What's it Like to be Single in Rockford?

Being single sucks, I don't care where you live; but why is it so difficult to be alone in a city like Rockford?

Given my marital situation, I often wonder what it would be like to be single again and I could do it, just not here; and from the sounds of it, I'm not alone.

So what is it like to be single in Rockford?

I asked 97ZOK listeners and my single friends and there was a lot of commonality in their answers. The consensus? It's rough.

Please be aware that these are opinions, not facts. Anything stated below is not meant to be hurtful or offend anyone who is currently single.

One of the biggest "complaints" about being single in Rockford is the lack of places to meet quality singles. If you think about it, there isn't much to do and when single people do go out, it's to the bar or work. Not the best for meeting someone that you want to get into a long term relationship with.

Which brings us to the next point, relationships. According to several women, the men in Rockford aren't looking for anything serious; they just want something quick. If that's not what you're looking for, and I'm guessing that you're not, then you're next option is online dating. That's a whole other beast in itself.

When I lived in a very small town about 35 minutes from Minneapolis, I used to joke about not being able to find a date because I was geographically undesirable; no guy wants to drive that far just to meet someone they might not be into. After a while, I started lying on my dating profile just to get more bites. I imagine that putting that you live in Rockford in your dating profile gets a similar reaction; no one wants to drive here unless it's to stop and pee on their way to Chicago...and if they do drive all the way here, they're probably going to expect something for their time.

Speaking of time, you spend a lot of it in the car because being single in Rockford means that you're probably dipping in dating pools in other cities like Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee. If you have both the time and the gas money, the relationship is probably worth sacrificing both.

Again, I have very little experience dating here, but when I do go out, I am pretty thankful that I was able to find one of the good ones.

But, what it is about this area? Seriously, I can't put my finger on it; I've never had a harder time connecting with people. Maybe it's me but I could not be single in Rockford.