Dating in your 30's in Indianapolis?

December 20, 2016 8:38 AM

I'm considering moving back to my home state of Indiana to be closer to my family and eventually start my own family. But I'm nervous about being 30 years old and single for the first time in years and could use some good insight into the Indy dating scene.

I'm average-looking, overweight, make $75k/year in the tech industry, and have artistic hobbies. I would be looking for a male of similar age, looks, and income. Someone who is smart, has at least one interesting hobby, is not conservative or too religious, and is ready to settle down. Ideally I'd like to have a large enough dating pool that I could go on a new date each weekend.

Is there any hope for me in Indy?

I'm particularly worried that:

- with Indiana's conservative and family-oriented culture, most men have settled down by 30 already
- And all the men who haven't, don't want children
- As an overweight woman past her 20's, I'll have much lower chances dating interesting people

posted by daisies to Human Relations (3 answers total)

I live in Northern Indiana so it might not be the info you are after, but around here there is a good number of single guys in your age range in my area at least. I'm married and older than you but most of my male friends are in your age group & most of them are single.

Not sure what you consider an interesting hobby, but I DM a public D&D game on a weekly basis & over the years I've had a good selection of guys, probably 30 different male players have come through that would meet your specifications easily. Indy has about 4 times the population this area has. Though I am in a major university town which might increase single men demographic a little.

Those that have ended up in relationships while I've known them, like most men really, seem to have a wide selection tastes in how their partners look and the common denominator is that they all seemed to find dating someone with similar hobbies & interests very important to them. Side note most of the women have had red hair for some reason.
posted by wwax at 10:11 AM on December 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

Not well-versed in the dating scene in Indy, but I do spend time there occasionally. It has become quite progressive by Indiana standards -- and even midwestern standards. Surely there are meetup groups you could join that would have you mixing with artistic 30-somethings. You could maybe go to shows and events in the Fountain Square area? Take up cycling? Etc etc. Also, this is cynical, but a lot of people who married in their early 20s will now be getting divorced.
posted by Miss T.Horn at 3:27 PM on December 20, 2016

The hardest thing on your list might be the salary requirement. It might modest where you are but $75k is good money in Indiana and a guy earning that money in his 30s is going to be a stable / serious type with (in Indiana) a pretty darn high likelihood of being married, conservative and/or religious.

But why don't you post some Indiana-located dating profiles, and see what comes of it?
posted by MattD at 9:23 PM on December 20, 2016