WTF… Ypsi named 6th best city for singles in the entire United States

ypsibestsingles

I just got a letter from a reader of this site in Seattle alerting me to the fact that Ypsilanti has just been named the 6th best city IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY for singles, finishing just behind places like West Hollywood, California and Hoboken, New Jersey. While, admittedly, it’s been some time since I’ve been single in Ypsilanti, I just can’t see how it’s even remotely possible that a little community like ours, which doesn’t even have a theater, could possibly be a better place for singles than, say, Miami Beach, where everyone is beautiful, the food it good, and they don’t experience winter. [Miami Beach finished 8th on the list, two spots behind Ypsi.]

Here’s how the folks at Livability.com, who put out this list of “The 10 Best Cities for Singles,” justify Ypsi’s inclusion.

Ypsilanti, Michigan, is experiencing a surge of young, creative types, making it one of the best cities for singles, especially those who dig an artsy, small-town vibe. The city’s expanding dating pool is partly due to rising costs of living in nearby Ann Arbor, which have caused many young residents to head to Ypsi (as it’s commonly called). This growth, and some progressive planning by community leaders have helped Ypsilanti become a more vibrant, sought-after hamlet between Detroit and Chicago during the last 10 years…

The woman who sent this to my attention seems to think that I might be somehow to blame for this, as I keep “profiling creative people,” and giving “the impression” that interesting things are happening here. I suspect it probably has more to do with someone at Livability.com being told to throw a few weird towns into the mix, but, if it’s true that I played any part in this, no matter how small, I’m truly sorry… While I suspect that single people are having an alright time here, and getting laid, and doing other things that single people do, I don’t want to have anything to do with perpetuating the myth that Ypsi is a better city for singles than, say, Chicago, which didn’t even place on this list. No matter how many cool things may be happening here, the math just doesn’t work. We’re just too small, with our population of 20,000, to deserve the title of “6th Best City for Singles.”

Given this, here’s what I’d suggest… I think that our City Council should call a press conference immediately and decline the honor. If we don’t do this, I’m afraid that we’ll start seeing our streets fill up with disappointed transplants from around the country, who, unable to find love here, will eventually turn on us. [Does anyone remember Christine?] While it’s certainly cool to make it onto a list like this, I just don’t think it’s worth being punched in the face by someone who came here expecting to find a singles paradise. And that’s what I’m pretty sure is going to happen. There won’t be more awesome sex. There will just be more getting punched in the face.

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26 Comments

  1. Posted October 7, 2015 at 9:29 pm | Permalink

    I thought at first that Ypsi might have made a list of the best 10 cities in SE Michigan for singles. And, even then, I was doubtful. When I learned that it was a list of the best 10 places in the entire United States, I LOL’d.

  2. Posted October 7, 2015 at 9:32 pm | Permalink

    I should add that I know why these lists are made. They’re made to be shared. They’re made to sell advertising. So it works in their favor when, on occasion, they work in places that aren’t usually mentioned, like Kenosha, WI or Ypsilanti, MI. When New York makes a list like this, it isn’t shared. When Ypsi makes a list, though, even if it’s a list put out by a publication that no one have ever heard of, it gets copied everywhere. And dummies like me post about it.

  3. Posted October 7, 2015 at 9:35 pm | Permalink

    But, yeah, someone somewhere probably heard that Ypsi was kind of a cool place and they decided to mention it on one of the several lists they were putting out. Maybe it was a press release about the “Ypsi Real” campaign. Maybe it was something about First Fridays. Maybe it was something on my blog. Or maybe the person who made the list just happened to be from here. Stranger things have happened.

  4. Elf
    Posted October 7, 2015 at 9:54 pm | Permalink

    In the article they note SPUR Studios, which has been closed for a few months.

  5. Peter Larson
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 4:53 am | Permalink

    An interesting result that will influence some people.

  6. Frosted Flakes
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 5:09 am | Permalink

    Don’t worry Mark. I doubt you are responsible for any uptick in mating around Ypsilanti.

  7. FX
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 7:08 am | Permalink

    Tell me more about this “progressive planning by community leaders”. Are they talking about the new dollar store?

  8. Eel
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 7:18 am | Permalink

    I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we received this honor just a few days after Ypsi Underground had their nude zine-making party.

  9. Mr. Y
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 7:24 am | Permalink

    The CVB merger worked! Already we’re getting better press.

  10. Meta
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 7:25 am | Permalink

    https://twitter.com/livability/status/651830744357146624

  11. Smeat
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 7:55 am | Permalink

    I want to know more about their methodology. Did they look at condom sales? Did they do an analysis of Tinder swipes? Do people in Ypsi get swiped right more often than people anywhere else? (Being swiped right means you get laid, right?) Or this this just based on per-capita alcohol consumption?

  12. Hannah
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 8:42 am | Permalink

    I’m inclined to agree. The math just doesn’t work. But I sure will make more of an effort now that we are in the top 10.

  13. Mr. Y
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 8:49 am | Permalink

    Ypsi is a dating paradise. Everyone is finding love. It’s like an episode of the Love Boat.

  14. facebook stalker
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 8:50 am | Permalink

    The competition is coming!

    http://imgur.com/gjhsUv6

  15. Emily Fromm
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 8:54 am | Permalink

    Obviously whom ever wrote this has never been on a date with an ypsilantian. -.-

  16. Frosted Flakes
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 9:15 am | Permalink

    If we believe that all markets function in the same way , then the list only makes sense if we know the ratio of numbers of “buyers” of x product and the ” supply” of x product.

    Ypsi is not too small unless you only participate in more of a niche market.

  17. Josh
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 9:44 am | Permalink

    I have never been happier or more relieved to be single than during my time in Ypsi.

  18. Jean Henry
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 4:17 pm | Permalink

    Maybe this site should be converted to a dating site for Ypsi-singles. If the evidence bears out, I will move because Ann Arbor is very stale these days. At minimum. A dating game version of the Saturday six pack is in order. The couple could come back after their date for a blow by blow.

  19. Bob
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 4:34 pm | Permalink

    The promise of a shot at Peter Larson is driving the number

  20. Jcp2
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 5:38 pm | Permalink

    It’s sixth best for singles living in Ypsilanti?

  21. Bob
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 7:39 pm | Permalink

    It’s probably a Deja Vu thing. It’s sixth best in singles. For women working their way through college, in the U.S.

  22. Posted October 8, 2015 at 7:59 pm | Permalink

    Here’s the big take-away. If you can’t get laid in Ypsi, don’t give up. There are five places where you still might stand a chance.

  23. Leigh
    Posted October 9, 2015 at 1:16 pm | Permalink

    actually I am inclined to agree. I’ve lived many of places single but whilst in ypsi is when I have my best times. It’s hard not to find love in ypsi with its many life loving artsy residents. While in other cities I have a hard time even meeting anyone at all, sit outside in a park in ypsi or on your front lawn and it’s hard to not meet random folks who wave hello or walk up and spark a conversation just for the heck of it.

  24. Lynne
    Posted October 9, 2015 at 4:28 pm | Permalink

    If you can’t get laid in Ypsi, it’s because you haven’t realized that instead of street walking, the hookers are on craigslist.

  25. Posted October 10, 2015 at 9:06 pm | Permalink

    I object to the statement that Ypsilanti “doesn’t even have a theater”. – ED

  26. Posted October 11, 2015 at 8:18 am | Permalink

    Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I meant a movie theater.

One Trackback

  1. […] we’ll be talking with folks at Livability.com about their most recent list, which names Ypsilanti as the 6th best city in the entire nation for singles. Here, for those of you who have yet read the piece, is how they justified their decision to place […]

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