Same faces, same stories: The struggles of dating in Nakuru

There are various schools of thought about whether dating in a small town is a dream come true or a recipe for romance drama yet, while it could go either way, I’m firmly placing my bets on the latter. 

Having had the privilege of dating in a much bigger town like Nairobi it’s safe to say that Nakuru’s dating scene isn’t exactly the setting I would recommend.

Firstly, in Nakuru, everyone knows everyone. It doesn’t matter if you venture outside your professional circle chances are someone in your world knows them, knows their exes (by name), knows what they do, and yet surprisingly they might not even be friends.

Huku ni kama tunafanya exchange program, everyone knows everyone in some way or another. Plus, the "dating pool" is much, much smaller.

Oh, hold my glass because I am just getting started.

When it comes to Sunday or holiday dates? Absolutely the worst. These are “family day out” moments. Once, I was out for some Nyama Choma with a guy when we ran into a colleague.

By Monday, that colleague was gawking in the common office, jokingly spilling the latest about my “taste in suitors.”

Now, onto breakups... sips tea dramatically ... escaping post-breakup in Nakuru is nearly impossible. There’s always a chance I'll run into him or his friends, and to make everything worse, everyone knows you were together, so every question is why you broke up. 

Words (rumors) seem to get around quickly and it seems you are always bumping into or seeing people you have dated when you head out.

Contrast this with bigger cities, where once it's over, you can disappear into anonymity once the lines are cut. No awkward run-ins, no unsolicited questions.

Let me tell you, Maina, to date in Nakuru, you have to channel your inner creative genius.

There’s a limited number of restaurants, no theaters, and the few “date spots” available are so overused they have started debriefing each other.

Having a one-night stand can easily make you the town gossip after.

Here, there's a lot less to do, obviously. I think this makes things move a lot quicker and get serious faster. There's less of a "dating around" scene and more settling down with the first frog you kiss.