Congratulations to all the lucky love bugs out there! Enjoy your Valentine’s Day, weekend and everything that follows. Don’t put too much stress on yourself and have fun!
For everyone else, we have some bad news. Arkansas was recently named the one of the worst states to be a single person. In fact, the Natural State came in at 49thplace, just being kept out of last place by West Virginia. (Thank God for West Virginia! Is that the new state saying?)
With all of the great amenities around the state, what led our great state to receiving this dubious distinction? The study, performed by WalletHub, looked at a three principal categories: dating economics, dating opportunities, and romance and fun. Each of these categories were judged according to a number of factors, including number of single adults, gender balance, online dating opportunities, household income and more. Based on the researchers’ findings, they created an average and calculated the overall scores.
So what were Arkansas’ scores? For “Dating Opportunities,” Arkansas received a score of 48 (out of 50); for “Dating Economics,” the state received a 27; and for “Romance and Fun,” the state received a 47.
In the breakdown of the different category factors, Arkansas is listed as have the second-lowest number of online dating opportunities and the third-lowest number of mobile-dating opportunities. Maybe we need to step up our dating on the web!
Here at AY, we do take issue with being judged so low on the “Romance and Fun” category. There are plenty of great activities that people can do throughout the state to find a special someone. Besides the standard bar scene (which is thriving in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas, especially), there are great outdoor activities and cultural events to find your perfect person. You can go rafting on the White River, which can be breathtaking, or you can enjoy a quieter night at the theater in Little Rock at the Ron Robinson Performance Hall.
However, it’s not all bad news. One of the WalletHub experts, Dr. Gwendolyn Seidman, says that singles can plan fun, exciting dates without spending much money. “Not every date needs to be an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant. In fact, fun, exciting dates can help ignite passion, and they don’t necessarily have to cost a lot of money,” she says.
READ MORE: Most Romantic Spots in Arkansas
