This NYC area makes it impossible for older women to find love.

In New York City, are you looking for a single, heterosexual older man? Leave the West Village alone.

Sosi Setian, a 76-year-old divorcee, has given up hope of finding love in the neighborhood where she’s resided for the past eight years.

“I’d prefer someone who lives in my neighborhood because it’s more convenient, but there aren’t many single men my age,” Setian told The Washington Post.

It turns out she was correct. According to Zip-Codes.com, men aged 65 to 70 account for only 2.1% of the West Village population, while men aged 70 to 74 account for only 1.4%. Males in the 10014 ZIP code have a median age of 38.9. The statistics for older women in the West Village are not much better. But, as Setian points out, “the few [men] there may be gay or married, which further reduces my chances.”

“A few friends set me up with men who live in different parts of the city, but we didn’t connect, and I’m not into dating apps,” the semi-retired business owner from Bulgaria revealed.

Ann O’Brien, 66, is in the same boat. When her long-term engagement ended several years ago, she realized the scarcity of older males in the West Village.

“The West Village is the best neighborhood β€” but romantic prospects, forget it,” retired textile worker O’Brien told The Post. “As you get older, there are fewer men around…and the West Village is a mecca for gay men.”

There’s also the problem of senior citizens fleeing. According to a MagnifyMoney.com survey, 33,638 retirees over the age of 65 left the New York metropolitan region between 2016 and 2017. In addition, women in the city have a life expectancy of 83.5 years, while men have a life expectancy of only 78.6 years.

“I know lots of elderly [single] women in the Village but not a correspondingly large number of elderly single men,” said Richard Blodgett, a West Village historian and board member of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. “Perhaps elderly straight men are less available because they can easily find partners among the many women.”

Setian has resolved to settle for female pals rather than local love. She advertised on NextDoor.com that she was looking for West Village ladies aged 60 and up “to meet once a week for a glass of wine, a chat, and a dinner.”

“I was hoping that five or six women would respond,” Setian explained. She was surprised when more than 200 people responded.

“I was shocked,” Setian, a father of two grown children, told The Washington Post. “I wasn’t expecting such an overwhelming response.”

Many of the women who responded shared her displeasure with the West Village’s dearth of available older men β€” and with apps.

“I tried online dating. I admire creative people, so I went out with this classical pianist who was only interested in sex. “He was so focused,” said O’Brien, who has never married or had children. “He used a profile picture from the cover of his CD, but it was taken 15 years ago!” He was actually in his 70s, not the mid-50s as he claimed.”

She’s excited for Setian’s female-group meetings, which began this week and will include weekly conversations, a support group, a book club, weekly meals, and other activities.

“What a fantastic idea. “I like the idea of getting together with a bunch of other women my age and bouncing ideas off each other,” O’Brien remarked. “Older women are more vulnerable to fraud, and we’re not as savvy as younger women, so it’s important to have other women around to discuss things with.”

If they want to meet single guys in their 60s and 70s in the city, they should go to the Upper East Side. Gents aged 60 to 74 account for 6.99% of the population.

“I’d definitely date a man who lives on the Upper East Side, I’m not going to discriminate,” Setian said, adding that she had no plans to relocate. “Finding the right one is more important.”

 

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