Dating in Newfoundland and Labrador can be a challenge. With a large rural community consisting of small towns, Newfoundland and Labrador can be frustrating for single men and women searching for a significant other. The number of people to date is limited and the opportunities to find a date in a small town are often few and far between. Social circles tend to be small and situations exist where many people are friends or related to one another.

In many small towns in Newfoundland and Labrador, there lacks the necessary social infrastructure to support singles seeking to date. Many towns have no bar or restaurant, and dating often means having to travel or finding activities that both parties will enjoy. Community based events such as cardgames or bingo are often the only “social” event but these do not provide a great environment for a dating.

Many small towns in Newfoundland and Labrador have seen many of the men forced to work out of province. This limits the numbers of men available for dating, and in some cases small towns see nearly their entire male population leave for weeks at a time. This severely limits the dating pool available to single Newfoundland and Labrador women, but often skews the number of women available in favour of those men who remain in the small town. If the men are not interested in a long term relationship, they can easily play the field. Women are often forced (or choose) to settle for a relationship that is not exactly what they want — a recipe for disaster!

Dating in Newfoundland and Labrador small towns also poses a problem where everyone seemingly knows the others business. Situations often exist where you have friends dating ex’s or friends dating other friends. This can be uncomfortable for some people and can limit the chances of a relationship growing.

How then, can single men and women in the small towns of Newfoundland and Labrador find a meaningful relationship? Many are turning to online dating sites or chosing to remain single because of the difficulty in finding someone to date.

One 35-year old single woman interviewed from a Newfoundland town of just 75 people said “I grew up here in this small Newfoundland town and was one of the lucky ones to find a great job after university. I never thought that I would be single all my life but now I think that I will be alone forever. There is no one my age to date. The closest single male to my age is 56 and that’s not an option for me.” When asked if she had used online dating she replied “I’ve tried online dating but many of the men are either from out of the province or won’t move to a small rural community here in Newfoundland. They are established where they live, have great jobs themselves and are often facing the same difficulty as myself.”

During an interview with a 29-year old man who lived and worked in a small Newfoundland town of 200 he stated “There are like 30 or 40 women my age that are available. I’ve dated many of them and have had a few long term relationships. The problem is they want to settle down and I’m looking for fun. It makes it difficult when all the women talk to one another.”

Those men and women who do find one another in Newfoundland often meeting during high school. These couples generally move away to university in St. John’s or Corner Brook, get married and remain in the larger urban areas. Even in these areas women are often faced with a smaller male population because of the transient nature of many jobs requiring the men to travel for work.

Adding to the complexity of dating in Newfoundland and Labrador is the fact that many women who find themselves in failed relationships have children. Not only must they face the challenges of being a single parent in a rural setting, they must now find a partner from a limited dating pool that is willing to accept a child from another relationship.

Yes, the reality of dating in small town Newfoundland poses many challenges. One must examine their own situation and determine if the lifestyle of the small town is worth being alone. It is a personal choice that one must make. As many of the people in small towns in Newfoundland and Labrador move to the larger centres, small town dating in Newfoundland will become more difficult before the situation improves.