Valentine's Day is just around the corner, Twitchy readers. Are you ready? Yeah, neither are we.
But in case you had your heart (or hearts, in this instance) set on a nice romantic weekend getaway destination to celebrate the annual paean to love -- and Build-A-Bears -- lucky for you, Eventbrite is here to help.
Never you mind that Napa Valley trip, or a ski weekend in Aspen, or the nice, warm beaches of Key West. Nope, according to Eventbrite, the most romantic city in the U.S. is ... Baltimore?
Baltimore is the most romantic city in America, Eventbrite says https://t.co/nrjMVaNz7v
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) January 30, 2024
Now granted 'Charm City' does have a nice nickname and all, but have the people at Eventbrite BEEN to Baltimore in the past ... couple of decades? We're guessing no.
In case you were curious, here are some stats about the current romantic conditions in Maryland's jewel of a city:
- 262 homicides in 2023 (and the city considers this a win, since it is the first time since 2014 they have come in under 300 homicides).
- Nearly 9,000 violent crimes with a rate of 15.5 per 1,000 residents.*
- Over 18,000 property crimes with a rate of 32.8 per 1,000 residents.*
- A Total Crime Index of 3. That means that Baltimore is safer than THREE PERCENT of other cities and neighborhoods*.
(* 2022 data since the FBI's 'Final, Non-Preliminary' data for 2023 is not yet available)
But hey, it's not so bad if you enjoy all that crime by candlelight with a nice bottle of champagne. Right, Eventbrite? In their defense, maybe they were too busy removing conservative events from their platform to look at the data.
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Live look in at Eventbrite evaluators: https://t.co/pe6zisg3KQ pic.twitter.com/zK6l89udLR
— Clint (@pack_rulz1978) January 31, 2024
Needless to say, Twitter very much endorsed this selection of Baltimore (... NOT) and offered some date suggestions characteristic of Charm City.
I guess if your date is dinner and a carjacking https://t.co/UfM3HJRqvH
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) January 31, 2024
Do the carjackers let you hang on to the leftover crab cakes you had in the back seat?
You can almost smell the romance... https://t.co/iAl92fP50l pic.twitter.com/p0KmhYy1Is
— Miguel 2.0 (@Miguel2redux) February 1, 2024
Better make reservations for that neighborhood. They get all booked up very quickly.
The most romantic date would be ducking for cover while holding a bouquet of roses and your date being shot while your car is vandalized. https://t.co/3pqReyysaU
— Mariana (@texas_walnut) January 31, 2024
It's kind of like one of those 'challenge dates.' The challenge, in this case, being to survive.
When your ass hits the ground 'cause there shots all around that Amore 🎶 https://t.co/fOWovWYbwd
— Citizen XVII (@Dedsignal) January 31, 2024
What a romantic song. Maybe some of Baltimore's huge homeless population can sing it to you.
What if we kissed by the dead body 👉🏻👈🏻🥺 https://t.co/WkaTgw2o4n
— Steel Rain (@SteelRain602) January 31, 2024
If she's willing to ignore that just for a smooch, we think she's a keeper.
Valentine's day in Baltimore..... https://t.co/jW8hSu8pza pic.twitter.com/L7sWBqyPyN
— TDHBXG (@TDHBXG) January 31, 2024
Now that DOES look like some fun, but it doesn't usually go on the streets the way it does in movies.
baltimore MARYLAND!?! https://t.co/w0ZlbBgGGU pic.twitter.com/Mp2f3wic6D
— freshh (@mattyfreshh_) January 31, 2024
Say, that's a good point. Maybe Eventbrite meant Baltimore, Kentucky (yes, that's a real place).
https://t.co/X2t2gU1TcU pic.twitter.com/y2FHM8jc7O
— Ol' Dirty Hamster (@oldirtyhamster) February 1, 2024
— H (@BigBrownBear28) January 31, 2024
I already figured https://t.co/5DdLP1kjsX pic.twitter.com/8mxUcpxmnT
— 10PagesAtATime (@authordwhite) January 31, 2024
If anyone knows what the city of Baltimore is REALLY like, it's The Wire's Bunk Moreland and Omar Little.
I love those romantic walks through charming neighborhoods and the friendly locals. pic.twitter.com/vyhf8hQE8i
— Dovregubbeng (@KDovregubbeng) February 4, 2024
Oof. We should probably pause for a moment to consider Eventbrite's criteria for their ranking. They based it on the number of Valentine's Day events (actual ones, not the hilarious ones Twitter came up with) in each city.
Baltimore offers a TwerkFit class (a Valentine's Day staple, after all), a pizza-making lesson (OK), and numerous speed-dating events. Because nothing says romance like trying to meet 40 people in an hour. Might as well just swipe on Match for that 60 minutes.
Seriously though, can you imagine going to a speed-dating event ON Valentine's Day? That sounds like one of the circles of hell. One of the really bad ones.
In any event, Twitter still wasn't buying it.
https://t.co/qcUvCQhNGA pic.twitter.com/LXxkCGzTei
— TrippyLiberty (@TrippyLiberty) January 31, 2024
Did Baltimore write this? https://t.co/fSkaIv80ow pic.twitter.com/dXpyUXTdd0
— Caroline Renard (@carolinerenard_) January 31, 2024
We think even people in Baltimore were wondering what Eventbrite was smoking ... and which corner they could visit to get some.
But if you're not sold on Baltimore, as Twitter clearly wasn't, here are the other cities that made it into Eventbrite's top 5 most romantic locations:
- Chicago -- Hey good news. They just declared a ceasefire there. Only not for Chicago.
- Austin -- OK, this makes a little sense. It's a fun town and lots of nightlife. At least Joe Rogan likes it there anyway.
- Washington, DC -- LOL. We got nothin'. If your idea of romance is carjackings and the overwhelming stench of weed, knock yourself out. Or, if not, someone else probably will.
- Denver - Multicultural date night. Learn foreign languages from the illegal immigrants who are swarming the city.
Great list, Eventbrite. Just outstanding.
Or maybe the best policy for you and your significant other to follow for Valentine's Day destination ideas is to ignore Eventbrite completely.
Come to think of it, that's a great policy for EVERY day.
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