10 Worst Places to Live

[snooper2]

You don't need the U.S. Misery Index to tell you that things are bad in the U.S. Unemployment is near or at all-time highs in many parts of the country, foreclosures continue to happen at unprecedented rates and there are some very real indicators that we are heading toward a double-dip recession.

Some of us should count our lucky stars, however. In certain U.S. cities, life is much worse for residents than in other areas of the country. Using a variety of criteria, including unemployment rates, health data, the number of foreclosures, crime statistics, climate and other measures of misery, WalletPop came up with its unofficial list of the 10 worst cities to live in. This list is far from comprehensive, but there are some significant reasons why these cities made the cut. Read on.


1. El Centro, California
Population: 41,241

Lose your job in El Centro and it may be quite some time before you find another one. One in four people here are out of work and the city holds the not-so distinguished honor of having the highest unemployment rate -- 27.5% -- in the country (close behind is Yuma, Ariz., with 27.2% unemployment).

The desert city, which is located in Imperial County just across the border from Mexicali, has a jobless rate triple the national average of 9.5% thanks to the seasonal fluctuations of field laborers. Field work is the county's third-largest employment sector after government, transportation and utilities, according to AOL News.

"Its location across the border from a much larger Mexican city means that there is a large floating labor force," Jim Gerber, an economics professor and director of the international business program at San Diego State University, told AOL News. "The data for Imperial County is skewed by this, such that the layoffs and out-of-work laborers are not actually counted correctly."

Even with the ebb and flow of its working population, things are still pretty bleak in El Centro. Last year, the city's cemetery went into foreclosure.

for the rest-
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/05/10-worst-places-to-live/

[XemaSab]

1. LA's air quality was BEAUTIFUL yesterday

I was up on a mountain near Santa Clarita and I could see the cranes at the Long Beach harbor. :D

[KansDem]

2. I lived in the L.A. area from 1954 to 1979.

I remember a time during the 1960s when riding my bike around the neighborhoods, I would have to stop riding and lie down on someone's front yard because my eyes stung so badly from the smog that I couldn't keep them open. With my eyes closed, I would rub them until the pain subsided.

Also, in elementary school there were times during the afternoon recess that if I took a deep breath, it felt like having a knife stuck in my chest!

Sure, L.A. might still have some smog problems, but nothing like I experienced in the 1960s (and I've been out there several times since leaving).

[JonLP24]

3. I knew I lived in the top 10 before I clicked the link

[Coventina]

4. Ha! Me too! n/t

[yellerpup]

5. I knew Oklahoma would be in there somewhere.

For all the reasons cited in the article and more. I was born and raised there, but I can't think of any good reason to ever go back.

[lpbk2713]

6. Anyplace in Florida.

Particularly now that the rethuglicans have a lock on it.