Perusing the FL forums since I expect to be traveling to S Florida in a month or two….

I think these are all reasonable approaches, although I would think that if a guy is going to go to the trouble meeting with you he’s likely serious about a date. If you turn him down because you don’t feel comfortable, having him pay a fee (he should at least be paying for the drinks, if he’s any sort of gentlemen) seems like adding insult to injury.

Another alternative is having the guy PM you from a site like this one (don’t know the established sites in your state; oh2 and Eccie are the main ones here in Texas). You can then check him out through his posting history and by making inquiries in the ladies-only areas. I think more women do this than the “meet in person” option…although a long-retired ATF of mine made that a practice for ALL her potential new clients (only it was meeting for coffee near her home.

Frankly, if a guy doesn’t have P411, can’t come up with at least one (or two, which is a common ask in TX) quality references, and has no history on any board…do you really want to rely on a face to face meeting as your primary screening tool?