Sarah’s post about being single in Cincinnati made me curious about how Salt Lake was rated, so I took a gander at Forbes’ Best Cities for Singles for 2003. The methodology is explained here in case you’re curious (as I was) why Salt Lake was rated second-to-last by readers. It was measured by an online poll, so my guess is that the larger cities have more people to vote for them. Plus, Salt Lake is the city people love to mock.
Salt Lake did pretty poor in the culture area. That doesn’t really surprise me. I don’t think SL is the most diverse city around. I thought it funny that they said, “Many of the local singles are actually church missionaries who go door-to-door seeking new converts.”
salt lake ranked 22 out of 40 in the rankings – not second to last! the “buzz” factor might be really low, but they weighted it low in the ranked list.
still, i’d have to echo the buzz, because this city really does suck for being single.
why do you think it’s curious that the buzz factor was low?
I was curious why readers rated it second to last, not Forbes. I didn’t expect Salt Lake to rate high in the buzz factor, but not second to last. My reasoning is that there are lots of places to do things that attract people who are likely to be single, like skiing, mountain biking, kayaking etc. I would have thought that would give it a bit of an edge.
SLC does attract singles from the intermountain west and even california and states back east. The reason…to meet and associate with large numbers of people with similar beliefs. Sure, the party scene in SLC may not be what it is in any of the top 10 cities for singles, but the fact of the matter is that it does attract a fair number of singles. They must come to SLC because it is a good place for singles.
(Note: I guess I’m refering to the SLC metropolitan area which would include Provo/Orem)
SLC attracts hordes of the LDS faithful throughout the US (and perhaps abroad) who think of it as their Mecca and last chance for matrimony. If only I had a dollar for everytime I heard someone from church lament the lack of dates in the midwest and comtemplate a move west.
Of course, everyone else tried to talk them out of it, warning them of the glut of single girls already there. Besides, half the single girls who moved either remained single or went inactive or, due to disenchantment with their active-in-name-only roommates, returned out here to fly over country.