• Best Dating Apps For Women
• Best Dating Site For Mid 20s

When looked upon with the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, the dating we did in our 20s was the stuff of romantic comedies, especially when compared with what it’s like a decade later. While it’s actually easier to date in your 30s in the sense that you know yourself better, by the time you reach a certain age you’re just, well, SATC’s Charlotte said it best: “I’ve been dating since I was 15. I’m exhausted. Where is he?” Sheer exhaustion is the reason going to bars is a no-go most nights—especially given the inevitable epic hangovers and a lack of single girlfriends with whom to wing-woman—but luckily, this is the digital age, so we can meet lots of men without ever leaving our Netflix accounts unattended. Here, 12 apps to try if you find yourself single—and ready to mingle—in your 30s (plus, how to take a perfect selfie for your profile).

A ton of people are on the app, too (around 20 million), and it’s mostly 25- to 34-year-olds, so it’s a great site for young professionals to find people in their age bracket. Also, it allows for bros to look through both bi-sexual and straight girls in case you need an extra to spice things up or just need another one. While most sites are predominately mid-20s to mid-40s, OkCupid is mainly made up of barely legals and girls in there later 20s and early 30s. With all that said, the quality is well worth a look.

Homepage Image: Adam Katz Sinding

Coffee Meets Bagel

In a recent study, analytics company Applause ranked apps based on their user reviews, and this one came in third, which is promising. While the app once sent daters only one match per day, which was helpful for those who feel the 'shopping' element is a little icky, it recently switched things up so that men receive 21 matches per day whereas women receive just five. Before you delete it based on this inequity, know that the well-intentioned people at Coffee Meets Bagel made these changes based on user feedback—apparently, men like quantity and women like quality. Shocking!

If you don't want to lose the serendipitous aspect of real-life dating, you should probably sign up for Happn. This app promises to match you to people with whom you've crossed paths in the non-virtual world, somehow making things feel a little more organic. If you, like us, live in a sprawling city like Los Angeles, you know how important convenient geography can be in terms of making a relationship last.

Sparkology requires that men be graduates of top-tier universities in order to join, which feels a bit gross considering it doesn't have the same standards for women. Men are also subjected to a points system, which is purported to help ladies know which ones are serious (a feature we can definitely get behind). In order to join, technically you must be invited by a current member or the Sparkology team, but if you click on the 'Join' button, you're asked to link your Facebook profile for evaluation.

We don't think anyone should be ashamed to be 'caught' online dating; however, some of us may not so much appreciate our colleagues or future colleagues knowing what's up in our romantic lives, so the fact that The League hides your profile from LinkedIn and Facebook contacts is a big plus in our book. Another thing we like about The League? The platform kicks people off if they're not actively dating: No looky-loos allowed. The League has recently shifted its strategy somewhat to become events-focused, as it's hoping to transition into something akin to a members-only club like The Soho House rather than just a dating app. The League is only available in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and its waiting list is allegedly 100,000 people long. Good luck!

Most of the women we know who frequent dating apps at present are on Bumble and report good experiences—it ranked fourth on that aforementioned list based on user reviews. This app is known for tasking women with the first move (once a match has been made)—which is great if you'd like to reduce the number of obscene things total strangers feel justified in using as pickup lines on some apps. On another note, Bumble's just announced the launch of BumbleBizz this fall, which is basically swipe-based networking. We're intrigued.

If you're one of the 'old people' who has gotten on board with Snapchat in a big way, you might want to try Lively, the newest app on the market. We have a feeling its demo will skew 20s, so if you're looking for a slightly younger man, this could be the perfect platform for you. Your Lively profile will pull videos and images from various apps on your phone and edit them together to tell a complete story about you. The app comes to us from the creators of dating website Zoosk.

If you think your life is a rom-com, or should be, Tindog might be the app for you. It matches your dog with another dog, which is definitely the perfect setup for a meet-cute if ever we've heard one. Something to consider before joining, however, is how hard it is to be rejected in online dating. Now imagine how hard it will be for you when your beloved, perfect pet is rejected, as happened here. We just don't want you to get hurt....

If you're into astrology, Align is pretty fun, and it'll save you the trouble of finding out your signs are incompatible down the line. We don't know how serious the contenders are on this platform—we don't use it as, to be honest, we barely even know our own sign—but if nothing else it will provide a welcome distraction from the tedium of scouring the digital universe to find your cosmic match.

OkCupid has a patented Compatibility Matching System, which uses complicated algorithms to pick your matches. Given that all we've been doing thus far to pick our men is saying, 'He's hot,' we can't help but think this would be an improvement. Though you can choose to select less commitment-focused options in terms of your dating goals, OkCupid tends to feel more adult and therefore more serious in nature than other apps. This can be a good thing if you're looking for someone who will step off the dating carousel with you at long last. It was also ranked number one by Applause in terms of user reviews.

According to Time Magazine, 82% of Match users were over the age of 30 as of 2014. This has likely changed somewhat given that in the same year, Match redid its mobile app to include features more akin to Tinder than OG Match. Still, Match tends to draw a more serious crowd than many other apps, in part because elements of the platform require payment.

