With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, Hoboken’s busy professionals are looking for love. But how do they go about finding it?
Sometimes on the internet, sometimes across a bar, or sometimes through a local meetup group.
“People meet here all the time. The question is if it lasts for longer than one night,” said a 24-year-old bartender at Green Rock, a bar on Hudson Street, who chose to remain anonymous. “Supposedly a lot of people really have met there significant others here. At least some regulars and even staff have.”
But other customers only got halfway there.
Take John Tuttle, a 35-year-old professional. He said on Wednesday that he recently met a girl at Green Rock who smiled at him from across the bar.
“It’s a war zone out there.”– John Tuttle
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After some conversation, the girl revealed to Tuttle she had a boyfriend. And a girlfriend.
“It’s a warzone out there,” said Tuttle. “Although I was recently referred to a professional singles website and it turned out to be a lot of fun.”
Tuttle added that the gym and church are other places to meet people. “If I was 24,” he said, “it would be a totally different ballgame.”
Adriane Lambert moved to Hoboken from Rutherford three years ago with her boyfriend. “We worked together at a restaurant,” she said, when asked how they met.
Lambert she said that one of her single friends in Hoboken tends to meet people at work. That job also happens to be a bar in town.
The website Meetup.com offers a list of area outlets for meeting other people, including Hoboken Single Ladies, Hoboken New In Town, and the ever so popular Hoboken Social Sandbox.
Hoboken Social Sandbox was started in 2007 by Mike Stenzler, who had been putting together social networking events in the area since 2001. Today there are 1,989 Hobokenites in the group.
“The reason I do these is because it’s very hard to make friends in Hoboken, especially if you are new to the town,” said Stenzler. “The general concession is that people don’t care for dating sites. They like to come to events where they can meet people naturally.”
Stenzler said that he has two friends who recently met each other through him in Hoboken, but not even through one of his events. One of them was a girl who does a lot of charity work in the area. “She never went looking for dates, but she often drove things to the shelters,” said Stenzler. “Another friend of mine was very involved in charity work as well. When my bike was stolen from my garage, they both helped in getting me a donated bike. Next thing I know these two fall madly in love. Neither of them were looking; it just happened. And he already met the parents.”
On Hoboken Social Sandbox, one of the first events you will see is a Second Annual Valentine’s Singles Party being held at 10th and Willow Bar and Grill this Thursday. The event already has close to 60 confirmed attendees.
Have a little faith
For those of you having a tough time believing in the power of love, Hoboken Grace, which now has two locations at 301 Garden St. and 800 Clinton St., has begun offering “Dating and Service.”
The church didn’t return phone calls about the program, which they’ve advertised on billboards around town. But the website says the program is targeted for those “hoping for, beginning, or in a relationship.”
For more information visit www.HobokenGrace.com
Amanda Palasciano may be reached at amandap@hudsonreporter.com.