I saw a list of the five least popular places to live in the country on the web today. These are all big cities that, despite the ability to get high paying jobs, people still are not willing to live in. The funny thing is as I clicked through and read about each city, I realized that I have lived or spent some significant time in all five and I completely agree that I would never move to any of them…EXCEPT for the number one least popular place to live. Here are the cities in reverse order:
5. Chicago – Yeah, no kidding. I lived there for 18 months and it was the longest 18 months of my life. People who took the survey said it was too cold – No Sh*t! They also complained it was not affordable. Affordable? They could give me a place there and I still wouldn’t live there. The winters are brutal and the summers are worse. It is a great place to visit, about three months out of the year.
4. New Orleans – I think this one really made the list because of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina has made the cities population shrink, the murder rate increase and caused tourism to suffer dramatically. But I have to tell you that I would not have lived there before the hurricane hit. Forget about the fact that I wont live anywhere where hurricanes hit on a semi-regular basis, the crime there is outrageous. During Mardi Gras tourists are warned not to go north of Bourbon St. as you might not come back. Living there would also require me to take a vacation every February as I don’t want to be around the city when the thousands of college kids show up to get drunk, throw up and pass out in the streets. And since I was there for Mardi Gras some years ago, I know what I am talking about.
3. Los Angeles – OK maybe it is because I am a “NCal Guy” which predisposes me to hate all that is SCal, but I would never live in LA. I lived in San Diego many years ago for about 12 months and absolutely loved it. However LA has not only encroached upon, but totally swallowed SD to the point where SD is nothing more than a suburb of LA these days. Who wants to live with the crowds, the traffic, and the smog. Not to mention that, if you have ever been in LA proper, you know it is a pit. I would not live there…not ever!
2. Detroit – LA’s reputation is fantastic in comparison to Detroit’s. The Mayor went to jail recently for lying in a sex scandal. Or is it laying…either way. I was there a few years ago and a local recommended a great Italian restaurant. The restaurant had been there forever, but the neighborhood it is in had disintegrated. The local told me not to worry about the neighborhood but to make sure I ate and left before it got dark. What a great city. Detroit’s reputation is that it is a dangerous city full of slums. And that was when the auto industry wasn’t about to fold up camp. What will become of that city when EVERYONE is out of work next year.
And the number on least popular city to live in…
1. New York City – Come on now! Are you kidding me? NYC is the best city in the world. Who wouldn’t want to live here, at least for a few years? Plenty of high paying jobs, Central Park, great public transportation and not to mention one of the best restaurant, bar, music and art scenes in the world. Sure you pay a lot to live in a shoebox, but we must all make sacrifices. Apparently most people think it is too expensive and there is too much crime. I don’t care, I would still live there - anytime.
Well that was the list. I guess getting 4 out 5 right isn’t bad. But they really missed the mark with NYC. There are a whole bunch of other cities I would never live in for sure. How about you? Would you live in any of these cities? Where wouldn’t you live?
6 comments:
I would love to live in NYC, as long as I don't have ot live in a studio apt. Ted wants to live there as well, so I think we may seriously check into it, once the economy starts to right itself. I don't mind L.A. but I think I'd go crazy with the traffic/commuting, so if I could live within 15 min. of my work, I'd live there.
I wouldn't want to live in Minneapolis b/c of the cold either, even though it was a nice city when I visited it in August.
I would love to spend sometime in NYC besides the few days I was there, and my sister lives in Chicago and I love the city. But I completely agree..extremely cold in the winter.
And Detroit has always been a slum, and sad to say that Cleveland with its depressed economy is going that way as well.
Hmmm...I wonder where Scary Village was in the rankings? :-)
I've never lived in a big city, so none of those would be good for me! Would like to see NYC and New Orleans, though. Chicago is OK, Cleveland, Minneapolis, LA, to visit anyway.
Happy New Year to you!
I'd love to live in New York! Crazy list.
I actually wouldn't ever want to live in LA, though. I was not such a fan. And a friend of mine lives in Chicago, and I don't think she hates it...
I lived in both Chicago and NYC for 4-5 years. Chicago is too cold. It's a beautiful city and I wish the winter weren't so miserable. NYC is too expensive. You can have a high paying job and still live like a poor person. Really. You salary will be eaten up by taxes and then you WILL live in a studio smaller and dirtier in crappier building than you could have ever imagined while paying more in rent than you ever have in your life and more than would be required for you as a monthly mortgage payment in a really nice house in an average city. You will PAY for the NYC that you want to enjoy and frankly it's pretty expensive to go out all the time when 1 drink costs $12-$18. 1 drink. Nice restaurants will cost you $100 for two even when you aren't trying to "impress" her.... That will cost of $300 for two. So GOOD LUCK to all the people who want to live in NYC. GOOOD LUCK. The museums are great. The sidewalks are exciting (just walk fast or get out of the way). The neighborhoods have all the character you would ever want. But if you aren't going to make it big like Jay-Z or some Wall Street hotshot trader, live somewhere else and actually enjoy where you live and the nice places you can eat without going broke -- even with your six figure job.
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