The Worst Cities in America



The following is an article from Uncle John's Triumphant 20th
Anniversary Bathroom Reader (BRI is having a sale through June 15: everything is 30% off!)


Downtown Modesto, California, on a Sunday night. One of the oldest corners in downtown Modesto is dominated by bail bonds businesses. Photo: Inkyhack [Flickr]

Every city has something to be proud of, but some cities, despite their beauty, charm, or cultural importance, also have features of which they might be a little less proud. Here are a few cities with dubious distinctions.

• According to a survey by AutoVantage (an auto club like AAA), Miami, Florida, is the city with the rudest drivers.

• A Cornell University study determined that New York City has the lowest quality of housing. The World Health Organization says that New York is also the noisiest city in the United States.

• Because of high divorce and unemployment rates and consistently gloomy weather, the city statistics analyzing firm BestPlaces named Tacoma, Washington, the country's most stressful place to live.

• Breathe easy if you don't live in these places: Greenville, South Carolina (where residents suffer the most respiratory tract infections); Scranton, Pennsylvania (the worst city for asthma sufferers); and Tulsa, Oklahoma (the pollen capital of America).

• Based on the number of accidents and fatalities, the International Federation of Bike Messenger Associations named Boston the most dangerous place to ride a bike.

• Zero, a group dedicated to slowing population growth, determined what cities were the best and worst in which to raise children based on the quality of healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, the job market, and the natural environment. The best was Fargo, North Dakota; the worst was Newark, New Jersey.

• According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Sarasota, Florida, is the city most hostile toward homeless people.

• Forbes magazine named Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the worst city for single people. Reasons: expensive beer, few nightclubs, and not enough single people.

• Worst traffic congestion: Los Angeles. (Not coincidentally, it also has the worst air pollution.)

• City with the bumpiest, most pothole-infested roads: Seattle.

• In 2007 Men's Health magazine analyzed various cities' obesity rates, eating habits, and other data, including how much time people spend exercising and sitting in traffic. Result: Las Vegas was judged the nation's "fattest city."

• The city with the most suicides per capita is Medford, Oregon.

• Decatur, Illinois, has the highest skin cancer fatality rate.

• America's most rat-infested city is Baltimore.

• New Orleans leads in both gun- and diabetes-related deaths per capita.

• Hallmark Cards call El Paso, Texas, the city with the worst sense of humor, based on polls in which very few people said they considered themselves funny. (The city also has very low sales of Hallmark's humorous cards.)

• City with the highest percentage of lawyers: Washington, D.C. Nearly 2% of all residents are attorneys.

• According to the book Cities Ranked and Rated, the worst overall city in America is Modesto, California. The city scored a 0 on the book's 100-point scale for its high cost of living, high unemployment rate, lack of activities, and the highest car theft rate in the United States.

The article above was reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader.

Proving that some things do get better with age, the latest Bathroom Reader is jam-packed with 600 pages of fascinating trivia, forgotten history, strange lawsuits and other neat articles.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.

If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!


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Posted on May 13, 2008 at 1:11 am by Alex
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41 comments to "The Worst Cities in America"

  • Sofar
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:37 am

    Lordy, I can tell you about the roads in Seattle. Part of our problem is it’s difficult to pave on a twenty per cent grade, asphalt roads change back to concrete, brick, or even cobblestone when it comes time to mount a steep hill. A lot of downtown was built on landfill–we had to raise the streets a good ten to thirty feet in the 1890s to help with drainage–the roads in Pioneer Square sit on century-old sawdust and brick vaults. They undulate wildly, in some places the street dips a foot and a half below the level of the sidewalk. In other parts of the city, when pot holes develop in asphalt roads you can see that they just paved over the original bricks, which themselves were laid over the cobblestones with which the street was paved eighty years prior.

    Strangely our brick streets are in much better condition than our concrete or asphalt streets.

  • Britt
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:44 am

    Seattle has some pretty crummy roads, I’ll give it that.

