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Wellness > Sex + Relationships

5 Ways to Find a Summer Love

Summer is here, and if there’s one thing on everyone’s mind, it’s getting that summer boyfriend. Now that we’re away from the meat markets that are our college campuses, we’re gonna have to work a little bit harder to get the boys. This is a challenge you are up to! Here are HC’s top ways to prime yourself for that summer love (or, you know, fling…)

1. Throw a “Welcome Summer” Barbeque.
This is the easiest way to get all of your friends and their friends in one place. Tell your girlfriends to each invite two “available” dudes, and, then, FLIRT. Grab a couple of numbers, and use your already-honed flirtexting skills after the barbeque to get these guys even more interested. (click here if you need a refresher.) Once you meet a guy, follow-up is key!

2. Look cute for your summer job.
Most of you probably have internships or your run-of-the-mill ice cream scooping jobs this summer. While the experience you will gain in any position will be valuable, from a purely social viewpoint, you need to remember that these are all new people you can meet! If there are cute guys at your workplace, bingo. Set up a lunch or after work drinks with your coworkers. If guys are lacking at your place of business, don’t stress. Have your work girlfriends introduce you to some of their cute single friends! This is what we call real, live social networking. You can also try lunching where cute guys from other offices hang out, provided your work clothes are CUTE.

3. Lay out. 

While collegiettes do this anyway (with sunscreen, of course, and not in those icky tanning beds, what you need to think about is location, location, location. Go on a guest visit to all of your local pools/beaches and scope the crowd. Are there more young people hanging out? Families? The dreaded soccer mom contingent? Figure out where the cute guys are playing beach volleyball and buy a summer pass. At the very least, there’s eye candy, and more than likely, you’ll actually meet some hotties.

4. Reconnect with high school friends.
If you’re in your hometown for any part of the summer, make sure you check in with your peeps from the past. While your high school may have been full of dweebs when you went there, these boys grow up! So, if your mom is dragging you to your neighbor’s grad party or your best friend wants to go chill at Steve’s house for old time’s sake, go along. You never know who you might see “all grown up.” Remember what Shia LaBeouf looked like pre-Transformers?

Then…

‘Now!

5. Hit the bars.
If you’re under 21 and living in the U.S., this may prove difficult for you, but the main point of this tip is to go where the young people are. If you’re in a big city, this is typically the bar scene, but, if you’re in suburbia, this may be your friend Amy’s basement. You could also try hitting up a restaurant that has a fun bar scene if you’re worried that you won’t be able to get into the bars or clubs because you’re underage. The most important thing to do is to gather your girlfriends, look cute, and get out there. You’ll never meet anyone new by staying at home! And, from purely anecdotal knowledge, guys tend to be more forward in the nighttime/going out hours.

Whether you’re spending your summer on the shore, in the city or in your parents’ house, boys are everywhere (except, maybe, your parents’ house.) Your job is to stalk them! Kidding, don’t stalk. We at HC prefer the term “strategic positioning.” Here’s to that summer fling! Where do you go to meet guys in the summer, collegiettes? Let us know in the comments!

Allie Jones is an English and American Studies double major at the College of William and Mary.  She's interned at W magazine and is currently the Senior News Editor at The Virginia Informer.  When she’s not chatting up colonial impersonators in Williamsburg, Allie drinks too much black coffee and thinks about going to the gym. She enjoys singing for her friends and planning parties for her chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Allie looks up to Liz Lemon, Carrie Bradshaw and Jon Stewart; 2 ½ of which, she realizes, are fictional characters. You can find out more about the high-brow television programs she watches over at her Twitter, @allierileyjones.