Chris Soules is ABC’s present Bachelor in its reality series by the same name—and for an attractive and successful guy, he has certainly had problems finding a woman he can settle down with. This past week, I think The Bachelor audience got a good glimpse into the problem—Arlington, Iowa, population 427. The “town” is easy to miss as you drive along the highway—a quick sneeze or blink of the eyes and you are through it. There are no restaurants, coffee shops, bars, movie theaters or other places that locals generally frequent. Maybe there were just not enough locals with money to spend to support even one of each—there were a few, but they closed and now sit boarded up, giving Arlington a ghost town feel.
If we reflect on the Bachelorettes that come on the show hoping to find love and romance, quiet, plain, country girls just don’t come to mind. Since there appears to be little or no industry or commerce in the town, it would be hard for many of these women who have great careers that they worked hard for. They’d have to commute a long way from the farm to fine such a career, and we get the sense that Chris is looking for a stay-at-home farm wife. But he wants her to be beautiful, smart and sophisticated. Chris, can we talk?
We got to see the reaction of the girls who have visited the town and after taking in their impressions and weighing them with what we know about each girl–modeled for Playboy, singer on cruise ships, fertility nurse, waitress, Chiropractic assistant (probably the best front runner), it’s a good bet they would go stir crazy in no time. Where would they go to socialize? Where could they find a job, let alone continue a rewarding career? What would it be like for them to never go out for dinner (except at a relative’s house) or in the next town. Now remember how close the nearest town is, 6.5 miles (Wadena). Other “close towns range from 7.5 to 14.5. Remember these are also small towns and may not have restaurants, coffee shops, bars and other places to socialize in either. The nearest major city is Madison, Wisconsin at 117 miles away. Des Moines, Iowa and Arlington are 2 hours and 43 minutes apart by car. Yes those Bachelorettes drove quite a bit that day that they decided to visit Chris’s town on their own.
Chris is a farmer and major land owner. He has no plans to leave the farm, ever. Therefore any woman he chooses would need to give up almost everything and spend her time working/hanging out on the farm with Chris—and having babies of course. If we view the present season’s best match-ups through this lens, it rules almost every girl out. Could YOU live there? No take out coffee or food, after hours, drinks and/or dinner out with friends—and forget catching the latest release at the local movie house, even a one movie place would suffice. There are probably a few obstetricians around, but then again, maybe in one or two towns over. There’s always Netflix and HBO, but really, cable, satellite, FIOS in Arlington? Maybe a few homes have something hooked up? Britt you don’t know it yet, but those were tears of joy.