  • Sofar
    May 13th, 2008 at 4:42 am

    Seattle, however, lacks pollution, crime, and fat people. And we have electric buses.

  • Evilbeagle
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:31 am

    Having had to live in Miami for a few very long years, I can verify that this is where not only the rudest drivers live, but the rudest people overall. I hate that place. I only go back there now because I have family there, but if I didn’t, I wouldn’t set foot in that town again.

  • DanO
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:54 am

    I agree about the rats in Baltimore. It’s hard to overlook the problem when there’s rat roadkill covering the streets.

  • MoonCake
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:14 am

    how about ohio- the most BORING state? i’ve lived here my entire life and wow it’s boring… but of course, i know the grass is always greener on the other side, but holyCRAP it’s boring here. funny thing is, it’s in a constant state of renewal and construction.. you would think that they would build something relatively entertaining besides barnes n noble and F-ing starbucks.

  • hooper
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:33 am

    I used to work in Miami. It is a pukehole. They didn’t mention that it also has one of the worst airports in the world.

  • nick
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:59 am

    i used to live in seattle, and yes the roads are bad, i now live in south louisiana and holy smokes, every road is crap. i’d say even worse than seattle.

  • Viola
    May 13th, 2008 at 8:54 am

    Driving in Boston is dangerous, so I can only imagine how scary it is on a bike.

  • februarymakeup
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:54 am

    Aw, c’mon Mooncake. It’s not so bad north of Columbus! Granted, Dayton is (and this is a scientific fact) the most boring place on Earth, but we’re certainly not Kansas!

    Show some pride! Our state doesn’t border a Boring Lake, it borders a GREAT Lake, son!

    Seriously though–we’re not Kansas. Or Indiana.

  • Dave
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:58 am

    Cool! The Dakotas get some love; Fargo is the best place “to raise children based on the quality of healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, the job market, and the natural environment.” But with that ranking coming from Zero, is that good or bad?

  • Fritz
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:18 am

    I will second the sentiment about Baltimore Rats. They are legendary.
    There is a girl from Baltimore who Blogs about Rats there.. she calls them Alley Bunnies

    good post

    http://angerhangover.wordpress.com/?s=alley+bunnies

  • PaulVI
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:22 am

    I’m a transplant to Flint, MI. Where’s Flint on this list? It’s got to be the worst at something. Worst place to live? And by “live”, I mean “stay alive”. It’s been a leader in murder rate for some years running. Or at least, several top 3 finishes or highest rate for it’s size (pop.) has got to count for something. Job market recession? Emigration rate?

  • Cindy
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:34 am

    im glad my city did not make the list

  • Thomas
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am

    I’m kind of upset that Macon, Ga didn’t make the list. Highest teen pregnancy and AIDS rates in a state that has problems with both.

  • hokku
    May 13th, 2008 at 11:59 am

    I live in Modesto and I gotta say, as ominous as the title of “worst city in America” is it really depends on how you look at it as far as how bad living here can be. I mean, the lack of activities isn’t so bad if you have active friends and the hobos around here are some of the coolest people I’ve met.

    Yeah, it’s bad I guess, but it does it so well.

  • bean
    May 13th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    Zero, a group who claims their goal is slowing population growth, is handing out advice on how to raise more crotch goblins? That’s hypocritical.

  • A Mexican
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:32 pm

    It should read worst cities in the U.S.

    There are much worse cities in America (especially Mexico)

  • snarky1
    May 13th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    Modesto is not that bad–really! House prices ARE high because all the Bay Area people move here and have driven costs way up. (Houses cost a lot less here and the Baysters seem to be okay with commuting.) Car theft IS bad here, I’ll grant you that. But really, Modesto is close to some fabulous, beautiful places - 1.5+/- hours away from the beach, San Francisco, Yosemite, etc.! How many of you mid-westerners can top that? We HAVE grown too fast for our infrastructure but we are trying to improve things. And, even with the downsides I still have no desire to move away from here to somewhere boring and land-locked.

