America's Most Miserable Cities
Talk about a misery index. Soaring unemployment, corruption, crime and taxes. Home values in the dumper. Bad weather. Long commutes. And, if that wasn't enough, the home team can't win a game. These are among the 10 factors that Forbes magazine considered when looking for America's 20 most miserable cities.
What did they find? Among other things, they discovered that the Golden State has lost a lot of glitter. Eight of the 20 most miserable cities are in California this year. You can see the whole list at Forbes, but here's the top 5 and what made them stand out as this year's most miserable places to call home.
1. Stockton: Housing prices down 67%; forclosures affecting almost 7% of homes; violent crime and unemployment rates among the 10 worst in the country.
2. Miami: With 404 government officials convicted of crimes, corruption was a deciding factor for Miami, which otherwise can brag about sun and a lack of state income taxes.
3. Merced: Unemployment 16.2%. Home prices down 64%.
4. Modesto: The auto theft capital of the nation, with 3,712 cars stolen in 2009 alone.
5. Sacramento: Like the rest of the state, people who live in Sacramento have to pay 9.55% of their income in taxes, while they grapple high crime and unemployment. But Sacramento also has the Kings, an NBA franchise that's lost almost three-quarters of its games.
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