What Makes For The Perfect Man -- Or Does He Even Exist?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some people spend their whole lives searching for the perfect man.
And as CBS 2's Cindy Hsu reported Wednesday, while a new survey has found he probably doesn't exist, there are some characteristics that may get you close.
Genesis Garcia said her idea of a perfect man is "a working man; a hard working man."
Lazarus Miranda of the Bronx and Adonis Rodriguez of Washington Heights are hard-working men. But they did not agree that such a quality made a man perfect.
"They're all dogs," Miranda said of his fellow men.
"The perfect man? The closest thing to it is respect, honesty, being committed, loving -- what more could a woman want then that?" added Rodriguez.
A 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair survey has uncovered the attributes that people believe make a perfect man. Education came out on top.
"So people thought that as a man grows up, it's most important for a young man to be well-educated, as opposed to being athletic, good looking or even being a gentleman," said Vanity Fair digital editor Chris Rovzar.
The survey also found a man is at his worst when he is drunk. Further, the survey found mixed ideas about the infamous mid-life crisis.
"Fifty-seven percent of people thought it was a poor excuse for bad behavior; about 20 percent actually thought it was a real biological thing," Rovzar said.
And another tip for the survey is that men might want to listen to their mothers' advice. The survey found nearly 70 percent of respondents said a mother has a lot of control over helping her son become the perfect man.
Speaking of mothers, while 9 percent of respondents said they would change their man's mother if possible, the biggest thing they said they would change about their partner is their temper, at 29 percent. Coming in second for attributes to change was their man's friends, at 11 percent.
Braxon and Nathalie Cosby have been married for 12 years and have three beautiful daughters. They said "perfect" may not be out there, but some attributes may come close.
"Close to being perfect? Communication," Braxon Cosby said. "You have to be willing to listen."
"Being honest and trusting each other -- those are the two most important things, along with the communication," Nathalie Cosby said.
And Rodriguez had one last tip.
"Don't look for the perfect man, because you're going to set yourself up for failure," he said, "and you're going to be lonely."
So what should you look for?
"Someone who makes you happy," he said.
To end on a positive note, more than 60 percent of those surveyed believe chivalry is not dead.
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