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I just saw this article and wanted everyone to read it (well, those in Birmingham)
Bad News for those in dating game
If you're single and on the market, you might just think of this as one of those bad-news-good-news things.
The bad news is that metro Birmingham, according to a new national study, is the worst city in America for "hooking up". That means finding dates, you know. Socializing and flirting, meeting potential mates and discovering the perfect romantic spot to set the mood.
The good news? Well, since we also rank among the fattest and most unhealthy places in the country, you singles just aren't missing that much.
So much for good news. On second thought, it's just another bad-news-bad-news thing.
The hook-up study was done by Sperling's BestPlaces on behalf of Axe body spray for men -- that company with the indelicate marking plan and the commercials you really dont want your kids to see.
Sperling's made their rankings by considering 33 criteria such as the number of people with diseases, the number of single people and girl-to-guy parity. There are about 86 men to every 100 women in Birmingham, incidentally. The researchers counted bars, coffee houses and lingerie shops, and even checked the amount of flowers and jewerly bought as gifts.
Think it's a little sketchy? Probably. The reseachers said they "gave appropriate weight to each category," whatever that means.
Just so you'll know, places like Tulsa, Okla., El Paso, Texas and Memphis joined Birmingham in the bottom 10. Seattle was the best hook-up town, followed by Honolulu and San Fransisco. No Southern city was in the top 10.
It seams, if other research is to be believed, that single life is particularly difficult for men in this town. Or maybe it's just life in general that's tough. Last year, Men's Health magazine ranked Birmingham a miserable 100th in it's 101 Best (and Worst) Cities for Men, a study based on health, fitness and quality of life. Only Memphis was worse.
While all these groups clearly think of Birmingham as a dating downer, signs of hope for single people can be found elsewhere. If you look hard enough.
In the book "The It's Just Lunch Guide to Dating in America," several Birmingham-area spots are listed among the best of America's dating locales.
Birmingham's Doo Dah Day is listed first among the nation's top 10 "best flirting opportunities".
"You have never seen anything like it," the book says. "It's a great way to strike up a conversation." The book also lists Lou's Pub on Southside as one of the best happy hours in America, and calls Little Savannah on Clairmont Avenue one of the 10 "best plaes for a first dinner date."
So let's face it. Things aren't as grim as they seem. Who cares what Axe body spray has to say, anyway. After all, Birmingham also comes up pretty high on all those lists of things like friendliness, charitable giving and churches per capita. And when you get right down to it, a "hook-up" at a bar typically isn't the start of a beautiful relationship.
-- John Archibald, The Birmingham News
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