First date flutters come at a hefty cost for Londoners
If you were planning on going on a hot first date this weekend, you might want to count your pennies first.
New research has revealed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that London is the most expensive city in the UK to go on a first date.
While prospective lovers in Bristol will spend £43 on the crucial first night out and those in Liverpool will spend £60, first date flutters will cost Londoners £70, according to figures from mobile payments provider Paym.
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The cost of a first date in Liverpool, which was the second most expensive in the UK, was a few pounds above third place Norwich (£56) and Edinburgh (£55), while Cardiff rounded out the top five at £48.
In contrast, daters in Birmingham spend the least on a first date, coughing up only £41 – saving £11 compared to the £52 national average.
It would appear young love also comes with a hefty price tag, as 18- to 34-year-olds splash out the most on a first date, spending £63 on average.
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When it comes to the potentially loaded question of who pays, almost seven in 10 men (69 per cent) expect to cover the costs in full, compared to just three per cent of women. When asked how much they would spend on a first date, men expect to pay £23 more on the first date (£64, compared to £41).
The majority (61 per cent) of those polled prefer to pay their way in full or split the cost of the date 50/50, with one in 10 expecting the other person to pay.