32.6% say chocolate is the worst Valentines Day present — it was the No. 1 answer.
4.8% say chocolate is the best present (it was the least chosen option); Jewelry took the gold with 19.1% of the vote.
Some write-in picks for the best Valentine’s Day present:
- “We never really celebrate Valentine’s Day as we decided in our spirited youth that it’s ‘too commercial,’” wrote Vikki Meldrum. “Then, one year, I opted to get him a card. I felt like I wasn’t really participating in the holiday but just wanted to tell him I think he’s the bee’s knees. I presented him my card on Valentine’s morn only to find out he too got me a card … the same exact card.”
- “My husband surprised me with couples dance lessons one year so we would have more dates together.”
- “A handwritten poem”
- “Camera equipment”
- “My engagement ring”
- “The promise of sex”
- “Unconditional love combined with undivided attention”
- “A clue every day of ‘Love Month,’ (February), leading to a great present at the end once all the clues are pieced together.”
Some write-in notes on the worst Valentine’s Day present:
- “Dinner at McDonalds”
- “Baby cougar”
- “A Panini’s sandwich … and I had to pay for it myself!”
- “Chastity”
- “Not seeing your significant other”
- “An iron and a pile of wrinkled shirts”
- “A recycled gift from an old flame”
- “I love every gift! I got a dude a toilet seat one year and he loved it too!”
- “Heart-shaped anything”
- “Being stood up”
- “Re-gifting a stuffed animal given to your significant other by their ex. It happened to me once, and I found out about it.”
- “Lotion. I hate lotion.”
10.8% of married people met their spouse at the bar. School was the No. 1 answer with 26.3% of the vote.
84.6% claim to have never forgotten an anniversary (we’re suspicious). 5.7% admit to not being sure. 7% of men say they have forgotten, 9.3% of women say they have forgotten.
“When I was married, I spent an entire day FUMING, and ended the day in tears because I thought my then husband forgot our anniversary,” wrote Julie. “Problem was, it was August 10, a month before our September 10 anniversary. Oops.”
“A few drinks” (48.4%) edged out “Good conversation” (48.1%) for the Best Aphrodisiac award. Less people favor popping pills (Viagra got a measly .7%), oysters (.4%) and chocolate (2.4%).
41.8% claim they’d rather bed down in the buff. Flannel came in second with 36.5%, leaving silk in the dust with just 21.8% of the vote. Who knew? 38.3% of women prefer sleeping naked.
56.4% of men prefer sleeping naked.
48.9% of singles prefer sleeping naked.
47.8% of people in a relationship prefer sleeping naked (No. 1 answer). Flannel came in second with 32.8%.
43% of married people prefer sleeping in flannel (No. 1 answer). Naked came in second at 36.4%.
Almost a third of those who responded admitted to preferring a good backrub over sex.
91% of men prefer sex to a backrub.
65.3% of women prefer sex to a backrub
Jazz clubs rule: With 39.3% of the vote, they beat dance clubs (31.3%)
When we asked “how did you meet your current partner?” “Through friends” was the No. 1 answer, with 27.3% of the vote. School and work were in a close race for second (school got 16.7%, work got 16.4%) and the bar came in third with 11.5%. Then there were these …
- “Seatmate on airplane”
- “My sister called me and told me she was sick and could I pick up her child from school. I was in the middle of doing something and was pissed about it, but she had a child on the way and was sick. Her teacher is now my wife. Too many details to explain.”
- “Bowling league”
- “Through a video dating service in 1983”
- “I sent him a note at the grocery store. I had the bag boy slip it into his grocery bag. He read my note when he got home and called.”
- “Craigslist personals”
The Going Out vs. Staying In poll question was a dead heat from the first day of the survey to the last. Staying in won with 53.2% of the vote.
52.9% of women prefer to stay in
48.5% of men prefer to stay in
54.3% of singles prefer to go out
53.8% of people in a relationship/married prefer to stay in
57.5% of married people prefer to stay in
When we asked people to rate their feelings from 1 (it makes me want to cry) to 10 (I’m ecstatic), we discovered Clevelanders are pretty happy — except when it comes to the local dating scene:
4.56: average feelings about the Cleveland dating scene
7.65: average feelings about their relationship status
8.35: average feelings about their significant other (well, nobody’s perfect)
Men’s averages:
5.27: happiness with the dating scene
7.8: happiness with their relationship status
8.38: happiness with their significant other
The No. 1 answer for both relationship status and feelings about their significant other was a perfect “10”! (33% and 37.9% respectively)
Women’s averages:
4.36: happiness with the dating scene
7.6: happiness with their relationship status
8.38: happiness with their significant other
The No. 1 answer for both relationship status and feelings about their significant other was a perfect “10”! (40.2% and 45.2% respectively)
Single’s averages:
4.22: happiness with the dating scene
4.36: happiness with their relationship status
In a Relationship/Married averages:
8.61: happiness with their relationship status
8.8: happiness with their significant other
The No. 1 answer when we asked “What’s your biggest beef with the Cleveland dating scene?” was “No good places to meet people,” with 22% of the vote. A fraction of you (2%) answered “Nothing — I love the singles scene here!” For the rest of you, here are some of the places your fellow Clevelanders suggested:
- The bar scene was a big favorite (people never learn): 28% of people listed some version of the bar answer. Answers included “We always meet fun people at South Side in Tremont,” “I haven’t found anywhere great, but my brother met my sister-in-law on W. Sixth, so I’ll go with that,” The Warehouse District, E. Fourth St. and “Single, to stay single: West Sixth; Single, to meet good potential: East Fourth bars.”
