First dates are filled with unknowns: What if you don’t hit it off? What if they’re nothing like you expected? What if they don’t want to share dessert (an immediate red flag)?To so many young people these days, the verb “dating” has almost completely been removed from the lexicon. It’s because we don’t date anymore: We hang out, hook up, and constantly question and seek to define what the status of our relationships are with assumed partners, which is just one of the many subtleties that differentiates the millennial generation

Here are five of the best places to go on your first date if you’re looking to think outside the box.

1. Meet Up At A Popular Bar For Happy Hour : finding a popular, public place to meet up is one of the easiest ways to ensure your safety. Happy hour is doubly perfect since you know there will be plenty of people around should you not feel safe one-on-one. Dinner at your favorite local restaurant is also a great option if you’re looking for public date places and want to limit how much you’re drinking.

2.  See A Concert Or Show Together: Seeing a band or a comedy show is perfect if you’re looking for something with similar safety precautions as a sporting event…but with less sport.

3. Museum or art gallery: it’s important to get a gist of whether your date is into art, history, and/or culture. If they are, you want to choose an exhibit or gallery that doesn’t feel too pretentious and that you know a little something about. By knowing a little about your date’s interests or what they studied in school, this could make for the perfect first date. You’ll come off as the extremely-cultured guy who is interested in your date’s brain and personality, with the rest being just the cherry on top of a packaged deal.

4. Drinks at a fancy or underground bar
Depending on the city you live in and the creativity of its watering holes, take your date somewhere where it’s cozy and refined enough that you’ll not only get table service, but delicious cocktails and wine. In other words, go to a bar where it’s designed for you both to talk and get to know each other while sipping on crafted cocktails. It’s one of the best ideas for a casual date, even though it’s not overly creative. Neither of you are distracted by having to order food or having a waiter interrupt you too often. Bonus points if you’re knowledgeable about wine and spirits — impress your date with that knowledge. Which brings us to another idea: Go to a wine tasting, which is very impressive and exudes maturity and sexiness on your behalf, especially if you know about the tannins in wine and whether or not the wine is a good vintage.

5. Go Head-To-Head At A Barcade or A Board Game Cafe
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Board games and video games are a great date go-to. But, for safety’s sake, it’s best if you don’t meet up for the first date at your place or their place. Instead, check out your local barcade or hang out at a coffee shop that has a stash of board games on hand.