The Ten Worst American Cities to Live In

Bully Magazine ^ | Ken Wohlrob

[gracex7]

Detroit was retired from the list as undisputed champ. (And I say this as someone who still has a great deal of affection for the good points of the city)

I think the problem is the proximity to Toledo (hahaha)!

[Pietro]

"Pittspuke"

LOL, spoken like a true clevelander. younz just don't get it; it ain't just Pittsburgh that thinks younz are a bunch of skuzz balls--it's the entire freakin' country!

And just to p*ss you off a little more; remember Pittsburgh was voted "most livable City" several years ago, and we've had about ten national sports titles more than cleveland has in the last fifty years, oh yeah and the Steelers played their worst game of the season on Sun. (and that's saying something) and still beat the skidmarks in cleveland.

LMAOOL

[SamAdams76]

Maybe this city isn't big enough to make a list like this but the worst city I've ever stayed in (no offense intended to Iowans) was Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Now that is a nowhere, nothing happening kind of place. I stayed there for three weeks attending a technical school at Rockwell International (military aviation radio equipment) in 1982 while I was in the Marines.

It was a nice break from military life but there was absolutely nothing to do there. Bars were mostly empty, with a few regulars who weren't friendly to strangers. The sidewalks got rolled up at 7PM, or at least it seemed like it. It was also in the dead of winter so it was brutally cold, even for one who was born and raised in New England. Restaurants served up mostly bland food. Their idea of "spicy" food was to throw pepper and salt on it. We went to a Mexican restaurant and they used Cheez Whiz on the nachos and watered down Campbell's tomato soup for their chili. About the only thing we did was hang out at the mall or hang out at the Best Western lounge (where we stayed) where we were often the only ones there. All the rock stations in town played endless Journey, Styx and Men At Work (it was 1982). It was a pretty lifeless place. Don't know how anybody stayed in business in that town.

I agree with Seattle being a lousy place to live. But they didn't even mention the weather, which is cloudy and rainy about 70% of the time. A drab and dreary place to be sure.

Best big cities to live in are Boston and New York - if you can afford to live there. I'll get a lot of flack for that but that's how I feel. Best small cities I have stayed in are Burlington, Vermont and Huntsville, Alabama. Wouldn't mind living in either of those two places.

[Ditter]

I am glad to hear this because my nextdoor neighbors are moving to Salt Lake City soon. They are nice people.

[Enterprise]

This is highly insulting. Can't they make room for Fresno in there?

[StolarStorm]

How could Houston not be on any list of worst cities to live in? Hot, humid, smelly, very very polluted, congested, very little culture, generica (too many chain resturants and identical strip shoping malls, torn up downtown streets, abundence of out of shape residents, poor political landscape (Lee Brown and nex Bill White), few public parks... and so forth. Yeah, I live here in Houston (for now) but as I travel extensively I've seen a lot of other places and Houston is without a doubt one of the worst.

[carton253]

I agree about Cincinnati. I love living here. It's a great city. The preception of Cincinnati is false.

And the Bengals are 6-5 and tied for first in the AFC North!

[bigeasy_70118]

Milwaukee belongs in the top ten as well.

[yarddog]

I am not Morman but think I would love living in an area with lots of them. Don't know for sure tho.

I remember quite a few years ago Rand McNally did a list of the worst places in the US to live and Dothan, Alabama was listed as one of the worst.

I lived in Dothan for about 6 years and thought it was one of the most pleasant towns I have ever lived in. When I saw the list of items Rand McNally used to rate them I realized most of them were relatively unimportant. Such things as nearness to major league sports, Arts etc.

They didn't seem to care about such things as cost of living, taxes, cleanliness, etc.

[Hillary's Folly]

Best small cities I have stayed in are Burlington, Vermont and Huntsville, Alabama. Wouldn't mind living in either of those two places.

Agreed, Huntsville is a little gem located at the base of the Appalachian foothills with a great climate, but no nightlife and lots of Christians, so probably wouldn't do well on this list.

[who knows what evil?]

At least all the Christians keep their streets relatively clean.

I wish it worked that way. East Tennessee is FULL of Christians, and the roads here are LINED with trash.

[Mr. Mojo]

How about D.C.?

[bonfire]

I make sure to say at least once a week to my husband "I HATE Houston", just in case he EVER gets it into his head to relocate.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

I agree on Hartford. Other than working there, which I had to do for a few years, I can't think of a single compelling reason to go there.

[kidd]

Worst American cities:
10. San Francisco, CA (too liberal)
9. Toledo, OH (boring)
8. Hartford, CT (boring)
7. Albany, NY (boring and run-down)
6. Bridgeport, CT (boring and run-down)
5. Philadelphia, PA (very liberal and run-down)
4. Detroit, MI (very run down)
3. Newark, NJ (very run down, boring and liberal)
2. Camden, NJ (the American Calcutta)
1. Gary, IN (America's arm pit)

Cleveland doesn't make the list (I lived there - there are worse places). Neither does Cincinnati (never been there). Salt Lake City wouldn't even be close to being on the list - conservative, great skiing, well-kept town.

[kidd]

I live near Hartford. America's file cabinet. I don't know why I'm here either :)

[Richard Kimball]

Any city in Texas is AWFUL!!!!! Crime, earthquakes, Tsunamis, you name it. People from up north move down here and HATE it. For some reason, they never leave, though. They keep telling us how much more civilized some place called Nyawk is. Anyway, if you're from north of the Red River, take my word for it. You'd hate Texas.

[OldFriend]

Hah, they wouldn't dare name Newark as one of the top TEN WORST cities.

[anoldafvet]

No, Mormons are not Christians. Their only use for the bible is to "prove" the legitimacy of the Book of Mormon. I lived in Salt Lake for 9 years and it is one of the best cities in the country. You have to learn how to ignore the prevailing religion and you definitely get stronger in your own faith. I would go back "In a New York Minute".

[Diddle E. Squat]

Stupid list(I assume it is speaking about the metro areas, rather than the specific city. Cincinnati is fantastic, so is Atlanta, Salt Lake and Cleveland have many pleasant places to live. Heck, I even loved the Little Rock area(good scenery, balanced weather, a home in the wooded hills is affordable enough and within a relatively easy commute that homeschooling is affordable)

About the only places I wouldn't live in are:

Youngstown, OH
Brownsville-Harlingen-McAllen, TX
Flint, MI
San Francisco city
Louisiana