*This post was written in collaboration with Hertfordshire dating.

I remember the good old days when we could go a week without the PM and CMO announcing new restrictions each week, or relaxing them, only to tighten them again. It’s ok to feel like you are living in limbo at the moment and be a bit out of sorts. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed our lives for over a year, and despite us having a vaccine and the end is in sight, there is still a possibility that we will be restricted for a few more months. There are some benefits to this. A lot of people are getting to work from home rather than face long commutes every day. But there are also a lot of drawbacks, one of them being how difficult it is to date. Even though we are in another lockdown, you CAN still have an active dating life. 

Find a local dating site

Local dating sites are a lot more sophisticated when it comes to a location that national ones. Gone are the days when you would get matched with someone 30 miles away. Sites like Hertfordshire dating focus on one area of the country and make it a lot easier for you to meet people local to you. This might not seem like a big deal, but think about how the restrictions are going to be lifted. Chances are, they will be lifted gradually, and you will be able to get out and about in your local area before you can go to other counties. This is why it is beneficial to get chatting to people near to you.

Arrange “virtual” dates

During the first lockdown, I must have taken part in about 10 Zoom quizzes, and I can’t say I was sad to see them fade away into the background during the other lockdowns. But video calling doesn’t just have to be something you do at work or with friends. If you are not a fan of quizzes, or you are all quizzed out, maybe you could arrange to follow a recipe and cook something together, or even watch the same film or TV show. There is plenty to binge at the moment on Netflix, so you could set aside a time each week to call each other and watch and an episode of a certain show.

Don’t lose hope

It can all feel a bit hopeless during the stricter periods of lockdown. You might even wonder what the point of dating is at all in the current climate. But human interaction is something we never really realised we relied on until it got taken away from us. You might not meet the love of your life on a dating site, but you could still meet someone nice you like chatting to, and if it fizzles out when we are back to normal then so be it. With the vaccine being rolled out, we can start being hopeful and looking forward to the return of normal life in a few months or so.