Two Seattle singles try 60 dates in 60 days

“You have no idea how awful it is to be single in Seattle. Deadly, depressing, dreary, dull. I’ve run out of ‘d’ words which is the same grade I’d give most guys here,” says Amy Reed.

She’s right, I have no idea what it’s like. I’m celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary. Amy is 30-something friend who often complains about the “sharks” and “losers” she encounters while dating here. Is it really that bad?

In Seattle, being single is more common than being married, according to the latest Census date. Seattle has the second-highest number of single households of any city in America, behind Washington DC.

What to do about this?

To celebrate National Singles Week (which is this week), two bloggers and a dating coach are kicking of a “60 dates in 60 days challenge.”

A bachelor and bachelorette will try dating services, singles clubs, matchmakers and blind dates set up by friends over the next few months. They’ll write about it too, with the hope that you’ll learn from their experiences.

Here’s the bachelorette’s description: Justine is 38, divorced, and a successful business owner, home owner and friend. She is articulate, educated, has a great heart, and really cares about people. She is a single mom to a beautiful 2 year old.

A passage from her blog after trying Match.com:

“I had a date set up with someone interesting, but then he cancelled on the day of the first date, saying that he had just met someone this past weekend, and wanted to see where it would go.

Gotta admire that there are still men out there who do that!

Found profile for S. and wrote to him. His photos were a ‘little too pretty,’ which was a red flag for me, but after a phone conversation, my concerns were diminished. He sounded great.

Met S. for lunch near my home. S. made the dating mistake (in my book anyway, others say this is not a big deal to them) of trying to hug me upon meeting. Now before you say I’m some kind of super-prude, remember I’ve only spoken to this person for a few minutes on the phone; to me a hug is not appropriate at this juncture. I swear I’m not a prude at all (trust me on this), but the presumption that you can touch me without an invitation and without having ever even met me bothers me (unless you’re French, in which case you get a cultural “pass” on this one!) Left pretty disappointed because I came into it with high hopes based on our online profiles.”

Now, the bachelor: Eric is 43, never married, and a successful business owner, home owner and friend. He is fit, friendly, fun, responsible, articulate and he has a great heart.

For his first blog post, Eric reflects on why he’s doing this:

“An accepted definition of insanity is continually applying the same methods to solve a problem and expecting different results. 20 years of attempting to meet women through friends, volleyball, social networking, and parties have culminated in my dating what was ostensibly the same woman — the wrong woman — over and over again.Well I’m not quite sure what the right woman looks like; Is EVERY woman in Seattle the ‘wrong woman,’ or is it me? Having no illusions as to my own perfection, I decided to change my methods and employ modern-day dating techniques. Match.com, E. Harmony.com and chemistry.com did serve a purpose; I now know that there are some lovely women here in Seattle. Unfortunately, the results were the same, I’m still single. Was I too picky?

I am in the midst of a lifelong growth process wherein changes have taken place and more change is imminent. The concept of growing with and because of someone is an integral part of why I have embarked upon this journey. The thing that the “wrong women” seem to have in common is that they all appear to have read the “How to Change his Core Values Within Five Dates” issue of Cosmo and figure me as a prime candidate for an extreme make over.

Is every woman trying to change me, or have I been unclear as to who I am?”

This could be an interesting, voyeuristic experience. I’ll talk with both of them half way through the journey, and again when it’s over around Thanksgiving time. By then they’ll either be thankful it’s over, or thankful they’ve found true love.