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College is a season like no other. From the day you get your acceptance letter to the day you walk across the stage at graduation, college really is one of the most formative seasons of your life. For many people, college is a time where they realize who they are, what they want to do in life, and the people they want to spend it with. Many of us have found friends that will be with us for years to come, but how many people find the person they’re going to marry during their college years?
A recent study from Top10.com shows that it might not be as many as you’d think. They surveyed married couples across the country to see how many serious relationships they had before finding their partner, and the dates and costs associated with that process.
On average, both men and women had between 2 and 3 serious relationships before they found “the one”. Men typically scored a little higher in this category with an average of 2.61, with women averaging 2.46. Men also took more dates on average to know they were dating their future partner, needing to go on 5 dates to figure this out compared to 4.66 dates for women.
With this data in mind, they took the study a step further to see just how much a person spends on average in the process of finding their future partner. By looking at how many dates they had to go on before they knew they found “the one”, Top10.com was able to estimate the money spent on this search for love.
For women, it’s no surprise that looking for love in the Big Apple is going to be costly. With an average of over $700 spent on dates before knowing who they were going to end up with, the big city clearly doesn’t give any breaks to dating couples. While it certainly isn’t going to be cheap to find a mate anywhere in the country, those living in Oklahoma City can at least afford to test the waters without breaking the bank with an average cost of $409.38.
For men, the numbers are similar. Though they take a little bit longer than their female counterparts to decide if they’re dating the right person, it’s clear that there is no discrimination in price with New York City taking the top spot once again. Close behind are the usual suspects with San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Miami. If you’re trying to find “the one” while ballin’ on a budget, you might wanna take some summer classes in Milwaukee or Oklahoma City.
No matter who you are, dating is expensive. Toss in college loans and little-to-no income and it may seem like an impossible task. However, always be sure to find what works for you. If that means a quiet picnic like one of these instead of a night out on the town, go for it! If you’re with the right person, money isn’t going to stand in the way. If it doesn’t work out, know that it took a while for most of the happy couples out there too, so don’t lose heart. Either way, enjoy this season of life and know that there is someone out there for you!
