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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Easton, PA.

Easton is doing a lot better in recent years.

[Anonymous]

Oakland, CA
Detroit, MI
West Balto
Gary, IN

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gave a paper at Ole miss and found oxford Mississippi to be pretty depressing. Found out that a lot of the faculty and administrators actually live over the border in Tennessee and commute into Mississippi because the schools are so awful, etc. The campus was so pretty but there were unbelievable poverty right outside the gates o the school. It was also just so darned hot! Not a breeze anywhere and in July!
Wow!

Was it hotter, more humid, and buggier than the DMV in July?

Yes, I lived there for 6 years. You can start your car and AC, drive through town, and the car has hardly cooled a bit.

Oxford is actually quite pretty. The Mississippi Delta would be totally depressing without the blues, with such poverty and racism.

+1

I think Greenville MS is really depressing. Have spent more time there than I cared to. LaPlace, LA and Lake Charles, LA. They don’t call it Cancer Alley for nothing!

And yes Louisiana and Mississippi are hot and humid in the summer in a way that the DMV isn’t. It’s brutal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is surprising and sad how many parts of our rich country are still poverty stricken. Those are the depressing parts.

When the US median HHI is low well most towns aren't gonna be pretty. Big cities and quaint charming towns aside, list of the country is poor and gross. It's just reality it's not being a snob. I don't actually think it's what the people there think however as it's probably all they know and it's home to them. But if you've seen a different environment you have a different perspective. It's what it is but honestly you gotta expect most of the country is run down. But outside towns if you see rural areas for the nature there whether Nevada, New Mexico or W VA - all poor states, the natural beauty of these places is rich. When you talk about the beauty of the country you talk about the natural beauty. As far as people and towns go, there's no beauty in poverty and a lot of people these days are poor. Maybe not India poor but relatively below average. Middle class is poor in a lot of cities, certainly around these parts. Sorry but I can't live in a beautiful charming home unless it's a log cabin with 2-3 kids on $100k a year.

I had the same thought. The rural, empty towns looks depressing, but people aren't starving. And in cities, it's the reverse, lots of underbelly poverty. There will always be pockets of poverty but overall, America is still relatively fortuitous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gave a paper at Ole miss and found oxford Mississippi to be pretty depressing. Found out that a lot of the faculty and administrators actually live over the border in Tennessee and commute into Mississippi because the schools are so awful, etc. The campus was so pretty but there were unbelievable poverty right outside the gates o the school. It was also just so darned hot! Not a breeze anywhere and in July!
Wow!

I find this a little hard to believe. It's about a 2 hr commute one way if they're doing this. I have two friends who are professors at Ole Miss, and they send their kids to private while living close to Ole Miss.

My oldest is a professor at Ole Miss. I’m from Northeast Mississippi. You can get from Oxford to Tennessee is about 40 minutes, easily. It’s not a two hour commute. I’m not sure why anyone would want to live in/near Memphis though. Most Ole Miss faculty and staff send their kids to local public schools. Both Oxford and Lafayette County have good schools. Overall, the schools in Mississippi are god-awful. But there are a few exceptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fayetteville NC or nearby Radford NC last visited early 2000s... Maybe they are better now?

Military families refer to Fayetteville as Fayette-Nam for a reason. We enjoyed our time at Bragg, but Fayetteville just sucks.

[Anonymous]

Jackson, Mississippi

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LYNCHBURG, VA!

Ha I’m from that area and actually have found that Lynchburg has done a lot to revitalize the historic downtown area. I was impressed and found it much less depressing than when I grew up there 30 years ago. What is depressing is how Liberty is taking over so much of the town.

[Anonymous]

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.

Was going to say this. My MIL lives in western MD and so we drive through Cumberland frequently. It's in such a lovely setting and I do hope it rebounds someday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Downtown St Louis in the mid 2000s. Went there for a AAAS conference and had never seen a US city like it, such a shell of former greatness. I don’t know if it’s still that way but I can’t stop thinking about it.

The area around the park is really shined up nicely. Try it again if you can.

I had never been to St. Louis before, and admittedly we didn't see all that much of the city, but we recently went to STL to tour Wash U with our dd and I couldn't believe how gorgeous the campus and the area surrounding it were. Beautiful leafy neighborhoods with grand, well-kept old homes. Good restaurants. We strolled through Forest Park and loved it. I'm sure there are crappy neighborhoods in St. Louis but at least parts of the city are very vibrant and nice.

[Anonymous]

Manchester, Ohio. It's a horrible, Appalachian, druggy, dilapidated house, poverty filled place.

I love St. Louis! (Just happened to see it mentioned while I was typing my answer.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Downtown St Louis in the mid 2000s. Went there for a AAAS conference and had never seen a US city like it, such a shell of former greatness. I don’t know if it’s still that way but I can’t stop thinking about it.

The area around the park is really shined up nicely. Try it again if you can.

I had never been to St. Louis before, and admittedly we didn't see all that much of the city, but we recently went to STL to tour Wash U with our dd and I couldn't believe how gorgeous the campus and the area surrounding it were. Beautiful leafy neighborhoods with grand, well-kept old homes. Good restaurants. We strolled through Forest Park and loved it. I'm sure there are crappy neighborhoods in St. Louis but at least parts of the city are very vibrant and nice.

Isn’t Wash U outside of the city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The towns near the KY/TN state line. Some of the geography is nice (rolling hills and lakes) but the towns…honestly, it reminded me of Deliverance.

I never stepped foot in Ashland Kentucky but I saw it from the West Virginia side of the Ohio River and I’ll never forget how depressing it looked. Not like Deliverance, but like an apocalyptic scene out of the Rust Belt. I feel for anyone who has to live there and work those jobs. It can’t be safe (air pollution from industry).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jackson, Mississippi

The small parts of Jackson that I saw were quite nice but we were def warned not to wander off the beaten path. Like, not even 2 blocks away from the Arts District.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous[b wrote:]Oakland, CA[/b]

No.