Calling All Singles

There are just not enough single guys out there. Or so I’ve heard. Well, I actually beg to differ ladies. There is currently plenty. Or so I’ve read.

Apparently, according to recent studies, both men and women are now marrying later in life and there is even a surplus of single guys in the 25-34 age group. Currently the stats run at about 1.3 to 1 in Australia, which would tend to suggest that meeting someone shouldn’t be that hard. And I’m sure you’ll all be pleased to know that I currently work in the real bachelor hotspot of Sydney, Pyrmont, where the figures are closer to 1.8 to 1. Fat lot of good it’s done me so far though.

So what’s going on? Why is it that so many of us find the search so difficult? Is there any one particular reason or are there a number of them?

Well, some would suggest that over the past decade, choice has given us a lot to answer for and coupled with the idea that the grass is always greener on the other side, searching for a true mate is apparently now anything but easy. We look to those around us when we are in search of a partner but given the relative ease of travel and the availability of the internet, it’s just as easy to hook up with someone on the other side of the world as it is to fall for the boy next door. But say you do hook up. Then what?

So many of those who are already in a relationship, still seem to have one eye on the market. Just in case something better comes along. And those who are still looking and have yet to find, may not in the end as they hold out for an ideal that is perhaps unreasonable. Everywhere we turn, the media is selling us the idea that we should either be part of a couple or looking for love. At the same time, it also seems to promise that you can have whatever you want on a plate if you go after it. Unfortunately, life’s not really like that.

In a 2002 survey, one third of the women polled would decide whether they wanted to see the man again in the first 10 minutes. That’s pretty tough odds when you think about it so maybe the next time you find yourself on a first date, you should try to decide whats really important and whats merely preferred. After all, you first need the base before you can add the icing on top and if you give someone a chance you may be able to have your cake and eat it too.