What is the most all-around depressing US state to live in?

Anti-American Dream wrote:

[quote]verminmeat wrote:

Side topic - I wonder what the future holds for the Midwest. It's hard for me to envision a real resurgence in industry there or a major increase in population. And I think the wage gap will only continue to grow in our country as a whole.

Could a mass exodus of people be possible in the near future from states like Iowa or Nebraska for more prosperous and less miserable states? Or will they just "go down with the ship" as they say?

I live in a city at the intersection point for Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota and there has been a recent influx of manufacturing jobs. Many of those jobs pay lower-middle class wages to start!! There are definitely a large number of dying small towns starting just a 1 hour drive away, though.

I visited Mobile Alabama a few years back. After taking a trip to the mall to kill some time we got back to the hotel. The person at the front desk casually asked where we'd gone. We mentioned the mall we visited, her response was "that's surprising, that's the black mall", we were obviously white.

It would be pretty goddamn depressing living in a state that's still stuck in 1955.

Blue states.

FarOutMan wrote:

Anti-American Dream wrote:

Nope. While I dislike the state of FL in general, the combination of hot women, "decent" beaches, sports teams, and Miami keep it away from the title of Most Depressing.

Flaw-duhh wins by a landslide. People from the north go there to die. Pro football and baseball, suck, drugs and bizarre crimes rampant.

Summers are brutal, flooded with illegals and layabouts from P.R.

"Illegals from PR?" They're a territory of the US, dummy.

You're telling me that Florida is a more depressing place to live than West Virginia? Than Arkansas? Than Mississippi? You are out of your mind. I live in St. Pete and the Tampa Bay area has become one of the best places to move in the US. Conde Nast rated St Pete as the most underrated city in the US due to its cultural and artistic scene. We have 50+ craft breweries in Pinellas County (rated the #3 beer city in the US behind Grand Rapids and Fort Collins), and our average age is 36 thanks to tons of younger people moving here because of tons of jobs in the banking and financial services industries. We have a normal year-round population, no snow birds, and very few people move here to retire. Might get a few by the beach, but none of that Naples/The Villages crap here.

Do me a favor and don't visit. That means you can't come to the #1 beach in the USA (as voted by trip advisor): Clearwater Beach, and the 2006 #1 beach in America: Fort Desoto Park. Plus that Disney place. Although you probably have a court order that prevents you from being within 500 yards of a place like Disney.

With that in mind, anywhere on the southern east coast of Florida is terrible. West Palm all the way down to Miami. The Keys don't count. They're one big storm from being uninhabited.

The Gulf coast side is friendlier, better customer service, and better beaches. Jacksonville is awesome, too. Don't know if I could live there, but spending a week or more there for work is always awesome.

Delaware. Every time I go through there I ask myself "Why the f+++ is this place even here?" Not much to see and not much to do. Owned by DuPont. The highway system is weird. Just dull. The kind of place you'd commit suicide in on a Saturday night just to have something to do.

macdaddy wrote:

Lots of Illinois hate... I'd say the vast majority of people who live in Illinois enjoy it - especially those closer to Chicago.

+1

a;lda wrote:

Results from a quick google

10. Utah

9. Idaho

8. Colorado

7. Oregon

6. New Hampshire

5. Minnesota

4. W. Virginia

3. Arkansas

2. Indiana

1. Rhode Island

http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/depression-nation-16-saddest-states/17/

Whoever came up with this list is an idiot. To be depressed in #5-10, you would have to be locked up inside all day. If you are opposed to wide open spaces, beautiful scenery, and ample outdoors opportunities (not to mention great running), then stay away from 5-10.

joedirt wrote:

a;lda wrote:

Results from a quick google

10. Utah

9. Idaho

8. Colorado

7. Oregon

6. New Hampshire

5. Minnesota

4. W. Virginia

3. Arkansas

2. Indiana

1. Rhode Island

http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/depression-nation-16-saddest-states/17/

Whoever came up with this list is an idiot. To be depressed in #5-10, you would have to be locked up inside all day. If you are opposed to wide open spaces, beautiful scenery, and ample outdoors opportunities (not to mention great running), then stay away from 5-10.

Yea #5-10 on that list are much closer to being top 10 than they are bottom 10. Never been to Rhode Island but I'll vouch for Indiana being bad. Still not worse than Missouri, Oklahoma, and the ultimate American trash can: Florida. Ideally we just chop it off of the continental US and let it drift off into the ocean.

