Forbe's "Top Cities for Singles" list (Charlotte, Raleigh: home, job market)

[RaleighRob]

Forbes magazine just released a list of their top 40 cities for singles:

NC gets three mentions:
#6- The Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/ChapelHill)
#25- Charlotte
#40- The Triad (Greensboro/WinstonSalem/HighPoint)

Factors used in the calculations included: nightlife, culture/arts, job growth, population of singles, cost of living alone, diversity, education opportunities and online dating activity.

My thoughts? Yeah I kinda see us up on the list. I'm surprised RDU ranked as high as 6...just below New York and just above Seattle! (Denver was #1, then Boston, Phoenix, SanFransisco, & NYC.)
But the large number of universities here probably shot us up on the "population of singles" & "education opportunities" rankings.
Growing up in the Triad, I'm kinda betting "job growth" and "culture" was the two categories that kept them pretty low...but that's just my guess.

What do y'all think?

[Grass Is Greener]

Mmmm I have yet to see this in reality

[Weis02]

I wonder sometimes if they actually splk to people when coming up with these "best" lists - you really have to look at the criteria they use as it makes a difference on how to interpret

[Samohtal]

I suppose it depends on what they're looking at. Obviously a town with a lot of colleges will have a lot of singles - but they're mostly in late teens/early 20's. Fun to look at, maybe, but not helpful for a guy (or girl, for that matter) in his 30's.

[ITChick]

Originally Posted by RaleighRob

Forbes magazine just released a list of their top 40 cities for singles:

NC gets three mentions:
#6- The Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/ChapelHill)
#25- Charlotte
#40- The Triad (Greensboro/WinstonSalem/HighPoint)

Factors used in the calculations included: nightlife, culture/arts, job growth, population of singles, cost of living alone, diversity, education opportunities and online dating activity.

My thoughts? Yeah I kinda see us up on the list. I'm surprised RDU ranked as high as 6...just below New York and just above Seattle! (Denver was #1, then Boston, Phoenix, SanFransisco, & NYC.)
But the large number of universities here probably shot us up on the "population of singles" & "education opportunities" rankings.
Growing up in the Triad, I'm kinda betting "job growth" and "culture" was the two categories that kept them pretty low...but that's just my guess.

What do y'all think?

Well, I'll let you know if this is true after I've visited The Triangle and Charlotte.

But it's good to know in advance. Thanks.

[RaleighRob]

Originally Posted by Samohtal

I suppose it depends on what they're looking at. Obviously a town with a lot of colleges will have a lot of singles - but they're mostly in late teens/early 20's. Fun to look at, maybe, but not helpful for a guy (or girl, for that matter) in his 30's.

I dunno...for the Triangle, at least, there seems to be a lot of people here who come to the universities...and then stay, get a job and a home and "settle" here. I myself have, as have many others.

So you could probably go out on the town to the singles joints, whatever, and find plenty of people in their 30s who are alumni of the colleges here and were lucky to find work outta college and stay.

[hello-world]

forbes list is based on:

-# of singles
-# of people on match.com
-nightlife opportunities
-cost of living
-job growth
-"coolness"
-"culture"

first, if there are lots of singles, that doesn't mean those singles are happy about the situation, that they're not STAYING single while just not finding. second, it doesn't account for male:female ratios. denver, and more so boulder, has one of the highest male:female ratios in the country, and CO is a close second only to AK by this measure. match.com's ratio probably hovers around 2:1, maybe as much as 3:1 depending on your age etc.. and if you look around on match.com for the area, it is not exactly the most diverse array of people - if you're not all about life being an idyllic sunshiney adventure, the broncos, or snowboarding, all with a winning smile, there aren't many people on there that don't pretty much fall along those lines. there are many restaurants and bars in denver and boulder. much of the 20's crowd seems to hang out in LoDo, which is full of very crowded sports bars and fraternity party feeling places. there are also lots of shady lounges in denver and several music venues. the cost of living can actually be a bit high relative to average salaries in and around denver. the job market can be a bit competitive - there are many people interested in trying the area out; it's a bit of a tourist destination, whether tourists stay for 5 days or 5 years. denver is not a city "of culture". yes, it has it's own midwestern/western flair, which is culture. and yes there are pockets of ethnicity. it's a relatively very white bread and mid-american place. there are some good theaters, music venues, and museums/galleries, but i think the mentality is far more about the sports, the party, the church, or the mountains here. if the above is"cool", then maybe denver has the "coolness" factor working for it. this is very not seattle, ny, LA, austin, or san francisco. for denver to be 3 years the number 1 city for singles per forbes is really misleading. for me, a swm, educated, outgoing, athletic, mountain enthusiast that's gainfully employed, ... denver has been by far and almost commically the single hardest place i've ever lived as far as singles life goes.

[hello-world]

just thought this was an interesting take on the forbes" rankings" and their "merit". you'll have to scroll down a bit to the forbes section:

It's Not Me, It's You: September 2005

[DaBears]

i moved here in 2001 when i was 27....I was single & met my husband at a hockey game 2 weeks after I moved...i came from florida & he moved here in 99 from NY

[colormegreen]

Maybe because of growth too makes NC rank on this list 3 times? There are a lot of people (single, new college graduates, etc) leaving other states because of the economic situation (Michigan) and move to states with some real opportunities.