This Valentine’s Day season the internet world will be flooded with stories like “The top 10 cities for single people to find love” or “The best cities for a romantic getaway.” These stories are all based on the same premise – that finding a great match and maintaining a strong relationship is much easier in the city.
It’s easy to write off such stories as media hype or just plain silliness, but there are reasons that you see them coming back every year. Finding love is serious stuff! Many people really do want to find a partner, whether they are looking for a potential spouse, a soul-mate, a lover, or even some of those new categories you might find on Craigslist (and the city is great for that too!).
The city offers many advantages to the aspiring lover that can’t be found in low-density, sprawl neighborhoods, even those with large populations. This is because urban areas help people meet in unique ways and help keep those contacts relevant. Here are some reasons that cupid is has traded in his wings for a transit pass:
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In honor of Valentine’s Day, I asked our contributors to share their personal stories about finding love and how their city was involved. Please feel free to share your own stories in the comments or give a VDay shout-out to your own special someone.
Kirsten: “My husband and I met at the Melody, chatted for the first time at the Red Key, went on our first date to Mass Ave, the canal and Fountain Square (walking from Mass through Lockerbie and over to the canal), and basically fell in love while talking about our shared love of, yes, music, Indy, food and books, but also our shared hope of living in a great old neighborhood.”
And what about your Urban Indy creator…?
Kevin: “The year was 2005. I had finally saved enough money to live in an apartment on my own downtown.  It was small, it was quirky (the bedroom had 7 walls), but I was walking distance from work and of course post-work fun.  At the time I posted on an international travel website called http://www.bootsnall.com.  One day, out of the blue, I got an instant message from another person in Indianapolis. The conversation went something like this:
Netts: I see you like historic neighborhoods. Are you familiar with Chatham Arch. Â I just moved in and I love it!Me: Wow, hi, yes, I live in Chatham Arch. Â It is great.Netts: I’m in the Argyle building above Aesop’s Tables.Me: Me too!Netts: I’m in room ###Me: You’re my new next door neighbor! Â I’m in room ###.We met each other that evening. Â She had a long distance boyfriend at the time so neither of us had any expectations. Â We decided to walk to Scholar’s Inn and the Chatterbox, and we had a great time. Â One month later, after many fun nights out in the surrounding neighborhood, she decided to break off her relationship (I hope he doesn’t find this article somehow), and the rest is history.”
Happy Valentine’s Day Indianapolis!
Nice list! You’re correct, I don’t think I would have found a good match without the shared experiences and fun of city living.
I met my wife in Broad Ripple. She was a friend of a friend. I sometimes laugh that I have an engineering mind, and she is a full time artist with a degree from Herron and yet we get along as if we were made for each other. Im pretty confident that if I had stayed living in the small town I grew up in, that we likely may not have met. It was through my moving to the city and opening up a new social group that we were able to meet each other.