Awful Places To Live
Moving to a different city seems like the best solution to obtain a better life. One shortly finds out however, that every place has its own set of problems.
Filled with crime, natural disasters and poverty as well as various other debilitating issues these are the cities that are the most miserable to live in.
Macon-Bibb County, Georgia
There is about 3,700 empty buildings in this city that requires to be maintained. This means money is essentially being thrown in the water to maintain these buildings. These buildings are empty due to people moving away to more promising cities. This is indicative of the miserable life inhabitants of this city lead.
This city's poverty rate is at a staggering 26% which explains why most people are deeply unhappy.
Lancaster California
This city is home to an estimated 160,000 residents. What's horrible about this is that these 160,000 people are living in the desert.
Some residents of Lancaster are known to struggle with meth and other drug addictions and this city is crawling with problems with neo-Nazi's too. To add insult to injury, roughly 24% of the population live in poverty.
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is riddled with poverty and the notorious Hells Angels motorcycle "club" is native to this city.
Residents live in constant fear for their safety and majority of the residents are unable to make enough money to be able to leave the city due to the low employment rate.
Cicero, Illinois
The city is full of dangerous gangs that have been in existence since the time of Al Capone.
The city council attempted to coerce the gangs to leave the city however these attempts were fruitless. The city implemented a 60 day grace period in which the gangs should leave, if they failed to do so they would be liable to pay a daily fine. The criminals did not express any intention of leaving and they seemingly did not care for this threat.
Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur has been unlucky enough to experience three different hurricanes since 2005.
On average, a hurricane caused around $1.3 billion worth of damages. Now imagine how three hurricanes affected this city! Slowly but surely, people are leaving this waterside city to other flourishing cities. If the population falls below a certain amount then the city will be unable to collect federal grants. This city is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode!
Detroit, Michigan
This one comes as no surprise.
What may surprise you is that this city is ranked 7th. After the collapse of the manufacturing industry, more than half a million people left the city. People are prone to be depressed in Detroit and the city is also very dangerous. Detroit is home to nearly 43,000 abandoned buildings that still requires money to be "maintained".
St. Louis, Missouri
From the outside, this city may appear to be an unexpected addition to the list.
People there, on the other hand, live in constant terror due to the prevalence of violence and gun crimes. In fact, murders climbed by 33% in just one year! It's not a pleasant place to live, but relocating is difficult, therefore the majority of the locals are unable to leave.
Huntington, West Virginia
6% of residents left this city over the last 10 years, which in retrospect might not be that bad.
However, when combined with the moniker "America's Overdose Capital" and the steady stream of people fleeing, it all makes sense. It was also considered the country's unhealthiest city at one point, which is saying a lot for America.
North Miami, Florida
Florida already has a negative image to contend with. However, the flooding situation in Florida is a distinctive one that makes life difficult for the residents.
Experts estimate that 2,780 septic tanks will be unable to function as the tides rise, in addition to the property damage. As a result, people will be drenched, destitute, and surrounded by stink.
Paterson, New Jersey
It’s not always human that can affect a town’s health and happiness.
When Hurricane Irene hit, the Great Fall (which was used to power the local factories) flooded the city. Homes lay in devastation and insurance companies did what they always do – try everything not to pay out. There were 1,250 abandoned homes. Over the years, tax revenue fell by 40%. Ouch.
Huntington Park, California
Don’t bother looking for a house here. Poverty rates are high and it directly affects real estate.
On top of that, it seems that those seeking a better life than their own country have made Huntington Park their main entry point. The problem is, most are illegal immigrants, so it becomes a domino effect of job issues and other problems.
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Imagine living in a city with 56,000 people – doesn’t sound that bad, right?
But now imagine living there and only 50% of people have a job and a third living in poverty. Gun rates also soared by 64%. There’s not much reason to find joy in N.B.
Flint, Michigan
It’s rare to find someone who hasn’t heard of Flint.
Their water crisis made international news. Stack that with a whopping 41% poverty rate and other problems appear. The city has an opioid crisis and very high violence rates – with the nearly 20,000 abandoned buildings, it makes it too easy to find a place for dangerous behavior.
Gary, Indiana
You would think that having 23,000 people out of a job at the same time was bad enough – when the single big-factor employer shut down entirely – but poor Gary residents have had to endure other first-place medals that no one would want.
At one point, they were dubbed the murder capital of the US. It also used to be the drug capital of the country as well. Needless to say, no one there is happy.