America's Best Cities for Singles 2012

T+L readers rank the nation’s best singles scenes for mixing it up with the locals.

In some cities, a night out means martinis, high heels, and velvet ropes. In others, even your good jeans might be too formal for the singles bar scene—and “after five” is open to interpretation.

“In Austin, people love to drink at all hours of the day,” says Lindsey Reynolds, a local food publicist. “Flip-flops and jorts—short jean shorts—are found everywhere, even at more upscale places.” That mellow attitude makes it easy to mingle, so it’s no surprise that the Texas capital made the top 10 again this year for its singles scene, according to Travel + Leisure readers.

In the annual America’s Favorite Cities survey, readers ranked 35 cities on dozens of features, from hotels to wireless coverage, as well as the qualities that make for a vibrant nightlife, such as live music, cocktails, and attractive locals. In the singles/bar scene category, New Orleans took the No. 1 spot yet again—thanks in part to that year-round Mardi Gras vibe, but also because of a certain homegrown effervescence, aside from any booze.

“We talk to strangers. We dance in the streets. We wear costumes for no reason,” says Colleen Rush, the editor of NewOrleans.com and a happy single herself. “It’s not difficult to dive in and meet people here.”

In Los Angeles, it’s all about dressing to impress, preferably on a swanky rooftop, while in San Diego, hipster beer purists mingle in microbrew tasting rooms. In New York, the No. 1 ranked city for diversity, there’s a bar for every taste—even a Lower East Side speakeasy-type joint that reportedly offers a cocktail with extremely aged spirits for $150 (a reminder to think twice before asking, “Buy you a drink?”).

Even in the cities with legendary nightlife districts—such as the Vegas Strip, or Miami’s South Beach—locals are quick to point out that the best scene is off the tourist path. “Most people think Bourbon Street is New Orleans,” says Rush, but she recommends Frenchmen Street instead, with its eclectic range of food and drink options and lots of live music—another category that New Orleans won in the survey.

Of course, a singles scene doesn’t need to involve any bar stools at all. In Austin, even the jogging trail around Lady Bird Lake can be a pick-up spot; according to Reynolds, “it’s meat-market city.”

They’re the friendliest, proudest, and perhaps kookiest people in America, according to AFC voters—and the city also reigns supreme for live music and cocktails. Mix up those ingredients, and sure enough, Crescent City has ranked No. 1 again for its singles scene. To hang with the locals, your first move is to get beyond Bourbon Street: try Frenchmen, Freret, or Oak streets, the latter being the site of Maple Leaf Bar, with nightly live music from the likes of the Rebirth Brass Band.

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The continuous parade of “mancations” and bachelorette parties probably helped Sin City solidify its place near the top of the singles scene this year—along with its silver medals for wild weekends and great people-watching. (Voters even ranked Vegas No. 6 for Valentine’s Day.) The see-and-be-seen crowd has lately descended on the Cosmopolitan Hotel, and its Chandelier Bar in particular. Off the Strip, the Fremont East area attracts a more local crowd, as does the Blue Martini bar at Town Square.

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The No. 1 city for diversity has a style of bar for every demographic, with many of the trendiest clustered in the Lower East Side. One sure sign of the neighborhood’s gentrification: the Experimental Cocktail Club, which also has branches in Paris and London. Drinks fall in the $15 range, although $150 reportedly gets you a Stinger, a “vintage” cocktail made with 1960s Hennessy and a 1940s crème de menthe. Just brush up on your small talk as the city ranks first for both classical music and performance art.

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Gorgeous, noisy, and a little unpredictable: with its eye-catching locals and wild weekends, Miami improved its singles scene ranking by two spots this year. South Beach still has its velvet ropes, but Brickell may be attracting the most locals these days. Here you’ll find classic dive Tobacco Road, which claims to be Miami’s oldest bar (boasting Al Capone as a past patron), as well as the M-Bar at the Mandarin Oriental, which offers about 200 martini options.

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This colonial island city is a no-brainer for the top 5, thanks to its tropical breezes, plentiful rum, and very good-looking residents. One of the hottest dance bars is the rooftop Mist at the Water Beach Club, which debuted for New Year’s Eve 2011—a good strategy, since the city ranks as the No. 1 place to visit for that holiday. San Juan is also a surprisingly cheap date: it ranked No. 4 for being affordable.

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In a city full of cool architecture and great pizza, the locals take pride in their neighborhood bars. In Pilsen, Simone’s offers craft beers from a bar top made from an old bowling alley lane, while traditional Simon’s Tavern in Andersonville channels its Swedish heritage by offering both mulled-wine glogg and a challenge: if you can identify the five animals in the bar’s mural, you drink free for the night and wear the house Viking helmet. If you’re in the mood for a swanky night out, head to the rooftop at Zed451.

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Even if the Texas capital slipped five spots since last year, voters still appreciate the mellow scene in this hipster town, which ranked in the top 10 for offbeat and brainy residents. Set your sights on Rainey, the city’s coolest bar street, a downtown stretch of renovated old homes. At Icenhauer, all of the drinks (such as the Allison, a sangria served in a Mason jar) are named after the proprietor’s ex-girlfriends. Nearby, the kitsch-tinged Black Heart has as its signature cocktail a whiskey with muddled cherries.

