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What Are America's Most Romance-Obsessed Cities?
Everyone knows that Paris is supposedly the city of romance, but when it comes to the U.S., how do our cities compare? Well, I can't tell you which is the most romantic place to visit, but, thanks to Amazon, we now know which cities love romance novels the most. So there's that at least.
Amazon determined their list by looking at how many romance novels were purchased per capita from each city in the U.S. And once it did, it was able to come up with a list of America's 20 most romantic cities. So if you do decide to visit any of them, I can't guarantee how romantic the city itself might be, but you can rest assured that you are surrounded by romance lovers.
Interestingly, the list doesn't seem to skew heavily towards any particular region of the U.S. — East Coast, Midwest, Southern, the West, even the Pacific Northwest are all represented somewhere. However, certain states seem to be more romantic than others. Tennessee, Washington, Ohio, and Pennsylvania each have two cities in the top 20. Florida has three. I guess underneath all the crazy, Floridians really are just romantics at heart. Maybe it help keeps their minds off the flesh-eating bacteria that occasionally tries to kill them.
Mysteriously, though, Seattle has dropped off the list completely this year after coming in second in 2014. Maybe the people of Seattle are growing jaded and cynical? Maybe you should do something about that, Seattle.
In any event, hopeless romantics in these 20 cities can take comfort in the fact that they are in good company (especially as Valentine's Day approaches). Is your city on the list?
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Miami, Fla.
- Orlando, Fla.
- Alexandria, Va.
- Vancouver, Wa.
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Dayton, Ohio
- Columbia, S.C.
- Round Rock, Texas
- Murfreesboro, Tenn.
- Las Vegas, Nev.
- Pittsburgh, Penn.
- Everett, Wa.
- Broken Arrow, Okla.
- Springfield, Miss.
- Salem, Ore.
- Billings, Mont.
- Wilmington, N.C.
- Gainesville, Fla.
- Erie, Penn.
If so, you might be in a prime spot to start that romance book club you've always dreamed of.
Image: Monkey Business/Fotolia
