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.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
127 comments Add your comment
I dropped my fried twinkie
February 26th, 2013
6:10 pm
Don’t need Rednecks………you don’t here about mass killings by black men is because they can’t freaking aim worth a crap. You hear about drive-bys and shooting into crowds but Da Bros can’t aim. .Those would be mass killings if the black guys knew how to really SHOOT.
Anne
February 26th, 2013
8:25 pm
I moved here in December and was surprised to discover the city gets about 50″ of rain a year–more than Seattle. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/nrmlprcp.html. I now jokingly call my new home Hell-anta because it’s drearier than Ohio or Michigan. The people here, however, are very nice. And after living in Los Angeles, I don’t mind the traffic at all.
@ Don't need Rednecks
February 26th, 2013
8:52 pm
You really should not work at the same place as your white bipolar boyfriend if you are that scared for your life. You might want to go straight as well, your lifestyle is more deadly. Why would a gay / redneck want to date a bipolar? Is he a patient?
Grayson Scott
February 26th, 2013
8:56 pm
All 10 of the most miserable cities reside in democrat controlled jurisdictions. Hello, bigger government isn’t the right answer people!
Linda
February 26th, 2013
10:35 pm
In the 30+ years I’ve lived here:
1) I’ve had my car, tires, bike, mail, and personal objects from work stolen.
2) Most of the trees have been cut down to make way for billboards and McMansions
3) I-285 and I-400 have at least doubled in size
4) People drive like maniacs, and road rage has gone through the roof
5) I have allergies from hell
6) the Chattahoochee River is a mess
7) I’ve been laid off from 3 jobs
I think it’s way past time to leave.
Dave Perry
February 26th, 2013
11:41 pm
A city is only as good as its people and leaders and that’s where the failures lie. Traffic congestion caused by extremely poor planning on the part of GDOT is the reason Atlanta made this list, not because of black racism, not because of poor black leadership and not because the city doesn’t have a lot to offer because it does.
JASon
February 27th, 2013
12:00 am
“Atlanta 16th most miserable city”
Hey, moron, new york, chicago, and miami are in the top 10, so WHAT’S YOUR POINT
UGA ECONOMICS MAJOR
February 27th, 2013
12:22 am
lets see Atlanta is Ghetto,crime is awful.my 6 yr old could have done a better job planning this poorly planned metro..matter of fact it looks like a 6yr old did,racial divide so deep,northern invasion from the slums(detroit,st.louis,cleveland, new york etc)poor political leadership,nathan deal?lol..kasim reed??poor education system,horrible quality of life.no walkable safe areas,no green space,nasty attitudes.poor customer service,swealtering humid summers from march to october,sitting in bumper to bumper mind numbing traffic,poorly built homes,sprawl,poor highway and freeway system,filthy unbreathable air,low paying to no jobs,cost of living doesnt equal low pay.high utilities due to summers that feel like your in a swamp for 9 months,so much hatred between white and blacks like the 1950,shorrible downtown that offers nothing,poor sport teams,…cant wait to retire and get out of here!
stg
February 27th, 2013
5:37 am
Let’s be fair here, Atlanta has some of the best qualities a city would care to have. The weather mostly is fantastic for a southern locale due to the high elevation and latitude. Traditionally expanding corporations and relocations have provided great job growth. It has world class sports, diverse cultural opportunities and education. This cosmopolitan city is also derailed by poverty, crime and a baffling transportation ignorance. Atlanta’s car centric model is the poster child of unsustainability. Job creators care about quality of life, they now eliminate Atlanta for transportation dysfunction alone. Quality jobs HELP solve other social problems, etc. I am not sure that this problem will abate in my lifetime, hopefully? I do love the city.
I am using this car centric nightmare as a model of what not to do in my new city. I happen to be in the smart transportation business.
UGA ECONOMICS MAJOR
February 27th, 2013
6:43 am
Greenville,Seattle,Charlotte,Charleston,…are absolutly gems ..Atlanta??america,s nightmare..it should be worldclass but we keep electing poor leadership that dont have a clue..and the horrid 1950,s racial divide here makes the problem even worse the racial issues in the metro area is killing it!!weather it be transportation,or planning period everything boils down to race ..example;the metro area would benefit highly with marta extended into the suburbs but again race shows its ugly head no city needs a great transportation system like Atlanta ..companies will stop relocating here until something is done..and due to Atlanta racial attitudes it has made the growth here stagnant while other cities progress..Atlanta metro could be a gem butbackwards thinking holds it hostage to progress…..meanwhile the whole metro area suffers