I share the sentiment. There's just something pleasant about hopping on a bare bones bike, like being a kid again. A single speed can be any kind of bike you want to start with. Mine is basically an urban comfort cruiser. It's well suited to where I live. I can barely crawl up the steepest hill that I know about, and reach about 18 mph before the cadence becomes uncomfortable. Within about 10 miles of town, the terrain is pretty flat, then it gets quite hilly, and I have a geared bike for longer rides.
I don't know if this is your situation or not, but there's a school of thought in towns like NYC, that a bike with fewer cables and complications is less likely to get shredded. My daughter goes to a large university, and rides a single speed for this reason. The same is true for bikes that are likely to be neglected, abused, stored outdoors, etc.
