Dating a Londoner who lives on the other side of the city can feel an awful lot like Romeo and Juliet sometimes. Two households, both alike in dignity, where the Central Line makes civil hands unclean.
Anyone who has dated across the divide will have their many hours of commuting committed to memory: long rides on the Tube, bus naps, missed stops, first and last services, the laziness-induced Uber that cost over £40.
It basically feels like a long-distance relationship. And according to new research from Bumble and Lime — it is! The research, which polled nearly 2,000 singletons in the city, found that nearly half of Londoners consider dating across the city to be “long distance”.
Because London may be one city, but it’s a big one: our fair capital is the third largest city in Europe and its longest Tube line, the Central Line, runs a distance of 46 miles. That’s nearly two marathons.
If someone on one end of the Central Line (Ealing Broadway) decided to date someone on the other end (Epping) it could take them up to an hour and 46 minutes to get to their belle or beau. Two people who live in entirely different cities (i.e Liverpool and Manchester) could travel to each other faster than that (35 minutes on the fast train).
The research from Bumble and Lime also found that Londoners are heavily inclined to date someone in the same area as them, with 69 per cent of Londoners seeking someone in their own borough.
And that’s not just due to convenience. According to the respondents, the area of London someone lives in can be a “social shorthand” for the type of person they are. Indeed, the Bumble data found that a majority (59 per cent) of Londoners believe that where someone lives is a strong indicator of their personality.
However, some Londoners are still happy to go the distance. Over half (53 per cent) of Londoners happily match with people from other parts of the city, and exactly half (50 per cent) are willing to travel an hour or more for a first date (generous!).
This is apparently motivated by the chance to discover new places (37 per cent), to show genuine effort and interest (30 per cent), and the romance of the gesture (23 per cent). Horniness was not an option on the motivation list, clearly.
In order to combat the cross-city dating divide, Bumble and Lime are arranging a singles’ night to help bring Londoners together — and they’re sorting out their transport. On May 25th, daters can get a free Lime bike ride with code BUMBLEXLIME in the Lime app available (on a first come, first serve basis) then take a pit stop in Clapham for giveaways and “dating must-haves” between 11am–3:45pm. Daters also have the option to end the day at a singles party at No.32 Clapham, with complimentary drinks, food, and a DJ.
