My advice is join some sort of club like a cycling or sailing club. You're going to meet cool people of both sexes, make new friends, get invited to parties and events, and even get in shape. My experience doing this is that even if there are not cool eligible bachelors in the club itself, one of the members is gonna have some cool guy friends who you will eventually get introduced to. Plus the dating thing is obvious, you'll be doing whatever fun activity it is, and not have to worry about trying to make small talk.
Meet a guy in a bar, your chances are good that he is a player, spends too much time there, and possibly has a drinking problem.
Meet a guy through a club, you already know that he can commit to something, has a hobby, and enough expendable income and time to pursue it.