What's the most depressing U.S. town you've ever visited?

[Anonymous]

Savannah, GA

The poverty compared to the glamour was sad.

[Anonymous]

Twentynine Palms CA

[Anonymous]

Those little towns in NC right before you cross the bridge onto the OBX.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cumberland, MD - both of my parents grew up there. It was a beautiful little town once, but it became depressed once railroads became less vital to the economy. It is so sad to visit now - I believe it may be ranked the poorest town in MD - lots of drugs and all boarded up. I sometimes wonder if it will ever have a renaissance like Ashevillle - such a pretty location and charming old buildings. I hope it revitalizes one day.

We drove through it on the way to Fallingwater. My teenager looked up from his phone and asked "What IS this place?" It made me sad to drive through it since it seemed like it had been a great place at one time.

The Fallingwater area of PA is terrifying. Stayed at an air b n b near it and didn’t sleep at night with feeling it was a mix of haunted and someone was about to burst in and kill us.

It was pretty creepy. I meant to write that Cumberland, MD was pretty depressing as we drove through it. I wish it would have a revival like Asheville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me, it would have to be a tie between Utica, New York, and Torrington, CT -- with the NY side of Niagara Falls being hot on both of their heels.

You?

I read this thread specifically, because I knew I would know somewhere someone was hating on. Didn't need to look too far (although I did look through the whole thread) - Torrington, CT.

I have been visiting Torrington all my life. My grandparents lived there and then my mother took over their house. In fact I was just there over the weekend! I love being in Torrington. It's a quiet town. Everything is much cheaper than where I live. There's so much to do. It's close to hiking, skiing. We go to Hartford to watch sports. Short drive up to the Berkshires. We go to the town pool. It's a small town of working people. It used to be very white. Now there are all different kinds of races and ethnicities living in town. We consider ourselves lucky to have Torrington as a free getaway. And my kids loved KidsPlay downtown when they were younger.

Having grown up in another New England post-industrial city, I'm used to the snobbery of those who consider these places "rundown". This country's anti-urban policies have left these once vibrant towns to fend for themselves. The real estate and construction lobbies push cheap new suburban construction over rehabilitation of urban areas. Our culture values the car over public transportation and walkability. Increasing concentrations of poverty intensify a vicious cycle of disinvestment.

Personally what I find depressing is suburban sprawl which we have in CT even though we have an aging and declining population. There's nothing more depressing to me than an empty suburban strip mall, but you can find those anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Hyden, KY
Sandusky, OH

[Anonymous]

I find it depressing when I visit my in-laws in Indiana and we see only white people. While people, while people, everywhere only white people. And I AM WHITE! But it makes me feel like, “Where did you put everybody else? Where are they?” It feels creepy to me. It also feels creep to enter restaurants, gas stations, convenience shops, in that region l and again: only see white people, white people who work there, white people who frequent there as customers. Again, it just feels creepy to me like they all came together and decided, “Okay, we’ll live here. Let’s pretend no one else exists.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it depressing when I visit my in-laws in Indiana and we see only white people. While people, while people, everywhere only white people. And I AM WHITE! But it makes me feel like, “Where did you put everybody else? Where are they?” It feels creepy to me. It also feels creep to enter restaurants, gas stations, convenience shops, in that region l and again: only see white people, white people who work there, white people who frequent there as customers. Again, it just feels creepy to me like they all came together and decided, “Okay, we’ll live here. Let’s pretend no one else exists.”

Yea and I'll bet you moved out of DC when your kids hit school age because . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of the plains states: Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, iowa, the dakotas.

Gary, IN. East St. Louis, MO. Most of IL and MO except Chicago and st Louis.

Most of the little towns in the Mississippi and Arkansas delta.

Much of Kentucky, Indiana, ohio, and West Virginia.

When you rule out an entire state you sound like a fool who has only driven though on I-80. Omaha is a great city, getting bluer and better every year. Lincoln is a wonderful college town. All of the plain states have nice friendly small towns, that of course you haven’t visited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it depressing when I visit my in-laws in Indiana and we see only white people. While people, while people, everywhere only white people. And I AM WHITE! But it makes me feel like, “Where did you put everybody else? Where are they?” It feels creepy to me. It also feels creep to enter restaurants, gas stations, convenience shops, in that region l and again: only see white people, white people who work there, white people who frequent there as customers. Again, it just feels creepy to me like they all came together and decided, “Okay, we’ll live here. Let’s pretend no one else exists.”

I wonder if you'd feel this way if it were anyone but your in laws. Seems like they raised their son well enough -- you married him.

I'm all about diversity, but I'm not going to label a largely white town "depressing" by definition. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the plains states: Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, iowa, the dakotas.

Gary, IN. East St. Louis, MO. Most of IL and MO except Chicago and st Louis.

Most of the little towns in the Mississippi and Arkansas delta.

Much of Kentucky, Indiana, ohio, and West Virginia.

When you rule out an entire state you sound like a fool who has only driven though on I-80. Omaha is a great city, getting bluer and better every year. Lincoln is a wonderful college town. All of the plain states have nice friendly small towns, that of course you haven’t visited.

Yea, it's a weird list. She also single out several cities with large AA populations. So she's both ignorant AND racist. Quite the combo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it depressing when I visit my in-laws in Indiana and we see only white people. While people, while people, everywhere only white people. And I AM WHITE! But it makes me feel like, “Where did you put everybody else? Where are they?” It feels creepy to me. It also feels creep to enter restaurants, gas stations, convenience shops, in that region l and again: only see white people, white people who work there, white people who frequent there as customers. Again, it just feels creepy to me like they all came together and decided, “Okay, we’ll live here. Let’s pretend no one else exists.”

Yea and I'll bet you moved out of DC when your kids hit school age because . . .

I have never lived in DC. NoVA is very diverse, and it is pretty parochial to assume that it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is basically a DCUM "who do we think we're better than?" thread. As you all sit in your bland suburbs.

LOL-- agree!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it depressing when I visit my in-laws in Indiana and we see only white people. While people, while people, everywhere only white people. And I AM WHITE! But it makes me feel like, “Where did you put everybody else? Where are they?” It feels creepy to me. It also feels creep to enter restaurants, gas stations, convenience shops, in that region l and again: only see white people, white people who work there, white people who frequent there as customers. Again, it just feels creepy to me like they all came together and decided, “Okay, we’ll live here. Let’s pretend no one else exists.”

Yea and I'll bet you moved out of DC when your kids hit school age because . . .

I have never lived in DC. NoVA is very diverse, and it is pretty parochial to assume that it is not.

Yea, right, what a joke. You live in NoVA and you think you're the diversity queen? HA!

[Anonymous]

LOLOLOLOLOL somebody living in a NoVA suburb lecturing us about there being too many white people in Indiana. How many non-white friends do you have? HA! I've seen everything!