If global warming forecasts are correct (with all of the economic growth in Asia, it seems like a matter of when, not if), most cities in Florida will be inundated with water within the next 100 years or so, so you will not have to worry about Florida (or at least Miami) for too long.

Anti-American Dream wrote:

Ummm Man wrote:

Ummm...ever heard of Mississippi?

Yeah I should have mentioned them. MS is def. a strong contender, and I would say the clear front-runner in regards to the Southeast region, with Alabama coming in 2nd.

I have lived in both states.

1. Beautiful women. I mean the kind that almost hurt to make eye contact with. Walk around Ole Miss, MS State, U of A, or Auburn for an hour and get back to me.

2. Some of the best food in the country. No, it isn't all fried. Cajun food on the MS coast is amazing. Lots of displaced New Orlanders have opened up shop in Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, and Jackson. There is also underrated BBQ throughout.

3. The lack of professional sports teams creates an incredible atmosphere for college sports. The hysteria surrounding the Iron Bowl is real.

To the OP: the answer has to be the midwest, right? Nebraska, Kansas, etc? I have never spend any time there, but it just seems that if you aren't really into corn, you are kinda screwed, right?

Seriously mate? wrote:

How about most depressed city?

Gary, Indiana has got to be the biggest hell hole I have ever seen. I'd rather live in Chernobyl with an AIDS infected wife.

Flint Michigan?

1 and 1a.

When Hillary is president all the states will be depressing to live in.

Anti-American Dream wrote:

Alaska is awesome wrote:

Dude, if you get depressed in Montana, Wyoming, or Alaska, you're not doing it right. Get out and enjoy the greatness of the outdoors. Those are great states.

Louisiana and Mississippi are the most depressing, hands down. Poor economy. Outdoors is flat and not scenic. The weather is humid 9 months of the year. The water and beaches are awful. You're a loooooooooong drive to any place worth visiting.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6345a10.htm

Top 3 states by suicide:

1) Wyoming

2) Alaska

3) Montana

The mountains aren't everything, my dude. I'm a climber, so please believe I love the mountains. But there are so many other factors when determining quality of life in a particular locale. Every day life is tough in these places.

Surprised by this list a bit. I believe more males commit suicide than females. Just a hunch, but those 3 states seem like places where the male/female ratio might mean there are a lot of single, lonely, mountain men - and as you said everyday life is already tough in those places. I live in Colorado and hope to not join them!

NEW FVCKING HAMPSHIRE

Truther45 wrote:

When Hillary is president all the states will be depressing to live in.

I didn't know we were including the obvious answers, I guess I change my time to this as well.

Seriously mate? wrote:

How about most depressed city?

Gary, Indiana has got to be the biggest hell hole I have ever seen. I'd rather live in Chernobyl with an AIDS infected wife.

I absolutely second this. Gary is a terrifying place to go

Wyoming

Indiana tops my list. No interesting natural features. Small towns are mostly depressed with a few antique shops and a dairy queen. The medium sized towns are also duds. Fort Wayne is a sad town with enough historic architecture to remind you just how bad things got when industry and agribusiness shifted away from the midwest. Go south, and it gets just redneck enough to be annoying, but not enough to have any of the charm of the south. Go north, and you get just close enough to Chicago to know how bad Indiana compares. Indianapolis is way better than it was thirty years ago, but is closer to a southern sprawl city with mind numbing suburbs than an interesting Eastern city with more interesting close in neighborhoods. Then there is the obsession with high school basketball. And then there are all the crazy conservative Christians all over the state. Winters are painfully cold and long but without much snow to play in and no real winter sports. Summers can go from beautiful to murder hot and humid.

Anti-American Dream wrote:

I have traveled extensively across this country, and lived on both coasts. I can't, however, determine the most miserable place to be in for an extended amount of time.

"The most miserable place to be in for an extended amount of time" is definitely a much smaller place than a "state." Even living in Newport is different from living in Providence, and that's in the smallest of states. Imagine the difference between Sitka and Barrow.

It also depends on how much money you have. San Jose (or Palo Alto) could be a nice place ... if you can afford it. Most people can't.

A related question is whether you have to spend the whole year in one place, or you can split the year in two (or three) different places. Boca Raton, Fot Lauderdale or West Palm Beach could be nice... if you can spend summer somewhere else.