  • no rats in baltimore
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    I have to disagree about the rats in Baltimore. I see many more rats in Washington, D.C., the literal and the figurative, and New York is even worse. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rat in Baltimore City, and friends from Italy comment on how clean the streets are. However, I live in an especially nice neighborhood. Probably the nicest. Nicer than yours. So there.

  • badgirl
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    Can’t believe Fayetteville, NC didn’t make this list. Better known as
    “Fayette-nam” for being a military town) or “Fayette-hell” it certainly fits the criteria. It’s the ugliest town I’ve ever breezed through and being in the sandhills of NC doesn’t help either. BTW, the only rats in Baltimore are two-legged.

  • renderanything
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

    I thought that L.A. was now the second worst city as far as air pollution goes.

  • Louisa
    May 13th, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    Zero (population slowing group) has their best and worst reversed.

    This list is not complete without St. Louis.

  • Jim Steward
    May 13th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Calling this photo downtown Modesto is technically correct, but pretty deceiving. If I could go to any city and find the raunchiest corner and take a picture and represent that as downtown, that would be the equivalent. I’ve lived in Modesto for more than 30 years and I would much rather be here than hundreds of other places. It’s a great place to live.

  • Fritz
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:30 pm

    No rats in Baltimore . You need to spend more time there maybe even a day? because you are clueless.

  • Michelle
    May 14th, 2008 at 9:29 am

    I live right outside Scranton (which I am kind of surprised made the list) and I don’t know anyone that has asthma to be able to confirm or deny that. However, I will say that the pollen in the city is terrible this year. My sister’s suffering more than the rest of us since she’s attending the U of Scranton in the heart of downtown.

  • Sise
    May 15th, 2008 at 7:31 am

    I used to go to Modesto all the time… all I can think of when I hear Modesto is SCOTT PETTERSON!!!

    *sad*

  • Nomone
    May 15th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    Toledo Ohio should be in there somewhere. The current Mayor “hizzoner” “Fink”-beiner is a tyrant who acts like a spoiled baby when he can’t get his way or something upsets him. The streets are pothole after pothole, nothing to do (yeah, they’ll laud the museum of art, the zoo,…) downtown rolls up and goes to sleep after 5, the center of science and industry closed, the schools…thats another story. THE absolute worst!

  • SPLIFFS MOMMY
    May 15th, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    They forgot portland oregon,nastiest homeless population on earth.

  • Solstafir
    May 19th, 2008 at 5:49 am

    Modesto, man, every town in the Central Valley is like that. Downtown Fresno is littered with bail bonds everywhere, and for a town with nearly 500,000 people living here, there isn’t a whole lot to do, aside from join gangs and do meth. Seriously

  • Jason
    May 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    i live in memphis, tn and i thought that we were the fattest city. (well we were last year). now its las vegas. im glad that we’re no longer #1 on the list.

  • Dianne
    May 24th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    What’s That Smell???? Oh, yea Terre Haute, Indiana. I’m a Hoosier but wouldn’t live in Terre Haute if somebody gave me a house, car and perfect family to go with it.

  • Carolyn
    May 26th, 2008 at 11:10 pm

    I was also surprised that Flint, MI did not make the list. I have not visited there personally, but from what I have heard about it from my husband who lived there for a short while, it is an awful place.

  • Deana
    May 27th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Okay, so now we know the worst cities. Are the best ones a secret? Maybe the best ones are just trying to keep all the freaks out.

  • Anne
    June 5th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    I just now today got my email to function and this is a favorite website.

  • big red
    June 20th, 2008 at 9:09 pm

    ashland ky , nasty , dirty people , dont care about themselves or anyone els …..

  • Katie
    June 25th, 2008 at 12:09 am

    Yes! Baltimore and Pittsburgh were mentioned, but no Cleveland!

