FRED Ng is a bachelor who has lived in New York for almost four years. A Singaporean transferred by his financial services company to work in Manhattan, Ng, 31, loves going out for coffee with his friends and enjoys solitary walks in the park during his days off.
He stays in a small studio apartment in downtown Manhattan, all by himself.
But Ng isn’t alone as he has 31 million people for company. That is the number of people who live alone in the United States, according to a 2007 survey by the US Census Bureau.
Even in crowded and sometimes claustrophobic New York City where people are everywhere, statistics from the Department of City Planning showed that one out of every two apartments in Manhattan is occupied by just one individual.
But don’t start playing Are You Lonesome Tonight to folks like Ng.
Manhatttan, according to New York magazine, is the capital of people living by themselves. The magazine ran a cover story on “The Loneliness Myth” two months ago, quoting studies which showed that New York is among “the least lonely places on earth”.
This metropolitan of eight million inhabitants is on Forbes’ list of Best Cities for Singles, ranking Number 8 out of 40.
Its nightlife is unmatched, according to Forbes, besides its cool factor. But the unbearable cost of living pushed it out as head of the class. (Atlanta is tops, by the way).
The culturally diverse New York, according to Ng, offers wide opportunities to meet people and make friends.
“People who feel alienated here are probably shy or haven’t met the right clique yet,” he said. “Life in the city lacks a sense of community that you find in a small town.”
For the timid ones, New York is daunting.
“New Yorkers tend to be rather loud with a in-your-face attitude. They lack patience if they feel that people are wasting their time in things they don’t care about,” Ng said.
Heidi Smith, a 20-something Californian who moved to New York several months ago, said Gotham would intimidate those without a good support system.
“For me, I am worried about slipping on ice and breaking my leg,” she quipped, referring to the snowy days in New York.
Smith, who teaches in an elementary school, said her friends felt she was crazy to move to New York as the weather was harsher in the Empire State.
“But people here are nice, though I would like to think that Californians are very friendly. Over there, people would get more angry if you are rude to them.”
New York, she said, could be both scary and fun for outsiders.
However, Smith does not intend to stay in New York for the long term. “That’s not my plan. There are other places that I want to live in.”
During Unmarried and Single Americans Week from Sept 21 to 28 last year, the Census Bureau released facts and figures which showed that there were 92 million unmarried Americans aged 18 and older in 2006.
Another batch of numbers in 2004 indicated that 50% of adults in New York are unmarried, the highest among all the states.
Ng, for example, is a staunch believer that New York is a great place for singles.
“There are all sorts of venues for meeting other people, no matter what type of personality you may have,” he said.
“For example, the clubbing scene is always vibrant for party-goers, and there are world-class institutions for the culturally-inclined such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
Speed dating is available for people of all stripes whether single professionals, Jewish, Muslims or Christians. Here in hurry, hurry New York, there are even events called Date and Dash Speed Dating Party.
On New Year’s Eve, there was the gay and lesbian black tie royal ball.
Ng, however, described himself as an introvert who preferred solitude.
His American colleagues are fantastic. “I have a good rapport and working relationship with them, but I don’t usually hang out with them.”
He loves the bookstores and the countless cafes in the city. “I mostly confine myself within the Buddhist circle,” he said.
“I won’t call myself a social butterfly,” he joked, “but people tend to think that the singles here are party goers who come home drunk at 2am, if they come back to their own homes at all.”
Another misconception, he said, was that Americans would “sleep with anything that moves”.
“I don’t miss not being part of the wild side,” he said. “It was never my scene.”
Besides his full-time IT support job, Ng is taking up a course on Information Systems Management at New York University.
That leaves almost no time for dating. “With my work and part-time study at NYU, the only dates I go for are the ones in Whole Foods Market. They are all organic, so it is a healthy relationship,” he said in jest.
What does he do when the occasional loneliness creeps in?
