Craigslist has officially shut down their casual encounters section. Some people in Houston are still unsure of which sites to use in order to find real-life hookups online. We’ve spent the last few months testing and reviewing websites in Houston in order to provide you, our readers, with the most popular sites people are using for Houston casual encounters.
The following sites are not simply replacing craigslist but they provide a much better user experience and a much safer experience as well.
Here are the 4 sites people in Houston are using to get laid successfully.
Houston Casual Encounters — Your Guide
Living in Houston you know that we epitomize everything associated with Texas. In other words, we are big and strong. Take a look at our skyline and it is big and strong. As a community, we are big and strong. Our casual encounter scene — you guessed it — it is also big and strong.
Of course, if you have been undergoing a dry spell when it comes to the casual encounter department — or if you have never been able to hook up as much as you want — you may be asking yourself whether the Houston casual dating scene is really as big and strong as many people say.
If your casual encounter and hookup fortunes are not what you want them to be in Houston it is not because there aren’t other eager and willing adults looking for the same thing you are. Neither is it because there is anything specifically wrong with you. In the majority of cases, those who have problems finding casual encounters in Houston do so because they are not in tune with the local hookup scene.
— What You Need to Know About Houston When It Comes to Casual Encounters —
We Are a Big City
As we have already stated, Houston is a big city. Not only is it the largest city in the state of Texas, but it is also the fourth largest city in the whole of the United States.
In terms of population, there are close to 2.4 million residents within the defined city limits. Across the entire urbanized area, that number jumps to close to five million. When you take the entire Houston metropolitan area into consideration, the population reaches a whopping 6.3 million.
This means that no matter what sort of person you are attracted to, there are bound to be many people who will fit the bill. Looking at it from the other direction, you are also bound to be the perfect casual encounter match for hundreds, if not thousands, of other Houstonians yourself.
With a population this large, that means that there are tens of thousands of people looking to hook up on any given day of the week. You will never feel the regressive effects of excessive competition as you might in smaller cities. In Houston, you can seek or be sought and still get lucky time and time again.
Houston Is a Cosmopolitan City
One aspect of Houston that has affected how the casual encounter scene has developed locally is the fact that the population — especially those 35 years of age and under — adhere to cosmopolitan norms and conventions commonly found in other large metropolitan areas.
This degree of open-mindedness is of great benefit to fostering a healthy casual encounter scene. For those who are seeking to have multiple casual encounter partners per year, Houston is one of the best cities in the country for that.
Houston Still Retains Its Texan Flair
As cosmopolitan as Houston is, it is still able to retain its Texan flair and charm. Unlike other cities in Texas that have started to lose some of their Texan ways, such as Austin and Dallas, Houston is still resolutely and proudly Texan.
When it comes to casual encounters, this gives you the benefit of getting the best of both worlds. The open-mindedness of a modern and cosmopolitan city, combined with the friendliness and coziness of Texas-style charm.
A Diverse Population
Another essential element that we have in Houston that adds to the frequency and variety of casual encounters that you can have here, is the diversity of the population.
You can find native Texans who have lived here their entire lives, people from the border region, from Louisiana, Mexico, and from literally every corner of the world. This means that you can always find someone fun and exciting.
— Where to Meet People for Casual Encounters in Houston —
As we have established, Houston does not suffer from a lack of potential casual encounter partners. Where most people go astray in finding partners is in not knowing where to meet and mingle for that purpose.
If you are under the impression that you need to be at a specific bar or location on a specific day and hour to have your best shot at meeting like-minded adults for casual fun, you’d be mistaken. Houston, similar to many other major cities around the world, has left the old paradigms associated with hooking up behind.
Long gone are the days when people would congregate at Tingles or Lott’s Emporium on a Friday or Saturday night to see who they could meet to get lucky. That might have worked in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s — but what worked for your parents’ generation sure as hell doesn’t work today.
In the 21st century, Houston singles rely heavily on the internet when it comes to meeting people. Just as Houstonians rely on dating sites to find long-term partners, so too do they rely on hookup sites to meet casual partners.
— What Exactly Is a Hookup Site? —
A hookup site is very similar in design and structure to a traditional online dating site. The main difference is that its user base consists of individuals who are actively seeking other like-minded adults — not for long-term romance — but rather for short-term, no-strings-attached casual encounters. They have replaced the singles bars of old. They allow you to “circulate” and search for potential partners at a pace that would have made folks from the pre-internet era heads spin.
It is important to know that while there are literally thousands of online hookup sites, not all are equally effective when it comes to meeting people in Houston. As a matter of fact, there is only a select handful that can be considered the “go-to” hookup sites for the Houston area.