  • JA
    July 4th, 2008 at 11:32 pm

    Baltimore is definitely rat infested. The second city that might be worse than BodyMore on rats is New Orleans. 5 Years ago I saw a rat there that would have made a large dog scared.

    Despite what they keep saying about Washington D.C. and it gentrification taking place. I must say they are full of $***!!! The Anacostia river itself looks like something out of the Amazon, Almost all of southeast across the river looks like war torn Africa or some gentrification you could say (Nice houses Ghetto’d out with drug dealers) Cops don’t know what to do because there’s a robbery every 10 seconds. Northeast D.C. is complete a $h*thole excp. on benning road going into trinidad ect. Last week there were 7 murders and 4 shooting in 12 hours. And everywhere in Northwest there are nice houses that run into complete open air drug ghetto’s. Southwest has allot of new businesses and hoods. Everybody is mean as hell. All the good clubs they keep destroying year after year for some stupid crap. I have lived here almost all my life and loved it but hated it just as much. Jesus Christ, this is our Nations Capital? What the hell is going on here?

    They say D.C. is getting better but every year we are on the worst cities of America list. As of 2008 from wikipedia we are #7. It won’t be long before we are once again, the murder capital of the united states.

  • kyle
    July 10th, 2008 at 7:09 pm

    I gotta say that all this makes me feel better about living in southern california. Plus I knew about ten people from modesto that I met in college and each one said that it’s the worst place on earth to live, and on earth means they’re comparing it with Uganda and northern Mexico.

  • S.R
    July 13th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

    Stinking Miami, Florida is crummy in too many ways to count, but its rude drivers takes the cake! Driving in Miami is a nightmare. People are so inconsiderate and dirty.

  • Gil
    July 16th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    I will say York, Pa. Crime ridden, dirty, lots of backwards, anti-social and provincial people

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Neatorama » Blog Archive » The Worst Cities in America
   
     
   
   

The Worst Cities in America



The following is an article from Uncle John's Triumphant 20th
Anniversary Bathroom Reader (BRI is having a sale through June 15: everything is 30% off!)


Downtown Modesto, California, on a Sunday night. One of the oldest corners in downtown Modesto is dominated by bail bonds businesses. Photo: Inkyhack [Flickr]

Every city has something to be proud of, but some cities, despite their beauty, charm, or cultural importance, also have features of which they might be a little less proud. Here are a few cities with dubious distinctions.

• According to a survey by AutoVantage (an auto club like AAA), Miami, Florida, is the city with the rudest drivers.

• A Cornell University study determined that New York City has the lowest quality of housing. The World Health Organization says that New York is also the noisiest city in the United States.

• Because of high divorce and unemployment rates and consistently gloomy weather, the city statistics analyzing firm BestPlaces named Tacoma, Washington, the country's most stressful place to live.

• Breathe easy if you don't live in these places: Greenville, South Carolina (where residents suffer the most respiratory tract infections); Scranton, Pennsylvania (the worst city for asthma sufferers); and Tulsa, Oklahoma (the pollen capital of America).

• Based on the number of accidents and fatalities, the International Federation of Bike Messenger Associations named Boston the most dangerous place to ride a bike.

• Zero, a group dedicated to slowing population growth, determined what cities were the best and worst in which to raise children based on the quality of healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, the job market, and the natural environment. The best was Fargo, North Dakota; the worst was Newark, New Jersey.

• According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Sarasota, Florida, is the city most hostile toward homeless people.

• Forbes magazine named Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the worst city for single people. Reasons: expensive beer, few nightclubs, and not enough single people.

• Worst traffic congestion: Los Angeles. (Not coincidentally, it also has the worst air pollution.)

• City with the bumpiest, most pothole-infested roads: Seattle.

• In 2007 Men's Health magazine analyzed various cities' obesity rates, eating habits, and other data, including how much time people spend exercising and sitting in traffic. Result: Las Vegas was judged the nation's "fattest city."

