Are You Single Because Of Where You Live?

"If you come from a suburb, when you first move to a big city you sort of rebel against what your friends at home have: the high school sweetheart relationships that will most likely turn into marriage," says Kerner. But on the other hand, it's easy to get pulled toward it when you go home. Mara says that although she respects her friends' who stayed home and wanted to get married just a few years out of high school, she knew she wanted different things with her life and career: "I moved where I'd fit in, even if it meant sacrificing my love life for the time being. Sometimes I do wonder, if I could have the same professional life that I do, but in South Carolina where I grew up, would I be able to have it all?" Career And Family: Can We Really Have Both?

Kerner says that either in the city or out, it's just about being pro-active. "Most women I talk to think they need to leave the city to find the right relationship, because their friends at home are getting married and having babies. Regardless of where you are, if you put yourself in new situations, doing things you like with people like you, you're going to meet a great match. It's a little like a numbers game."

Annie Robbins, a professional matchmaker at LifeWorks Matchmaking tells her clients to have a dating plan.

"Where you live can have a positive or negative impact on how you meet people. Girls will always be hopeful of meeting someone permanent that they can settle down with, regardless of where they live, but when you're in a big city it compounds the problem. Randomly going out hoping to find that special someone in a big city full of hundreds of prospects is overwhelming." She suggests going about dating as you would with a job search: network with people you like who will introduce you to people they know, and very naturally you will get to someone who's right for you.

"If you're living in a large city with lots of single people, you have to narrow the playing field. Go places where you'd like to find a like-minded person with the same values or hobbies as you. Visit art shows, take tennis lessons, go to parties that your coworkers invite you to. It won't be as daunting as not knowing what type of people you'll meet in a bar."