Where are the hardest places to live in the US?

[Flopper]

I suppose it all depends on your individual circumstances. I had a much better standard of living in York County, South Carolina than I ever did in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Exactly.

The study is a farce.

The major difference between blue and red is income disparity...and by not factoring in cost of living, the difference looks much larger than it actually is.

More than that. Higher divorce rates, higher crime rates, higher percentage of teen mothers, less educated, worse drivers, higher obesity rates, and they take more from the feds than they contribute in taxes.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I suppose it all depends on your individual circumstances. I had a much better standard of living in York County, South Carolina than I ever did in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Exactly.

The study is a farce.

The major difference between blue and red is income disparity...and by not factoring in cost of living, the difference looks much larger than it actually is.

.......and they take more from the feds than they contribute in taxes.

That myth has been thoroughly debunked.

State Summary

 

[Missourian]

I suppose it all depends on your individual circumstances. I had a much better standard of living in York County, South Carolina than I ever did in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Exactly.

The study is a farce.

The major difference between blue and red is income disparity...and by not factoring in cost of living, the difference looks much larger than it actually is.

.......and they take more from the feds than they contribute in taxes.

That myth has been thoroughly debunked.

State Summary

 

[Missourian]

I suppose it all depends on your individual circumstances. I had a much better standard of living in York County, South Carolina than I ever did in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Exactly.

The study is a farce.

The major difference between blue and red is income disparity...and by not factoring in cost of living, the difference looks much larger than it actually is.

More than that. Higher divorce rates, higher crime rates, higher percentage of teen mothers, less educated, worse drivers, higher obesity rates, and they take more from the feds than they contribute in taxes.

B.S.

 

[JimH52]

I put this in the clean debate zone in hopes that it would not be politicized or become a point of contention. I guess I don't understand what the "clean debate" zone is....

 

[Flopper]

I suppose it all depends on your individual circumstances. I had a much better standard of living in York County, South Carolina than I ever did in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Exactly.

The study is a farce.

The major difference between blue and red is income disparity...and by not factoring in cost of living, the difference looks much larger than it actually is.

.......and they take more from the feds than they contribute in taxes.

That myth has been thoroughly debunked.

State Summary

Not by the data in your link

 

[GHook93]

The Republican South is doing poorly, as usual.
My county is dark green.

The map is based on these attributes
(1) Education (percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree),
(2) Median household income,
(3) Unemployment rate,
(4) Disability rate,
(5) Life expectancy, and
(6) Obesity

Household income isn't always the best indicator, since income is relative to expense. For example you could make $80K in Manhattan, but you will still struggle because of the cost of living in Manhattan. However, you could make $50K in Mississippi and live like a King.

Obesity is more of a personal thing and not environmental. That seems like a stupid attribute for this study.
Does education mean your life isn't harder? Many of these new college grads are coming out of school with $100K+ in debt and lack of jobs. Many highschool grads go to tech schools and learn a trade and become just as well off if not better off and without the $100K in student loan debt.

Unemployment rate is a good indicator, but not the faux one we have been using since the Clinton era!

Disability rate has to deal with misfortune of the person no the environment. Would a disabled person's life be any less difficult in the so called less hard stated?

 

[Flopper]

The Republican South is doing poorly, as usual.
My county is dark green.

The map is based on these attributes
(1) Education (percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree),
(2) Median household income,
(3) Unemployment rate,
(4) Disability rate,
(5) Life expectancy, and
(6) Obesity

Household income isn't always the best indicator, since income is relative to expense. For example you could make $80K in Manhattan, but you will still struggle because of the cost of living in Manhattan. However, you could make $50K in Mississippi and live like a King.

Obesity is more of a personal thing and not environmental. That seems like a stupid attribute for this study.
Does education mean your life isn't harder? Many of these new college grads are coming out of school with $100K+ in debt and lack of jobs. Many highschool grads go to tech schools and learn a trade and become just as well off if not better off and without the $100K in student loan debt.

Unemployment rate is a good indicator, but not the faux one we have been using since the Clinton era!

Disability rate has to deal with misfortune of the person no the environment. Would a disabled person's life be any less difficult in the so called less hard stated?

I have to take issue with you on a couple points.

Obesity - is a pretty good indicator of public health which effects the health insurance rates you pay and your chances of getting sick.

Education - can have a big impact on how hard it is to live in an area. A place with a better educated public is a place with more knowledgeable workers from waitresses to customer service people to government workers. A better educated public also means better educated voters that are more likely to understand the issues and make better choices. Better education benefits everybody, not just kids.

I agree with on household income and unemployment.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

whats being left unsaid is

are there black people? If so, don't move there.