Being aware of these sites and using them is what will help you become a casual encounter and hookup machine.
— Sites to Use in Houston to Maximize Your Casual Encounters —
1- Ashley Madison
Ashley Madison was first launched in 2002. By 2004, Houston had already become one of the site’s top ten markets. Known in its early years for its slogan, “Life is short. Have an affair,” the site was never shy about the service that it offered.
Ashley Madison can be described as being a hookup platform for those who are already involved in another relationship and the people who get a thrill of being the other man or woman in an encounter.
In Houston, not even the 2015 hacking incident, which eventually resulted in Ashley Madison becoming one of the most secure and privacy-minded sites on the internet, affected its popularity. As a matter of fact, when it comes to this type of casual encounter among males in the 32+ age bracket, Ashley Madison is one of their preferred sites.
Women are able to get full use of the Ashley Madison services free of charge. This has resulted in thousands of Houston women — married and otherwise — to become members. As a result, it is easy to find a woman for a discreet casual encounter any day of the week. It also makes it possible to find women during daytime, afternoon, evening and late night hours. After all, if they are in another relationship their time windows for no-strings-attached encounters will vary.
What People in Houston Are Saying
Houstonians who have used the site praise its modern look and feel, its extremely strong privacy and data security protocols, and its ability to provide you with consistent matches for casual encounters. Men specifically add how much they appreciate the “pay for what you use” subscription model. This allows men to only pay for the time that they are on the platform. If they cannot accommodate a discrete encounter for weeks or months at a time and they don’t use the site, they are not charged for that time.
This also keeps the site fresh and relevant. You know that whenever you log into Ashely Madison, the profiles that you will see belong to individuals who are currently active and that want encounters as soon as possible.
All of these reasons make Ashley Madison one of the top sites for finding casual encounters in Houston. Remember, although it is rightfully classified as a”cheating” site, you don’t have to be cheating on someone to use it.
Join Ashley Madison2- AdultFriendFinder (AFF)
AdultFriendFinder is a hookup site that has been an industry leader for over two decades. In the present day it is as strong as ever and serves more than 80 million users worldwide, In Houston, it is found in either first or second place when it comes to popularity and effectiveness in polls and surveys.
Popularity in Houston as a Hookup Site
For the same reasons that AdultFriendFinder is so popular around the world, so too is it popular in Houston.
- It has a large local following.
- It has a powerful search engine
- Its members are very open-minded
- It can help you find casual partners locally as well as in other cities
How it Works
AdultFriendFinder works by allowing open-minded adults to find like-minded partners for whatever adult fun they are seeking. This means that whatever you happen to be into, AdultFriendFinder will help you meet other people that are into the same thing. Whatever your kink or fetish, AdultFriendFinder has you covered.
The powerful search engine that it offers its members allows for easy filtering of suggested matches by a wide selection of attributes. This means that the results you receive are going to be specific to your individual tastes and desires. This greatly increases the likelihood of being able to hook up with someone in less time than on other hookup sites.
In Houston, with its populated area covering close to 700-square miles, it is extremely convenient to be able to filter your search results by precise location. AdultFriendFinder is among the best at doing this.
The Community Feel
Something else that the people of Houston frequently praise AdultFriendFinder for is the genuine sense of community that the site inspires. Users can always feel safe and never have to worry about moralists or the judgemental to ruin their experience. AdultFriendFinder has been built around an ethos of openness and acceptance. No matter your kink, fetish, age, appearance, sexual orientation or personality — the AdultFriendFinder community is welcoming of you.
Part of that community vibe is what has contributed to AdultFriendFinder’s user-created forums and chatrooms to become such a popular feature in Houston. These sections of the site allow users an alternate avenue for meeting like-minded individuals and potential casual encounter partners.
Instead of relying on search filters to do the work, those users who frequent the user-created chatrooms and forums do so to interact directly with others. Since these rooms tend to revolve around a common interest or location, it allows for a more personalized dynamic to generate the “first spark.” Some people find this a more natural way to meet people as opposed to matchmaking search engines.
Whether you rely on the powerful search engine, the community dynamic, or both — there should be no doubt that AdultFriendFinder is a powerful tool for finding casual partners in Houston.
Join AdultFriendFinder3- Instant Hookups
Not too long ago, the concept of social media and social media style hookup platforms were the purview of those under 30. Flash forward to the present and social media and the method for interacting with others that it has sparked has now become commonplace even among those in the 50+ and 60+ crowd.
This is why it should be no surprise that a hookup platform stylized to be similar to a social network has made the list of the most popular and effective for finding casual encounters in Houston.
