Was reading through some old magazines earlier today, when I ran across an issue of Forbes from February 2009.Found a list that I thought was interesting. It was "America's 10 Most Miserable Cities." Sad to report, but Cleveland made the list. Top 5 actually.
Most of the cities are big sports towns with die-hard fans who root for one team or another. Despite the number of "sports cities" that made the list, the only mention of sports for these cities was with Cleveland and Detroit.
I've included with this list Forbes' short paragraph for each city. Also, I thought I'd add the professional sports franchises that each of these cities stand by, no matter how good or bad they might be.
10. St. Louis, Mo.
- The Gateway City scored in the bottom half of all nine categories we looked at for the Forbes Misery Measure. It was the only metro area to pull that off.
- City's team: St. Louis Cardinals, MLB.
9. Miami, Fla.
- Miami has been crushed by the housing collapse. Moody's Economy.com estimates that 26% of mortgages in Miami are delinquent or are likely to be written off as bad debt that can not be collected. Violent crime and corruption are also off the charts.
- City's team: Miami Heat, NBA.
8. Buffalo, N.Y.
- If you like snow, Buffalo is your place - to the tune of 90 inches a year, more than any other metro area that has a million people. Buffalo's population has been steadily shrinking since the mid-1990s.
- City's team: Buffalo Bills, NFL.
7. Detroit, Mich.
- Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to four months in jail last year for his sex-and-text scandal. Tough year also for the state's football teams, as the University of Michigan suffered through its first losing season in 40 years and the NFL's Lions failed to win a game.
- City's team: Detroit Pistons, NBA.
6. Flint, Mich.
- The city immortalized in Michael Moore's documentary "Roger & Me," is plagued by the double whammy of high crime and high unemployment. General Motors employs one-tenth the number of employees in Flint compared to its peak in the 1970s.
5. Modesto, Calif.
- Unemployment has skyrocketed in Modesto with further pain to come. It is expected to average 16.7% in 2009, up from 11.4% last year. Another drawback: It has the highest car theft rate in the U.S.
4. Cleveland, Ohio
- Only Denver gets socked with more snow than Cleveland's 52-inch annual average among the 50 largest metros. Clevelanders wait in fear for July 1, 2010, when hoops star LeBron James can switch teams as a free agent.
- City's team: Cleveland Browns, NFL
3. Chicago, Ill.
- Living costs in the Second City are not much higher than the national average, but the 10.3% sales tax is a killer and is the highest of any city. A winning Olympic bid should move along needed transportation infrastructure improvements.
- City's team: Chicago Bears, NFL
2. Memphis, Tenn.
- Memphis scores points for not having a state income tax, but the sales tax is an onerous 9.3%, one of the highest in the country. FedEx is the biggest employer in the area by far with 30,000 employees.
- City's team: Memphis Grizzlies, NBA
1. Stockton, Calif.
- Only 15% of Stockton adults have a college degree, which is one of the lowest rates in the U.S. Unemployment is expected to hit 15% in 2010, while housing prices should keep falling back to their mid-1990s level when the median home price was $130,000.
2 comments:
Wow, that was really interesting. And sad.
It's all pretty much because the U.S. economy is still in shambles.
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