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Local bands power the nightlife scene in friendly Nashville, but voters also found Music City pleasantly livable: safe, economical, and with good wireless coverage. Aside from classic bars on Lower Broadway, the trendier scenes are found in East Nashville and in downtown’s LEED-certified neighborhood The Gulch, where you can take a break from twangy tunes and listen to swing at dinner club Sambuca.

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Voters would rather flirt over dinner than drinks in the Bay Area: San Francisco ranked closer to the top for fine dining, cafés, and ethnic cuisine. The Mission may be the right neighborhood to strike up a conversation. Right now, the area’s Valencia Street is surging with activity: check out Mosto, connected to Tacolicious II, where the menu of more than 300 tequilas is sure to give you something to talk about.

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The Gaslamp has long been considered the city’s main bar neighborhood, but the downtown party scene has both widened and moved high above the sidewalks, namely to the Altitude Sky Lounge, the Ivy Rooftop at the Andaz Hotel, and the Rooftop at the W, which all make the most of the views and the city’s near-perfect weather. Beer purists might prefer close-ups of the good local craft brews, at tasting rooms such as Green Flash and Bottlecraft.

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Voters have sometimes dismissed Philly as a sweatshirts-and-cheesesteaks kind of town, ranking it higher for both sports-crazed fans and street food. But the City of Brotherly Love’s bar scene made a huge jump this year, from a buzzkill No. 27 to this slot just outside the top 10. The Midtown Village area (from Market to Pine) is a good bet—from the old-school Fergie’s, with Yuengling and other microbrews, to the funky Bohemian Absinthe Lounge above Time Restaurant.

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No doubt this is a dress-to-impress town, ranking fourth for style and third for luxury shopping. But unless your idea of mingling is celebrity-spotting at Chateau Marmont, the reigning singles scene is fairly well removed from Hollywood. Opt for the city views at downtown rooftop bars, such as the French-inspired Perch, or Ion at the JW Marriott. By day, prep by browsing for A-list castoffs in the city’s highly ranked flea markets.

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The old joke goes that the first thing locals in Savannah will ask a newcomer is what they like to drink. Thanks to the liberal open-container laws in the Historic District, you can easily try that line at neighborhood watering holes such as Dosha Bar and then take your cocktails to go. Happily, the southern city also ranks in the top 5 for being pedestrian-friendly. And even though the annual spring break crowd may disagree, the scene seems to transcend mere hookups: voters ranked it No. 1 for romantic escapes.

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Beer and mountain bikes may be the equivalent of wine and roses in the Mile High City, which voters love for its wide-open spaces and sports-crazed culture. For proof of how the city won the microbrewing category, check out LoHi (Lower Highland Area), where the Denver Beer Co. is a new favorite among brew-loving singles. Prefer the hard stuff? Try the vodka bar at downtown Red Square. And if you want to meet the locals who helped the city earn its gold medal for fitness, head to Washington Park, where the rule is BYOVN (Bring Your Own Volleyball Net).

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The crowd in the Rhode Island capital is equal parts techie and artsy, and they prefer substance over style: the city ranked well for down-to-earth cuisine such as great burgers and pizza, and No. 2 overall for food and drink. To cozy up to single foodies, check out downtown’s The Dorrance, or the tapas-style Flan y Ajo. The best times to visit this corner of New England: summer and fall, according to voters.

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The Twin Cities broke into the top 20 this year, but not for being rowdy partiers: on the contrary, Minneapolis/St. Paul won the survey for being tidy. Voters found the locals to be equally brainy and buff (perhaps thanks to all those bicycles). Track them down on the rooftop or patio bars in the Uptown area, or at Fulton Beer’s taproom, a magnet for microbrewing fans a few blocks from Target Field.

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Ironically, the city that inspired the movie Singles hasn’t made many appearances in the top 20 for its scene. But voters did rank it highly for the local coffee, so why not try your luck at a coffeehouse. Once you’re caffeinated, head to the Ballard neighborhood for drinks at King’s Hardware, Bastille, or Ballard Loft. Another good bet is Capitol Hill, where you can dance at Havana or hang on the patio at Poquitos, where heated seats and table-side fireplaces will put you in the mood for the bar’s signature margaritas.

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Beantown ranked in the bottom 10 for its cocktail hour, perhaps because the locals here are so focused on their suds. You’ll find young hipsters in Allston and the tech crowd in Cambridgeport, but the microbrew mother ships include the Sam Adams brewery and South Boston’s Harpoon Brewery. Here’s a good excuse to hail a cab or use mass transit to get back to your hotel: the locals rank near the bottom for their driving skills.

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Voters were attracted to these Maine locals for their intelligence, or just for seeming approachable. While the Old Port is the city’s classic walkable zone for nightlife, the East End, at the top of Munjoy Hill, is an up-and-coming area, with bars such as Sonny’s, the Spanish-inspired Local 188, and Rí Rá Irish Pub. Close by is the Eastern Promenade, where you can get to know locals over a game of softball or “zombie kickball.”

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Voters like the casual energy of this Sunbelt city, which ranks highly for both big burgers and plentiful barbecue. But summer nights get a little too steamy—literally. The prime time for hitting the Houston singles scene may be winter, which readers ranked at No. 5. For the hottest bar scene these days, check out Midtown, along Houston’s light rail corridor, where communal tables encourage conversation over microbrews.

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