OnionTerror Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 ..as a sort of followup of The Masked Tulip's recent posts... http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/02/stockton-miami-cleveland-business-washington-miserable-cities.html California has never looked less golden, with eight of its cities making the top 20 on our annual list. The good vibes are a distant memory: The Governator exited office last month with the state facing a crippling checklist of problems including massive budget deficits, high unemployment, plunging home prices, rampant crime and sky-high taxes. Schwarzenegger's approval ratings hit 22% last year, a record low for any sitting California governor. California's troubles helped it land eight of the 20 spots on our annual list of America's Most Miserable Cities, with Stockton ranking first for the second time in three years. Located in the state's Central Valley, Stockton has been ravaged by the housing bust. Median home prices in the city tripled between 1998 and 2005, when they peaked at $431,000. Now they are back to where they started, as the median price is forecast to be $142,000 this year, according to research firm Economy.com, a decline of 67% from 2005. Foreclosure filings affected 6.9% of homes last year in the Stockton area, the seventh-highest rate in the nation, according to online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac. Stockton's violent crime and unemployment rates also rank among the 10 worst in the country, although violent crime was down 10% in the latest figures from the FBI. Jobless rates are expected to decline or stay flat in most U.S. metro areas in 2011, but in Stockton, unemployment is projected to rise to 18.1% in 2011 after averaging 17.2% in 2010, according to Economy.com. "Stockton has issues that it needs to address, but an article like this is the equivalent of bayoneting the wounded," says Bob Deis, Stockton city manager. "I find it unfair, and it does everybody a disservice. The people of Stockton are warm. The sense of community is fantastic. You have to come here and talk to leaders. The data is the data, but there is a richer story here." There are many ways to gauge misery. The most famous is the Misery Index developed by economist Arthur Okun, which adds unemployment and inflation rates together. Okun's index shows the U.S. is still is in the dumps despite the recent gains in the economy: It averaged 11.3 in 2010 (blame a 9.6% unemployment rate and not inflation), the highest annual rate since 1984. Our list of America's Most Miserable Cities goes a step further: We consider a total of 10 factors, things that people gripe about around the water cooler every day. Most are serious issues, including unemployment, crime and taxes. A few we factor in are not as critical, but still elevate people's blood pressure, like the weather, commute times and how the local sports team is doing. One of the biggest issues causing Americans angst the past four years is the value of their homes. To account for that we tweaked the methodology for this year's list and considered foreclosure rates and the change in home prices over the past three years. Click here for a more detailed rundown of our methodology. Florida and California have ample sunshine in common, but also massive housing problems that have millions of residents stuck with underwater mortgages. The two states are home to 16 of the top 20 metros in terms of home foreclosure rates in 2010. The metro area with the most foreclosure filings (171,704) and fifth-highest rate (7.1%) last year is Miami, which ranks No. 2 on our list of Most Miserable Cities. The good weather and lack of a state income tax are the only things that kept Miami out of the top spot. In addition to housing problems (prices are down 50% over three years), corruption is off the charts, with 404 government officials convicted of crimes this decade in South Florida. Factor in violent crime rates among the worst in the country and long commutes, and it's easy to understand why Miami has steadily moved up our list, from No. 9 in 2009 to No. 6 last year to the runner-up spot this year. California cities take the next three spots: Merced (No. 3), Modesto (No. 4) and Sacramento (No. 5). Each has struggled with declining home prices, high unemployment and high crime rates, in addition to the problems all Californians face, like high sales and income taxes and service cuts to help close massive budget shortfalls. The Golden State has never looked less golden. "If I even mention California, they throw me out of the office," says Ron Pollina, president of site selection firm Pollina Corporate Real Estate. "Every company hates California." Last year's most miserable city, Cleveland, fell back to No. 10 this year despite the stomach punch delivered by LeBron James when he announced his exit from Cleveland on national television last summer. Cleveland's unemployment rate rose slightly in 2010 to an average of 9.3%, but the city's unemployment rank improved relative to other cities, thanks to soaring job losses across the U.S. Cleveland benefited from a housing market that never overheated and therefore hasn't crashed as much as many other metros. Yet Cleveland was the only city to rank in the bottom half of each of the 10 categories we considered. Two