Best Parks in New York to Meet Women

The four parks a dating coach names for daytime approaches in New York are Washington Square Park, Bryant Park, Madison Square Park and Union Square Park. He calls Central Park "actually okay for game" and says many of the others are better. He also says which of the four is best cycles over time, so the real answer is to rotate through them and stay where women are sitting.

This is the short list. The rest of the article is how to decide among them when you are standing on the sidewalk with an afternoon free.

A woman in a park has chosen to be around people. My line: "If someone wanted to be alone and didn't want to talk to anyone, they'd be at home in their apartment." She is also usually not in a hurry, and she often comes alone, which he calls "truly an opportune situation to start a conversation."

Compare that with the sidewalk outside. Many people on the street are walking fast with headphones in, or are packed into crowds where you cannot get close. You can still say hello there. You just get fewer good conversations per hour.

Washington Square sits at the heart of Greenwich Village, with a marble arch and a fountain, and it is known for street performers. A performer gives two strangers something to talk about without either of them having to invent a topic. If a woman is watching a set, "Is this guy any good?" is a complete opener.

Union Square is a place for people watching, with a greenmarket along two of its sides. A market is a gift for conversation. You can ask what she bought, whether the stall is worth a stop or what she would try. Look for the woman who is browsing, not the one carrying bags toward the train.

Bryant Park is a public park in Midtown between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. Midtown streets are quick and busy, and the park is a pause in them. Women eat lunch or read there, and a woman on a lunch break is a calmer set than one crossing the avenue.

Madison Square Park is close to the Flatiron Building. Walk the paths and see who is sitting alone before you pick. Its lawns are open only some hours and only in good weather, so check before you plan around them.

My verdict on Central Park is that it is "actually okay for game" while other parks are better. The reason is easy to guess. It is large, so people spread out, and many of the people moving through it are exercising or crossing it on a mission. A woman mid-run is a closed set. A woman on a bench or a lawn is open. Stay near the places people stop.

Walk in and look for three things before you approach anyone:

• Women sitting, reading or eating, not walking through.
• Enough space that you can stand a few feet back and not crowd her.
• Something to talk about, such as a performer, a market or a book.

If a park has none of those at the moment, try another. coach says one will be better for a while and then another one takes over, so there is no loyalty to a park. Weather matters too. These parks are at their best in the warm months, when people stay outside.

Keep it short and honest. "I saw you reading and wanted to say hi" is enough. If she turns toward you and keeps talking, stay. If she answers in one word and looks back at her book, say "enjoy your day" and move on. In a city with an endless supply of strangers, a miss costs you almost nothing, and coach notes that if it goes badly it is "soon forgotten."

If the conversation is going well, you do not have to wait. There is a coffee shop, a bar or an ice cream place within a couple of blocks of almost any of these parks, so you can suggest a drink right then.

Knowing the parks does not get you across the grass. On a Cold Approach Bootcamp, you do the approaches in the field, with a coach beside you and feedback after every set. Each training day is two four-hour blocks, daygame and night game mixed to suit you, and no experience is needed. The Bootcamp runs in New York and Miami.