going to a club alone? is it creepy?

zodiak

hey heres the situation..im 21 and my mates keep telling me that they will head out to the george or somewhere some night but never do.. ive never been on the scene so dont know what to expect. I want to go and have a look just to see what its like but really dont want to do it alone.. whats everyone elses opinion is it creepy to show up by yourself or is it one of those things where you feel arkward for the first hour but it turns out ok in the end

cheers

stephen_n

I suppose it depends on what your comfortable with but clubs are really not places to go by yourself and the George would be the sort of place that might make you feel awkward doing it!

LegacyUser

I very rarely would make it out in Dublin, but I decided to meet someone I knew one night out (where I went to a concert first). Arranged to meet afterwards on Georges street, which I had little knowledge about, but before I knew it I was slap bang in the middle of the Dragon, asking if "this was a gay bar?". How innocent was I?

Initially I was shocked but I overcame it, its not that big a deal, people do tend to be very cliquey, but that may have been my own awkwardness at the first time situation I was put in. However my friends friends were very nice and welcoming. I'm fairly sure there are plenty of people like me who would welcome and chat to someone who was on their own, most have probably been in their position anyway.

Best of luck, you may as well give it a go, and remember, if it doesn't go well its very easy to walk out that front door

Eddie Ere

I very rarely would make it out in Dublin, but I decided to meet someone I knew one night out (where I went to a concert first). Arranged to meet afterwards on Georges street, which I had little knowledge about, but before I knew it I was slap bang in the middle of the Dragon, asking if "this was a gay bar?". How innocent was I?

Initially I was shocked but I overcame it, its not that big a deal, people do tend to be very cliquey, but that may have been my own awkwardness at the first time situation I was put in. However my friends friends were very nice and welcoming. I'm fairly sure there are plenty of people like me who would welcome and chat to someone who was on their own, most have probably been in their position anyway.

Best of luck, you may as well give it a go, and remember, if it doesn't go well its very easy to walk out that front door

L1011

Its not a big deal and there's probably a few other people doing it for the first time on any given night. If you're the kind of person who can get talking to random people, you'll be grand.

Zillah

As a 21 year old going to a gay bar alone your concern shouldn't be about appearing creepy, it should be with the creepy old men who's attentions you will gain.

I'd really not recommend it unless you have a very outgoing personality. Bars are horrible on your own, I honestly have no idea how anyone does it. If I'm left alone for even a few minutes I play with my phone and am totally bored within seconds.

pgdub

hey heres the situation..im 21 and my mates keep telling me that they will head out to the george or somewhere some night but never do.. ive never been on the scene so dont know what to expect. I want to go and have a look just to see what its like but really dont want to do it alone.. whats everyone elses opinion is it creepy to show up by yourself or is it one of those things where you feel arkward for the first hour but it turns out ok in the end

Same problem here. Have been asking around about socially-oriented groups to get involved in, where there might be people in the same boat, but no joy yet.

Barna77

I won't go on my own down the pub for a pint let alone the Dragon or The George, and they both suck :rolleyes: to be honest

ongarboy

there is nothing at all creepy about turning up by yourself. In fact, it is not seen as unusual in a gay bar/club and many people (newbies and scene veterans) often head out by themselves. However, if you think you might feel uncomfortable and are the type of person who does not feel confident striking up a conversation with strangers, then you may find it a little intimidating. I still would not discourage you however! If you do not have a friend that can come with you some night(even a straight friend), I would recommend the Dragon over the George if you do decide to go for it as it is very big with loads of different nooks and corners, upper and lower levels, smoking areas etc. My point is that you don't have to stand in the same spot all night and you can leisurely move around without looking like Billy-no-mates. There are loads of other guys doing the exact same thing! You can stand by the dance floor and dance away if your favourite tune comes on (loads of people dance by themselves if a great tune comes on- done it plenty of times myself). I find the balcony area on a Fri/Sat night that overlooks the stage where the professional dancers perform is a good spot for meeting other guys (just for chat or even a hook up). Not sure if Icebreakers is still on (social group for gay under 23s) but I think they organise nights out so why not join that group. Good luck!

kiwipower

As you can probably tell from my name, I am not originally from Ireland.
When I first moved here I was travelling on my own. I had only just come-out to my family and had very little contacted with any other gay people.

The first time
I was living down in Westmeath and decided to head up to Dublin on my own, having never been in Dublin before for the weekend. I booked into a Hostel in templebar, done some touristy things round the city then went down to the George for a drink. While cueing to get into the bar I got chatting to a couple of other girls inline and they pretty much befriended me for the evening, and while I lost contact with them when they went travelling a few years ago, I would still consider them good friends.

The Second time
I had just moved to Galway and new nobody, was kipping on the couch of my very straight cousin who I had only just meet.
One afternoon I found my way down to Stranos & Zulus as it was at the time and got chatting (and drinking) with the "locals" after a few days and nights of this, I got to know plenty of people and had found a room in a flat with some nice girls, and even managed to setup a date or two!
This was about eight years ago, and the barman who poured my first pint, that afternoon has become my best friend and the one person I would trust even more than my GF!

Just keep your wits about you, (even if you get blind drunk in the process!) Enjoy yourself! Just remember there is no harm in talking to people in a public place. Try not to take it all too seriously. Just be sure you have enough money for a taxi home, and if you can let someone you trust know where you are going and what you are doing.

It is ALWAYS going to be one of the things I treasure most about being a Gay female is that I can walk into a LGBTQ bar and feel reasonable safe. Would I have been confident enough to do it in a straight bar? Probably not, due to the unwanted attention a female on their own would attract.

kiwipower

Thinking on this, I just remembered the first time I was every in any LGBT bar was in Perth, WAustralia.

I was again travelling on my own. My heart was thumping like mad (thought I was going to have a heart attack it was that strong!) The bar itself while being right next door to the Police Detectives building, was a rough run-down old building. It was here I learnt one valuable leason I would tell anyone travelling alone to think on.

If you are buying drinks or Having drinks brought for you ALWAYS, ALWAYS make sure you are WATCHING the drink being poured and being given to you. ALWAYS watch your own drink. You are responsable for your own safety and can sometimes be a target for the unsavoury types when on your own. Not that anything particuarly bad happened to ME but I do know it happened to a couple of people in that bar at the time.