Men's Health's Happiest and Saddest Cities in America

[Bloodshot Scott]

Happy to say mine is at #8, thank you very much. Five of the top 10 are surrounding me. And we're the coldest major metropolitan area in America. I know, I'm cooler than you. :1orglaugh (ironically enough my uncle's family lives in St. Pete)

If you want record-setting sunshine, St. Petersburg is your city—it once soaked up a Guinness-certified 768 straight days of rays. But there's an asterisk: The people of St. Pete also have the darkest clouds hanging over their heads. We put America on the therapist's couch and discovered that not only is St. Petersburg our Saddest City, but Florida in general seems to be a depressing place to live.

Of course, we aren't shrinks, so our diagnosis is more statistical than psychological. We calculated suicide rates (CDC) and unemployment rates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of June 2011). Then we tapped SimplyMap for the percentage of households that use antidepressants as well as the number of people who report feeling the blues all or most of the time.

100. St. Petersburg, FL F
99. Detroit, MI F
98. Memphis, TN F
97. Tampa, FL F
96. Louisville, KY F
95. St. Louis, MO F
94. Birmingham, AL F
93. Miami, FL F
92. Reno, NV F
91. Las Vegas, NV F

90. Toledo, OH F
89. Bakersfield, CA F
88. Jacksonville, FL F
87. Atlanta, GA F
86. Winston-Salem, NC F
85. Sacramento, CA F
84. Cincinnati, OH D-
83. Phoenix, AZ D-
82. Orlando, FL D-
81. Washington, DC D-

80. Wilmington, DE D-
79. Greensboro, NC D-
78. Jackson, MS D-
77. Columbia, SC D
76. Newark, NJ D
75. Fresno, CA D
74. Cleveland, OH D
73. Kansas City, MO D
72. Chicago, IL D
71. Riverside, CA D

70. Albuquerque, NM D
69. Portland, OR D
68. Richmond, VA D
67. Tucson, AZ D
66. Milwaukee, WI D
65. Los Angeles, CA D+
64. Denver, CO D+
63. Colorado Springs, CO D+
62. Providence, RI D+
61. Oakland, CA D+

60. Philadelphia, PA D+
59. Nashville, TN D+
58. El Paso, TX D+
57. Charlotte, NC D+
56. Aurora, CO D+
55. Little Rock, AR D+
54. Charleston, WV D+
53. Stockton, CA C-
52. Baltimore, MD C-
51. Baton Rouge, LA C-

50. Indianapolis, IN C-
49. Houston, TX C-
48. Dallas, TX C-
47. Seattle, WA C-
46. Fort Wayne, IN C-
45. Boise City, ID C-
44. New Orleans, LA C-
43. Fort Worth, TX C-
42. Norfolk, VA C
41. Tulsa, OK C


40. Pittsburgh, PA C
39. New York, NY C
38. Bridgeport, CT C
37. Buffalo, NY C
36. Columbus, OH C
35. Corpus Christi, TX C
34. San Diego, CA C
33. San Antonio, TX C+
32. Wichita, KS C+
31. Santa Ana, CA C+

30. Cheyenne, WY C+
29. Lubbock, TX C+
28. Billings, MT C+
27. Oklahoma City, OK B-
26. Anchorage, AK B-
25. Laredo, TX B-
24. Durham, NC B-
23. Salt Lake City, UT B-
22. Lexington, KY B-
21. Raleigh, NC B-

20. San Francisco, CA B
19. Austin, TX B
18. Jersey City, NJ B
17. Des Moines, IA B
16. Portland, ME B
15. San Jose, CA B
14. Minneapolis, MN B+
13. Chesapeake, VA B+
12. Virginia Beach, VA A-
11. Lincoln, NE A-

Blues-proof towns


10. Plano, TX A-
9. Burlington, VT A-
8. St. Paul, MN A-
7. Sioux Falls, SD A-
6. Madison, WI A-
5. Boston, MA A-
4. Omaha, NE A
3. Fargo, ND A
2. Manchester, NH A
1. Honolulu, HI A+

http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/frown-towns

 

[GibbsGrad2002]

I have lived in St. Petersburg all my life and it is not the sadest city in the United States

 

[Jack Davenport]

I have lived in St. Petersburg all my life and it is not the sadest city in the United States

I have a home in Safety Harbor not far from there. The crime rate is pretty bad in St. Pete though.

 

[ragincaucasian]

 

[Bloodshot Scott]

I have lived in St. Petersburg all my life and it is not the sadest city in the United States

Well their criteria is what it is. I liked it the last time I was down there, but that was over a decade ago.

 

[busaguy79]

Good to see the surrounding cities of where I live are still fucking shit! Surprised Stockton is at #53 though, its worse than Oakland!!!!

 

[Hypergalaxy]

The problem with these lists are they are done by population ratios so of course there are going to be more depressed people when you have 400,000+ people then in areas with 100,000 people. That and I find it extremely hard to believe people are more happy in Detroit or Pittsburgh then anywhere in FL.

 

[Bloodshot Scott]

The problem with these lists are they are done by population ratios so of course there are going to be more depressed people when you have 400,000+ people then in areas with 100,000 people. That and I find it extremely hard to believe people are more happy in Detroit or Pittsburgh then anywhere in FL.

But if they do a per capita ratio then it should equal out. Understand that my city is close to 300K and has its share of crime, but we still rank right at the top. Suicides, antidepressants, unemployment and depression are good barometer, IMO.

 

[Straight Shooter]

Happy to say mine is at #8, thank you very much. Five of the top 10 are surrounding me. And we're the coldest major metropolitan area in America. I know, I'm cooler than you. :1orglaugh (ironically enough my uncle's family lives in St. Pete)

No disrespect to any of the cities in the top ten, but I wouldn't set foot in any of them with the exception of Honolulu and Boston

 

[Bloodshot Scott]

No disrespect to any of the cities in the top ten, but I wouldn't set foot in any of them with the exception of Honolulu and Boston

There's some lame ass "towns" up there for sure (Omaha sucks, Fargo, Sioux Falls and Madison suck - I've been to all those places) but there is a reason they lack all the negative criteria in the poll.

 

[rwill25]

Interesting that my hometown Oklahoma City is ranked 27th B-, but my current area Miami is ranked 93rd F. I'm much more happier in Miami than I was in OKC. This must be based on the economy because the cost of living is certainly a lot more cheaper in Oklahoma than Florida.

 

[Rey C.]

Interesting to see Charlotte, NC at 57 and Winston-Salem, NC at 86, but Norfolk, VA at 42. I begin feeling suicidal when I get within 20 miles of Norfolk, but I've always enjoyed Charlotte and Winston-Salem has never struck me as a depressing (or depressed) place. Well, my perceptions vs. their stats... I guess they win. :dunno:

 

[Bloodshot Scott]

Really, #8 and #14 should be combined (700K city limits, greater metropolitan 3 million+), because basically it's the same "city," the TC. Anyone else who says otherwise doesn't know a damn thing about the place or they've never been here. Either way, that would still equal out to about 11 or so, so in other words, the best metropolitan area in America outside of Boston.

 

[Trident1]

Nah, I'd bring my own guns.

 

[Moonchild22]

Of course Chicago is further up the negative side. You know how they call us "The Windy City"? It's really just a lot of sighs being let out at once.