Time to give up?

I am so sick of the dating scene in NYC. It just plain sucks. If you think the economy sucks, try dating in this economy. It's the worst thing ever! I've basically paid for dates 3 times in the past 6 months and most other times my so-called date and I have split the bill. What ever happened to a guy paying for a first date? Is that now reserved for a certain kind of girl or has everyone gone cheap? I can't stand to go on yet another bad date so I think I just give up completely. I think I'll just focus my efforts on getting the hell out of this place...