless you know the party givers)	Midnight walk on the beach
Going for Ice Cream	Seeing a drive-in-movie	Week ends in the country
Doing Lunch	Sporting event (testosterone levels can go sky-high if it's a violent sport)	His or her home alone
Meeting For Coffee		A hike in the woods
Going Dancing		Times Square: New Year's Eve
5K run In the Park
Museum

Again this list is not intended to scare you into joining a monastic order. And certainly, a midnight stroll on the beach can blossom into one of the most memorable dates of your life. But a midnight stroll doesn't have to be a first date. Mom was right: It is better to be safe than sorry.And in the dating world, it's always better to avoid iffy situations in the first place than try to figure out how to get out alive and intact. This is dating, not undercover work.