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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Pueblo, CO
Rochester, NY —It is just so quiet.
Grand Rapids, MI
Hamilton, NY


There are certainly parts of the city of Rochester that are quiet and run down, but I can think of several places in NY state that are FAR more depressing and run down (hello, Utica). Go to highland park when the lilacs are blooming and it is sure to come off your short list.

Lots of depressing towns in ohio and WV that it’s hard to pick just one.

Love the Rochester lilac festival! Yes, parts of Rochester are quiet. It's part of the rust belt in its own way. Kodak and Xerox are both much less than they once were. We lived there for a while and know lots of people who left due to layoffs at Kodak and Xerox. The city has a great history. So many of these depressing towns are places that were hit by offshoring of industries and also technologies that reduced the need for factory labor (robots). So many people were displaced.

[Anonymous]

Cumberland, MD Just gives off a Stephen King vibe to me. Not sure why.

On the other hand, as a native Midwesterner, I like some of the above named towns, like Zanesville, Ohio (with its Zane Grey museum) and Grand Rapids (which feels like my hometown suburb in its familiarity in a good way).

[Anonymous]

Baltimore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Denver. So boring and ugly

Really?! I’m from CO so I’ll admit I have a soft spot for Denver but, while it may not be the best city I’ve ever visited, I can’t see it being truly the most depressing town someone has ever visited.

A friend had to spend several months there for work, and she said it was dirty. I was surprised because I think of CO as progressive and environmentally sound. I guess I was wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pueblo, CO
Rochester, NY —It is just so quiet.
Grand Rapids, MI
Hamilton, NY

Really? When were you last in Grand Rapids? I grew up there and it wasn't anything to write home about when I was a kid (born in 1978) but so much has happened in the past decade or so! Lots of development...very much a revival. Some great restaurants, very good economy, not some super exciting place but overall it's rated very very high on QOL measures. I read it's one of the hottest housing markets in the US.

Different poster, but some of these make me raise my eyebrows. I guess every person is depressed by different things...

I would never put Denver, Baltimore, Grand Rapids, Anchorage, or even Albany NY on this list.

[Anonymous]

Anything EOTP in DC just blows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glen Burnie MD. I interviewed for a job there and it looked awful.

+1 we refer to it as "Glen burnout"

98 rock lol that was the dj.

[Anonymous]

Erie pa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Denver. So boring and ugly

Really?! I’m from CO so I’ll admit I have a soft spot for Denver but, while it may not be the best city I’ve ever visited, I can’t see it being truly the most depressing town someone has ever visited.

A friend had to spend several months there for work, and she said it was dirty. I was surprised because I think of CO as progressive and environmentally sound. I guess I was wrong.

Portland? Seattle? LA? San Francisco? These are all "progressive" places that I also found to be incredibly dirty. I found Dallas and Charlotte to be extremely clean.

[Anonymous]

I wasn't as enamored by Denver as I expected to be, because I otherwise LOVE Colorado, but I found Denver kinda bland and boring. That said, to list it as "depressing", alongside places like Gary or Youngstown is silly IMO.

[Anonymous]

Danville IL
Clarksburg WV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wasn't as enamored by Denver as I expected to be, because I otherwise LOVE Colorado, but I found Denver kinda bland and boring. That said, to list it as "depressing", alongside places like Gary or Youngstown is silly IMO.

Is Denver more bland and boring than Charlotte?

[Anonymous]

Meadville, PA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a total bleeding heart highly educated liberal, and when I see threads like this I totally understand the rise of Trumpism. You are all a bunch of elitist self-important snobs who think a little money and education makes you better than other people. No wonder this country is so divided. I'd hate us too, if I were them.

Shame on all of you.

+1000. DCUM at its worst (and given how rancid this site is generally that’s no small feat).

Bullsh*t. Have you been to these towns? You don’t think it’s bleak and depressing when all the store fronts are boarded up? When there is nowhere to work?Or when homes are dilapidated and falling apart, and have been that way for decades? When adults can hardly read?

Shame on you for accepting this.

You mean like Georgetown?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wasn't as enamored by Denver as I expected to be, because I otherwise LOVE Colorado, but I found Denver kinda bland and boring. That said, to list it as "depressing", alongside places like Gary or Youngstown is silly IMO.

I love Denver and would move there in a heartbeat but even if it isn’t your cup of tea “most depressing town” has to be an overstatement.