College dating doesn’t have to be a tinder match straight to Netflix and chill. Living in Chicago comes with so many opportunities to have fun dates and experience more than the endless hook up to ghosting cycle. Consider a chill coffee date followed by a stroll, an easy start to anyone’s beginning of school year love life.

Bourgeois Pig + Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond

You don’t have to hop on the train to have a fun date. If you are looking for a more relaxed first meet up, grab your soon-to-be partner and meet up at Bourgeois Pig for a cute coffee date. Bourgeois Pig, located on Fullerton Avenue, is just a few steps away from DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus. This cafe has an antique row house style with wood floors and crystal chandeliers. Accompanied with a literary-named menu and wide coffee selection, the Bourgeois Pig, or “The Pig,” is a DePaul classic. Try the Great Gatsby Panini and your favorite coffee while finding all the antique toy animals hidden around the cafe, my personal favorite is Edgar the ant-eater.

After you transition out of the awkward first convo, make your 15 minute walk way down to the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond on 125 W Fullerton Pkwy. You still have time to visit this historic Lincoln Park hidden garden before it closes mid-November and take a walk to enjoy the green scenery of Chicago. This pond has a full circle walk with little waterfalls, benches and beautiful architecture but make sure to get there before 5 p.m. when the pond closes. A short and sweet getaway right in the city is the perfect way to get to know if you want that second date.