# What's the worst city in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 24, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642 "2003-09-24T22:05:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/41 "2003-09-25T20:08:12Z")
SHIT!!! Wrong board. Oh well, a tele-marketing call is always a nice change of pace šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![eman77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f04885/32.png) [@eman77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eman77)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/42 "2003-09-25T21:53:05Z")
Buffalo sucks as a large city but if youā€™ve lived here as long as I have and know where to go, even the East side is a much better city than say Baltimore or Chicago. (Crime wise) Otherwise it is a dead city, thatā€™s only good for raising families and abandoning after college. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/43 "2003-09-26T01:37:59Z")
Buffalo isnā€™t even the worst city in western New Yorkā€¦that honor belongs to Niagara Falls, once dubbed ā€œAmericaā€™s answer to East Berlinā€ by one travel writer. If you want an example of how politicians can ruin a city, look no further. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/44 "2003-09-26T02:18:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mehitabel \* > \*\* > The burning of the Bronx stopped a few miles south of me and my neighborhood saw one murder in the ninetiesā€“a nephew who shot his uncle over money in his apartment. Even the ā€œbadā€ neighborhoods had their nicer blocks. But everybody throughout the seventies thought the whole place was Fort Apache. \*\* True, but, than again, if I remember my studies of NYC, your part of the Bronx (Woodlawn) is, demographically speaking, one of the parts that didnā€™t change during the 1960ā€™s and 1970ā€™s. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/45 "2003-09-26T02:59:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by maskedman \* > \*\*Iā€™ll vote for Baltimore. > > A few years ago, a friend and I went on an imprompto road trip to Washington DC. We had the entire weekend free and neither of us had been to the DC area since we were in our teens.\*\* Clearly you were either there before the revitalization, or you were just stuck in all the wrong neghborhoods. There are enough nice areas to remove Baltimore from this list. And Iā€™m not even a native. No one here must read the Washington Post, specifically Gene Weingartenā€™s writings. The true Armpit of America? [Battle Mountain, NV](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A31628-2001Nov28) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/46 "2003-09-26T03:08:33Z")
Battle Mountain isnā€™t a city. Itā€™s a small town with a population of 3000. And it does have the distinction of being the location for the annual [World Human Powered Speed Challenge](http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2003/speedchallenge-2003.htm) (a record attempt for the fastest human-powered vehicle). ---
**Author:** ![HumanStromboli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@HumanStromboli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HumanStromboli)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/47 "2003-09-26T03:14:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Krokodil \* > \*\*Richmond, VA is another story altogether. I drove from one end of Broad Street to the other a few years ago and the only thriving storefronts I saw were for bankruptcy lawyers. Itā€™s a company town, and the company is R.J. Reynolds tobacco. I was down there last week (my nephew goes to VCU) and saw some non-KFC chicken fast-food restaurant with a sign out front saying ā€œDRUG FREE WORKPLACE.ā€ Damn, thatā€™s thoughtful! Iā€™ll never order chicken nuggets again without thinking of that pimply kid behind the counter producing a urine sample at the start of his shift!" Hope theyā€™re also a ā€œCLEAN HANDS WORKPLACE.ā€ > \*\* I donā€™t know. Iā€™m from (and currently live in) Richmond, so I have a bias, but I also lived seven years in DC and have a great fondness for Baltimore, and . . . Richmondā€™s not a bad place for a mid-sized city, especially compared to what it was ten years ago. The murder rate (AFAIK; though I couldnā€™t find per capita murder rate data anywhere in a quick-and-dirty) has gone down since the mid-90s (though itā€™s gone up again this year, hopefully just aā€”sadā€”fluke), Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom are nice, the River area in lower downtown is being developed pretty well, and so forth. Every city has a stretch like the Broad Street you described. And thereā€™s a Popeyeā€™s on 9th & F NW in DC that ainā€™t so nice either, IIRC. Richmondā€™s biggest problems are an idiotic city council, and the other jurisdictions (the counties), especially Chesterfield County, just wonā€™t play ball. Anyway, Iā€™d say East Saint Louis wins in a walk. Arbutus, MD wins for worst city name, though; every time I drive by it, I think it would be a better name for an ass infection. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/48 "2003-09-26T03:44:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*ā€¦is the worst place you can imagine! \*\* I disagree. I didnā€™t hate living in Lawrence half as much as Taunton (down by the RI border). God, I hate that city- still and itā€™s been nearly 6 years since I last stepped foot there. Itā€™s a dirty, evil place. Maybe Lawrence was nicer, relatively speaking, when I was little because it wasnā€™t so bad a place to be a little kid - as long as you avoided places like ā€œcrack alley.ā€ I have quite a few fond memories of the city, believe it or not. The fact that we moved away when I was 10 probably helps though. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Amethyst\_Autumn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Amethyst\_Autumn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amethyst_Autumn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/49 "2003-09-26T04:00:35Z")
Baltimore and Buffalo tie for my own personal first place. Buffalo probably claims a slightly higher rung because six feet of snow on a fairly regular basis is not my idea of pleasant. Newark is rather awful but it does have lovely suburbs, a good view of New York City and a very nice airport. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/50 "2003-09-26T06:39:12Z")
