Online dating in Bradford: more than just one city

Bradford is a city loved and appreciated for what it is by those of us who know it well. And who could ask for more than that?

Bradford is more than just one city. Including the towns of Shipley, Ilkley and Keighley, the Bradford metropolitan area is one of the largest and most diverse cities in the UK. For anyone looking to go dating in Bradford the city has much to offer.

Most Bradford singles have friends and family outside the city they keep in touch with online and even visit from time to time. But for those of us hoping to find love, a Bradford dating site is a popular and cost-effective alternative to expensive nights out in search of a decent date.

The advantages of a dating website are obvious: for one thing, you can check out potential matches and establish a rapport privately without being seen out together before you are ready. And for those singles with children at home, a dating site provides the opportunity for a varied social life without the expense of a babysitter.

The eHarmony relationship and dating website has an added advantage because it’s free to review your matches, so the pressure is off and there’s time check out potential dates and plan how to take a relationship forward at a pace that suits you.

Ideas for dating in Bradford

Another benefit of getting to know someone online is that when you are ready to go out and about dating you still have the whole city to explore together. Our city may not be the most glamorous, but it has plenty to offer. From the windy moors of Haworth to high-tech history at the National Media Museum, it’s certain there’s still somewhere you’ve been meaning to go. Now is your chance. The more open you are to exploring the city, the more likely you are to find love in Bradford.

Going on the first date

Here are a few pointers for first dates:

• Keep it low key: If you and your match have found each other on eHarmony, then you already know you are deeply compatible. You may have made a great first impression via online dating and you are both beginning to feel that you know each other well, but you are still likely to feel just a tad nervous at the prospect of your first face-to-face meeting. So, for a first date, be thoughtful and avoid somewhere that is too expensive or intimidating. You both need to be able to relax to be at your best.
  
  
• Choose your time carefully: This applies equally to professional, homemakers and students. Your date could be a shift worker at St Luke’s or the Royal Infirmary who needs to get to work later, or a single parent with childcare responsibilities. So a daytime date during the week might work well. And keep your first date relatively short. It is better to go home wanting more – and you can always catch up with each other online before meeting again.
  
  
• Easy transport: Dating in Bradford does not mean that you have to trek out to the middle of the moors for some windswept romance. Choose somewhere that is easy for both of you to get to. The city centre or somewhere else with good public transport links is good so neither of you has to drive or be dependent on a lift. Yoyo in Chapel Street and Le Cafe Bleu in North Parade are perfect places for a low-key midweek date between professional singles. Or take advantage of the inspiring ambience of the National Media Museum for another weather-proof and free dating idea.
  
  
• Avoid alcohol: This is a sensible strategy for a first date. You’re deeply compatible matches, you’ve got on brilliantly chatting online and you are now face to face.. The conversation is flowing, and it is all too easy to find yourself opening up more than you had planned if the drinks are also flowing. Save the cosy bottle of wine for a future date, assuming you both drink.

More Bradford dating ideas

• Outdoors: The great outdoors is on our doorstep. And although it may mean different things to different people, the chances are that you and your match are likely to have compatible ideas about a grand day out in the fresh air. Saltaire is easily accessible, and a great choice if you want to spend longer in each other’s company. You can take a stroll along the canal or mooch around Salts Mill and the world heritage village, where there are plenty of places for a coffee and a bite to eat. But if all that sounds a bit too sedate, then the Bantams and the Bulls could provide some livelier outdoor entertainment for a date.
  
  

• Indoors: If you don’t fancy weathering the outdoors, or for you a good date is always an indoor date, then there’s the Bradford Industrial Museum, the Peace Museum, Cartwright Hall or Ilkley Manor House, to name just a few options.
  
  
• Foodie: Bradford is blessed with probably the best Asian restaurants outside of London. So they are an obvious choice for a brilliant evening for a couple of foodies. And as Asian food is generally made to share, it is a great way to bond. Choose between the subtle charms of Nawaab in Tong, the razzmatazz of Mumtaz or Prashad on the Great Horton Road, or anywhere in between. Or head north to the Boxtree in Ilkley for a more intimate special occasion. And wherever there is food, romance is never far away.

If these Bradford dating ideas have inspired you, it’s free to review matches here and now.

eHarmony success couple

Sue and Mike, from Ilkley, were matched on eHarmony and married in February 2009. Both looking for someone special, when they were matched they started off with emails, moved onto endless Skype calls and eventually decided that 'this was the way to walk'.

Read about more couples who have found success on eHarmony UK