A special report on Forbes.com ranks the best U.S. cities for singles, and surprisingly, Grand Rapids does not make the top forty (yes--I'm being sarcastic). Some truly surprising statistics are included in the article, though. Singles in America make up 41 percent of adults age 18 and over. Also surprising: according to the report, most Americans can expect to spend fully half their lives unmarried.
So what factors shaped the selection of the forty best cities for singles? Forbes.com looked at the largest urbanized areas in the country and judged them on culture, nightlife, job growth, the cost of living alone, online dating, the number of other singles, and, what Forbes describes as an elusive quality, cool.
Of course the article explains that singles are no longer just those people who are somewhere between adolescence and marriage. Singles in America are a widely diverse group, ranging from those living with members of the opposite sex to those becoming single mothers by choice (and why any woman would choose to become a single mother will forever remain a mystery to this mother who had single motherness thrust upon her).
Once you understand the methodology the researchers used, it becomes obvious why Grand Rapids did not make the top forty. Here's how it worked:
*Coolness: Researchers asked adults from across the U.S., "Among the following U.S. cities, which one do you think is coolest?" NYC comes to mind for me, Chicago--but let's be honest. Grand Rapids and "cool" just don't go together, unless you're talking about the weather in May.
*Cost of Living Alone: This index was determined by the average cost of a metro area's apartment rent, a Pizza Hut pizza, a movie ticket, and a six-pack of Heineken. Entry-level salary data was also factored in. Interesting... If I lived in New York or Chicago, I probably wouldn't eat Pizza Hut pizza because there would be better options. Of course the six-pack of Heineken would be quite appropriate here in Grand Rapids.
*Culture: Determined by the number of museums, pro sports teams, and live theater and concert venues, as well as the university population. This speaks for itself.
*Job Growth: Determined by the projected percentage of job growth over the next five years for each metro.
*Online Dating: Determined by the number of active profiles in each city listed on dating site Yahoo! Personals. Speaking, unfortunately, from very definitely past personal experience, I've never checked Yahoo! Personals, but other sites don't seem to offer many Grand Rapids options.
*Nightlife: Based on the number of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs per capita. Fairly irrelevant category to the single parent with children at home.
*Singles: Based on the percentage of a metro's population above the age of 15 that has never been married.
And the top ten? San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, San Diego, Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Philadelphia.
In spite of the odds against me, however, this single girl has found Grand Rapids to be a most satisfactory location for singleness, probably because I'm having the most amazing dating experience of my life. And so for me, San Francisco, New York, or Chicago have nothing to offer in comparison to the elusive cool I've found right here in Cutlerville. And, to quote one of my favorite single parents, Forrest Gump, "That's all I'm going to say about that."
3 comments:
Oh Annette, You would probably not meet as fine a man in San Fran as you did in GR.
No, Julia, for me there are no finer men. I guess God can do His work anywhere He pleases, even if it's not in the top forty cities :).
You're right about that!
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