“I either hit the gym or go for long walks in the parks or along the Hudson River. Sometimes I harass my friends to go out,” he said. “If loneliness hits me hard enough, I lapse into a coma.”
He stays in a small studio apartment in downtown Manhattan, all by himself.
But Ng isn’t alone as he has 31 million people for company. That is the number of people who live alone in the United States, according to a 2007 survey by the US Census Bureau.
Even in crowded and sometimes claustrophobic New York City where people are everywhere, statistics from the Department of City Planning showed that one out of every two apartments in Manhattan is occupied by just one individual.
But don’t start playing Are You Lonesome Tonight to folks like Ng.
Manhatttan, according to New York magazine, is the capital of people living by themselves. The magazine ran a cover story on “The Loneliness Myth” two months ago, quoting studies which showed that New York is among “the least lonely places on earth”.
This metropolitan of eight million inhabitants is on Forbes’ list of Best Cities for Singles, ranking Number 8 out of 40.
Its nightlife is unmatched, according to Forbes, besides its cool factor. But the unbearable cost of living pushed it out as head of the class. (Atlanta is tops, by the way).
The culturally diverse New York, according to Ng, offers wide opportunities to meet people and make friends.
“People who feel alienated here are probably shy or haven’t met the right clique yet,” he said. “Life in the city lacks a sense of community that you find in a small town.”
For the timid ones, New York is daunting.
“New Yorkers tend to be rather loud with a in-your-face attitude. They lack patience if they feel that people are wasting their time in things they don’t care about,” Ng said.
Heidi Smith, a 20-something Californian who moved to New York several months ago, said Gotham would intimidate those without a good support system.
“For me, I am worried about slipping on ice and breaking my leg,” she quipped, referring to the snowy days in New York.
Smith, who teaches in an elementary school, said her friends felt she was crazy to move to New York as the weather was harsher in the Empire State.
“But people here are nice, though I would like to think that Californians are very friendly. Over there, people would get more angry if you are rude to them.”
New York, she said, could be both scary and fun for outsiders.
However, Smith does not intend to stay in New York for the long term. “That’s not my plan. There are other places that I want to live in.”
During Unmarried and Single Americans Week from Sept 21 to 28 last year, the Census Bureau released facts and figures which showed that there were 92 million unmarried Americans aged 18 and older in 2006.
Another batch of numbers in 2004 indicated that 50% of adults in New York are unmarried, the highest among all the states.
Ng, for example, is a staunch believer that New York is a great place for singles.
“There are all sorts of venues for meeting other people, no matter what type of personality you may have,” he said.
“For example, the clubbing scene is always vibrant for party-goers, and there are world-class institutions for the culturally-inclined such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
Speed dating is available for people of all stripes whether single professionals, Jewish, Muslims or Christians. Here in hurry, hurry New York, there are even events called Date and Dash Speed Dating Party.
On New Year’s Eve, there was the gay and lesbian black tie royal ball.
Ng, however, described himself as an introvert who preferred solitude.
His American colleagues are fantastic. “I have a good rapport and working relationship with them, but I don’t usually hang out with them.”
He loves the bookstores and the countless cafes in the city. “I mostly confine myself within the Buddhist circle,” he said.
“I won’t call myself a social butterfly,” he joked, “but people tend to think that the singles here are party goers who come home drunk at 2am, if they come back to their own homes at all.”
Another misconception, he said, was that Americans would “sleep with anything that moves”.
“I don’t miss not being part of the wild side,” he said. “It was never my scene.”
Besides his full-time IT support job, Ng is taking up a course on Information Systems Management at New York University.
That leaves almost no time for dating. “With my work and part-time study at NYU, the only dates I go for are the ones in Whole Foods Market. They are all organic, so it is a healthy relationship,” he said in jest.
What does he do when the occasional loneliness creeps in?
“I either hit the gym or go for long walks in the parks or along the Hudson River. Sometimes I harass my friends to go out,” he said. “If loneliness hits me hard enough, I lapse into a coma.”