• The city with the most suicides per capita is Medford, Oregon.

• Decatur, Illinois, has the highest skin cancer fatality rate.

• America's most rat-infested city is Baltimore.

• New Orleans leads in both gun- and diabetes-related deaths per capita.

• Hallmark Cards call El Paso, Texas, the city with the worst sense of humor, based on polls in which very few people said they considered themselves funny. (The city also has very low sales of Hallmark's humorous cards.)

• City with the highest percentage of lawyers: Washington, D.C. Nearly 2% of all residents are attorneys.

• According to the book Cities Ranked and Rated, the worst overall city in America is Modesto, California. The city scored a 0 on the book's 100-point scale for its high cost of living, high unemployment rate, lack of activities, and the highest car theft rate in the United States.

The article above was reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader.

Proving that some things do get better with age, the latest Bathroom Reader is jam-packed with 600 pages of fascinating trivia, forgotten history, strange lawsuits and other neat articles.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.

If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!


Previous Post
Get Neatorama by RSS or email
 Next Post
this post? Please email a friend  +reddit  +SU 
Posted on May 13, 2008 at 1:11 am by Alex
Category: Bathroom Reader, Travel & Places

From our new online store:
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41 comments to "The Worst Cities in America"

  • Sofar
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:37 am

    Lordy, I can tell you about the roads in Seattle. Part of our problem is it’s difficult to pave on a twenty per cent grade, asphalt roads change back to concrete, brick, or even cobblestone when it comes time to mount a steep hill. A lot of downtown was built on landfill–we had to raise the streets a good ten to thirty feet in the 1890s to help with drainage–the roads in Pioneer Square sit on century-old sawdust and brick vaults. They undulate wildly, in some places the street dips a foot and a half below the level of the sidewalk. In other parts of the city, when pot holes develop in asphalt roads you can see that they just paved over the original bricks, which themselves were laid over the cobblestones with which the street was paved eighty years prior.

    Strangely our brick streets are in much better condition than our concrete or asphalt streets.

  • Britt
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:44 am

    Seattle has some pretty crummy roads, I’ll give it that.

  • Sofar
    May 13th, 2008 at 4:42 am

    Seattle, however, lacks pollution, crime, and fat people. And we have electric buses.

  • Evilbeagle
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:31 am

    Having had to live in Miami for a few very long years, I can verify that this is where not only the rudest drivers live, but the rudest people overall. I hate that place. I only go back there now because I have family there, but if I didn’t, I wouldn’t set foot in that town again.

  • DanO
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:54 am

    I agree about the rats in Baltimore. It’s hard to overlook the problem when there’s rat roadkill covering the streets.

  • MoonCake
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:14 am

    how about ohio- the most BORING state? i’ve lived here my entire life and wow it’s boring… but of course, i know the grass is always greener on the other side, but holyCRAP it’s boring here. funny thing is, it’s in a constant state of renewal and construction.. you would think that they would build something relatively entertaining besides barnes n noble and F-ing starbucks.

  • hooper
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:33 am

    I used to work in Miami. It is a pukehole. They didn’t mention that it also has one of the worst airports in the world.

  • nick
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:59 am

    i used to live in seattle, and yes the roads are bad, i now live in south louisiana and holy smokes, every road is crap. i’d say even worse than seattle.

  • Viola
    May 13th, 2008 at 8:54 am

    Driving in Boston is dangerous, so I can only imagine how scary it is on a bike.

  • februarymakeup
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:54 am

    Aw, c’mon Mooncake. It’s not so bad north of Columbus! Granted, Dayton is (and this is a scientific fact) the most boring place on Earth, but we’re certainly not Kansas!

    Show some pride! Our state doesn’t border a Boring Lake, it borders a GREAT Lake, son!

    Seriously though–we’re not Kansas. Or Indiana.

