Never has someone my age or younger thought it was in any way appropriate to call me 'dear' or 'precious' or 'love' or 'oh my, you are clever!'. Happens all the time with older men (60's and up if I were to guess) and if you aren't one of them then I really appreciate it.
Having said that it is fairly common for the British to call me, as a complete stranger, 'love'. While it might be cultural I don't know if there is an equivalent for women to men?
