Tuesday, February 08, 2011

America's Most Miserable Cities

FORBES:
America's Five Most Miserable Cities
(Cue Music)


No. 5: Sacramento, Calif.
No state taxes $50,000 of income like California, with a rate of 9.55% for that middle-class tax bracket. Sacramento is a one-team sports town, and that team has been awful in recent years. The NBA's Kings have won just 26% of their games the past two-plus seasons.

No. 4: Modesto, Calif.
The median home was valued at $275,000 in 2006; today it is $95,000. And don't leave your car on the street in Modesto, where 3,712 vehicles were stolen in 2009, making for the second-highest auto theft rate in the country. It ranked first in four of the previous five years.

No. 3: Merced, Calif.
The economic downturn and busted housing market hit Merced harder than any other area in the country. Average unemployment of 16.2% since 2008 is the highest in the U.S., as is the city's 64% drop in median home prices.

No. 2: Miami, Fla.
The sun and lack of a state income tax are the only things keeping Miami out of the top spot. Foreclosures hit one in 14 homes last year. Corruption is also off the charts, with 404 government officials convicted of crimes this decade in South Florida.

No. 1: Stockton, Calif.
Unemployment has averaged 14.3% the past three years, which is third worst in the country among the 200 largest metro areas. The housing market collapsed as well, with home prices down 58% over the same time. All the California cities on the list are struggling with the inherent problems the state is facing, including high sales and income taxes and service cuts to help close massive budget shortfalls.

In pictures: America's 20 most miserable cities
cuzzin ricky

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Abba does Lawrence Welk?
Tim

pdwalker said...

California only has 10 of the 20 spots?

Well done! You've not hit bottom yet!

Anonymous said...

How can Detroit not be number 1? There's a coffee table book out with some pictures of the city-it will make you sick.
MM

Anonymous said...

Detroit really isn't a city anymore, and hasn't been for a long time. It's a third world country.

Only one thing missing from the piece... illegal aliens. The Central Valley is packed with them. Who do you think steals those cars?

Casca

El Jefe said...

With 4 of the top 5 being home (or within and hour of) is it any wonder why I left the 'Land of Milk and Honey'?

I keep telling my parents: "GET THE HELL OUTTA SACRAMENTO!!" (Yes, I have to say it that loud...they're getting old and more deaf by the day).

On a road trip back in my Air Force days I picked up my dad in Boston and drove across country. We stopped for lunch in Sparta, WI. He proclaimed that this was where he was going to retire to as he felt it was the last place on earth that had an 'honest to God' A&W (with the roller skate waitresses and tray that you hooked to your window). Too bad he didn't take his own advice...

Juice said...

We've lived in three of the eight cities listed for California. Both my husband and myself crossed ourselves before God when reading this list. A great home, great staging, and a great Realtor have allowed us, by choice, to be real estate free for nearly two years.

Stockton has always been a pit. The crime level there for cops to keep up with gang crimes is legendary. But #1?! before Detroit, Flint, Chicago? wowzers... Salinas deserved the falling prices. That gang ridden town has crappy foggy weather all summer long and was expensive as hell just because it was "near" Monterey/Carmel.

We left Sacramento in '85 and a year and a half later the corner park we took our young'ngs to was a Crip hang out. We bought low in Merced'95 when Castle Air Base closed and sold high in 2002 when the realty value was made stupidly high because a UC campus was coming to town and speculators priced locals out of the market, then walked away at the crash. It used to be an okay, very friendly little town.

We were quite recently tempted to purchase in Naples, FL. But. Just can't trust a damn thing anymore. More likely a monetary crash will occur before housing/mortgage stability gets established. So, for now, we just count ourselves lucky and Blessed. *word*
(P.S. We also lived in great places like Lake Tahoe for 8 yrs.)
*

Juice said...

Casca~ You be spot on. It is the problem with California.

Anonymous said...

You lived in Merced? I've often thought about it. Castle has one of the last three existing B-36 bombers in their museum, and Merced is the Western gateway to Yosemite.

DougM said...

Wait, this is like rating dumps by how high the garbage is piled.

Juice said...

Anony 12:35~
Moved to Merced from Redding in '95 and the cultural mix took a bit to get used to. By the time we moved to Yuba City in 2002 I hated to leave. Merced is well situated to Yosemite, Sacramento, SF, Monterey/Carmel, and Gold Country Foothills. HOWever, 'have no idea what has become of it since then. No doubt with unemployment the crime stats are up significantly.

Anonymous said...

Oh, it's skeevy. I used to drive to Merced to spend the night in a nasty hotel room before racing up the Merced River Valley to Yosemite with the convertible top down in the early morning. No traffic, spectacular views, and you can drive like a maniac.

Forgot to sign before.

Casca

El Jefe said...

The 'rents still live in College Green area of Sac ('tween Watt and Howe near Sac State). Was great growing up there (60's - 70's). Joined the AF in early 80's and didn't come back 'til '89. First thing I said to my dad as we were coming out of the foothills was, "WTF? Is this L.A. North?" Smog was (and still is) so bad.

Nearly got stationed at McClellan, Beale and Travis. Thank God for short tours in Korea!

Juice: were you living in South Sac in '85? I went to Christian Brothers HS and THAT was the true pit!

Casca: coming into Yosemite from the north in a '70 'Cuda ain't too bad either! :D

Juice said...

Skeevy, Casca? Man. Well, no surprise really, but sad. Also did the Yosemite drive in my '97 Mustang convertible. Nice ride. :)

Juice said...

El Jefe,
Not S.Sac, N-NW near Elkhorn-Greenback off 80. Spruce park was nice until the Crips started slinging there. Before our son began K in '84, got an inter district transfer from Foothill Elementary to Pioneer Elementary (we were blocks away from). You get why? The k-8 was directly across the street from Foothill High (already had uniformed SPD on campus).
The son's frat house was in the Tahoe Park area. Near College Green? To use Casca's term, skeevy!

Sorry to reminisce. Thanks. P.S. Corti Brothers Mkt!!

Juice said...

El Jefe~
Gots to share this:
When our daughter was considering Air Force they took her on a tour of Travis. After living 6yrs in Merced, she came home commenting something positive about all the "white boys." She's been in USAF now for 10 yrs, though never stationed in CA. :D

El Jefe said...

Juice ~

Corti Brothers RULES! One of the few reasons I'll actually visit back home!

Yeah, Tahoe Park wasn't too far away :D

Glad to hear your daughter chose the right branch! ;)

Juice said...

@ElJefe~ Thumbs up, :)

Anonymous said...

As OT as you can get... but..

http://www.johnweeks.com/b36/index.html

I just spent an hour looking for the above... why? I don't know. Just find old aircraft enticingly interesting. I had spent half a day just looking a week or so ago, but didn't book mark it.
The above site indicates there may be more Peacemakers than noted.
Back to the topic, landed at Travis on return from Sasebo, Japan forward deployment. Many trips through Modesto en route to Yellowstone or Lake Don Pedro. KHOP-fm... 20 years ago or so.
tomw

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