- Sporting events were also a common suggestion; 24 people, 9%
- Church got 15 votes, 5.6%
- Cleveland Plays got 10 votes, 3.7%
- Some of the more unusual choices:
- Whole Foods
- Target
- The mall
- Case Western Reserve University: “Where my hubby works … watch out ladies, he is mine!”
- The airport
- “Ugh nowhere”
- Blossom’s parking lot
- “Any dog park — dog lovers make great people lovers”
“You get out of it what you put into it,” wrote Tracy Choma. “I really had to be proactive and put myself out there. … I showed up to organizations by myself (Cleveland 20/30 Club, Cleveland Plays, Playhouse Square Partners, 2nd Sole Running Club) and made new friends who, in turn, introduced me to people. Getting involved in these groups changed my life. While living in Broadview Heights, I made new friends who lived in Lakewood. I moved to Lakewood, joined the 2nd Sole Running Club which got me into running local races. It was after one of those local races I went to the grocery store and met my fiancé at the Heinen’s in Rocky River. Never would have happened had I just sat and waited in my condo in Broadview Heights.”
But, on the flip side of the coin … “It's more difficult to meet people here than anywhere else I've ever been,” wrote an anonymous East Sider. “People seem to stick to what they know, don't really talk to or approach people they don't know. Either they don't talk to you, or they are blatantly hitting on you from the first second, which is a turn off.
And there was this: “Too many out of shape women!”
Almost a third of our respondents said they’ve dated someone at least 10 years older then them (30.2%), but only 12.5% have dated someone at least a decade younger.
A quarter of our pollsters said they have indeed dated their friend’s ex (26.4%).
“I haven’t dated my friend’s ex, but I’ve dated my ex’s friend,” wrote an anonymous female.
And while more than half of you have dated a coworker (52.8%), just a handful of you have made the leap to boss dating (8.9%) — although there was the female who asked, “[I’ve] dated a couple of my professors — do they count as bosses?”
19.6% of men have dated someone a decade older.
35.4% of women have dated someone a decade older.
18.6% of men have dated someone a decade younger.
10.5% of women have dated someone a decade younger.
91.4% of you have kissed on a first date …
68.8% of you admit to doing the old kiss and tell routine.
62.1% of men kiss and tell.
72.2% of women kiss and tell.
More than a quarter of you have taken the technology plunge: 27.5% say they’ve tried online dating.
Out of that group of people, almost half have taken the … um … biblical plunge, and slept with someone they met on the Internet: 48.2% say yes they have!
12.5% of women say they’ve had sex with someone they met online
19.4% of men say they’ve done it.
1 out of 5 people has stood someone up: 21.5% admit to the dirty deed.
1 out of 3 people has been stood up: 33.1% never made it out the door.
Stefanie Boyd checked “yes” on the “Have you ever been stood up?” question, and added “But it turned out he was in the drunk tank from a DUI and couldn’t call me to tell me. Haha.”
“I hid in my room and listened to him keep calling my phone and finally leaving a depressing message,” wrote Jocelyn Jones about the guy she stood up. “We’re not really friends anymore.”
58% say they’ve lived in sin (with a significant other, without being married)
Have you ever …
28.7%: Been shocked by something your partner asked you to do in bed
49.9%: Followed a magazine or newspaper’s relationship advice
56%: Followed a magazine or newspaper’s sex advice
56.3%: Faked an orgasm
The Most Romantic Place In Town:
Lake Erie was a fan favorite, with 20% of people writing in everything from “Anywhere along the lake at sunset,” to “A night boat ride just off the Cleveland shoreline,” to Edgewater Park and “Huntington Beach on a warm summer morning.” One person listed “Huntington Beach in winter when the water is frozen.”
- 8% named Pier W as the most romantic place in town.
- There were some great free romantic spots mentioned:
- The Fountain of Eternal Life at night
- The hill by Sokolowski’s
- The Free Stamp: “It’s a conversation piece, you can sit in it and kiss, etc.”
- Lakeview Cemetery
- The Old Arcade
- The Cleveland Museum of Art lagoon
- 1.4% people named Browns Stadium
