I know we all wish to have a burst of inspiration for a romantic date idea for a first date but my dating advice for men and women would be to choose somewhere that’s familiar ground.

Sorry about the misleading title but this isn’t one of those “reality shows” where you are swept off your feet in a helicopter ride. After all, what if you get motion sickness? This is your reality and these romantic date ideas really don’t go according to plan if you don’t plan.

Making a good first impression is hard enough as it is. You don’t want your first date to be memorable because of what went wrong. Pardon the pun, but it’s the KISS factor here: keep it simple, stupid.

The traditional dinner and a movie is always a safe bet. Pick a restaurant where either the man or the woman is familiar with the eatery. Trying to order foreign food when you don’t know the dish or how to pronounce the menu items can be an adventure you might not necessarily want as a first date. Leave the dining adventure for another date and concentrate on having good conversations with your partner instead.

Some good conversation starters are to share past vacations and where you’d like to go in the future. Ask your date about their family. On the flip side, be prepared to share a funny but not too embarrassing story of your childhood. It will help lighten the mood and put you in an adorable new light. Ask about hobbies and what your date likes to do in their spare time. If your first date is going well, casually say, “I’d like to try that some time”. This leaves an opening for a second romantic date idea.

My dating advice for men and dating advice for women for the first date conversation is the same. Have a list of ten topics to discuss. Don’t just concentrate on the questions that you are going to ask, but spend some time on how you’d answer the questions. After all, a conversation is not just one way and often times; good conversation will expand onto new subjects.

Conversely, if the first date is not going well then there is always the follow up movie to the rescue. I wouldn’t recommend stopping the date short as unless the date did something really offensive. Give the date the benefit of the doubt and at least finish out the date. Perhaps it was just first date jitters and the movie will generate discussion points afterwards.

So those are my dating tips for a romantic first date. The point is to get comfortable and get to know each other. Romantic date ideas are really not about where you are but rather who you are with.