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2010: Top 10 Cities for Single Women
By Paula Santonocito
1. Boston. For single women, Boston has it all. The city’s unemployment rate is more than two points below the national average, and Boston offers a wide range of career opportunities.
A renowned education hub, Beantown is home to some of the nation’s top colleges and universities. Whether you’re seeking a degree or looking to further your knowledge in a field, this is the place to do it.
But school ain’t just for learning. Boston’s colleges and universities are among the city’s many employers. Boston is also home to high-tech research, a growing biotech industry, heath care facilities, and many large financial firms. In addition, it’s a publishing hub.
When it comes to cost of living, Boston is considerably less expensive than a number of other cosmopolitan locales, including New York and Washington, D.C., and surprising it’s even slightly less expensive than Seattle.
For cost of living, we referenced Sperling’s BestPlaces (http://www NULL.bestplaces NULL.net/) data, which factors in housing, food/groceries, transportation, utilities, health, and miscellaneous expenses using a variety of resources. (For additional details, see “Sources of Information” on Page 12.)
The reasonable cost of living in Boston, coupled with big city salaries, allows single women to splurge on entertainment, and in this city there’s plenty to do. If you’re a sports fan, you’ll find top teams in Boston, no matter your sport of choice. Boston is home to the Red Sox, the Celtics, and the Bruins. And of course, on the outskirts of town, you can watch the New England Patriots play.
Culture abounds in Boston: Symphony, opera, and theatre all flourish here. If you favor rock, pop, hip-hop, jazz, country or other musical entertainment, you’ll also find what you seek. A variety of large, mid-size, and small venues host top musicians and emerging talent.
The city boasts several top art, science, and history museums, and is home to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. And speaking of history, Boston is steeped in it. From the nation’s oldest baseball stadium, Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, to historic Faneuil Hall, now part of a gigantic marketplace, and more, time spent in Boston gives you insight into the country’s heritage.
Within the city itself there are countless opportunities for entertainment and social interaction. But what Boston has to offer the social single woman isn’t confined to the city limits. Fabulous beaches are only a short distance away, as are opportunities for skiing and snowboarding. Meanwhile, Logan International Airport is easily accessible, and it offers on average more than 1,100 flights per day.
From the standpoint of housing, the city offers a variety of choices that include historic brownstones and modern high-rises. With regard to personal style and fashion, in Boston you’ll find nearly everything you could possibly desire. If Newbury Street, an eight-block stretch of shops and boutiques, doesn’t strike your fancy, there are malls, department stores, and outlets.
Boston is culturally diverse and, like most large U.S. cities, allows for individual expression and lifestyle. There are houses of worship for various religious denominations and resources for spiritual exploration. Well-being and Beantown go together in other ways as well; the city has top hospitals and health care facilities.
Boston has slightly more women than men, approximately 52 percent to 48 percent, but approximately 33 percent of the population is single. Add to the mix the fact that Boston singles tended to be educated and career-minded, and you have a winning formula, one that earned Boston SingleMindedWomen.com’s 2010 Top City status.
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Great article, well thought out! I packed my bags and I’m moving to Boston!
I live in Dallas. Even though there are almost 20,000 more males in this city than females, this figure is a bit deceptive. There is a high number of gay males, as well as immigrant workers, who skew the numbers. All of the places on the list appear to be big cities that probably have similar types of populations. If you’re just looking for a great place to party then it is great. If you’re looking for a boyfriend or husband, you will be disappointed.
Thanks for your feedback. Singles population is only one factor we considered in evaluating top cities. As noted, employment opportunities carried more weight, as did cost of living.
I absolutely agree with your post. I’ve lived here for nearly 3 years now and you are so right about the deceptive numbers. Fun place to do things and party, but boyfriend and husband are few and far between. My single friends have told me stories that have made me think twice about staying here. Once my contract is up in 17 months, I’m outta here.
After readinging this article, I had to comment on your section of Washington, DC. I agree with all of the activites and employment opportunties, etc that the area has to offer. But I would have to disagree that “there are slightly more women than men in Washington, D.C., but approximately 33% of the population is single.” Slightly is an understatement! There are MUCH more women than men, about 7-8 women more than men. Considering the population’s ethnic background, dating preferences and sexualty, these stats vary. Many social organizations, meetups, and clubs host social and cultural events, including dating events that always are in need of more men. And due to there be more men than women, many of them want to continue to be single and enjoy the many single women in the area instead of settling down to have a family. I invite you to take a video camera to the streets of DC and interview the women and see what kind of feedback you get contradictory to your stats.
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I live in Seattle. I have seen my lovely city on several “Top 10″ lists for dating or for singles. If you want to STAY single, then this is an amazing place to come to. There are so many fun things to do here, places to go, and experiences to be had. However, this is one of the worst places to find a mate. Below I list four phenomena that I and my other single friends (both male & female) have observed time and time again regarding the dating scene:
(1) Men & women do not make eye contact, on the street, in a coffee shop, and sometimes even in bars.
(2) Men do not approach women very often here. If they do, they are definitely not from Seattle. (there are reasons for this, and it is not all they guy’s fault! women can be a tough crowd for guys out here)
(3) Often, Men do not treat women with respect.
(4) The communication style here in town is called “northwest nice” or in plain speak: passive-aggressive.
If you are happy being single and staying that way this city is paradise. There are lots of smart, driven people here who have an amazing diversity of interests mixed in with a nice dose of being laid-back. Museums, art galleries, outdoorsy & sports activities, the symphony, the opera, boutique shops, music scene and too many cool coffee houses to count are all here. It is good living here. However, be warned on the dating front. You can have an excellent life if you are okay to not change your relationship status while you are here.
thanks for this post paulina01123. As a Seattle native born and raised, I couldn’t agree with you more. It was the driving factor in my relocation. Great place for family, lousy place for being single, especially and 30+ year old woman.
In reply to our single friends in Seattle, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., please keep in mind that dating was only one aspect of our criteria for best cities selection. Employment opportunities and cost of living carried more weight. Access to travel and entertainment options were also factors.
Hi Paula,
Thanks for the article, but it’s a bit frustrating how you keep pointing out that dating is only one of the factors. I’m a single woman in NYC and am sick and tired of the dating scene here. I was just googling a better place to go on vacation or even to live, and came across your article. Frankly I was just looking for pure statistics, but that information is hard to come by. This article seemed perfect. And yet I was shocked to find New York on it! With a title like ‘Top 10 cities for single women’ this article should have really focused on the dating scene and the male to female ratio, not jobs! Jobs are much easier to locate. We don’t need an article for that. Just go on a job board. With dating it’s not so simple.
But anyway, from what I’ve figured out so far, based on other research, is that the East coast generally sucks for single women. There are very few single men, and the ones that remain become assholes as a function of their being in high demand.
“based on other research, is that the East coast generally sucks for single women. There are very few single men, and the ones that remain become assholes as a function of their being in high demand.”
I definitely agree with Jules638. I plan on leaving the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area and will relocate west of the Rockies. I’m particularly interested in mid-sized cities. I am tired of dealing with the big city male imbalance advantage.”
Hey ladies – check out the 2011 Top 10 Cities for Single Women: http://singlemindedwomen.com/money-tips/2011-top-10-cities-for-single-women/
Right, New York is number one – for men! I love it how everything is always by default from the male perspective, unless otherwise noted.