I returned to Seattle and opened my email to find a message from OkCupid about a man looking at my dating profile: "SirGeekyMcDork is checking you out!" After a kickass weekend in New York where I felt a solid connection to a man for the first time in TWO FUCKING YEARS, I nearly burst into tears. It summed up dating so perfectly in this city. Seattle men own their GeekyMcDorkiness like a badge of pride; social awkwardness is often rewarded with significant career success. The ability to program computers lands you a hefty salary at one of a million startups. It pays, literally, to be a nerd.
Single men in Seattle outnumber single women, but this statistic hasn't worked out in my favor. Dating has been a classic clusterfuck of "the odds are good but the goods are odd." When I moved back to Seattle, I didn't expect dating to be this hard. It is a city that I know and love, and I felt like I fit the demographic perfectly. I thought that within a few months to a year I'd be able to find a man with similar interests. I pictured a possible boyfriend as a mountain climber who leans vegetarian, drinks beer, votes Democrat, and can pull off a pair of corderoy pants. I never thought or cared about the career he might have, but as I continue to date unsuccessfully I notice a definite pattern in the men I'm not interested in: They all work in tech.
The technology industry employs most of the single professionals in Seattle, which bodes horribly for the dating life of a woman who bought her first cell phone in 2011. It's gotten to the point where I search for potential dates on OkCupid by profession. Healthcare professionals jump to the top of the list, followed by teachers, social workers, musicians, baristas, bike repairmen, students, or really anyone who doesn't work in information technology. I simply can't stomach the geekiness.
Single men in Seattle outnumber single women, but this statistic hasn't worked out in my favor. Dating has been a classic clusterfuck of "the odds are good but the goods are odd." When I moved back to Seattle, I didn't expect dating to be this hard. It is a city that I know and love, and I felt like I fit the demographic perfectly. I thought that within a few months to a year I'd be able to find a man with similar interests. I pictured a possible boyfriend as a mountain climber who leans vegetarian, drinks beer, votes Democrat, and can pull off a pair of corderoy pants. I never thought or cared about the career he might have, but as I continue to date unsuccessfully I notice a definite pattern in the men I'm not interested in: They all work in tech.
The technology industry employs most of the single professionals in Seattle, which bodes horribly for the dating life of a woman who bought her first cell phone in 2011. It's gotten to the point where I search for potential dates on OkCupid by profession. Healthcare professionals jump to the top of the list, followed by teachers, social workers, musicians, baristas, bike repairmen, students, or really anyone who doesn't work in information technology. I simply can't stomach the geekiness.
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