How to Meet Your Summer Crush at the Hostel ?

Hostels have a gravitational pull for romance. People from across the globe–many of them eligible singles–arriving in search of new experiences, new languages and self-discovery. The angst, the yearning for romance intensifies during the humid summer months, as does the search for True Love’s Kiss.

Are you aching for a crush but maybe a little shy? Or maybe you are laser-focused on finding The One but insist that they cannot wear cargo shorts (this will massively narrow your options, but hey, we gotta have standards!)? Whatever your pre-requisites, there is someone out there for you, and there are untold places you can meet them by chance when traveling.

A few recommendations for those seeking to be hit by Cupid’s arrow:

1. Go to the Bar

A classic for a reason! This is where travelers often congregate in the late afternoon and evenings, recounting their days, connecting with friends, and yes: looking for that spark. Maybe it’s eye-contact that holds just a little longer than usual. Start up a conversation. Look for shared interests. Unleash your enthusiasm for obscure topics. You’re away from home! The chains of daily life are unleashed! No one knows you (yet). Your past is a blank slate to everyone you meet.

Boozin’ not your thing? There’s always non-alcoholic mocktails, juices and sodas available behind the bar. But if you’re seeking another vibe  . . .

2. Join a Pub Crawl

Yes, this also involves alcohol, but it also involves exercise. There is no actual crawling (unless you go a little too hard, which we do not recommend), but plenty of walking . . from one bar to the next. Quebec and Ottawa are absolutely overflowing with repressed energy after enduring another winter, so expect to be surrounded by unfiltered joy. Pretty much everyone cannot believe the sun is out oh my dear lord. This energy spills into spontaneous conversations and connections.

3. Cook in the the Communal Kitchen

This is for those who like an ambient meet-cute. Food is sensual. It’s the gateway to the erotic world for oh-so many. Pulling up to the kitchen with your grocery haul might not seem like a flex, but maybe that person across the countertop notices you forgot Siracha for your rice bowl. Maybe your fingers graze ever so slightly when you grab the oversized jug of spice sauce. A current runs down to your toes. You feel it. They feel it. Your eyes meet for a moment. A flame is lit.

Kitchens are like anti-depressants and muscle relaxants rolled into one. Almost everyone is there to make a meal in a foreign country in summer while on vacation, so the vibes are good. Share some ingredients if you see someone in need. Offer to help clean up. Ask people about what they’re making. At the very worst, you’ll make immediate, awesome friends. At the very best, you’ll have a smooch awaiting you after the meal.

4. Karaoke Nights at Saintlo Montreal

Let me make this abundantly clear: karaoke is more fun when people can’t sing. This isn’t New York. You do not need to show off your vibrato. And if you do have vocal talents?

Karaoke is where you can let go of inhibitions to be presentable, which is a pressure of pretty much every single day. Mostly everyone sucks at it, and that’s the point. This might seem counter-intuitive, but meeting someone while singing wildly off-key might just be Chapter 1 in your Great Romance. Bonus points if you get your crush to duet with you on the first day of meeting.

5. Download Dating Apps In Advance

Hey, some of us have jam-packed lives and absolutely do not like surprises. The genius of modern technology (and an innovation of the pandemic) is that you can change your location to your destination, match with locals and set up dates before your plane even lands. Even though you’ll be new to the city, don’t be afraid to ask your match to join you for a coffee, rent a Bixi and ride to one of the many free pools across Montreal, or walk along the Old Port overlooking the waters of the Saint Lawrence. Out of ideas for dates? Ask your front desk staff. They are local experts on both fun and l’amour.

You’ve Found Your Crush, but it’s Time to Go Home

If love does spark, and your crush lives in another country, province or town, take heart! You have more than a few options!

Exhibit A: The Long-Distance Relationship.

Often maligned as painful and arduous, a long-distance relationship can also be a precursor to an even deeper, grander, long-lasting love. Yes, it takes effort, but so does being in a relationship in person. And with the advent of modern technology like the Internet, and pretty much all of us having computers on our phones, there’s no reason that texting and facetime can’t be used to your advantage.

Speaking as someone who did long-distance with my now wife for three years before immigrating to Quebec, you will 100% develop a stronger foundation for communication. Yes, sometimes the angst is brutal. Yes, the reunions are euphoric. But there’s something deeply comforting knowing that far beyond the realm of your day-to-day life, there’s a person out there who met you and thought: “Yup. This person is amazing and I’m going to put in every effort to have them in my life.” It makes the funky moments (which are rarer, to be honest) wash away in the stream.

Added bonus: care packages from the love of your life in the mail are the best endorphins money can buy.

Exhibit B: Let it Be a Summer Fling

People can have an enormous impact on your life no matter the duration they cross your path. Your crush might be the love of your life for a summer, a burgeoning friendship, or could become something greater, deeper, long lasting. Our minds are often understandably immersed in the newness of our personal experience when traveling. Sometimes this means a romance lives a short life. One or both of you might wish to keep flying solo.

So if the two of you choose to go your separate ways, focus on how this person enhanced your life–for a month, a week, or even one sweat-soaked evening over karaoke. You’ll be grateful you did.

Exhibit C: I Didn’t Meet the Love of My Life! What’s Wrong with Me?

Nothing! Love is an ephemeral, elusive creature. It exists all around us, yet can’t be seen. Having a crush and/or falling in love can be world-altering, but so can the group of friends you made in the dorm who took you to that secret speakeasy in Saint Henri.

Love is out there, for all of us. You’ll find it in a crush, a friend, a phone call from home, or that family of cardinals who built a nest outside your bedroom window. Fall in love with being able to breathe new air and walk new streets. Fall in love with the absurdly eclectic cast of characters you would never have met otherwise. Fall in love with the courage it took to travel to a completely new place and abandon the comforts of home. Fall in love with yourself.