How do you find friends or romantic partners?

[William Weiler]

I am 60yr old male. I had women as friends since I was 4yrs old. Half the time as best friends. I miss the energy and the connection. I seem to make friends with everyone, sometimes people quite unlike me. I hear there are dating sites. Not sure if these are sketchy or not. It is kind of an old joke, but when you get older you get pickier, and it gets harder, but only because I want the relationships to last.

 

[Au Naturel]

I would look for organizations of people who share some interest I have. If I were in the "market" for friends, I'd look into hiking, theater, nudist clubs, etc. You probably have a different set of interests, so YMMV. I have found that the more niche the interest, the more likely people are to be welcoming because there are so few kindred spirits.

If you can pass their test, there's a club called Mensa I found a lot of fun. But that was decades ago.

 

[William Weiler]

I love nudism, but my parents made me give it up when I was 5. Seriously, how do you do that? I would like die in the first minute. A friend went to a nude beach in Brazil. He says his eyes popped out at first and then he became desensitized and kind of bored. I asked him what he did then. He said he went to the entrance and watched peoples eyes pop out for fun. I'm kidding. I think it about sun and wind on your skin and a feeling of freedom, or maybe closeness and honesty. I am just too self-conscious.

 

[BrokenBoy]

Luck and meeting people via a mutual friend.

 

[Au Naturel]

I love nudism, but my parents made me give it up when I was 5. Seriously, how do you do that? I would like die in the first minute. A friend went to a nude beach in Brazil. He says his eyes popped out at first and then he became desensitized and kind of bored. I asked him what he did then. He said he went to the entrance and watched peoples eyes pop out for fun. I'm kidding. I think it about sun and wind on your skin and a feeling of freedom, or maybe closeness and honesty. I am just too self-conscious.

All those things. I like it best in an atmosphere of acceptance or when I am isolated enough I don't have to think about it. The best time is when you are so at ease, you forget you're not wearing anything. I'd never have been allowed to be a nudist at any age so I kept it to myself until I got old enough to fly away.

If you go to the beach and get bored, you'd probably get just as bored at a textile beach. After all, going to the beach is first and foremost about going to a beach because you enjoy the beach.

The people with the eyes bugging out are the ones with the problem.

 

[paloftoon]

If a dating ad is advertised on mainstream TV, it's probably a real ad. Okc and Bumble (app only) seems pretty reasonable for straight or lgbt people.

I've seen OurTime mentioned for 50+ and Match.com is definitely real but both probably you must pay.
ChristianMingle is another where you must pay. I believe that all of these can be used as apps or websites.

Apps themselves aren't as sketchy as say the people who use them. People in general are "sketchy" because they don't know what they want, or they get so many options that they can be picky. Or they can play games with you because they are bored and they don't like the options that are really valid. So, best thing I can suggest is if you want to use an online app, be prepared for probably a lot of rejection. A lot of people who might think they want you but want to keep their options open. They might ghost you randomly with no explanation. People get socially anxious or use it as an excuse because they don't want to say they lost interest. Some people don't want to say anything because they don't want to cause conflict and deal with it.

Also, when using an app, I suggest limiting online conversation to two weeks/based on context. After two weeks, ask about planning to meet or at least do a phone call or video chat. If they aren't open to any of those, move on.