Instant Hookups is the site that we are talking about. Its look and feel is the perfect blend of a traditional hookup site with a modern social network. This makes it accommodating to everyone in Houston— whether they are 18 or 78.
Those who feel more comfortable with traditional search-based functionality, Instant Hookups offers that too. In fact, while not as advanced as the AdultFriendFinder engine, it offers sufficient robustness — especially when it comes to location filtering — to make it effective for Houstonians.
Functionality
Those who are more extroverted shower Instant Hookups with praise for its sleek video chat function. It allows users on the platform to engage in video chat free of lag and in sharp HD quality. The video chat function is not only useful for those moments when a “cyber-quickie” is what you are looking for, but it is also very effective when you are vetting partners for a casual encounter.
Video chat is far more effective in getting a feel for a person than text-based chat or even a phone call. In the end, it saves you time. It is a shortcut to determining whether you have chemistry with the person. In Houston, where getting from one point to another in the city can take up to two hours, having video chatted prior to your first meeting will allow you to get a good feel for your chances with that person before investing your valuable time.
Living in Houston, even if you don’t make Instant Hookups your primary hookup site, you should seriously consider joining and making it your backup site. It offers the perfect compliment for either Ashley Madison or AdultFriendFinder.
Join Instant Hookups4- ALT.com
ALT.com is a favorite for those in Houston who are into wild kinks and fetishes. The site is operated by the same folks famous for AdultFriendFinder, so you know that it is backed by top-notch technology and support.
The look and functionality of ALT is very similar to AdultFriendFinder but the user base consists of an even more open-minded set of folks. ALT is an excellent site for you if you are seeking casual partners or couples who share your taste for S&M, bondage, and other kinks and fetishes.
The beauty of ALT is that it brings like-minded people together on a platform that is designed to facilitate discovery, meeting in person, and that is discreet and private. It allows you to be as wild and free as you want to be without any concerns or worries.
ALT by no means is for everyone. If, however, you have a wild or freaky side and you want to meet casual partners that share your kink, then ALT is for you.
Join ALT— Moving From Online to the Real World —
Once you have met a potential match on any of the previously listed hookup sites, you will need to have a strategy in place to move from the online realm to the real world.
This means that you will need to have a location in mind where the both of you can meet in person in order to advance to the next level. This location should be public with a fair amount of other people around in order to make it safe for the both of you. It should also be convenient for the both of you to access. In other words, you don’t want to choose a place that will require a two-hour scavenger hunt to find.
Depending on the nature of your casual encounter — whether it is a one-off no-strings-attached quickie or an attempt to meet someone for repeated casual sex — this will also dictate the type of location that you should choose.
When all you need is a public spot to meet before moving on to somewhere more private, here are some suggestions.
Discovery Green
This is a perfect location if you are meeting anywhere near downtown. During the daytime and afternoon hours, this park is the perfect location to meet and determine if the both of you have chemistry. In the event that you need a little further time to size each other up, you can stroll through the park or sit down to talk and enjoy the fresh air of the outdoors.
Discovery Green Official Website
Urban Harvest Farmers Market
If you are going to hook up with somebody on a Saturday, the Urban Harvest Farmers Market provides the perfect backdrop as a first time meeting location. It provides the sort of public atmosphere that is ideal with a dynamic that allows the both of you to become lost in the crowd. In other words, even though you will be surrounded by hundreds of people, you will not feel as if all eyes are on you. It is a sort of crowd-based privacy. Besides, while you are there you can pick up some delicious organic locally grown produce or some of the famous tamales that are sold there so you can have something to take back to your place or theirs.
Visit Urban Harvest Farmers Market
Memorial Park
This is another park that offers a great open-air location to meet someone for the first time. Full of places to sit and relax as well as hiking and biking trails, it accommodates itself perfectly to both the active person as well as the more sedentary individual.
More Info on Memorial Park in Houston
Market Square Park
If you prefer an open-air location that is more intimate and smaller in size, there is no better location than Market Square Park. Located downtown, it is an excellent spot to meet up whether you work, live, or are just visiting the downtown area.
If you want to meet in a place that will allow you a chance to have a few drinks or grab a bite to eat as opposed to just a “meet-and-dash,” here are some suggestions.
Houston’s Market Square Park Official Site
The Deck on Fountainview
Located on Fairdale Lane, The Deck serves up deliciously cold beers on tap and has tasty morsels such as spicy chicken wings and crawfish for the both of you to enjoy before heading off to somewhere more private.
