So there’s this list which ranks the most miserable cities in the U.S. I’ve checked off those in the top 10 which I’ve actually seen / driven through / stayed in (don’t ask):
No question but that Gary deserves its spot. Under “Non-Third World Shitholes” in the dictionary will be its picture:
Detroit we all know about, ditto Newark, Flint and Camden, which all resemble the above pic in one way or another. Huntington Park should be driven around let alone through, and I don’t know anything about Warren (although its location near Akron and Youngstown probably gives us a clue). Pine Bluff is actually little different from most Southern rural shitholes, except that its inhabitants seem to be more violent than most, for reasons which escape me.
I’m a little puzzled by Passaic’s position, though. I lived just a couple miles away from it, in Lincoln Park, and other than the fact that it gets flooded out every other year or so by its namesake river — perhaps the reason for its high misery ranking, come to think of it — it’s little different from most of its Noo Joizee neighbors e.g. Paterson (a true shithole) and Verona (only a little less shitty), neither of which made the top 10.
Feel free to add your miserable candidates in Comments.
