Posted on 02/03/2012 8:53:10 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
Miami is a playground for the rich and famous. Celebrities flock to parties at South Beach clubs and then return to their $10 million mansions in Miami Beach and Key Biscayne.
It’s a leading city in culture, finance and international trade. But away from the glitz and glamor, many ordinary Miamians are struggling.
A crippling housing crisis has cost multitudes of residents their homes and jobs. The metro area has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country and workers face lengthy daily commutes.
Add it all up and Miami takes the top spot in our ranking of America’s Most Miserable Cities.
The most famous way to gauge misery is the Misery Index developed by economist Arthur Okun in the 1960s, which combines unemployment and inflation.
Our take on misery is based on the things that people complain about on a regular basis.
We looked at 10 factors for the 200 largest metro areas and divisions in the U.S. Some are serious, like violent crime, unemployment rates, foreclosures, taxes (income and property), home prices and political corruption.
Other factors we included are less weighty, like commute times, weather and how the area’s pro sports teams did.
While sports, commuting and weather can be considered trivial by many, they can be the determining factor in the level of misery for a significant number of people.
One tweak to this year’s list: we swapped out sales tax rates for property tax rates.
Miami would have finished No. 1 under the old methodology as well.
(Excerpt) Read more at realestate.yahoo.com ...
I would have figured Worcester is in the top 10, St. Louis in the top 5.
Let me guess, most of these cities are run by DemocRATs.
Here’s a look at America’s 10 most miserable cities:
1. Miami, FL
2. Detroit, MI
3. Flint, MI
4. West Palm Beach, FL
5. Sacramento, CA
6. Chicago, IL
7. Fort Lauderdale, FL
8. Toledo, OH
9. Rockford, IL
10. Warren, MI
Plenty of ILLinois cities up there.
Why didn’t our community organizer help out his own??
Lots of misery in the USA, many cities could be on that list. The large minority populations and Democrats are something they all have in common.
The majority of U.S. city Republicans are RINOS, instead of being conservatives, too.
There are happy people in Worcester...dunno why but it’s funny. Must be the free Prozac they dole out in MA.
I feel the misery in Palm Beach county whenever I go there - it’s like a third world country there.
Obviously they didn’t take Cleveland into consideration. The most economically depressed city in the country.
But they think they are conservatives because all they have to compare their thinking to is the babble on the MSM. They don't even know they are on the left side of the road.
Ft. Lauderdale? hardly
West Palm Beach? WTH?? Rather be here than in Lost Angeles! Oh well.
Gary, Indiana must not be on this list because it’s in a category all by itself.
I misunderstood the premise: I thought it about miserable cities, not miserable people. Worcester used to be a cool place. Now I wouldn’t be surprised if they put Prozac in the water.
Michigan has three of the top ten, yeah for us.
Yes, Warren is a depressing city to live in, but it beats Detroit and Flint!!!
Please freepmail me if you wish to be added or dropped from the mitten ping.
No New Orleans?
I live in the state of three of them and work in one of them out of state. Many of us are barely hanging on. (I don’t think there is a Republican mayor amongst them)
I’d rather live in Miami than the Detroit metro area any day
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