One well-known talk show host is ranking Raleigh as the best place in the nation to be single. But do Raleighites agree?
She's the queen of cooking, but now Rachael Ray is serving up her opinion of the best place in the country for singles.
Your very own Capital City is number one.
In the most recent edition of her magazine, Ray chooses Raleigh because it's small but bustling, brainy but fun and Southern but worldly.
A nice selection, but does the city deserve the accolade?
"There is a lot of single people here," restaurant manager Annie Nice said.
Nice is the general manager of Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in downtown. City Search voted the pub the best place fore singles in the city.
The pub offers speed dating once or twice a week and is planning a singles party on Valentine's Day.
"It's full of attractive people," Nice said. "This is a city full of very attractive single people. "It's people with good jobs and good prospects, and that's who other people want to meet and marry."
Also in town is It's Just Lunch -- a company that matches busy professionals in search of their perfect mate. The company thinks the number one ranking is also appropriate.
"I think with Raleigh, between downtown being revitalized, I mean it's a top city I think for new jobs and with the college campuses it's brought in a lot of people from out of the area," Marisa Durstewitz, It's Just Lunch, said. "I think a lot of 'em are right here. We have a ton of clients."
But no everyone agrees with the ranking. A writer in Charlotte who used to live in Raleigh devoted his column Wednesday to ribbing the ranking.
Raleigh is the nation's best city for dating he writes. Then sarcastically he writes, "no, not carbon dating -- romance dating."
He chides the Capital City for the entire column, but then he acknowledges he did meet his wife in Raleigh.
