Attention, single New Yorkers: Your dating odds may be the best in these NYC neighborhoods
Over eight million people live in NYC, but that doesn't necessarily mean that single New Yorkers are spoiled for choice: Dating is notoriously difficult in this city. When Time Out New York surveyed 11,000 of its readers about finding romance here, over 60 percent of women and 50 percent of men said that it's a challenge. But according to a new study, your odds of meeting your match may be higher in certain neighborhoods than in others.
StreetEasy partnered with the dating app Hinge to identify the best places in NYC to nab a date, looking at "save rates" (when a user saves the profile of a person they're interested in), as well as how often users went on to have conversations and exchange phone numbers. The study's premise is that ther former indicates a user's desirability, while the latter suggests an openness and willingness to get to know new people.
Based on these metrics, if you want to attract more interest from potential partners, there's no need for makeovers or career changes: Just move to the West Village. StreetEasy writes that the profiles of Hinge users in that part of town are "saved" more than they are anywhere else, suggesting that a downtown address goes a long way toward making you a sought-after single. The neighborhood's romantic aura, with its cobblestone streets and historic homes, is presumably a factor; we wonder whether its connotations of wealth go a long way, too.
And just like the most popular kid at school, West Village Hinge users may get lots of notice, but they don't return it in kind. More than other New Yorkers, they failed to reciprocate interest when other would-be boyfriends and girlfriends reached out to them.
It's probably not a shock that in Brooklyn, the most in-demand daters live in Williamsburg: In fact, they're 1.5 times likelier to garner "saves" than other Brooklynites. Chalk it up, perhaps, to the neighborhood's plentiful nightlife options, which leave no shortage of date possibilities. Plus, StreetEasy found that Williamsburg has the highest proportion of single thirtysomethings in the city, further upping your odds.
And as with the West Village, the 11211 zip code might carry with it moneyed implications; Williamsburg has been extensively developed over the past decade, leaving the neighborhood with an especially polished look that might fulfill certain "romance in New York" fantasies. (Or perhaps daters are banking on a successful courtship leading to a living-together situation and, as a result, a move to a "coveted" neighborhood?)
Prefer friendlier climes? The study identified a number of neighborhoods where locals seem to be less aloof and more down-to-earth. In Queens, Astorians netted the most "saves" on their profiles—but were also highly amenable to starting conversations and then taking their chats offline.
And in Manhattan, you should try your luck beyond the West Village. Those living in Murray Hill, Gramercy Park, and the East Village were the chattiest, while residents of Lincoln Square most frequently went on to meet up with other users out in the real world. Murray Hill, in particular, is known as a haven for college graduates, and New York mag even dubbed it famously fratty, so its high proportion of young, eager, new-to-the-city residents may contribute to the improved chances of finding a significant other.
In terms of the sheer number of young folks, you're best off looking on, surprisingly, the Upper West Side: StreetEasy found that the neighborhood has the most twentysomething residents. This may not bode well for Brooklyn's continued hipness; an article in the Observer suggests that young people, tired of cramming into shares in NYC's more in-demand areas, are migrating northward in search of peace and privacy.
Moreover, StreetEasy spokesperson Lauren Riefflin agrees that the UWS is starting to skew younger, noting, "It is just far enough north to offer more approachable price points than other twenty-something hubs of Manhattan, without inheriting too long of a commute or losing the conveniences of being in the city."
If you're really playing the numbers game, though, your best best may be to look close to home, wherever your home is—Brick previously spoke to a number of romance-seeking New Yorkers, most of whom agreed that a lengthy commute to see a prospective partner was a deal-breaker. Your future significant other, then, may be right next door.
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