I just read a fantastic article in New York Magazine about loneliness in NYC.

Did you know that one of every two apartments in New York City is occupied by just one person living alone? Of all 3,141 counties in the United States, New York County has the most single-individual households, at 50.6 percent. More than three-quarters of the people in them are below the age of 65. Fifty-seven percent are female.

I wasn’t totally surprised by this fact. Just in my own social circle I know countless solo dwellers. I suppose the only surprise to me is how in the hell all these folks can afford rent on their own when I can barely make rent as a duo. (Then again, some New Yorkers have actual fulltime jobs.)

Makes you think New Yorkers are all sobbing themselves to sleep at night with this ditty blasting their depressed heads (forgive the poor video quality)

Sure, there are some sad solo souls sobbing in the city, but if you have ever lived in New York you know that it actually is one of the best places to live alone since you are rarely ever actually alone. I mean, the city is packed. At any moment you can walk out of your apartment and be surrounded by people. Of course overpopulation and crowds doesn’t mean people aren’t lonely. Personally, some of my loneliest moments have been at a huge party or walking thru Central Park. Not because I don’t have people in my life, but sometimes you can feel a little lost among the masses. (One of my favorite song lyrics abut NYC is in Regina Spektor’s “Summer in the City” where she sings “Summer in the city I’m so lonely, lonely, lonely So I went to a protest just to rub up against strangers” ah I think most New Yorkers know what she’s feeling).

However the point the NY Mag piece makes is that since New York City offers access to limitless social interaction (ie: solo city folk do things like take their laptop to cafes so they can do work alone but still be surrounded by people and hence possibly/probably interact with these people.) people in the big apple are really okay on their own. In fact, New York State’s suicide rate is currently the third lowest in the nation at 6.2 percent, and the city’s rate is even lower, at 5.4 percent.

According to a report issued by the state’s Office of Mental Health, in fact, suicide statistics in New York follow a simple formula: The less populous the county, the higher the rate (with superdense Kings County, or Brooklyn, boasting the second lowest, at 4.4 per 100,000). The United States follows the same pattern, with suicides rising the more rural the area becomes. States with the worst suicide rates are the least dense. (Montana, Nevada, Alaska, New Mexico, and Wyoming are ranked, respectively, one through five.)- New York Magazine.

Interesting, right?

Of course, in living alone comes the fear of dying alone. The article reminded readers of Christina Copeman who die alone in her apartment in East Flatbush. Her remains were found about twelve to eighteen months after she’d died. So sad. So very sad.

Well whether you’re reading this blog at home with your big family or solo in your Manhattan studio apartment, I hope at the very least you have good people to spend your holiday with this year. Living in a home alone is one thing, living a life totally alone is a problem. http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-with-Loneliness and read this helpful piece about dealing with loneliness on Wikihow.com.