6. Karachi vs Lahore: which city has a better dating scene?
KARACHI: The Karachi vs Lahore debate is a favourite pastime for people of both cities. It has led to phrases like: “Jinney Lahore nahi vekhya, oh teh jamya nahi” and “Jitna bara Lahore hai, utna bara toh Karachi main Gulistan-e-Johar Hai”.
You’d be lying if you said you haven’t heard these. But there’s still one aspect no one has really explored in both cities: dating.
We reached out to Arsalan Husain, a student at Lahore University of Management Science (LUMS) to get a sense of his dating experiences in both cities. This is what he told us:
1. The primary difference between Karachi and Lahore, in terms of dating, is how people meet. In Lahore, couples generally meet in groups most of the time with mutual friends and get their significant others acquainted with their larger group of friends. In Karachi, on the other hand, it’s different. Couples prefer one-on-one interactions and prefer to keep their dating lives private.
2. There are more gender specific schools in Lahore, either boys only or girls only. Hence, parents are not generally comfortable with friends of the opposite gender coming over to their house. Couples in the city tend to meet outdoors usually at events, concerts, friend meetups or parties. Since Karachi has more co-education schools, there are more combined study sessions and hangouts happening at home.
3. Couples in Lahore also prefer to meet at night. Like late night. There is a lot of sneaking out involved while in Karachi, the security situation of the city is such that couples refrain from sneaking out of their homes beyond midnight. They’d rather go to a house party together if they want to meet late at night or do lunch or grab coffee during the day instead.
4. Another major difference in the dating scene in both cities is the nature of the relationship itself. People of Lahore more fun loving, friendly and adventurous while people of Karachi are more laid-back, reserved and enjoy intellectual conversations. Hence, Lahori couples prefer to do something new every day or every other day so as to avoid serious talk about the relationship. While Karachiites are on the opposite end. They believe that open communication in a relationship is the only way forward. And this is the exact reason why I believe Karachi relationships last longer than Lahori relationships.
Read: Questions you’re tired of answering if you’re a Punjabi living in Karachi
5. For people of Karachi, their life’s motto is “to each their own,” while in Lahore, it’s “your business is my business”. It’s due to this difference that a couple in Lahore is constantly wary of who is watching them. They’re constantly on the edge of their parents finding out as word gets around. In Karachi, the dating scene is more open. Obviously, there’s still that fear for people who come from conservative homes but generally couples are more chill and don’t really worry about who is watching because mostly no one really is. Everyone is minding their own business.
What are your thoughts?
This story is part of a series, Young Love, which is updated weekly.
