All that stuff depends entirely on What You Want, anyways. Any fool can go out and Get Laid. But if you want someone who you can play robots and discuss manga with, you're just gonna need to live your life. It takes MORE effort to get a quick short-term ultimately disappointing thrill, IMO.
Just as a point of contention, (in contrast to me generally agreeing with this thread, despite it being way the heck off topic), it is easier to get into a short-term, and generally non-rewarding, thing than a good long-term one.
I could blunder into any number of relationships that I would be utterly miserable in. That is easy. I know one guy who made that his business model until one blew up in his face so disasterously that he finally learned. (And, I doubt he will forget his folly, at least for 18 years.)
The problem with finding someone with common interests, if you define "interests" as "TFs and related/simiiar topics", is that the hobby is very solitary. Yeah, group toy-hunts and conventions and forums are social, but at the end of the day, toys can be, and often are, enjoyed alone. The trick is to expand interests. (I am pretty sure O6's successes have more to do with his band than with his toys.)
A hobby based on consumption is not as attractive as a hobby based on buiding.
I also have what I like to call the "that guy" look. (I actually took a series of pictures playing to this for my blog, but the file got lost.) Despite looking like "that guy", especially when I am in a trench-coat, I have had girls hit on me. Confidence, or at least the perception of it, is a big part of that. The last few years have completely destroyed me, and my confidence. So, I have fewer prospects. But, even then, there have been some girls that have "hit on me". The problem is partly age. (The younger they are, the more wary I am. Legality is not an issue, but there are moral and practical considerations partly relating to the "easier to find trouble that Gomess seems to think" point above.)
The confidence issue is double-edged. Not only does it influence how others will see you, (including through things like body-language and even pheremones), but how you see others approaching you. It is entirely possible that you are *missing* signals because you are in such a funk. (Working in adult ed, I have had to train myself to *completely* ignore signals, even from prospects I would find legitimately attractive.) In other words, girls may be hitting on you and you may be missing it.
Where/when are you at your best, and how can you mix that with meeting girls that you can get what you want from? (If you want a one nighter, be honest about it. If you want a long-term thing, focus on that.)
You could have a complete and utter basket case practically doing "fuck-me" bows, (the technical term is "presenting"), for you. Now, that may not do much for your confidence at first, (and you might not even notice if she does not appeal to you). Why would you want that, right? But, ask yourself what made you attractive, (on some levels), to her, and how you can leverage that with a more appealling prospect? The last girl to show real interest in me, (in my currenty deflated state), was 10+ years my junior. Needless to say, I did not return the attention. (I was nice, but did not return signals.) I figure she was attracted to the fact I am a nice guy, and have definite plans, if not great success at the moment.
Dom
-agrees that "hitting the town" would be...interesting.