Forget the apps: SC singles say these 5 spots are best for meeting people

Dating apps are exhausting. The downtown bar circuit is expensive. And somewhere between your third overpriced cocktail on Main Street and your fifth ghosted match, you’ve probably wondered if there’s a better way to meet someone in real life.

Turns out, there might be — and according to South Carolina singles, the answer involves mini golf, a fishing pier and, yes, a gas station full of beaver merchandise.

A new study from Ace.com polled 3,024 respondents across the country to figure out where romance is most likely to strike when nobody’s actively looking for it. The premise: meeting someone naturally in person feels increasingly impossible, and rising prices mean every bar hangout is putting a dent in your budget.

“When people think about romance, they usually picture candlelit dinners or nights out, but our findings suggest the odds of meeting someone special may be just as strong in the places people least expect,” a spokesperson at ACE.com said in a news release.

So if you’re tired of swiping and tired of spending $18 on a vodka soda just to make small talk with someone whose name you’ll forget by Sunday, here’s where SC singles say you should actually be hanging out.

1. A Myrtle Beach mini golf course

If you’ve ever been to Myrtle Beach, you know mini golf is serious business. There are more than 50 courses to choose from, each one somehow more elaborate than the last — pirate ships, dinosaurs, waterfalls, the works.

But here’s why it works for meeting people: the oversized decorations, warm air and goofy environment lower everyone’s guard. Nobody’s trying to look cool while attempting to putt a glowing pink ball through a windmill. Awkwardness disappears, which makes real conversation easier.

Road trip move: grab a few friends, drive down for the day and putt your way into someone’s life. Way cheaper than another night at the same Five Points bar.

2. The Folly Beach Pier

The ocean already brings romantic energy. The Folly Beach Pier turns it up.

People are fishing, strolling, snapping photos, watching the waves and pretending the wind isn’t doing something tragic to their hair. According to the study, it’s scenic without feeling staged, social without being intense and full of easy conversation openings.

Translation for the dating-app-fatigued: you don’t have to engineer a meet-cute. You can just exist on a pier, comment on someone’s catch or a particularly aggressive seagull, and let things happen.

If something does spark, the ocean gets partial credit.

3. Charleston City Market basket aisle

Charleston City Market is already one of the best spots in the city to meet new people. But respondents say the basket aisle is the real charm zone.

People drift past sweetgrass baskets, souvenirs, art, snacks and things they absolutely cannot fit in a carry-on. A spark can start between two people over their mutual love for handmade baskets — or, more realistically, their mutual need for air conditioning.

Make it a weekend trip from Columbia: under two hours away, low-pressure browsing, and you’re already in one of the most walkable cities in the South for whatever happens next.

4. The Greenville Swamp Rabbit Trail

Greenville has plenty of bars and restaurants for playing eye-tag with a stranger. But respondents think a nature trail actually beats them for meet-cute potential.

The Greenville Health Swamp Rabbit Trail is described as perfect accidental-romance territory because everyone is moving just slowly enough to be approachable. Walkers, cyclists, coffee-holders, dog people and weekend wanderers all cross paths in that casual, outdoorsy way that makes conversation feel normal.

You’re not stuck across a table trying to think of a follow-up question. You’re walking, you’re outside, and if it’s awkward, somebody can just keep walking. Genuinely the lowest-pressure date format that exists.

5. Buc-ee’s

Yes. Buc-ee’s. The gas station.

Florence’s lone South Carolina location of the nationwide phenomenon gathers thousands of visitors a day and gets even busier in summer. It’s filled with delicious food, beaver-themed merchandise and a cheerful atmosphere that, apparently, fosters romance.

The premise, per the study: if two strangers can bond over fudge and the shared realization that they’ve been inside for 28 minutes, a gas station may be the key to romance.

Honestly? Send this one to your group chat. Plan a half-ironic road trip up I-95. Take photos with the beaver. Try the brisket. If you accidentally meet someone in the jerky aisle, that’s a story you get to tell forever.

The through line across all five spots: low pressure, no dress code and nobody is performing. You’re just out doing something — putting, walking, browsing baskets, hovering near a wall of fudge — and other people are doing the same thing. The bar tab is optional. The meet-cute is possible.

Worth a try. Your phone could use the break.