Being single can be fun. It can also suck.  How YOU feel about being single likely depends on which stage of life you are at.

Here’s a quick and easy way to see if you are ‘relationship ready’… if you agree with these 5 relationship benefits, it may well be time to find your special someone (or have someone do it for you)!:

1. Two is better than one: life can be challenging; having someone you love by your side can make it easier to overcome life’s many obstacles and make it easier to focus on the ‘big picture’.
2. Friend with benefits: successful relationships often have a foundation based on a great friendship. Unlike other friendships, however, a relationship provides friendship AND intimacy.
3. Family values: having kids, let alone raising them, is an effort best done as a team. Single parenting is a normal and accepted part of modern culture, but raising a family with both parents together and in the picture is an advantage in any situation.
4. Focus leads to fulfillment: having someone special in your life (and not worrying about how to fill your social calendar and with whom), can allow you to focus on other areas of your life (career, health, savings, children, etc.) allowing them to prosper.
5. Killing loneliness: no matter how active your single life is, there is ultimately lots of loneliness too. Having someone who cares about you around, through good and bad times, can make life more rich and rewarding.

Vancouver, March 14^th, 2012: Executive Search Dating, the personalized dating service for Vancouver singles and professionals, has great news for local singles: the spring matchmaking season has arrived!

“Matchmakers consider spring to be THE matchmaking season” says Paddi Rice, President and Matchmaker-in-Chief of Executive Search Dating. “With longer, lighter and warmer days, singles naturally begin thinking about getting outdoors and meeting someone new. There is no better time of the year to kick-start your dating life!”

Here are Executive Search Dating’s Top 7 spring dating ideas For Vancouver singles:

1. Patio fever: take advantage of the warmer days and longer nights to grab a drink on an outdoor patio. A classic Vancouver spring tradition.
2. Bike the seawall: nothing beats a bike ride (or roller blade) along Vancouver’s famous seawall. Cap it off with a hot beverage at an English Bay café.
3. Spring skiing: this winter has been unkind to city dwellers, but bountiful for our local mountains! Ski conditions have never been better for any and all types of mountain adventure: downhill or cross country skiing, or snowshoeing.
4. Endearing endowment lands: one of Vancouver’s most underrated activities; cap off a tree lined walk through the endowment lands with a beer at Mahony & Sons Irish Pub on the UBC campus.
5. Ferry me away: take a day trip to a local gulf island or the sunshine coast… pack a picnic and a bottle of wine to complement the great natural scenery.
6. Easter brunch: grab a weekend brunch at any number of the great brunch places in Vancouver… dating pros will tell you – a brunch date is an ideal venue for a first or second date.
7. Stanley Cup fever: with our beloved Canucks poised to make another long run into the NHL playoffs, catch a game and some Vancouver passion at a local sports pub.