 

[asterism]

The Republican South is doing poorly, as usual.
My county is dark green.

Only by arbitrary standards. Average income is a terrible measure since cost of living is relative. $100K in Polk County Florida is way different than $100K in Orange County California. Actually, the average income of $42K in Polk is much better than the $75K average in Orange County California.

Percentage of the population with a Bachelor's Degree is virtually meaningless. Having a degree doesn't intrinsically make someone happier and doesn't provide a better life compared to a tradesman that is retired. Unemployment and disability statistics are valid, except in the cases of destination locales. If you're on disability or you're chronically unemployed, you tend to migrate to favorable climates that are also cheap.

45% of our homeless population in my area (Polk County Florida) is from somewhere else. 62% of our SSI recipients were certified somewhere else.

Also, take a look at San Mateo California and Putnam New York. These are enclaves of wealth. Life there is only good if you can afford to live there which means that life would be just as good at similar income levels elsewhere.

 

[asterism]

The Republican South is doing poorly, as usual.
My county is dark green.

The map is based on these attributes
(1) Education (percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree),
(2) Median household income,
(3) Unemployment rate,
(4) Disability rate,
(5) Life expectancy, and
(6) Obesity

Household income isn't always the best indicator, since income is relative to expense. For example you could make $80K in Manhattan, but you will still struggle because of the cost of living in Manhattan. However, you could make $50K in Mississippi and live like a King.

Obesity is more of a personal thing and not environmental. That seems like a stupid attribute for this study.
Does education mean your life isn't harder? Many of these new college grads are coming out of school with $100K+ in debt and lack of jobs. Many highschool grads go to tech schools and learn a trade and become just as well off if not better off and without the $100K in student loan debt.

Unemployment rate is a good indicator, but not the faux one we have been using since the Clinton era!

Disability rate has to deal with misfortune of the person no the environment. Would a disabled person's life be any less difficult in the so called less hard stated?

I have to take issue with you on a couple points.

Obesity - is a pretty good indicator of public health which effects the health insurance rates you pay and your chances of getting sick.

Education - can have a big impact on how hard it is to live in an area. A place with a better educated public is a place with more knowledgeable workers from waitresses to customer service people to government workers. A better educated public also means better educated voters that are more likely to understand the issues and make better choices. Better education benefits everybody, not just kids.

I agree with on household income and unemployment.

Please explain with statistics how a college degree improves customer service by the workers.

 

[asterism]

The map is based on these attributes
(1) Education (percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree),
(2) Median household income,
(3) Unemployment rate,
(4) Disability rate,
(5) Life expectancy, and
(6) Obesity

Household income isn't always the best indicator, since income is relative to expense. For example you could make $80K in Manhattan, but you will still struggle because of the cost of living in Manhattan. However, you could make $50K in Mississippi and live like a King.

Obesity is more of a personal thing and not environmental. That seems like a stupid attribute for this study.
Does education mean your life isn't harder? Many of these new college grads are coming out of school with $100K+ in debt and lack of jobs. Many highschool grads go to tech schools and learn a trade and become just as well off if not better off and without the $100K in student loan debt.

Unemployment rate is a good indicator, but not the faux one we have been using since the Clinton era!

Disability rate has to deal with misfortune of the person no the environment. Would a disabled person's life be any less difficult in the so called less hard stated?

Maybe they'd be better off in Alaska.

 

[AntiParty]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/u...3&kwp_1=66938&kwp_4=22049&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1

This is some incredibly eye opening information. Where does your county? Mine is in the top 20 in the country.

I'll throw you another bone.

Check out the most educated area's in America. Sadly, they nearly identically overlap.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Add another layer, voting habbits. They also fit almost identically...

EVEN THROUGHOUT THE %, THE COLORS CHANGE AT THE SAME RATE.

 

[Flopper]

The Republican South is doing poorly, as usual.
My county is dark green.

Only by arbitrary standards. Average income is a terrible measure since cost of living is relative. $100K in Polk County Florida is way different than $100K in Orange County California. Actually, the average income of $42K in Polk is much better than the $75K average in Orange County California.

Percentage of the population with a Bachelor's Degree is virtually meaningless. Having a degree doesn't intrinsically make someone happier and doesn't provide a better life compared to a tradesman that is retired. Unemployment and disability statistics are valid, except in the cases of destination locales. If you're on disability or you're chronically unemployed, you tend to migrate to favorable climates that are also cheap.

45% of our homeless population in my area (Polk County Florida) is from somewhere else. 62% of our SSI recipients were certified somewhere else.