The Official Site of The Deck on Fountainview
Prospect Park Restaurant
Located just off Richmond Avenue on Fountain View Drive, this sports bar Is well suited to meet, have a few drinks, enjoy your burger, talk, and figure out what your mutual chemistry dictates. It is informal enough to keep things casual and large enough not to have to deal with encroaching crowds even at their busiest hour.
Prospect Park Restaurant Official Website
13 Celsius
13 Celsius is an excellent midtown wine bar that is well known for its casual elegance. Stocked with an excellent wine selection as well as more casual options such as beer and tacos, it is a great spot when you are not certain as to the specific tastes of your partner.
The Crisp Wine-Beer-Eatery
Located on Bevis Street, The Crisp Wine-Beer-Eatery is exactly what its name describes. It is a nice casual location that has an excellent wine selection combined with an ample beer menu. Food-wise, they serve everything from pizza to crab bisque. Delicious and well priced, The Crisp makes for a great meeting spot whether you’re only planning to spend a few minutes having some drinks or if you want to talk further and enjoy a bite to eat.
Crisp Wine-Beer Eatery’s Website
—Where to Have Your Casual Encounter in Houston —
Let’s be honest, the purpose of a casual encounter is not going to be to sit down and play checkers. The both of you are going to want to get down and do the nasty.
Normally, this would take place at your place or their’s. However, what if mitigating circumstances were to exist that would make that option unavailable. Maybe there is a roommate issue or your place is too much of a mess. Then again, perhaps you just don’t want a no-strings-attached partner to know where you live.
If for whatever reason you need a place outside of either of your homes to have your casual encounter, Houston offers plenty of alternatives. In the Houston urban area, there are close to 90,000 hotel and motel rooms ranging from 3-star to 5-star properties. If you extend your range to cover the entire metro area of Houston, you will find over 100,000 rooms available.
When such a large inventory of hotel rooms exists in a city, it would be impractical to provide you with specific examples as there are way too many places to choose from. However, what we can offer you is some basic rules of thumb for choosing the best hotel for your casual encounter.
Choose a property that is within your budget.
In Houston, you can find rooms from as low as $39 to more than $1,000 per night.
Keep the hotel close to the both of you.
Remember, when you are keeping things casual you must keep things practical as well. This means choosing a property that is within a comfortable travel distance for the both of you.
Remember the discretion factor.
Casual encounters often require discretion. Maybe you are in a relationship — maybe she is? If either of you needs to keep things on the down low, you must choose a hotel or motel that offers discreet access. Many motels in Houston offer closed parking. Many hotels offer underground parking or have multi-level parking lots built adjacent to the property. These are excellent for keeping your cars away from curious eyes that might recognize you. Avoid properties that have fully exposed parking lots or that require you to pull up directly in front of your room.
Keep your perspective.
Remember, a casual encounter is not a date. It can best be described as a fling. It might be a one-time thing or something that repeats on occasion with the same person. However, it is not a romantic event. This means that there is no need to “impress” your casual partner by paying through the roof for luxurious or romantic settings. A clean and safe motel or a routine corporate-style chain hotel will more than suffice. Of course, if you have the cash and you want to spring for a deluxe suite at the Hotel ZaZa downtown, we are certain that your partner will not mind.
— How to Keep Things Casual —
Nothing ruins a casual encounter than when it stops being casual. We know, that sound oxymoronic, but it happens way too often. To keep that from happening, you should be prepared to confront the issue from the very beginning. Remember, Houstonians are open, friendly, and honest — even when casual encounters are involved. By being upfront from the beginning you will spare yourself unneeded stress or disappointment later.
This means doing your best to start vetting the other person from the moment that you meet them on the hookup platform. Try to stay focused on what you both are seeking — something physical. Avoid straying with your online or in person conversations into areas that are more personal. Give your partner their space.
If you both agreed to keep it a one-night thing, then respect that. No matter how great the sex was, don’t try to make contact with that person again. Likewise, if you agreed to a repeating encounter situation, be prepared to see the person as your “f*ck buddy” —nothing more.
— There You Have It —
There you go, that’s all that there is to be on top in Houston’s casual encounter scene. As you can now plainly deduce on your own, what is key is going where the people are. In this case, that is online hookup sites. By joining some of the sites we highlighted here you will start meeting potential partners from the comfort of your own home at any time of the day or night.
Depending on your personality, availability, and the type of person who you are seeking, the process to experience your first real-world casual encounter with someone who you met online in Houston may be measured in hours or days. As long as you engage frequently on the platform, build out your profile, and add pictures, you will find that the process will flow smoothly. In no time, you will reach the level of success that you have always wanted for yourself when it comes to casual encounters. Now, aren’t you glad to be living in Houston in the internet age?