Some of us have personal feelings about this one—which we won't share because, diplomacy—but suffice it to say that you will definitely meet a specific type of person on this platform. Raya is exclusive and basically requires that you have a cool job, know cool people and have a lot of those cool people following you on Instagram. If that sounds like your kind of filtration system, we say go for it. Just be warned in advance that it's unlikely that the attractive celebrity with whom you're matched will be dating only you anytime in the near future.

We recently added Canada to our list of countries worth moving to. Maple Match hilariously promises to enable your move north by partnering you with a Canadian. We're pretty sure this app is a joke—you can only join the wait list for now—but we're hoping someone invents it for real, stat.

By our 30s, ideally we've broken bad habits and patterns and are now only dating people who would make appropriate partners. If you, however, laughed out loud at that statement (we did), you might want to consider signing up for Wingman. This app leaves the fate of your dating life in the hands of your friends, who are the sole deciders when it comes to who you will or will not go out with. We're guessing the results of such an experiment would be vastly different than anything we've experienced while steering our own ship, and we're so down to find out.

Life in your early 20s is a far different look than life in your late twenties/early 30s. In fact, it’s quite honestly day and night. In your early twenties, you are finding yourself and possibly making tons of mistakes along the way. You are just figuring out who you are and have zero clue where you want your life to go. You’re more concerned about what’s going on next Friday night than what’s going on with your 5-year-plan. When you’re young and reckless, you are living in the “here and now,” not the “here and now I have a lot of debt and I’m going to get checked for a STI.”

Not only is life different from your early 20’s to your late 20’s — but so is dating. Everything you thought you knew about dating changes as you get older. You are wiser. Wiser about who you date and how you date. Things that might seem like nothing when you were younger and more carefree, are big red flags as you get older. There are different dating rules because the name of the dating game has changed.

Below are the rules for dating in your late 20s and 30s.

Do Think Out Of The Dating Box

When you were younger, you didn’t worry about how you might meet a potential partner. That’s what college parties were for. But now as you are out of the college scene and the there’s no office cuties at work, you’ve got to search elsewhere. That’s when you have to go where you never thought you would go before — to an online dating service. When you are in your late 20s and 30s you’ve probably signed up for Tinder, OkCupid and more. When you realized those didn’t work, you opted to pay for the more upscale ones, such as, eHarmony or Match. Hiring a matchmaker isn’t quite off the dating menu just yet. Putting yourself out there in ways you never thought you would is dating in your late 20s — get used to it.

Be Clear And Direct With Your Dates

You ain’t got time for “games.” So, one way to weed out the bad ones from the good ones is being upfront and honest about what you want. This isn’t coming on “too strong,” it’s coming off as a mature adult looking to find something real. If you want to just hook-up that’s fine, but the person you are seeing still deserves to know that’s where you are at. When you play games in dating, nobody wins.

Be Prepared With Annoying Questions

As you get older, society and all of your family members are going to think you should be married with children by now. Even though you know you aren’t ready for this step, or maybe you will never want that (which is okay), you better be prepared to answer those annoying questions. When are you going to settle down? Why are you still single? Blah, blah blah. So, before going to family gatherings or seeing old friends from high school, prepare for questions as if you are going to be interviewed by Barbara Walters.

It’s All About The Location

Location matters in many ways as you get older and wiser. First off, where you meet another person changes. No more finding a quality person at a bar. Unless you’re that one girl I know, and if so, how did you do it?! Now you have to go to other places in search of Mr. or Ms. Right. This is where work parties, the gym and other social gatherings come into play. Think of your interests and hobbies and make like Columbus and get your search on.

STIs Are A Real Fear

Not like they are never a real fear, but when you’re older you are more aware of how scary and common they are. As you enter into your later 20s, you realize your number of sexual partners are going up and so are your partner’s partners (if that makes any sense). So the likelihood of you meeting a person with an STI is quite possible. Cue dramatic music, and also me being a hypochondriac. Regardless, when you date in your late 20’s it’s crucial you are aware of the statistics of STI’s, their symptoms and first and foremost, that you are having safe sex.

Do Not Compare Your Life To Others

Your life changes as you grow into your later 20s and early 30s. This is clearly seen via Facebook and Instagram. Your friends who used to upload drunken friday night photos are now posting pictures of their babies. You start seeing engagement photos, wedding photos and more baby photos than a Baby Gap catalog. Don’t feel the need to rush your life because others may be in a different time in their life. You are where you need to be right now. Trust that.

Speak Up In The Bedroom

Best Dating Apps For Women

When you were younger, you probably faked a lot of things — reading the assigned chapter for homework, smiles as you saw your old friends from your hometown and orgasms. But now as you have aged a little, you don’t want to fake a damn thing. Now that you are more mature, you have found your voice. Use that voice in the bedroom and speak up about your wants and needs. Plus, I hear every time you fake an orgasm an angel loses it’s wings.

Best Dating Site For Mid 20s

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