Forbes Magazine has published a list of America's most miserable cities:

1. Detroit, MI
2. Stockton, CA
3. Flint, MI
4. New York City
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. Chicago, IL
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Modesto, CA
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Providence, RI

Forbes defines misery as "a state of great unhappiness and emotional distress". They use criteria like unemployment, taxes, commute times, crime, pollution and weather. Most of those cities have strong union presence, liberal politicians, etc.. Coincidence? I think not. :rolleyes:

http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/01/29/detroit-stockton-flint-biz-cz_kb_0130miserable.html

First one that popped into my mind was Detroit, and there it was.
I'm surprised Gary IN isn't on there as well.

First one that popped into my mind was Detroit, and there it was.I'm surprised Gary IN isn't on there as well.

It's sad that so much of MI has been taken over by the creepy. It used to be a really nice place to live, visit, and vacation. I'm sure there are still really nice parts though, no?

some of those cities used to have big industry or stuff in them which either died out or moved away

Yeah!

The city I come from is not in the list!:)

Who in hell would rate living in New York City as more miserable than, say, Fort Wayne ? St Louis ?

I wouldn't live in any of them, by choice, but the guy had a point who said he'd "rather be a manhole cover in New York than the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio"

some of those cities used to have big industry or stuff in them which either died out or moved away

yep, that's exactly how it is here in MI. And Gary was a big steel city.

I've been to Chicago a few time in the last 20 years and am surprised its on the list. Perhpas it's deteriorated lately. I've always found it vibrant and surprisingly well kept up. Buffalo and Pittsburg also get good marks compared to the first times I was in those towns.

I'd put El Paso, Texas near the top of the negative list. What a filthy scumhole. I've never seen a more garbage on the streets and general hodgpodge of yuckiness. My least favorite large city is Houston but maybe it has its attributes for those who live their. The cities I frequent the most and like are Spokane, Washington and eattle. They seem more like Canadian cities than American cities.

I've been to chicago a few time in the last 20 years and am surprised its on the list.

Ugh, I'm not. Frankly I find almost all large cities to be depressing. :shrug:

Ugh, I'm not. Frankly I find almost all large cities to be depressing. :shrug:

Iagree but don't find Chicago as depressing as most.

Not surprised to see Flint on there. They had a brawl involving 80 people at the local Chucky Cheese. Got to imagine people are pretty damned miserable to brawl over bad pizza and flat coke. What a dump.

Any city is miserable to live in if you don't have enough MONEY to live there.

Anywhere is miserable to live in if you don't have enough MONEY to live there.



:D :shrug:

Salt Lake City is miserable to me. rules, rules, rules. And its not that clean either.

Forbes Magazine has published a list of America's most miserable cities:

1. Detroit, MI
2. Stockton, CA
3. Flint, MI
4. New York City
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. Chicago, IL
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Modesto, CA
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Providence, RI

Forbes defines misery as "a state of great unhappiness and emotional distress". They use criteria like unemployment, taxes, commute times, crime, pollution and weather. Most of those cities have strong union presence, liberal politicians, etc.. Coincidence? I think not. :rolleyes:

http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/01/29/detroit-stockton-flint-biz-cz_kb_0130miserable.html

It's no coincidence. These people are seen what globalism and runaway capitalism has done to their lives. In their distress, the Republicans can offer them- what exactly? Deregulation?

I've been to Chicago a few time in the last 20 years and am surprised its on the list. Perhpas it's deteriorated lately. I've always found it vibrant and surprisingly well kept up. Buffalo and Pittsburg also get good marks compared to the first times I was in those towns.

I'd put El Paso, Texas near the top of the negative list. What a filthy scumhole. I've never seen a more garbage on the streets and general hodgpodge of yuckiness. My least favorite large city is Houston but maybe it has its attributes for those who live their. The cities I frequent the most and like are Spokane, Washington and eattle. They seem more like Canadian cities than American cities.

chicago still has a strong mob crime in it

chicago still has a strong mob crime in it

Plus its cold...and very flat. :confused:

Woo! Cleveland isn't on the list!