I think southern NJ is just fine. Take a trip down by Princeton sometime, very nice. Whooops, I did think of one exception, how about Atlantic City? I havenā€™t ever been to AC, but what I have seen in documentaries paints an ugly picture. ---
**Author:** ![corndog\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@corndog\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corndog_man)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/51 "2003-09-26T06:57:04Z")
Memphis, Tennessee ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/52 "2003-09-26T11:43:21Z")
It is really amazing that these hellholes can actually become nice places to live! All it takes is for people with money to move inā€¦take the South End of Boston (Roxbury and Jamaica Plain). 20 years ago, it was filthy and run downā€¦then, artists and musicians starting converting the old abandoned warehouses into loft apartments/studios. Then wealthy gay people moved , and renovated the old row houses. Now, the place is fullof trendy shops and restaurants, and the real estate values are throught the roof! You actually see people jogging on the streetsā€¦twenty years ago, this would have been impossible. So, once real estate values drop so low that renovating abandoned buildings is possible, and the scum movews out, even the worst slum can turn around. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/53 "2003-09-26T12:16:30Z")
**ccwaterback** , you live in southern NJ but have never been to AC? What gives? ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/54 "2003-09-26T13:18:08Z")
I live in northern California and have never been in Oakland. Driven through it many times, been in Berkeley several times, but not in Oakland. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/55 "2003-09-26T13:54:04Z")
I live in Newark, NJ. Trashy streets. Lots of people ā€œhanging outā€. Lots of violent crime. Every time I drive down South Orange Ave., I start thinking of that Grand Master Flash song that goes: ā€œDonā€™t touch me cuz Iā€™m close to the edggggge/ Iā€™m try-ing not to lose my heaaaad./ Itā€™s like a jungle sometimes/ I have to wonder how I keep from going under!ā€ But believe it or not, the city isnā€™t all bad. People tell me it used to be really bad, so I appreciate the improvements. Iā€™ve never been the victim of crime, even when I used to commute on bicycle (a 10 mile trip). The people look grim and hard, but they are nice once you come to know them. I probably would look grim and hard too if all I could see around me were dirty streets, vacant lots, and abandoned warehouses. My Nana lives in Gary, IN in a little rundown neighborhood called Tarrytown. She keeps her pre-fab house well-kept and nice, but sheā€™s surrounded by rundown houses that harbor crackheads. Once a bullet came flying through her bedroom from next door. She was very nonchalant about it. Despite my motherā€™s insistence that she move, Nana wants to stay put. I canā€™t see why, but maybe itā€™s because she really likes the simple but well-kept home that sheā€™s owned for fifty years. Gary and Newark have two things in common: They were once very industrial, steel mill-centered locales. Now all thatā€™s left of that history is a bunch of empty skeletons and people who are still picking and scratching on the bones. ---
**Author:** ![E72521](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@E72521](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E72521)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/56 "2003-09-26T14:53:30Z")
San Bernardino CA. What a crime infested, ugly, choking-on-smog shit hole. Fontana, the gateway to Berdoo, takes a close second. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/57 "2003-09-26T22:31:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\ ***ccwaterback** , you live in southern NJ but have never been to AC? What gives? \*\* Sorry, misunderstanding. One poster said the out-skirts of Newark, NJ were OK. I was just following up that southern NJ seemed fine to me. I was around Princeton once, seemed like a nice area. I live in FL. Speaking of FL, the worst town I have been too down here is Florida City, south of Miami. Must be the crack capital of the world. I hate places where people always eyeball the shit out of your where ever you go, and Florida City is one of those places. ---
**Author:** ![eman77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f04885/32.png) [@eman77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eman77)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/58 "2003-09-27T01:43:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Baltimore and Buffalo tie for my own personal first place. Buffalo probably claims a slightly higher rung because six feet of snow on a fairly regular basis is not my idea of pleasant. You my friend are ignorant. Buffalo in no way gets that kind of snow on a regular basis, thatā€™s why it was front page news. Weā€™ve had really weak winters and very strong ones. Saying all we have are the Bills and snow is pure ignorance on your part. Itā€™s like saying Alaska is nothing but snow and Eskimos. > [@](#): > > Buffalo isnā€™t even the worst city in western New Yorkā€¦that honor belongs to Niagara Falls, once dubbed ā€œAmericaā€™s answer to East Berlinā€ by one travel writer. If you want an example of how politicians can ruin a city, look no further. I totally agree, I took my son to the boxing gym around there a couple weeks back and was scared to leave the car unattended. That area could have turned into major city with high tourism but itā€™s gone down the drain and all weā€™re left with is the ā€œhoodā€. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/59 "2003-09-27T03:29:01Z")
I havenā€™t been to any of the popular choices here (how did I manage that?), but do have a worst city to offer: Coatesville, PA ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642/60 "2003-09-27T03:53:45Z")
Yā€™all realize that the worst Canadian city would be about six-hundredth on this list youā€™re creating? [sub]heh-heh-heh[/sub] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-city-in-the-us/203642.md?page=4)