This Just In: America’s Best (and Worst) Cities for Dating

Best Cities for Dating
1. Austin, TX
2. Colorado Springs, CO
3. San Diego, CA
4. Raleigh/Durham, NC
5. Seattle, WA
6. Charleston, SC
7. Norfolk, VA
8. Ann Arbor, MI
9. Springfield, MA
10. Honolulu, HI

Worst Cities for Dating
1. Kansas City, MO
2. Wichita, KS
3. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
4. Detroit, MI
5. Louisville, KY
6. Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
7. Atlanta, GA
8. Pittsburgh, PA
9. Houston, TX
10. Charlotte, NC

Interesting Facts from the Top Ten
“Large cities that everyone associates with socializing, like Los Angeles and Miami, did not rank particularly high, scoring lower in categories like coffee shops per capita and flowers bought as gifts,” said Bert Sperling, president of Sperling’s BestPlaces.

“But cities like Austin (No. 1), Colorado Springs (No. 2) and Ann Arbor (No. 8) were not a complete surprise – they are heavy-populated college towns and it’s easy for young singles to get together.”

1. Austin, TX: Taking home the grand prize, Austin scores relatively high in everything, from frequency of dating partners to the number of establishments to meet people. Austin also has the highest percentage of 18-24-year-olds and knows how to have fun as they spent more money out socializing than any other area. Austin residents also had the highest expenditures on alcohol purchased away from home.

2. Colorado Springs, CO: Ranks in the 99th percentile for socializing at bars and also scores high in the dining out category

3. San Diego, CA: Scores high in the diversity index, which rates the likelihood of randomly meeting someone of a different race or ethnicity, and, of course, San Diego is off the charts when it comes to outdoor recreational opportunities

4. Raleigh Durham, NC: Has a large 18-24-year-old population and a high amount of online daters in the area

5. Seattle, WA: No surprise here - Seattle has the largest amount of coffee shops (great places for meeting people or gathering to rehash the previous night’s activities). It also has the highest percentage of online daters.

6. Charleston, SC: Ranks second in the amount of lingerie shops per capita (behind Columbia, SC)

7. Norfolk, VA: Came in near the top due to the exceptional amount of flowers that were brought as gifts for a special someone. Online dating was also high, in the 83rd percentile.

8. Ann Arbor, MI: Scores in the 98th percentile for percentage of singles and ranks high in the dining out category as well

9. Springfield, MA: Springfield scores high in many categories, among them are percentage of singles, health clubs per capita and bars per capita in the area

10. Honolulu, HI: Honolulu ranks first in the diversity index category, which rates the likelihood of randomly meeting someone of a different race or ethnicity, and scores the highest in the dining out category as well. Honolulu has the lowest number of lingerie shops per capita, probably because no one’s wearing much clothing to begin with.

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A special thanks to J$ for providing me with these statistics. In case you were curious San Francisco ranked #38 and was closely followed by San Jose at #39. Surprisingly (to me at least) Oakland beat them both coming in at #19. I guess I need to cross the Bay Bridge more often ...

In other news, I'm dating again. Watch out world!

Happy Inauguration Day!

"Obama's cause is all about the future. I think that's why everyone's so excited right now," Schoen said. "It's like we can do anything. Look what we just did -- the people. The people did this. Not the politicians -- we did it."

I wish I could be there!

Choices, Choices...

In the spirit of dating, casual or otherwise, I present to you a hilarious and accurate photo that perfectly depicts one of the great mysteries of the universe:

"What goes through your mind when someone asks you to go for a drink?"


Thank god for options... Am I right ladies and gents?

TGIF

Ode to the Nice Guys

This was stolen from I forget where. I liked it so I'm sharing. Enjoy!

Ode to the Nice Guys
This rant was written for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl's every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they're at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don't end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn't worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you'd ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn't have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing "serious" between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: "oh, but we're just friends!" And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you're nice like that.

The nice guys don't often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don't seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can't. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as "oh, he's too nice to date" or "he would be a good boyfriend but he's not for me" or "he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn't possibly ask him out!" or the most frustrating of all: "no, it would ruin our friendship." Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can't figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I'm going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn't last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you're sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

Baby Steps

As predicted, there have been some big changes so far in 2009. A shout out and BIG congratulations to my good friend's Jess and Tyler who both got engaged in the first two days of the new year (not to each other). Looks like I'm going to be going to a lot of weddings in the next few years!

As for me, I'm still single and so far in 2009 I have been mostly a useless waste of space. I partly blame our 12 months of free ShowTime from DirectTV and my beautiful new MacBook. But, the good news is that I've already made some progress on the resolutions

#1 Get Organized - I cleaned my room. It looks beautiful, yet still needs a lot of work. I am getting rid of lots of clothes and unloading the useless crap. Getting organized feels sooooo good.

#4 Get Healthy - last night I formulated a weekly beginner workout plan that is stick-to-able.

100 Crunches a day
120 minutes of Cardio a week (4 - 30 minute sessions)
2 personal training sessions a week

I think I can stick to that!

#3 Get Adventurous - This is the exciting one! I am going to Hong Kong and Shanghai for a week in March. I can't wait! Also, me and the roomie are starting to actually plan our big adventure trip for 2009. We're taking location advice because we can't make up our minds...anyone?

Next up is a weekend in Tahoe. Stay tuned for photos and lets pray for no broken bones!

Fresh Start!

I can't believe it's 2009. A new year means a fresh start and I'm a fan of new beginnings. In the spirit of the new year here are my resolutions so far..

Some General Resolutions:

1. Get Organized ... enough of this mess.
2. Get Promoted ... it's about damn time.
3. Get Adventurous ... I want to take more chances and try more new things, and Asia here we come!
4. Get Healthy ... I know it's cliche, but it's so important.

Some Specific Resolutions:

1. Cut WAY back on the coffee intake
2. More of #2
3. Actually make it to Vegas
4. Finish my photo collage frame

With the Second Annual Roommate South Lake Tahoe Weekend Bonanza coming up next weekend I'm sure more ideas will formulate and the year will come full circle. Let's just hope the roomie doesn't break anything but hearts this time.

Also, assuming I don't have a panic attack and wuss out in the next 5 hours, I am making a huge change to my appearance today. Wish me luck!