~String

I would like to point out that CNNmoney.com rated chicago and newyork as one of the best places to live in 07.......:shrug:

Best places for who? It depends on how much money you make.

I would like to point out that CNNmoney.com rated chicago and newyork as one of the best places to live in 07.......:shrug:

Best cities then, I assume.. I hope.. lol

I'm surprised that Charlotte, NC is on there. That's one of the nicest, cleanest cities I've been in. The only city that I would say that is prettier and cleaner is San Diego.

I'm also surprised that Memphis, TN isn't on the list. Memphis was ranked #5 out of the 50 most dangerous cities in the country.

are cities with military bases usually a better place to live?

are cities with military bases usually a better place to live?

No, not at all. We have a military base here and the area surrounding it is low income/ highcrime.

I wonder if it would be possible to break it down to which branch of the military. I don't know....just wondering.

are cities with military bases usually a better place to live?
Hell no! They are generally nasty, ratty types of cities. Do some research on Jacksonville, NC (where Camp LeJeune is). It is one of the nastiest p.o.s. cities I've had the misfortune of living in.

is it Army?

No. Marine Corps. But Army towns can be dingy as well. Radcliffe, KY is the town adjacent to Ft. Knox. While not near as 'ass-crack' as J-ville, NC, it's not exactly pristine either.

That Forbes list is Bullshit. I live about 45 min from Modesto and Stockton. These were both Rural, Farming communities. That's until the corporate home developers like K & B came and built thousands of track homes on the plethora of undeveloped land in those cities. These were rural communities, so they weren't to financially savy, and the builders financed most of these loans themselves, and builder loans aren't beneficial to anyone but the builder. That's why so many of those homes forclosed. But Modesto and Stockton have some really nice areas. What's funny about Stockton is, the main weed spot where all the drug deals hangout is directly across the street from the Stockton Police to department on Charter way. It's unbelieveable, I will admit they have some keystone cops in Stockton, either that or they just turn a blind eye to bud dealers.

I'm surprised that Charlotte, NC is on there. That's one of the nicest, cleanest cities I've been in. The only city that I would say that is prettier and cleaner is San Diego.

I'm also surprised that Memphis, TN isn't on the list. Memphis was ranked #5 out of the 50 most dangerous cities in the country.

Me too, I'm originally from Winston-Salem NC, however I have alot of relatives who reside in Charlotte. I honestly don't see any misery there. Alot of the residents own their own homes, they're BIG on Highschool and college sports in that town, and the food down there is second to none:) That's a highly subjective list.

It's no coincidence. These people are seen what globalism and runaway capitalism has done to their lives. In their distress, the Republicans can offer them- what exactly? Deregulation?

These people need to take self-responsibility and clean up their cities. I have seen good turnarounds when people band together for a common cause.

are cities with military bases usually a better place to live?

Some areas of San Diego are not too bad.

These people need to take self-responsibility and clean up their cities. I have seen good turnarounds when people band together for a common cause.
Someone needs to send the mayor of Memphis that memo. It's kinda like one huge Dempsey dumpster.

Some areas of San Diego are not too bad.
I don't live there but when I was there for temporary duty at MCRD a few years ago, I didn't see any bad areas. I'd love to live in SD. The fires, landslides and earthquakes isn't what would prevent me from doing so; the over-crowdedness, and the ridiculously overpriced housing would.

Also, from what I saw of it, Oceanside (next to Camp Pendleton) isn't too bad either. Although Twentynine Palms was a bit on the dingy side.

San Diego has some pretty bad areas overtaken by criminal aliens. It also has some great areas on the water. 29 Palms is a literal hellhole getting up to 130 degrees in the sun on hot days. The people are kind of creepy too.

These people need to take self-responsibility and clean up their cities. I have seen good turnarounds when people band together for a common cause.


Maybe they can all join hands and have a sing-along. Or maybe that's never going to happen.