Los Angeles worst city for dating, WHY? (purchase, to live in)

[avalon2k41]

Why does LA have the reputation for being the worst place for singles? There are plenty of singles that live there, probably more singles than married couples. There seems to be a thriving nightlife, so what is the problem?

[JohnHAdams]

Maybe you see what you want to see but I thought both LA and NYC was kind of hostile.

[avalon2k41]

Interesting, it is always weird how some areas have more to offer than others. Since you hear so many things about California. So where you live guys under 30 meet women left and right, what happens to the guys over 30? The reason I ask is your 30s are still young and not even middle aged. They are your prime years most people say. California seems vastly different in certain areas from others, I dont think there is any state quite like it.

[JohnG72]

People are afraid to approach each other. That, and there are large pockets of LA where there is a huge imbalance of sexes. For instance where I used to live in Valley Glen, there are TONS of single men, mostly Armenian but some caucasian and latino. But no single women, particularly without kids. I lived there 4 years and I think I approached maybe 3 women in that area.

OTOH, where I live downtown currently, there are way more women than men. Every straight guy under 30 years old that I've met in my building has a constant stream of young women in their place. Just going to the Ralphs on 9th near Flower, the ratio of women to men is around 3:1. That was also the experience I had in the Studio City area as well.

Another thing I found is that if you are normal looking, have a good job/career(nothing exceptional, just be educated and make at least $55K a year or so), and are not a wierdo/creep, eharmony is a treasure chest for guys in their 30's and 40's, at least as far as LA goes. I actually had to shut off my matches after just 3 weeks because I was dating too much. The same goes for OC, except that the gold digger factor there is MUCH higher than in LA.

A lot of the people that bemoan the LA dating scene are broke, either financially or emotionally. Financially goes without saying..dudes that want what they are not willing to work for. Emotionally broke....I dunno, but I think LA just attracts a lot of messed up people. Kinda like how on city data you see so many people wanna move here to start life over. Well, LOL, a lot of them do make it out here...........

[smokingGun]

I think it has to do with the huge commutes a lot of ppl face. When it takes an hour and a half in rush-hour traffic to make it out to Hollywood from the Westside, you're going to ask yourself if it's really worth it.

[415_s2k]

Not true.

Los Angeles is a great city - maybe the best in the US - for dating.

It is a bad town if you want to find a long-term, committed relationship that may lead to marriage someday.

I never had a problem getting dates, getting laid, having fun. Ever. I dated lots of women in LA, and was never really want for company... but it's commitmentphobe central.

[uptown_urbanist]

Who says it's a bad city for dating? Granted, I moved to LA after marriage, but it didn't seem any better or worse than any other place.

[soon2bela]

LA is awesome for a single guy aged 25-45. My friends and I fall into the very bottom of the age range. Granted I am not there yet, but when I have been, it's been a steady stream of conversation. I'm definitely not a great looking person (nor are my friends Bratt Pittesq), but in LA, I've noticed women tend to date down a level. What I mean by this is if the same beautiful girl in LA went to Chicago, I wouldn't have a chance there.

Women tend to bemoan the dating scene more than men. Studies show there are more single men than women in LA, but I think that is incorrect because it takes into account gay men, which are far more numerous than the lesbian population. I think women are more predisposed to looking for marriage because society tells them they have to get married, where its socially acceptable for a guy not to be married until later in life.

On that note, I noticed people in LA tend not to get married until much later, even by Chicago standards. I guess there's no real motivating factor since many of the women have good jobs (some seem to make a lot more than the guys they date) and the costs of raising a family is so expensive (to purchase a house). Plus, who wants to give up the nightlife and the scene?---not that this is a factor for everyone.

[readymade]

I LOVED dating in LA!!

I always thought I was a terrible dater. Guys never really seemed to be into me. No one really flirted with me. I went on a few terrible dates and ended up getting married too young to a very undemonstrative guy. Turns out, it wasn't me... it was because I was trying to date in Boston. Truly the worst city for dating.

Then I moved to LA and a few years after that I got a divorce. One of the reasons I was with my ex for so long was because I was TERRIFIED to date in LA. I'd heard the horror stories about trying to date in LA in your 30s.

I ended up having a blast! Guys here were so much nicer than back in Boston. They paid me COMPLIMENTS! Heck, they paid for dinner (Lots of guys in Boston would say "Sure!" when I offered to pay half. On a first date. Not a deal breaker for me, but I have to say, it was nice to be wined & dined). They asked me out on REAL dates (instead of "A bunch of us are going to see a band on Friday... wanna come?"). They flirted with me! They called me right away after giving them my phone number. Cute guys!! I was seriously blown away.

I met the love of my life here (my husband) who, on our first date, showed up with flowers. FLOWERS! And he'd made a reservation at a restaurant that he'd picked out. I was very impressed, hee hee. He was (is) brilliant, funny, handsome, romantic (even after 7 years together), and apparently thinks I'm amazing! (always a nice quality in a man)

I see my much younger sister, in Boston, going through the same thing I did. She's beautiful, smart, & funny... and she keeps dating these loser guys because she's shy and they're the only ones who are asking her out. WHY?! So so so hard to meet people there. Much much easier in LA.

[proudmommy]

Originally Posted by jello044

Why does LA have the reputation for being the worst place for singles?

Who says so?
Where are your data or facts?