  • Dave
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:58 am

    Cool! The Dakotas get some love; Fargo is the best place “to raise children based on the quality of healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, the job market, and the natural environment.” But with that ranking coming from Zero, is that good or bad?

  • Fritz
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:18 am

    I will second the sentiment about Baltimore Rats. They are legendary.
    There is a girl from Baltimore who Blogs about Rats there.. she calls them Alley Bunnies

    good post

    http://angerhangover.wordpress.com/?s=alley+bunnies

  • PaulVI
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:22 am

    I’m a transplant to Flint, MI. Where’s Flint on this list? It’s got to be the worst at something. Worst place to live? And by “live”, I mean “stay alive”. It’s been a leader in murder rate for some years running. Or at least, several top 3 finishes or highest rate for it’s size (pop.) has got to count for something. Job market recession? Emigration rate?

  • Cindy
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:34 am

    im glad my city did not make the list

  • Thomas
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am

    I’m kind of upset that Macon, Ga didn’t make the list. Highest teen pregnancy and AIDS rates in a state that has problems with both.

  • hokku
    May 13th, 2008 at 11:59 am

    I live in Modesto and I gotta say, as ominous as the title of “worst city in America” is it really depends on how you look at it as far as how bad living here can be. I mean, the lack of activities isn’t so bad if you have active friends and the hobos around here are some of the coolest people I’ve met.

    Yeah, it’s bad I guess, but it does it so well.

  • bean
    May 13th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    Zero, a group who claims their goal is slowing population growth, is handing out advice on how to raise more crotch goblins? That’s hypocritical.

  • A Mexican
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:32 pm

    It should read worst cities in the U.S.

    There are much worse cities in America (especially Mexico)

  • snarky1
    May 13th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    Modesto is not that bad–really! House prices ARE high because all the Bay Area people move here and have driven costs way up. (Houses cost a lot less here and the Baysters seem to be okay with commuting.) Car theft IS bad here, I’ll grant you that. But really, Modesto is close to some fabulous, beautiful places - 1.5+/- hours away from the beach, San Francisco, Yosemite, etc.! How many of you mid-westerners can top that? We HAVE grown too fast for our infrastructure but we are trying to improve things. And, even with the downsides I still have no desire to move away from here to somewhere boring and land-locked.

  • no rats in baltimore
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    I have to disagree about the rats in Baltimore. I see many more rats in Washington, D.C., the literal and the figurative, and New York is even worse. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rat in Baltimore City, and friends from Italy comment on how clean the streets are. However, I live in an especially nice neighborhood. Probably the nicest. Nicer than yours. So there.

  • badgirl
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    Can’t believe Fayetteville, NC didn’t make this list. Better known as
    “Fayette-nam” for being a military town) or “Fayette-hell” it certainly fits the criteria. It’s the ugliest town I’ve ever breezed through and being in the sandhills of NC doesn’t help either. BTW, the only rats in Baltimore are two-legged.

  • renderanything
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

    I thought that L.A. was now the second worst city as far as air pollution goes.

  • Louisa
    May 13th, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    Zero (population slowing group) has their best and worst reversed.

    This list is not complete without St. Louis.

  • Jim Steward
    May 13th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Calling this photo downtown Modesto is technically correct, but pretty deceiving. If I could go to any city and find the raunchiest corner and take a picture and represent that as downtown, that would be the equivalent. I’ve lived in Modesto for more than 30 years and I would much rather be here than hundreds of other places. It’s a great place to live.

  • Fritz
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:30 pm

    No rats in Baltimore . You need to spend more time there maybe even a day? because you are clueless.

  • Michelle
    May 14th, 2008 at 9:29 am

    I live right outside Scranton (which I am kind of surprised made the list) and I don’t know anyone that has asthma to be able to confirm or deny that. However, I will say that the pollen in the city is terrible this year. My sister’s suffering more than the rest of us since she’s attending the U of Scranton in the heart of downtown.

