THE ABSOLUTE WORST PLACE TO LIVE IN AMERICA!!!

[CBR 0]

I vouch for Gary, IN. That city smells terrible, you can SEE the stench everywhere (pollution) and it's so industrial looking. Very very depressing. Every time I drive through there I wonder how high their suicide rate is bc I know I'd be contemplating if I lived there, UGH!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Gary is hell on earth. I feel sorry for the people who have to live there

[sereia 0]

south central, inglewood, boyle heights, ooooh so many LA areas are shite!!!

[Heracles 417]

Most large cities have places you'd rather not be (i.e. DC, Baltimore, etc). OVerall though, some of these cities aren't that bad when compared to other cities that suck at life.

What is interesting to me is how the US, once renowned for metropolises, now probably has some of the worst I have seen in the world. I seriously don't get why..

You look at Canadian cities, for example, and there is no comparison. Vancouver is awesome.

Is it just me or does DC have some sort of height restriction on buildings..

[panamania79 2]

The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America by Dave Gilmartin

The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America surveyed thousands of Americans to find the fifty dirtiest, smelliest, most miserable cesspools, armpits, and tourist traps that make up this great land of ours. The "winners" of this awful distinction include the likes of:

· Atlantic City, New Jersey—Come for the slots. Stay for the gang warfare and fourth-rate prostitutes.

· Gary, Indiana—Like a sewer populated by 100,000 people.

· Carson City, Nevada—Perfect for folks burned out on the high culture of Reno.

· Fairbanks, Alaska—Take the most horrible place you've ever been, then subtract the sun.

· Jacksonville, Florida—Possibly the foulest-smelling city in the Western hemisphere.

· Camden, New Jersey—Once the proud home of America's first mass murderer, it's been all downhill since then.

Perfect for your friends unfortunate enough to live in Baltimore or Houston, The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America is an uproarious look at the dregs of our otherwise wonderful country.

((((IS THIS TRUE??)))

What about Detroit and DC ?

[Heracles 417]

What a shitehole Gary, IN is. Looks like Detroit. I cannot believe there are so many places like this in the United States of America. These places need a serious revamp.

The US needs to do something. Maybe introduce some short term protectionist measures before it is too late and it turns into a 2nd world nation.

[sereia 0]

there are areas of DC that are very, very nice!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

What is interesting to me is how the US, once renowned for metropolises, now probably has some of the worst I have seen in the world. I seriously don't get why..

I am sure you will find a theory to explain it shortly. I am sure I know which group of people you will blame for it, too.

The US needs to do something. Maybe introduce some short term protectionist measures before it is too late and it turns into a 2nd world nation.

Color me surprised. We're gonna blame the Mezikans for this, aren't we?

Cool.

[Heracles 417]

I am sure you will find a theory to explain it shortly. I am sure I know which group of people you will blame for it, too.

Yes Indians..

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I am sure you will find a theory to explain it shortly. I am sure I know which group of people you will blame for it, too.

Yes Indians..

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

What a shitehole Gary, IN is. Looks like Detroit. I cannot believe there are so many places like this in the United States of America. These places need a serious revamp.

The US needs to do something. Maybe introduce some short term protectionist measures before it is too late and it turns into a 2nd world nation.

Yes there are crappy cities in the US, and there are some really wonderful ones too - just like in every other nation on the planet, including your beloved Australia, much of which is actually uninhabitable.

[DeadPoolX 9]

What puzzles me is why are so many US cities run down?? I just don't get that..

I have a theory.

It's probably due to so many Americans wishing "government out of their lives." In other words, they want less government intervention and most of all, much less taxes. The problem with this is that it keeps government from performing essential duties in cities (such as cleaning up and renovating the rundown areas). The government needs to get it's resources from somewhere and with less taxation, it has less to work with (unless it prints money, but then that just results in inflation, which eventually defeats the entire purpose of doing it in the first place).

We're in an interesting situation. We want less government intrusion and to pay less in taxes, but we still want the government (on all levels) to do certain necessary things without pause. What many fail to understand is that the more we want the government to do for us and our cities, states and country, the more we need to "give up" control and pay in taxes.

It's a give-and-take scenario. We either keep control and our money, but learn to deal with things as they are or clean up after our messes, or we surrender some control and money to the government and let them handle it. We can't "have our cake and eat it too" as the old say goes.

Edited March 28, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

What puzzles me is why are so many US cities run down?? I just don't get that..

I have a theory.

It's probably due to so many Americans wishing "government out of their lives."

I think each run down city in America has its own very unique tale of how it got there.

For example, Newark in New Jersey - blight can be almost directly attributed to the race riots of 67, followed by the flight of capital out of the city, followed furthermore by years of neglect by state government.

Newark today is seeing a resurgence, as are most Northern and Central NJ cities, due to more government funding creating conditions conducive to the return of capital.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

What puzzles me is why are so many US cities run down?? I just don't get that..

I have a theory.

It's probably due to so many Americans wishing "government out of their lives."

I think each run down city in America has its own very unique tale of how it got there.

For example, Newark in New Jersey - blight can be almost directly attributed to the race riots of 67, followed by the flight of capital out of the city, followed furthermore by years of neglect by state government.

Newark today is seeing a resurgence, as are most Northern and Central NJ cities, due to more government funding creating conditions conducive to the return of capital.

Yes - I agree with all the above.

plus all this harping on "declining" cities completely neglects those that have blossomed in recent years. Many that might not exist were it not for federal infrastructure projects like the Interstate system and the Hoover Dam

[Gaby&Talbert 1]

I'm surprised about Jax, I heard it was nice?

St Augustine, just down the road is nice. Jax, not so much.

How in the world does Detroit not make this list?

No more than any other country and many of the bad cities also have really nice areas. I guess it is all in what part of town you live. I drove through Gary IN just last week and it looked pretty bad but I can't say the city is bad because where I stopped for gas on the Interstate looked really bad. Detroit has many cool places to see but I also know what part of town to stay away from.