Where are all the single guys? Quick, grab a cosmo and let's go look for them! They've gotta be around here, somewhere ... If you're single and looking for love, it helps if you've got a deep and wide pool for your search. Well guess what? Pew Research has created THE nation-widesingle guy treasure map.
The interactive map shows you the ratios -- how many bachelors there are compared with bachelorettes (because your life is not a dating reality TV show). But it does more. It also shows you how many bachelors have the ONE very important factor that seems to matter most to single ladies.
A whopping eight out of ten unmarried women say that it's "very important" that their future Mr. has a job. That's the second thing the interactive map shows -- where the single employed men are. Okay! Now we're in business.
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Are you willing to move to the city of Clarksville on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee? Because there are 145 employed men for every 100 women. So you can go ahead and book your flight now. But first -- can we talk about what this map doesn't show?
Not so long ago I was a single lady looking where the odds are dreadful -- New York City, where there are 82 employed men to women. I defied the odds! And I got myself a gainfully employed boyfriend. But that's not why we're a couple. What really makes him such an excellent partner is a whole set of much more important characteristics I wish this map showed.
What about showing us where the emotionally available men are? The skilled communicators? The ones who have healthy relationships with their mothers? The ones who send flowers, who send flirty texts for no reason, who know that sex isn't over until you climax. THAT'S what single women really need in a man.
More from The Stir: The 11 Most Annoying Things Single Women Don't Want to Hear
Being employed tells you a lot about a person -- their future prospects, their level of education, their stability. But it's also something that's not entirely under your control. You could be laid off, for example, through no fault of your own. It's an important factor -- you don't want to voluntarily take on the stress of living with a chronically unemployed man -- but you have to see it in context.
Still ... it's something every single woman wants to know about. And what the heck, you have to admit this map is pretty darn interesting, even if just in an FYI way. Maybe if you're feeling like there are "no" single guys, you'll find out the odds are more in your favor than you think.
What characteristics would you like this map to show?
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