Also, take a look at San Mateo California and Putnam New York. These are enclaves of wealth. Life there is only good if you can afford to live there which means that life would be just as good at similar income levels elsewhere.

Often when studies sight average income, the figures are adjusted for the variation in the cost of living otherwise the study would be meaningless. I don't see how the number of disabled in an area makes an area a better or a worst place to live. An area with more educated people is usually a better place to live.

 

[Shrimpbox]

Why do the on the ground facts seem to refute all these studies. As a person that lives in the Deep South tell me why so many people want to move here from,these "better" places, to rub shoulders with all these dumb people, to leave places they have ruined to come down here and tell us how to run ours? Have all,the people,that have chosen the rv life been factored into these equations?

My father in law, a barber who had an uncanny capacity to size people up in two minutes, introduced me to one of my favorite phrases for today's elites, educated idiots. Our education system has produced a surfeit of such people,which have populated,our politics and our culture.

And let's see how fair these one size fits all models are. When BCBS raised my insurance premiums for the sixth time in six years, a whopping 20 per cent this time, I had no choice but to call the company and inquire about some relief. Well the people you get are a firewall beyond which you cannot move. What I did get out of her was that my premium was based on three things; age, sex, and location. Well I couldn't do anything about the first two but I asked her, so you mean to tell me that because I live in one of the poorest counties in Florida, that irregardless of my perfect health and lack of claims I am going to be punished for the way other people live. Gotta love statistics.

Lastly,enough with the black people and whitey being too scared to stop. Ironically race relations in the south are much better than in the better places to live. If I want better anything and its in the middle of a black neighborhood I have no fear of going there. So let's cease with overlaying your stereotypes on top of the rest of us. Hint: if you are afraid to go into black precincts you will miss out on a lot of good food.

Good vent. I feel better now!

 

[Flopper]

Why do the on the ground facts seem to refute all these studies. As a person that lives in the Deep South tell me why so many people want to move here from,these "better" places, to rub shoulders with all these dumb people, to leave places they have ruined to come down here and tell us how to run ours? Have all,the people,that have chosen the rv life been factored into these equations?

My father in law, a barber who had an uncanny capacity to size people up in two minutes, introduced me to one of my favorite phrases for today's elites, educated idiots. Our education system has produced a surfeit of such people,which have populated,our politics and our culture.

And let's see how fair these one size fits all models are. When BCBS raised my insurance premiums for the sixth time in six years, a whopping 20 per cent this time, I had no choice but to call the company and inquire about some relief. Well the people you get are a firewall beyond which you cannot move. What I did get out of her was that my premium was based on three things; age, sex, and location. Well I couldn't do anything about the first two but I asked her, so you mean to tell me that because I live in one of the poorest counties in Florida, that irregardless of my perfect health and lack of claims I am going to be punished for the way other people live. Gotta love statistics.

Lastly,enough with the black people and whitey being too scared to stop. Ironically race relations in the south are much better than in the better places to live. If I want better anything and its in the middle of a black neighborhood I have no fear of going there. So let's cease with overlaying your stereotypes on top of the rest of us. Hint: if you are afraid to go into black precincts you will miss out on a lot of good food.

Good vent. I feel better now!

I lived in the South most of my life but discovered I like a number of places better. I live in the Northwest now and love it in spite of the weather. One of the things I like best is you can go for weeks without anyone mentioning those blacks or any other race. We have a lot of black people living here but it's so different than the South. However, I love returning to Florida in winter and Louisiana to eat some of the best food on earth.

I've found no matter where you go there're things to hate and things to love, things that make life hard and things that make life easy.

 

[Ernie S.]

Just missed the top 20% here in Alabama.

 

[Unkotare]

I would say inside active volcanoes are the hardest places to live in the US.

 

[Ernie S.]

I know! Hawaii sucks for that and all the Ornamentals there

 

[TruthSeeker56]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/u...3&kwp_1=66938&kwp_4=22049&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1

This is some incredibly eye opening information. Where does your county? Mine is in the top 20 in the country.

This a PERFECT example of how completely OUT OF TOUCH big city media outlets are with the rest of the United States.

The biggest SHITHOLES in the United States are all big city metropolitan areas, such as (in no particular order):

Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Memphis, Milwaukee, and several other bottom-feeding cities too numerous to mention.

NOBODY in ANY of these cesspool cities would last more than a few days, if the economy tanked and/or a major nationwide terrorist situation occurred, and they had to venture out into the REAL WORLD to survive.

Hey they rated NH pretty well.

Is there a city in NH?

We don't have any "cities" in New Hampshire. Just large towns and small towns. Most of us own several guns, and our state motto is LIVE FREE OR DIE.
Keeps the riff-raff out.