LONDON — Dating in a big city like London can be hard.
Whether it's the pace at which people come and go or the city's overwhelming size that gets to you, it can feel hard to meet someone you connect with — and even more difficult to make it last.
However, some people seem to have the whole thing figured out.
Dating app Happn, which launched in the UK in May 2014, allows people to see who they have crossed paths with in real life.
If two people on the platform — which has nearly 30 million users around the world — "like" each other by tapping a heart on the other user's profile, then they can start messaging each other.
With 1.7 million people using the app in the UK, 800,000 of whom live in London, Happn's users certainly know the ins and outs of dating in the city.
Business Insider teamed up with Happn to find out who the most "liked" users are — and to ask them what they owe their dating success to.
Out of over a million single candidates, these are the 18 men and women who came out on top, ranked in ascending order of popularity.
18. Graham Alexander, 32.
Job: Strategy Consultant.
Hometown: London.
Perfect first date:"An art exhibition, a quirky brunch place — for me a first date has to be somewhere we haven't been before, so if we don't connect, at least we've explored."
Dream vacation:"Horse riding to the Eagle Festival in Mongolia, or across Lake Baikal."
Song of the moment:"Why Me"— Big Bad Voodoo Daddies.
Dream dinner guest:"Stephen Dubner (of Freakonomics fame)."
Book of the moment:"Geography of Thought"— Richard Nisbett.
17. James Valori, 31.
Job: Founder and CEO at Brix Learning.
Hometown: London.
Dream vacation: "Heli-skiing in Alaska."
Surprising fact:"I’m terrified of tomato ketchup."
Favourite food:"Parmagiana Melanzana."
Perfect first date:"A sunny walk down the Thames from Vauxhall to the Tate Modern."
Dream dinner guest: Richard Linklater.
16. Maryann Noronha, 36.
Job: Emergency Doctor.
Hometown: Reading.
Perfect first date: "Something quirky and original. Just had one at a Sea Shanty Festival, which was amazing. Always drinks."
Dream dinner guest: Glenda Jackson.
Surprising fact: "I'd love to own a plane."
Book of the moment:"Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights" by Salman Rushdie.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider