Is St. Louis Really THAT Bad??
// February 25th, 2010 // My Thoughts, STL Scene
Posted by Michelle for StaciStatic.com
I was really intrigued to hear about this list called “America’s Most Miserable Cities” made by Forbes.com. Well believe it or not our wonderful city was ranked #7. I was pretty surprised to see that we were ranked at all but to be ranked so high really had me flabbergasted. Is St. Louis really that bad?
Forbes says its “Misery Measure” takes into account unemployment, taxes, violent crime and how cities’ pro sports teams have faired over the past two years. Last year Missouri had an unemployment rate of 9.6%, #34 in the country, The Rams have a record of 6-48 in the last 3 seasons, and we were ranked #2 on the countries’ “Most Dangerous Cities” list.
Honestly I don’t think St. Louis should be considered a “miserable city”. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m from here and it’s just in my nature to stand up for my city or if it’s because I don’t travel often enough. :/
I’ve been quite a few places that I’ve enjoyed so much I’ve visited 2 or 3 more times and would love to own homes there, but there’s no place like home.
Cleveland was ranked #1. A few of the other top ten were Flint Michigan, Detroit, and Miami.
stl has been on a decline since the 80’s. jobs are constantly leaving the area or shutting down, which causes homelessness and violent crime. stl is so backasswards its the only city that doesn’t control its own police dept. and look at the shape it is in. if people don’t wake up and get more involved in their communities, city politics, and government it will only get worse.
Kansas City along w/ Stl doesn’t have control of it’s police department. It goes back to a civil war agreement. The overall problem w/ St Louis is it’s fragmented government whether it be city/county split or the 91 separate municipalities that are apart of St Louis county. How can a region bounce back if you have duplicate services spread across the board. Efficiency is key. Stl have seen worse days but within the past decade things have just begun to turn around. Redevelopment and regional pride is key and I think w/ new leadership (complete overhaul of city hall), it’s definitely possible.