» Here We Go Again Miles Writer: Thoughts, observations and conversations on things literary and not so

Not quite No. 1, but we made the list, baby!

Check out America’s 10 Most Miserable Cities, according to Forbes, here.

What do you think, should we even be on the list? Should we be higher? Lower?

4 users commented in " Here We Go Again "

in February 10th, 2009 at 11:02 am

I seriously think you should write a rebuttal to this commentary. Maybe I’ll do it. Hell, I don’t have time right now. I can’t tell you how much this kind of crap infuriates me!

This is good journalism? It’s CRAP! (said with a heavy, German accent).

I’m not from Cleveland, but I see the city for all it’s beauty: rich cultural diversion, fabulous park system, affordable, but still rich with a myriad of flavorful things to do. Not to mention the people I’ve met while living here are some of the warmest and genuinely friendliest persons in the world. I can say that, because I’ve lived in other places.

Jeff said,

in February 10th, 2009 at 11:17 am

I went through the list wondering what they were complaining about – is Lebron’s presence really a major quality of life issue? And why complain about snow unless your magazine’s offices are in Hawaii?

But in the very last writeup, for St. Louis, they mentioned that they actually had metrics. Ohhhh, now you tell me.

So Cleveland made the list, but they won’t say why. It feels a little Kafkaesque.

Oh, and there’s no way Chicago belongs there. I lived there for seven years.

Miles said,

in February 10th, 2009 at 12:28 pm

I’m with you on a lot of this, Neve. Being a native myself, I can certainly understand that there are a lot of things that can cause misery in these parts. But every place on earth has its own misery-causing elements as well.

But apparently, the story refers to something called a “Misery Index”, which seems to involve a lot of hardcore economic data. So if you look at that, I supposse it makes sense. And hell, even Chicago came in at No. 3!

But you’re right. Is it good journalism? That’s debatable.

Miles said,

in February 10th, 2009 at 12:35 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Jeff.

I suppose if you consider the economic data they used, this list could fluctuate quite a bit. So if you’re in boom times even in some place like Minneapolis (with its long and deathly cold winters), you wouldn’t be so miserable. And it probably explains why Miami made it on the list too.