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There have been a number of recent surveys conducted and Washington, DC has featured prominently in all of them. We’re apparently the sixth most-caffeinated city, the second most-active city, the rudest city, and one of the ugliest cities (don’t worry we still think you’re pretty). We also have the worst traffic, we’re the most literate, and we’re very low on the manliness scale (42nd to be exact).

Out of all of these studies there was one that stuck out for us; being 42nd on the manliness scale. Now it’s a well-documented fact that the ratio of single women to single men in Washington, DC is 4 to 1 and it stands to reason that this probably contributes to our overall lack of testosterone. Most people would say that this is actually a great thing for guys, and provides slim pickings for all of the single ladies. We wanted to test out this theory so we did a little more digging.

Here’s what we found.

For once, the city’s transient reputation is finally working to one group’s advantage: Single women in Washington are the world’s happiest, “Unlike other cities, Washington has people coming and going with each administration,” according to Helen Fisher, an anthropologist. “So women have a continually renewed source of men.”

Well isn’t that interesting? Even though the ratios are good for men, the stock of men is continually recycled, making this trend good for both men AND women. But here’s the thing, the transient Washington, DC culture may not lead to happy, long-term, committed relationships simply because people are coming and going so much. This serves to put “expiration dates” on relationships, or worse-yet creates the dreaded long distance relationship.

To avoid this exact issue we have a couple of tips for how to avoid these potential pitfalls. Some of them we’ve touched on in other articles (as general advice), but we wanted to make it DC-specific.

Guys: Going on Dates is fun but don’t spread yourself too thin

All of us A lot of us enjoy going on dates, but don’t just play the numbers game. In this article you’ve learned (if you didn’t already know) that the ratios are stacked in your favor. That doesn’t mean that going around setting dates with as many women as possible is a good idea. If you’re looking for love, focus on one lady at a time. See where the dates take you so that you can think about the person (singular) that you’re dating and decide if you can see yourself in a relationship with her. If you’re clogging your schedule with dates, you’re also confusing your brain

Ladies: You may, in some ways, be about the most liberated women on earth, but caution is always a good play. This isn’t a simple knock on men: just because the numbers game is skewed for male options here doesn’t mean that every man is simply looking to get lucky and call it a day. There are a lot of great guys in this city — and they are quite often very smart and charming. But even the well-intentioned ‘good’ guys can cause headaches. Transient people without deep roots are wanderers. What is attractive about both the city’s ambitious or dreamer types is also a potential cautionary tale: they’re not always quite sure who they are, or what they want. Communicating wants, hopes, and goals with potential love interests, in a city which puts our already virtual communication world on steroids, is therefore more important than ever. Have your fun — but don’t be afraid to have your boundaries, too.

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