Can You Meet Women in the East Village?

Yes, and it is better after dark than in the afternoon. The East Village is known for dining and nightlife, with lots of small rooms, many of them casual. A small, relaxed room is a good place to start a conversation, because people are close, the volume is manageable and nobody is performing for a crowd.

This article is mostly about the evening, because that is when the neighborhood works. It also covers what to do by day and how to turn a good talk into a date.

In a loud club, you shout and she nods. In a small bar, you can say a normal sentence and she can answer it. a dating coach says the individual venues in New York change so fast that any list is out of date within months, but "the categories of venues stay the same." The East Village's casual rooms fall into his lowest tier, general admission bars, which he calls completely accessible.

A general admission bar has no door and no planning. In his words, you can "walk straight in." That makes it a good place to learn. If a room is wrong, you finish your drink and try the next one.

Judge a bar by the conditions, not the name:

• Busy, but you can hear each other. Too empty and nobody is there. Too loud and conversation is impossible.
• Space to stand. A bar with room to move lets you step toward a woman without stepping into a group.
• A mix of people. Groups of friends, pairs and a few people alone.

coach likes to bar hop, looking in, then moving on if nobody catches his eye. Try the same: give each room a few minutes, and spend the time in the one where conversations are happening.

Midweek can work better than the weekend. My point is that on a weeknight, a woman who is out often has no fixed plan and may be happy to talk. Fewer people also means you can see who is actually alone.

Staying out late helps too. As the night goes on, the crowd thins, and the women still out are often no longer tied to friends who went home. Conversations get easier to start. He adds that in New York a lot of people take the subway or a taxi and arrive and leave separately, so a woman leaving alone is common.

Keep it light and honest. Stand a few feet away so she can see you and step back if she wants, and give a reason:

"Hi, I am Sam. I noticed you were the only one here who laughed at that, so I had to say hi."

You do not need a perfect line. You need a normal voice, a smile and a question about her. My rule is to "assume it's going to happen." If she turns toward you and answers, keep going. If she gives a short reply and turns back to her friends, say "enjoy your night" and leave.

By day, the East Village is a place for cafes and restaurants. The simplest daytime plan is to approach a woman who is sitting outside a cafe or waiting for a table, as long as she looks relaxed. coach says the best place to meet women is everywhere: if there is a cute girl in a coffee shop, say hi.

For parks, Washington Square and Union Square are both close, and both are among his four daytime parks.

The neighborhood makes the next step easy. Whichever block you are on, there is a coffee shop, a bar, an ice cream place and a restaurant within a couple of blocks. If the talk is going well, suggest a second drink in a different room, or tell her you are going for a slice of pizza and she is welcome to come. If she has to go, ask for her number.

The East Village is in Lower Manhattan, which coach says is easy to get women to come to. A woman you meet here is not facing a long trip for a date.

It will, sometimes. My view of New York is that you have an unlimited supply of strangers, so one bad talk is forgotten by the next corner. Say "have a good night" and go to the next room.

Bars are where many men lock up, because there is an audience of friends and a drink in your hand. On a Cold Approach Bootcamp, a coach stands beside you in the field and gives 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.