fStop Images/the Agency Collection/Getty Images
-
Health
Slideshow
-
Health
Slideshow
-
Homeandgarden
Budget Shopping
Think you’re the only one without a mate on Valentine's Day? Well, take heart, my fellow singlistas. We’re actually in good, well-adjusted, totally normative company. The latest census shows that more than 32 million Americans live alone, up from 27 million in 2000. Five million are between 18 and 34, while 15 million are between 35 and 64. If you are currently unattached, you probably aren't feeling too blue. According to an article in The New York Times, singletons are more social than their coupled-off counterparts. Plus, a Washington Post magazine survey found that 44 percent people of single people feel they are just as happy as couples, married or not, and 22 percent actually think they’re happier. And it's not just happening in the U.S. Paris and Stockholm are made up of about 60 percent single-occupant households -- that's 10 to 20 percent higher than cities like Atlanta, Seattle, New York and Washington D.C.
Okay, enough math. Basically, all signs point to flying solo becoming more common. Besides the well-documented 51 percent divorce rate, one out of every 11 widows is fine not getting back into the dating game, and Americans have become more financially independent (no need for a roommate unless you want one). Gone are the stigmas of the old spinster or the damsel in distress. Being single has its privileges, too: I have friends currently traveling the world, unencumbered by strings and rings. I have friends who have walked out on abusive relationships, because it's better to be alone, sane and alive. Being single is not a death sentence. Nor is it a character flaw. It’s a road taken, which is going to have plenty of detours along the way -- who knows what could happen? So rather than slip into a gelato-fueled Love Actually marathon this week, let’s toast to our fabulous single selves. Happy Valentine’s Day to us!
