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I don't think anywhere in the midwest is doing really well...unless you have connections.
Everyone is moving out west and the midwest cities are getting smaller. But most of the water is here. Go figure. I don't like being forced from where I live to make a living. I wish it were a choice as to where to live.
There have been some inquiries regarding my inclusion/omission of several cities in my poll, and I must remind you that City-Data only allows you to include up to 30 poll options for consideration.
Some cities I would have included if I had been given the opportunity:
Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY
Ashtabula, OH
Bloomington/Normal, IL
Camden, NJ
Champaign/Urbana, IL
Clarksburg, WV
Cumberland, MD
Danville, IL
Decatur, IL
Findlay, OH
Fort Wayne, IN
Gary, IN
Grand Rapids, MI
Huntington, WV
Jackson, MI
Jamestown, NY
Kankakee, IL
Lansing, MI
Lima, OH
Mansfield, OH
Michigan City, IN
Monroe, MI
Muskegon, MI
Parkersburg, WV
Peoria, IL
Rockford, IL
Saginaw/Midland/Bay City, MI
Saint Louis, MO
Sandusky, OH
Sheboygan, WI
South Bend/Elkhart, IN
Steubenville, OH
Toledo, OH
Trenton, NJ
Utica, NY
Vineland/Millville, NJ
Watertown, NY
Weirton, WV
Wheeling, WV
Wilmington, DE
I'll give credit where credit is due that Philadelphia was an "iffy" choice for me. I define the Rust Belt as more or less being aging industrial cities in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic areas that have experienced a flight of population from the city cores to the suburbs, a collapse of its major industry, and a struggle to make a "comeback." To me, Philadelphia fits those criteria.
Here's a map that Wikipedia uses to define the geographic boundaries of the Rust Belt, even though I've extended them a bit further to include more of Upstate NY, Illinois, West Virginia, and St. Louis, MO, as I feel as if many cities in these areas likewise fit the criteria.
I'll stick to my guns and include Fall River/New Bedford on this list, as well as Hartford. Both cities may be in New England, but both fit similar criteria to the rest of the Rust Belt in terms of major population loss, post-Industrial decline, urban issues, and struggles to turn themselves around. I would even include Springfield, MA, Waterbury, CT, and Worcester, MA onto this list as well as Fitchburg/Leominster, MA, and possibly even Manchester, NH, even though that one is a tougher call.
To address Rochester, even though that city (like Ithaca), is a shining beacon of relative economic success and population growth in the otherwise bleak and dreary Upstate NY economy, it could have been included as a definite Rust Belt contender not too long ago, just like its neighbors of Buffalo and Syracuse. Eastman-Kodak ruled Rochester for many years, and the city collapsed as the company did likewise. It is only very recently that it has been able to reinvent itself quite nicely.
I agree with ajf131. The reason I didn't include Indianapolis is because it never experienced any period of steep decline in population or economics in its history---it just kind of "exists." The same can be said for New York City, which I wouldn't include as being part of the "Rust Belt" as one of the world's corporate behemoths.
Finally, have you been to Bridgeport/New Haven, CT recently? They're far from being as "robust" as nearby New York City. We have a lot of people who commute from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to NYC as well---should that likewise wipe us off the list as being in the Rust Belt? The last time we were in New Haven we got lost trying to find I-95 en route from Route 34. It was a scary experience driving through many of those run-down neighborhoods, which certainly reminded me of post-Industrial decline.
I don't think anywhere in the midwest is doing really well...unless you have connections.
Everyone is moving out west and the midwest cities are getting smaller. But most of the water is here. Go figure. I don't like being forced from where I live to make a living. I wish it were a choice as to where to live.
Chicago is doing very well, Milwaukee is on an upswing, Madison is fine, Minneapolis is rockin, St. Louis is on the upswing, Louisville is steady... What are you talking about? If youre talking about little micro-towns like Bunghole, Iowa, then yes, theyre getting smaller. If youre talking about large metros like the above mentioned, then no. They seem to be doing quite well. Id even dare to say that Detroit is experiencing a slow turnaround. When the water dries up in those dustbowl western cities, theyll all come crawling back, dust in mouths, begging for our abundant water and good-paying jobs.
Why does everyone like the West and South regions so much?Besides jobs.This region has cities that have stuff to do in them.
Alot of people dont like them, but are "forced" to relocate for jobs. Seems alot are lured by the warmer weather, just to get sick of it over time and move back. I have known 4 families myself that relocated out of state, then moved back. Add me to that list too! To those moving to, say, Nashville from places like Ottawa, IL or Manhattan, KS, it seems like paradise. Those, like me, who moved from Chicagoland to TN, dreaded every second of it, it was horrible. I only lasted a year in TN, then I came back home. Some people are lured by the warmer temps, just to find out that summers are truly horrid down south (SW too), the schools are lacking, the jobs dont pay as much, the food sucks, the lifestyle is too different, etc, etc. Those are the ones who rush into things and end up moving back.
Enough with the Rust Belt moniker!! I'm just sayin' ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre
there's much more to the City of Brotherly Love than dodging bullets.
Dodging drivers who don't use turn signals, dodging drivers who run red lights (yesterday I counted six at one light!), dodging drivers who jump the lights and turn left ahead of oncoming traffic ... Too bad Chrysler retired the Dodge nameplate!
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The same can be said for New York City, which I wouldn't include as being part of the "Rust Belt" as one of the world's corporate behemoths. 
To those moving to, say, Nashville from places like Ottawa, IL or Manhattan, KS, it seems like paradise. Those, like me, who moved from Chicagoland to TN, dreaded every second of it, it was horrible. I only lasted a year in TN, then I came back home. Some people are lured by the warmer temps, just to find out that summers are truly horrid down south (SW too), the schools are lacking, the jobs dont pay as much, the food sucks, the lifestyle is too different, etc, etc. Those are the ones who rush into things and end up moving back.