  • Sise
    May 15th, 2008 at 7:31 am

    I used to go to Modesto all the time… all I can think of when I hear Modesto is SCOTT PETTERSON!!!

    *sad*

  • Nomone
    May 15th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    Toledo Ohio should be in there somewhere. The current Mayor “hizzoner” “Fink”-beiner is a tyrant who acts like a spoiled baby when he can’t get his way or something upsets him. The streets are pothole after pothole, nothing to do (yeah, they’ll laud the museum of art, the zoo,…) downtown rolls up and goes to sleep after 5, the center of science and industry closed, the schools…thats another story. THE absolute worst!

  • SPLIFFS MOMMY
    May 15th, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    They forgot portland oregon,nastiest homeless population on earth.

  • Solstafir
    May 19th, 2008 at 5:49 am

    Modesto, man, every town in the Central Valley is like that. Downtown Fresno is littered with bail bonds everywhere, and for a town with nearly 500,000 people living here, there isn’t a whole lot to do, aside from join gangs and do meth. Seriously

  • Jason
    May 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    i live in memphis, tn and i thought that we were the fattest city. (well we were last year). now its las vegas. im glad that we’re no longer #1 on the list.

  • Dianne
    May 24th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    What’s That Smell???? Oh, yea Terre Haute, Indiana. I’m a Hoosier but wouldn’t live in Terre Haute if somebody gave me a house, car and perfect family to go with it.

  • Carolyn
    May 26th, 2008 at 11:10 pm

    I was also surprised that Flint, MI did not make the list. I have not visited there personally, but from what I have heard about it from my husband who lived there for a short while, it is an awful place.

  • Deana
    May 27th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Okay, so now we know the worst cities. Are the best ones a secret? Maybe the best ones are just trying to keep all the freaks out.

  • Anne
    June 5th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    I just now today got my email to function and this is a favorite website.

  • big red
    June 20th, 2008 at 9:09 pm

    ashland ky , nasty , dirty people , dont care about themselves or anyone els …..

  • Katie
    June 25th, 2008 at 12:09 am

    Yes! Baltimore and Pittsburgh were mentioned, but no Cleveland!

  • JA
    July 4th, 2008 at 11:32 pm

    Baltimore is definitely rat infested. The second city that might be worse than BodyMore on rats is New Orleans. 5 Years ago I saw a rat there that would have made a large dog scared.

    Despite what they keep saying about Washington D.C. and it gentrification taking place. I must say they are full of $***!!! The Anacostia river itself looks like something out of the Amazon, Almost all of southeast across the river looks like war torn Africa or some gentrification you could say (Nice houses Ghetto’d out with drug dealers) Cops don’t know what to do because there’s a robbery every 10 seconds. Northeast D.C. is complete a $h*thole excp. on benning road going into trinidad ect. Last week there were 7 murders and 4 shooting in 12 hours. And everywhere in Northwest there are nice houses that run into complete open air drug ghetto’s. Southwest has allot of new businesses and hoods. Everybody is mean as hell. All the good clubs they keep destroying year after year for some stupid crap. I have lived here almost all my life and loved it but hated it just as much. Jesus Christ, this is our Nations Capital? What the hell is going on here?

    They say D.C. is getting better but every year we are on the worst cities of America list. As of 2008 from wikipedia we are #7. It won’t be long before we are once again, the murder capital of the united states.

  • kyle
    July 10th, 2008 at 7:09 pm

    I gotta say that all this makes me feel better about living in southern california. Plus I knew about ten people from modesto that I met in college and each one said that it’s the worst place on earth to live, and on earth means they’re comparing it with Uganda and northern Mexico.

  • S.R
    July 13th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

    Stinking Miami, Florida is crummy in too many ways to count, but its rude drivers takes the cake! Driving in Miami is a nightmare. People are so inconsiderate and dirty.

  • Gil
    July 16th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    I will say York, Pa. Crime ridden, dirty, lots of backwards, anti-social and provincial people

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