A lot depends on the size of the pool of available singles which in turn is down to population.

What would work for me in London with a population, including the commuter belt, of nearly 19 million wouldn't necessarily work in a small west coast city like Portland (well under a million).

In general terms Maeve's advice is best but, if you really don't want to be a "single", then you may have to end up either resorting to a commercial dating service or moving to a more densely populated area.