Just Broke Up? Go Mope Somewhere Else

According to the personality test for Chemistry.com, the city with the most optimistic singles in the nation is (drum roll please) Hoboken, NJ!!

You may never be able to find a parking spot in the Square Mile City, but if you are looking for a date with a sunny disposition and great outlook on life there is no place better!

To figure out what city had the most optimistic singles in the nation, the Chemistry.com survey asked the very simple question “would you call yourself more optimistic than most people?” to around 10 million users.  Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and Chemistry.com advisor, broke down the results on her blog The Science of Optimism.

Dr. Fisher states that what makes Hoboken and the other top ten cities (none of the rest are in NJ) more optimistic than most is that “these men and women have several traits in common: they are confident that their way of doing things will work out; they have a plan for where they want to be in five years; they never enter any competition expecting to lose; and when they do lose, they focus on how they can do better next time.”

Dr. Fisher then goes on to give a very logical explanation for this from a biological and hormonal standpoint with which I agree. (Got to her blog link to read it.)  However, I was taught never to downplay the role of an environment on a person’s outlook and I started to think what it is about Hoboken itself that might have caused this surge of optimism in its local singles.

Hoboken has a population density of 39,212/sq. mile, which ranks 4th in the state.  With all those people living so close together, it makes sense that if you are a single in Hoboken you would be optimistic about finding someone in such a contained dating pool. Throw into the mix that the majority of residents (62%) are non-families and the odds are in your favor.  Not to mention there is a little city called NYC right across the river.

That brings me to my next point.  56% of the population fall into the 25-44 age group.  Since they can afford to live in Hoboken, this mainly means that the Square Mile City is inhabited by young professionals who commute to NYC daily.  Naturally, this social group has a lot to be thankful for and happy about giving them an all around positive outlook.  It is also a common trait of this group to be forward thinkers and planners.  It is how they came to be so successful so young–they have the next five years of their lives figured out already just as Dr. Fisher says.

Every biological trait Dr. Fisher points to seems to fit with the type of person who would want to and who currently is living in Hoboken because of the city’s attributes.  If I were the Mayor of Hoboken, I would devise city advertising campaigns around this ranking.  It is a lot better than the 8th place finish Hoboken received last year in the Most Promiscuous Cities survey.  Might be best to keep that one under wraps.

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