At times, it may seem like you're living in a cold, heartless world where you'll never find true love. Or you may just live in Brooklyn.
A new survey from the dating website AYI (which stands for "Are You Interested?") has concluded that women from Brooklyn are the least likely to respond to messages from potential suitors. AYI analyzed 435,000 interactions with women between the ages of 18 to 99, and discovered what many flannel-shirted men already know: The single ladies of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Crown Heights are hard to win over. Just quoting your favorite Bon Iver lyric or inviting them to play skeeball in your local organic gastropub isn't going to cut it.
Brooklyn dudes, if you want to make things a little easier for yourself, just cross the East River, and then the Hudson. Everyone loves Jersey girls, and apparently, Jersey girls love everyone back. AYI notes that the women of Jersey City are "much more likely to respond to messages."
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If you're willing to expand your potential dating pool outside of the New York City area (and why wouldn't you, what with the constant fear of dying alone hanging over your head), Miami, St. Louis, and Las Vegas are all good bets — AYI found that those cities women are among the top responders. And if you really have your heart set on your Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the women of Portland also crack the list of cities with the most responsive ladies.
Detroit, Minneapolis, and Chicago follow Brooklyn as the cities with the choosiest single women. Los Angeles rounds out the top five, but to be fair, what man stands a chance within 50 miles of Ryan Gosling?
Of course, instead of moving, you could just stop being so lazy and up your online dating game. AYI's data shows that "Hi" or "What's up?" only get half the responses of the (at least marginally) more inquisitive, "Where are you originally from?" Just think of the potential if you put the mildest bit of creativity and intellect into your message!
Also helpful: Facebook familiarity. Seven in 10 women prefer to go out with a guy with whom they share at least one mutual friend.
But back to those picky Brooklyn ladies. Kristen Iversen at The L Magazine, a Brooklyn-based publication, views the selectiveness as a point of pride. Even though "it is shocking that more people don't just match haphazardly in order to move in together and save on rent,"these women know their self-worth and remain choosy," Iversen says. "Keep on being awesome, Brooklyn women. Sure, you might die alone and broke. But that's better than being attached to some douchebag who doesn't deserve you."
