Hoosier in Hollywood: Toughest Town for Singles

Ello Poppet!

Quick Update: So its been 6ish days without candy, chocolate, sweets, AND OREOS of any kind. It sucks, but I'm staying strong. I have to go at least a week!

Living in a big city makes it easy to feel lonely. You are one small person in such a huge place. It can be over whelming. When I first moved here I probably went about 5-6 months without any human contact of any kind. Sometimes you just need a hug. I've even forgotten how ticklish I am (it's ridiculous).

It's been a big change going from Bloomington, IN where you are squished into a town with 40,000 other people your age. Half of those being guys (and mostly attractive ones, I might add) to a huge city with 4356840684 cultures and age groups. I find it very hard to meet people around my age, especially guys. I think dating in Los Angeles is difficult. So I started doing some research to see if there was any evidence to support my dilemma.

I found an awesome article written by Dr. Ali Binazir (Sounds legit) that points out things that are SO true about dating in LA. He finds Los Angeles to be the toughest city in the country to be single in.

These are the reasons why:

1. The sex ratio (# of Men for every 100 Women) SUCKS!

"In places where the sex ratio is low (i.e. excess of women over men), social mores are relaxed, women go out a lot, and everyone has a ball. Where the sex ratio is high (i.e. excess of men), people go out less and attitudes are more conservative. No one knows exactly why this is, but it makes sense."

Apparently New York has a surplus of 211,000 women over single men (according to the 2006 US Census) while Los Angles has 89,000 more single men than women. Where are all these men hiding!?

"Accordingly, dating in New York City is fun, while dating in Los Angeles sucks. This statistic alone may be the single biggest cause of the lackluster love lives of singles in LA."

2. Commuting distance

Everyone knows the traffic sucks in LA. Imagine you met some awesome guy who lives in "Silver Lake" (hipster guy I assume), but you live in Culver City. That's the worst 20 mile commute ever.

"It’s 20 miles through one of the most car-jammed concrete jungles on the planet, with no efficient public transport to speak of. And your helicopter’s in the shop. Again."

The commute in New York is comparable, but the public transportation is much better. So people are much more likely to meet up.

3. Less Pedestrian interaction
Who do you know walks to work in Los Angeles? Go ahead, I'll wait.

"Whenever I visit Boston, New York or London, I bump into friends – on the sidewalk, on the subway, in the parks. This casual, unforced, unpremeditated contact is the cornerstone of building social relations. That’s why our closest friends tend to come from work and school. "

Everyone is constantly stuck driving in their cars (with road rage). You have to make efficient effort to coordinate busy schedules and travel (see #2). People get tired of using so much energy just to plan a date, they would rather just chill on the couch at home (or go out with friends that live near by).

4. People flake out due to travel challenges.
WHY THE HELL IS THERE TRAFFIC AT 2AM!? Oh, yeah...It's LA.

"Traffic in LA is unpredictable; as a result, even the best-intentioned people end up being late more often than they wish. Showing up late, not showing up at all and breaking promises can then become the norm. When that happens enough times to enough people, you end up in a legendarily flaky city, and social and dating life encounter more obstacles."

5. The temporary and unreliable atmosphere of the Entertainment Culture
Millions of people (like me) move to Los Angles to pursue a career in the Entertainment Industry. It's not easy!

"A peculiar energy permeates a town when so many people are trying to advance an ego-based agenda – my role, my song, my script – which may not be the most conducive energy for building meaningful, lasting relationships. Bringing us to…"

6. Dating people in the Entertainment Industry brings unique challenges
Haha...

"Dating people with uncertain finances, erratic schedules and fragile egos is a challenge requiring saintlier patience than most people possess."

I can't hate on Entertainment industry people, because...well, I am one. Yes, I see where Dr. Binazir is coming from, which is why I see myself dating another person in the industry because they will understand how it all works. We are incredibly busy and have to put all our blood, sweat, and tears into our jobs. I'd just like to date someone that works at a different company, preferably in a different field as me. That way we are never in competition with each other for the same job.

Last, but not least.

7. The Los Angeles night life is a joke.
I don't know about you, but I stayed out until the bars closed at 4am in Bloomington. I was SHOCKED that Los Angeles bars close at like...2am. Meaning last call is at 1:50am. Dude, that's like when you just get to Kilroy Sports Bar.

"Lack of public transport also means that people stay sober enough to drive back home. As a result, the social lubricant effects of alcohol don't operate in the same way as in a city with public transport. Mathematically stated, less party time + less imbibing of adult beverages = less fun. This, plus the other six aforementioned factors, may very well make LA the toughest big city in the US to be single in."

How much is a membership for Match.com again?