University was a gold mine for me; they're populated by young people with similar interests, many of them away from home. I ended up between the sheets with quite a few of my study partners. Had some from clubs and the gym too, and a few great ones from the internet, surprisingly.
I usually meet people through friends, either on nights out or at festivals. I don't usually just go for some complete stranger, usually it's someone I've been introduced to by a friend. Never had a "random encounter", I don't think I would trust someone enough if I'd just met them in the street or whatever.
Mostly through friends/acquaintances at a bar or social event thing. Some have been total strangers. I don't have any real preference but I'm more likely to get drawn into conversations quicker with someone who vaguely knows someone I know. The guard is down a little faster. If I get a good vibe or there's an attraction though, I'm easy to approach.
There were two from the gym (although I'm wary of this because if it doesn't work out or something goes bad, you might have to change your work out schedule to avoid them).
Sometimes it's been approaches during regular daytime activities (Starbucks, the bank, the beach, having random lunch at a restaurant).
Three times online (one of these was a girl).
I'm covering the total mix of relationships, casual dating/sex and fuckbuddies in my answer.
I've never met someone on a plane, at an airport or on a ship. Otherwise everywhere, passing some guy in the street, bars, clubs, saunas, supermarkets, trains, buses, parks etc. The most would be from clubs and bars or parks.
Just wherever there are people. It does not mean that there is going to be action right away.
It could be a coffee shop or restaurant, it could be the cleaners or the grocery store. It could be at a club or party, if anyone will believe that.
I believe, we all put out a sexual scent, but only certain people will pick it up. Could that explain how we can be so attracted to one person and not another?
Thanks for the replies people.
One of the reasons I asked this question was because it seems that in the minds of many people, dating or getting to sleep with a person of the opposite sex is mostly initiated by approaching him/her randomly in a bar, club or venue. In my own experience this is rarely the case (though it does happen), and many people here validated that. This is even true for meeting casual fuckbuddies and the likes, in my opinion. Some people are indeed into anonymous one-nighters, but they're not a majority and not always that successful in their approaches either.
As some others here mentioned, the initial approach is often a lot more comfortable/successful when there's at least a slight common ground between the two persons, may that be a mutual friend, field of interest or a shared activity/passion.
To me, approaching a random girl in a bar just feels so... random. Basically, the only reason guys make an approach in such a case is because of the girl's look, then they try desperately to initiate a meaningful conversation without actually having any meaningful elements to pick up on. In such a situation, anything the guy will say or do will most probably be translated by the girl to "I really want to fuck with you", no matter how well-intentioned or how good of an actor he is. Considering the two persons will be complete strangers to one another there, a lot of what will be exchanged is going to be superficial/boring small talk, intrusive questions or bragging anyway. Plus, chances are very high that the girl will be accompanied by friends with whom she feels a much deeper connection with (both males and females), and will probably prefer to interact with them.
Unless the guy is extremely handsome, really stands out one way or another (which is rare, especially if he only has a limited amount of time to present himself) or a great vibe is luckily established fairly early on, most girls will either find it a bit awkward, or might just perceive his approach as a fun casual flirt without having much desire to let the situation evolve into anything serious. A lot of girls don't go out specifically to add a fuckbuddy to their list either ; most of them just want to have a good time with their friends. Dressing up, teasing and flirting with random people is of course part of the fun, but hooking up with a perfect stranger is rarely their top priority.
My point is, although going out might raise your opportunities to meet new people, approaching girls in clubs with the sole intention of getting laid is rarely the best way to have sex with any of them. I did hook up with perfect strangers myself which I met at bars/venues, but this was mostly part of 'interacting with the crowd' a lot more than 'hitting on a specific lady'. It's very rare for me to go out hoping to find someone to fuck with, or to approach a girl 'purposefully' ; more often than not the situation led to it quite naturally (eg. casual conversation while waiting in line to get a drink, sitting at the same table while watching a local band, a friend knew her, etc.) or I noticed something about her that dragged my attention and from which I could develop a conversation that was a bit more substantial (eg. seeing her every time I went to that bar, wearing a tee from a band I recognized, singing along the lyrics of an obscure band, etc.). In a lot of these situations, not talking to them would actually have been more awkward than otherwise, and I most probably would have talked to them even if sex wasn't on the menu.
So anyway, meeting sex partners is something that usually 'just happens' to me, and it can happen just about everywhere. I much prefer to put myself in situations where many opportunities can happen and remain proactive/receptive when they happen, rather than to force anything.
As I've said, I met girls just about everywhere (none on the internet though) :
- Clubs, bars, venues, shows (a lot of times through mutual friends/acquaintances)
- College/university (though I had a girlfriend during some of those years)
- Work (with maybe two exceptions, I think I hook up with a girl at just about every job I had)
- Random activities with mutual friends (hiking, kayaking, barbecues, evenings, etc.)
- Daily activities (supermarket, video rental shop, eye exam, museum, traveling, etc.)