of the 10 largest metro areas make the list. Chicago ranks seventh on the strength of its long commutes (30.7 minutes on average--eighth-worst in the U.S.) and high sales tax (9.75%---tied for the highest). The Windy City also ranks in the bottom quartile on weather, crime, foreclosures and home price trends. President Obama's (relatively) new home also makes the cut at No. 16. Washington, D.C., has one of the healthiest economies, but problems abound. Traffic is a nightmare, with commute times averaging 33.4 minutes--only New York is worse. Income tax rates are among the highest in the country and home prices are down 27% over three years. And it does not get much more miserable than the sports scene in Washington. Beltway fans should be grateful for the NHL's Capitals, their only major pro team to finish out of the basement in the last two seasons. The Nationals (MLB), Redskins (NFL) and Wizards (NBA) have all finished in last place in their respective divisions the past two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 #1. Stockton, California #2. Miami, Florida #3. Merced, California #4. Modesto, California #5. Sacramento, California #6. Memphis, Tennessee #7. Chicago, Illinois #8. West Palm Beach, Florida #9. Vallejo, California #10. Cleveland, Ohio #11. Flint, Michigan #12. Toledo, Ohio #13. Fort Lauderdale, Florida #14. Youngstown, Ohio #15. Detroit, Michigan #16. Washington, D.C. #17. Fresno, California #18. Salinas, California #19. Jacksonville, Florida #20. Bakersfield, California Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim123 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Only Salinas and, possibly, Sacramento are places that people would voluntarily choose to live, even in the good times. The rest are horrid places that are only even slightly desirable because they are (um, were) economically buoyant with lots of jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PopGun Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Ah Stockton, good to know California didn't just copy the name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Should London be on that list...since we're the 53rd state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sillybear2 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Should London be on that list...since we're the 53rd state. Somebody was going to do a UK list but they were too miserable to bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uro_who Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 How about the USAs best. Although with the cheapest housing. I'd have thought cheap shelter is a plus as long as everything else is good. Shows how important a big debt is to personal happiness. Clearly I'll never be happy ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Puppet Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I've lived in two of those cities and near a third. Granted this was 15 to 25 years ago, but they were great. Much higher standard of living than anything in the UK, but that was in the days when a gallon of gas rarely got above $1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realistbear Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Most "miserable" cities? Sure it should say most joyous cities? We are praying for such as this in this country--huge drops in property and council workers sacked by the score. Bring it on muchachos! Maybe not this good until 2012 but the beginnings of a US-style crash are here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ayatollah Buggeri Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I'm surprised that San Bernadino and Barstow aren't on that list. They are both complete and utter holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Puppet Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I'm surprised that San Bernadino and Barstow aren't on that list. They are both complete and utter holes. I thought Barstow was just a truck stop and a place to catch herpes not a city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realistbear Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I thought Barstow was just a truck stop and a place to catch herpes not a city. Barstow is where one used to buy gaseo when travelling between Las Vegas and San Diego. The mechanices wot used to check your oil, clean your windscreen etc. used to try to sell you a new battery or tires also. Nasty place in the middle of nowhere. California is quite nasty apart from the coastal strip and top third of the State where it is goorjooosh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ayatollah Buggeri Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Barstow is where one used to buy gaseo when travelling between Las Vegas and San Diego. In my case it was between Albuquerque and Burbank, but the same principle applies. The mechanices wot used to check your oil, clean your windscreen etc. used to try to sell you a new battery or tires also. In my case there were no mechanics in sight (it was self-service), but the morbidly obese proprietor of the establishment I stopped for a coffee at instinctively reached for his gun as I opened the door, which didn't exactly leave me with positive impressions of the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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