Most Miserable Cities in America

[tbn.al]

The bloke has been trying to tell us for years, but Memphis just scored 3rd most miserable city in which to live behind Cleveland, Oh and Stockton, CA. It seems that crime is rampant and public official corruption is off the charts. Hand in hand?

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/ameri ... ities-2010" target="_blank

[TexTuba]

...and not one in Texas....

[tbn.al]

Yeah, Miami and Memphis are the only SMDL on the list. I was surprised at the two MO cities and the fact that NOLA didn't make it. It's on the way back but it's still pretty brutal there. And just because TX didn't make it, don't sell Houston short. It's not my favorite place.

[djwesp]

Good to see my old stomping ground of Rockford, Ill on the list.

The only good things in that town are Beefaroo and Phantom Regiment.

[Tubaryan12]

Cleveland is miserable only if you're unemployed. Fortunately, I am not.
Great arts, low cost of living, world class heath care (if you need it), easy commutes, and low crime if you're not in Cleveland proper. I think I'll stay. Heck, if global warming kicks in, we can check that whole bad weather thing off the list as well.

[TubaTodd]

At first when I read the title........Wilkes Barre, PA came to mind. I've only driven through there, but that was enough.

[bisontuba]

Hi-
I am amazed they had Cleveland #1 and Buffalo #8--I think old Buffalo should be a big #1...
mark

[TMurphy]

I'm shocked...no Camden or Newark, NJ??

[Dan Schultz]

...and not one in Texas....

Is Texas part of The Union now?

[bort]

I'm surprised to not see Baltimore on the list. Any city (like Philly or Detroit) that has entire sections of town (like West Bmore or East Bmore) that you "should just not go to" has a major problem.

There were something like 235 murders in Baltimore last year. A year under 300 murders is a recent accomplishment, and there have only been a few weeks in the past 10 years or so that did not contain a single murder. If you've seen "The Wire," you know what the bad parts of Baltimore are like. (That, and our mayor was just convicted of stealing gift cards from the city, and was forced to resign. That was cool too.)

Even the good parts of Baltimore (and there are plenty) are not great, and you grow up with a "watch your back" mentality. I'll never forget going to Manhattan for the first time and feeling WAY safer than I ever did at home. And also going to the Twin Cities in MN and feeling incredibly safe (almost to the point of being naive).

There's a lot of factors for misery I guess... but safety is a HUGE one.

[steve_decker]

Isn't misery a chosen response to experiences? I truly do not know how anyone could come up with "Most Miserable Cities in America". I've been to all of the cities on the list. The only one that I would even remotely associate with misery is Gary, Indiana. There are some really great attributes to each of the other places.

[tbn.al]

Joe, I've watching this post waiting for you to chime in. You never fail to live up to expectations. Bronze is ok for now, after all, your guys seem to have momentum.

[TexTuba]

...and not one in Texas....

Is Texas part of The Union now?

You've got Yankees, Southerners, Folks from the Midwest, West-Coast folks....and Texans.

[tbn.al]

"Texas, it's a whole 'nuther country!"

[Mcordon1]

Northeast concentration....

[JCalkin]

I'm shocked...no Camden or Newark, NJ??

Nah, New Jersey has shown recent dedication to renewing its severely crappy metro areas. Camden and Newark have both undergone a bit of a renewal the last couple of years.

I still wouldn't vacation in either city, but it's better than it was.

I heard a radio interview with the mayors of both Washington and Newark earlier this year and the major of Newark really impressed me with his candor and the honesty with which he portrayed his city. In addition, his renewal plan actually sounded GOOD.

[bort]

I'm shocked...no Camden or Newark, NJ??

Nah, New Jersey has shown recent dedication to renewing its severely crappy metro areas. Camden and Newark have both undergone a bit of a renewal the last couple of years.

I still wouldn't vacation in either city, but it's better than it was.

I heard a radio interview with the mayors of both Washington and Newark earlier this year and the major of Newark really impressed me with his candor and the honesty with which he portrayed his city. In addition, his renewal plan actually sounded GOOD.

Now if the Nets can win a few more games and eliminate that misery... (sports reference added in for Bloke!)

[djwesp]

It probably isn't big enough to be considered, but I am VERY surprised that Pine Bluff, Arkansas is not on the list.

This place is in complete shambles and has a paper mill that makes the town literally smell like feces, 24 hours a day.

[tbn.al]

Pine Bluff AR is not big enough, only 50,000 or so, but it is definitely nasty enough. You might be inhaling more than just fecal smell between phrases because the arnsnal there has been the MAJOR disposal site for chemical weapons for at least 40 years. Yeah, they burn them.

Gary, IN is probably not big enough to be counted either at 100,000, but it was a really terrifying place the only time I've been there. The Ark Tech Band stayed in a Holiday Inn between Gary and Michigan City on the way to debut Trittico in Ann Arbor for the CBDNA convention in '65. We came very close to losing half our trombone section to a street gang that night. Bad place, bad people, bad snow storm, just a really bad experience all together.

[Tuba Guy]

We're number 2!!!!!!
That's an improvement from last year...I think stockton was #1 for a while...