Atlanta 16th most miserable city
A recent infusion of zombies, seen here on Mitchell Street, may have catapulted Atlanta to No. 16 on Forbes' misery index. (AMC)
Misery loves company, and Atlantans have plenty of it in the recent “Most Miserable Cities” list put together by Forbes.
Atlanta, which didn’t crack the Top 20 in 2012, appears at No. 16 in the 2013 list. I apologize for not putting more numbers in the preceding sentence.
Why is Atlanta so miserable? High foreclosure rates, home values that are down 42% since 2007, and nasty traffic, which you probably know more about than Forbes.
Despite the rainy weather, I don’t feel more miserable than last year, but there’s an explanation for that.
The magazine has tweaked its formula, dropping two criteria — the success of sports teams and political corruption — while adding net migration, the number of people that flee the city. The other familiar barometers of displeasure — unemployment, commute times, violent crimes, home prices, foreclosures, taxes and weather – remain.
Adding net migration to the mix moved last year’s No. 1, Miami, out of the Top 20.
I guess that means last year’s list was not very good at predicting misery.
This year’s list doesn’t seem much better.
Detroit, which has been miserable since someone had the bright idea of creating the Ford Pinto, is once again America’s most pathetic zip code, according to the same magazine that put the city on the cover with the headline “City of Hope” in 2011.
Flint, another city ruined by an inept auto industry, is No. 2.
Chicago is No. 4, which seems high, though I once visited in April and almost froze to death.
Another miss is No. 9, Lake County, Illinois, which is one of the richest “towns” in America, and New York City (No. 10), which has high taxes but is otherwise considered a pretty cool place to live, else Forbes would move their offices.
Youngstown, Ohio, a city so ravaged by fate Bruce Springsteen felt compelled to write a song about it, is No. 20. Call me a “homer” if you wish, but Atlanta is a heck of a lot better place to live than Youngstown.
After carefully reviewing the list, I notice not one “miserable” city has access to a nice, warm ocean.
Thus, all Atlanta needs to be No. 1 on the “LEAST Miserable” list is a beach and schools that educate children. Those can’t be too hard to fix.
Visit Forbes for the complete list.
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127 comments Add your comment
ND
February 26th, 2013
5:22 pm
So we are less miserable than New York and Chicago? I’ll take it.
Pretty much every one of Forbes’ lists seems like it was put together by picking them randomly.
Andy
February 26th, 2013
5:26 pm
Metro ATL peaked in the early 2000’s and has been on the downhill slide in QOL ever since.
About the only good place left in the area for quality jobs is up 400 from Alpharetta continuing north. Quality big business is fleeing downtown, midtown and Buckhood.
TheRightIsRight - TheLeftIsLost
February 26th, 2013
5:26 pm
“Some white racists and many other whites not interested in helping resolve the greater poverty anymore.”
So rich white people should just hand their money over? My God, you put modern day Robinhood in the WH (twice), so Obama is still unable to give the poverty victims their fair share? So your new friends, the Illegal class, hasn’t lifted you out of poverty by doing jobs you refuse to do?
All races and ethnics groups self segregated – the wannabe rich blacks of Cascade Rd, the asian corridor of Buford Hwy, the WASPS of Dunwoody. You live where you can afford and where you fit in.
Our entire country is going to the toilet. As our country becomes more diverse and rises “progressively”, expect the quality of life in this country overall and respect and safetely of our country to dwindle. The meek will not inherit America, they are going to destoy it. Only those with real money will survive. I plan on keeping my money and not handing it over to some looser that calls me a racist.
You got what you paid for when you voted for Obama. Hahahahaha!
Rashmel
February 26th, 2013
5:26 pm
Forbes needs to redo their formula. You got professional football, basketball, and baseball in one city. Land cheap and minorities are doing well. Since Forbes magazine do not have any minorities on their executive staff I am sure their views are not in support of the majority of the city.
Michael
February 26th, 2013
5:29 pm
In metro Atlanta you only need about 5 cars to start a traffic jam. Sheeesh.
Cosmo Calling
February 26th, 2013
5:31 pm
Cosmopolitan has run Top Ten lists for decades to sell magazines.
C from Marietta
February 26th, 2013
5:42 pm
@ MJ
I am reading between the lines and YOUR the one angry at the world. Your post reeks of hatred and worrying about other folks.
I dropped my fried twinkie
February 26th, 2013
5:46 pm
Haha……….here is why the ATL SUCKS a brand new story. Freaking Hood Rats with no value to the human race and ATL is full of them.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/shots-fired-between-family-members-after-funeral/nWZ8w/
Don't need Rednecks
February 26th, 2013
5:56 pm
To Coolio & Cobb_Chuck,
You both seem to talk about racism and blacks doing all the crimes, what about all the school shootings and movie shooting. You never here of black doing mass killing on strangers. I’m scared everyday when I go to work because my co-worker white bipolar boyfriend my come shot up the place! He’s a meth head, unemployed, bipolar, redneck waiting to blow up a spot. If he ever decide to go off the rocker, i’m afraid it may be during working hours. So don’t blame everything on the black race, because whites have more issues than black on black crime.when whites lose it they go after any and everybody!!! where can we send the crazy whites Coolio & chuck can we send them to your house?????? more scared of whites than blacks… that’s no lie… crazy M/F’s
Randy
February 26th, 2013
6:06 pm
Atlanta is ranked #16. And this is worthy of front page news? Well, yes, because the AJC is a small town rag that tries to make any story Atlanta-centric. If some newsworthy event happens halfway across the world you can count on the AJC to make an “Atlanta connection”, and focus on that. Really a mockery of journalism.