Sarasota metro tops list of 100 cities in U.S. to pop the question
The season of love is upon us and with it comes many couples' plans of getting engaged to their one-and-only. According to a new online survey, the Sarasota-North Port region ranks in the top five destinations for couples looking for a picturesque place to go from single to betrothed.
The online survey by jewelry company Shane Co. looked at nine factors in cities across the United States. The cities were measured against one another by using statistics such as the numbers of jewelry stores, wedding photographers and romantic and fine dining establishments in the area. Sarasota closed out the top five in the survey, behind four larger markets — Las Vegas, Honolulu, Albuquerque, and Los Angeles, respectively.
Sarasota was the sole Florida city to crack the top 10 cities to make it on the list of 100. The cities of Fort Myers and Orlando trailed Sarasota and were ranked 14th and 18th best cities to pop the question, according to the ranking.
What makes a city great for a proposal?
The Shane Co. ranking used a 100-point scale to score its 100 listed cities. Points were given depending on the number of businesses and services that are available to residents or visitors who may have proposal needs. Once compiled, the data was analyzed and cities were ranked from 1 to 100 based on how well they are set up for a proposal.
The survey cited Sarasota's high-end restaurants, jewelers, and flower shops as factors that helped land it in the top five proposal cities. The abundance of sunshine, subtropical climate, and picturesque white sand beaches all make for a beautiful background for someone looking for a partner's hand in marriage.
The number of photographers in Sarasota also factored into the ranking — with the region having approximately six wedding or engagement photographers for every 100,000 people. Local flower shops were among the highest in the entire ranking, with nearly 14 flower shops in the region per 100,000 people.
Sarasota-North Port received a score of 59.29 overall. In comparison, the No. 1-ranked city for popping the question, Las Vegas, received a score of 76.61 due to the city's abundance of fine-dining restaurants, jewelry stores, and photographers.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Getting engaged? Sarasota is the right place to do it survey says
