All the single ladies! (All the single ladies.) Guess what? The Daily Beast has good news.
In a recent article, the online magazine reported on the country's hottest markets for available men and as it turns out, Milwaukee's not too bad a place to be if you're looking for love. It ranked No. 16 (out of 36 cities with 500,000 or more residents), which places it just about in the middle.
Sure, it could be better -- Atlanta, Boston and Seattle snagged the top three spots. But at least we're not Jacksonville, Fla., which has hardly any single men, or El Paso, Texas, which ranks quite low in education.
So, what makes Milwaukee a happy medium? "Forbes ranked America's brewery capital among its top cities for singles this year, with high marks in job growth and 'coolness'." The Beast analysis goes on to say, "Move over, Madison. It was also once deemed the 'sexiest city' by Marie Claire magazine, to the surprise of humble locals."
It mentions Mi-key's, 811 N. Jefferson St., as a popular meeting spot.
The Web site explains its criteria. When hunting for eligible bachelors, the Beast used data from the U.S. Census to find the cities with the highest percentage of single men between the ages of 18 and 49. This accounted for 60 percent of the vote.
But what counts as a "good catch?"
"We gave credit to cities with the highest percentage of single men with four-year college degrees. While individual charm and success vary, as a whole, this rewards men with brains and future earnings power (since a college degree typically adds $1 million to a person's lifetime salary). We weighted this 20 percent."
Lastly, they measured ways of meeting these guys, tallying up the number of gyms and nightlife options -- bars, restaurants, clubs and theaters -- per capita. This combined information accounted for the remaining 20 percent of the vote.
So, single ladies, what are your thoughts? Is Milwaukee a decent city in which to meet men?
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
