It's Official, New York City Is The Worst City In The Country For Finding Love
I dole out superlatives with reckless abandon. "That's the WORST taco I've ever had." (The filling-to-tortilla ratio was slightly off.) "I had the BEST shower this morning." (This hotel has a shower head with water pressure.) "New York is the BEST city in world!" (Well, it is, but also rats and winter and rent.) As one who has been dating and dwelling in New York for the past seven years, I'm inclined to say that New York is the WORST city for dating.
In my time in New York, I've had zero successful relationships, two major heartbreaks, and now accept the f*ckboy mentality as the rule, not the exception. However, anecdotal evidence is not statistical evidence, so don't listen to me. When it comes to dating, what actually makes a city the "worst" or the "best," and how can that be quantified?
While I assume that New York has a high rate of cheating, ghosting, and hopeless souls, I didn't have the data to prove it until now. Lucky for me, Time Out's City Life Index survey results for 2018 are out, and the 15,000 people from 32 Time Out cities who were polled were asked quite a few questions about dating. They made it official: New York is, in fact, the very worst American city to date in. Here's why.
Here is the statistical evidence that proves that New York is, in fact, the very worst American city to date in.
New Yorkers Cheat The Most
Super chill, New York. Apparently, we really are the worst. A whopping 32 percent of New Yorkers admit to cheating, which makes those of us living in the five boroughs the most likely to cheat of all of the cities polled, according to Time Out's results. And that's only those of us willing to admit to cheating. Woof.
New Yorkers Ghost The Most (Well, Almost)
According to the results of the survey, 46 percent of New York respondents have ghosted someone, which makes New York second only to D.C. when it comes to this frustrating practice. Of course, what exactly constitutes ghosting is always up for debate, but chances are that if respondents are admitting to pulling a Casper, they probably did so pretty concretely.
New Yorkers Are Generally Hopeless About Finding Love
With cheaters and ghosters galore, no wonder less than one in five New Yorkers say they have high hopes for finding love in the city. This statistic "makes NYC the most pessimistic daters in the country," according to Time Out. Meanwhile, "forty-five percent of Chicagoans think it’s fairly easy to find love." It's colder in Chicago, so the grumpy vibes due to weather can't be to blame. Are we just too busy, or are we just a bunch of sociopaths running around on a bunch of little islands who feel it is their civic duty to be curmudgeons? Either way, I am definitely in agreement with the majority: Love feels elusive in New York.
However, if you're just looking for some sex and human connection, New York is an excellent place to be. It turns out that we have a pretty healthy attitude about getting it on. About a third of New Yorkers are single, and 43 percent say it's easy to have sex in NYC, so if you can't find love and partnership, at least you can find an orgasm pretty easily. New Yorkers are also openminded about doing it, with 64 percent sharing that they've had a one-night stand.
Since I have never been a one-night stand type of lady, and I feel ready for some true love, it looks like I'll be moving to Chicago. Just kidding, I've never moved for love, only for my career. This fact alone makes me a great fit for New York, the worst city for dating.
