Chicago Named One Of The Worst Cities To Be Single During The Holidays
By Kate Shepherd in News on Dec 16, 2015 6:47PM
Looking for love? Chicago is not the worst place to be in this holiday season, but it may as well be.
The Windy City is the 18th worst city for singles in the U.S., according to a new study from WalletHub, which turns personal finance data into gimmicky rankings of the best and worst cities for pet lovers, gym rats, foodies, etc. The findings here are based on 25 key metrics, including number of attractions, percentage of singles, prices of movies and taxis and online-dating opportunities.
Salt Lake City was ranked the best city for singles in 2015 while Yonkers, N.Y. was named the worst of the 150 most-populated U.S. cities.
Other cities in the Midwest ranked a lot higher than Chicago: Omaha, Neb. (13), Minneapolis (14), Madison, Wis. (15), Grand Rapids, Mich. (23) and Des Moines, Iowa (38). Chicago comes in at 133.
Chicago's embarrassingly low ranking is related mostly to the high cost of going on dates in the city. The city came in at 147 in the 'dating economics' ranking which is weighted heavily on the cost of drinks, movies, beauty salons, fitness clubs, taxis, etc. We have the highest average beer and wine price and Indianapolis (108) has the lowest.
So it's arguable that Chicago's still a good place for dating. At least there are a lot more people to choose from in Chicago than in Des Moines or Indianapolis and there are plenty of fun things to do even if they're expensive.
Suburban Aurora did worse than Chicago coming in at 141 overall and 143 in the 'dating economics' ranking.
WalletHub produced a map showing the best and worst cities for dating. Blue and small means good and large and yellow means bad:
The Tribune talked to dating coach Bela Gandhi about how to buck the odds. She told them to say yes to every event invitation this holiday season, even if it's exhausting, and to make an effort to talk to as many people as you can. It's the best way to get face to face with a lot of people, some of whom will probably be single too.
[H/T Tribune]