Is the Grass Actually Greener in Kansas City?

This summer, I decided to put my love of traveling and meeting new people to the test and go where I have never gone before… the Midwest! My first destination was Kansas City (which I quickly learned is partly in Missouri, not just Kansas State).

My assignment? To find out about the Kansas City experience when it comes to dating, relationships, and sex. After hitting up all the KC hotspots, including Westport (where I interviewed a couple on their first date about their birth control habits) and The Plaza (where I was propositioned by a cute guy who was very direct about his “intentions”), I headed to the The Power & Light District, where I sat down with two people the locals go to with their dating and relationship questions and got to know them a little bit.

Pamela Spencer and Damon Smith are dating columnists and bloggers for Ink Magazine, a specialty publication from The Kansas City Star. During our interview, I brought up Forbes Magazine’s “America’s Best Cities For Singles” list, which ranks the 40 largest metropolitan cities in America on: coolness, cost of living alone, culture, job growth, online dating participation, nightlife, and the ratio of singles to the entire population of the area.

Kansas City ranked #37 in 2009, the last time they compiled this list, and Pamela told me about this low rating before we even met in person. And though no one I spoke to in KC knew about the Forbes list, no one was surprised. Almost everyone I talked to was either married, divorced, or engaged, which (I imagine) sucks for the single folks in town. Then again, Pamela met her husband in the KC dating scene, while I live in the city that ranked #1 (NYC) and am still waiting for someone to “put a ring on it.” So maybe living in a great place for singles isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Listen to what Pamela and Damon have to say about dating in KC for yourself, then tell me what you think in the comments: would you ever consider moving to another city to improve your dating odds?

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Veralyn Williams is a Multimedia Freelance Journalist currently working in New York City. She has spent 4 years at WNYC Radio working with various departments including: Radio Rookies, Culture, News, and Freakonomincs. Also freelancing for Black Enterprise, BronxNet Television,Bedsider, and The Museum for African Art. Her independent work is featured on her website VeralynMedia.com. Through all of her endeavors she aims to give a voice to perspectives that are often forgotten in the media.

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