Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Every State, region, area has it's poorer zones, it's not specific to any area.
Take NY, Binghamton is a sizable city but unless you work for the three hospitals or ancillary health care facilities, or the University or are an attorney or government employee, you will be in a minimum wage based job. The economy is stable, but minimum wage based. Gone are the manufacturing defense companies and their subcontractors, long ago.
Even within the area are " food deserts" where people don't have a grocery store anywhere near them as the area covers about a 25 Mile radius.
Next county over? It's known to be the poorest county in the state, but part or all of that county is considered a bedroom community to the greater Binghamton area. There are actually more cows than humans in that county, and the entire country lacks a hospital, only walkin clinics who will only send you to one of two neighboring counties and the hospitals there. Outside the county seat, there are few grocery stores of any substantiality, and the few that are really can gouge their customers. Otherwise one must travel some 10, 15 or 20 miles to find food not in a convenience store gas station. No public transportation, a failed attempt was made but was " financially not feasible any longer", so a car IS a necessity, along with all it's expenses.
With only one employer in that county ( a defense contractor that still remains), almost all jobs are farm related or retail minimum wage based. Other surrounding counties fall into similar circumstances.
NYC has it's own declined areas too, for the city that never sleeps. All areas of the state of New York, one considered to be a "wealthy state" has it's poorer zones.
And they are often areal or regional.
So picking one is hard to do.
Granted few people live in camps or cardboard boxes everywhere, but it's close. But some people actually don't even have electricity or sewer systems.
The Badlands of South Dakota is underrated as a region, and I know the national park is spectacular for sure since I went there. It's so remote, especially on the Native American reservations, but it is so beautiful and rugged in its own right! Emptiness for miles and miles, all with this bizarre landscape that looks like it could be on Mars or some other planet with gigantic eroded gullies. It's also home to the poorest Native American reservation in America, and most of it lies in the poorest county in the country, Ogala Lakota county, SD. Don't go to the national park if you want underrated, since it is a major national park. Instead, go to the reservation, which is not part of the park, and stay wherever you can on the reservation and try to experience as much of the Native American culture as possible. I wish I had gone there, but I know for sure that the Native American reservation is underrated for sure, due to its remoteness. It's still in the badlands, but its a good distance away from the national park.
Staying on a reservation is about as stupid as staying in the inner city. Especially staying on the Pine Ridge Reservation. That's the worst of the worst.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nibbidy
I dont know if people realize that New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the country. Always has been, but there is scenery so I think that overlooks the poverty a bit. There are lots of really ugly places also in New Mexico, dont let the mountain scenery fool ya.
This is the same with Montana. There are rich people (read trustifarians and retirees) but minimum wage is generally the name of the game.
Every State, region, area has it's poorer zones, it's not specific to any area.
Take NY, Binghamton is a sizable city but unless you work for the three hospitals or ancillary health care facilities, or the University or are an attorney or government employee, you will be in a minimum wage based job. The economy is stable, but minimum wage based. Gone are the manufacturing defense companies and their subcontractors, long ago.
Even within the area are " food deserts" where people don't have a grocery store anywhere near them as the area covers about a 25 Mile radius.
Next county over? It's known to be the poorest county in the state, but part or all of that county is considered a bedroom community to the greater Binghamton area. There are actually more cows than humans in that county, and the entire country lacks a hospital, only walkin clinics who will only send you to one of two neighboring counties and the hospitals there. Outside the county seat, there are few grocery stores of any substantiality, and the few that are really can gouge their customers. Otherwise one must travel some 10, 15 or 20 miles to find food not in a convenience store gas station. No public transportation, a failed attempt was made but was " financially not feasible any longer", so a car IS a necessity, along with all it's expenses.
With only one employer in that county ( a defense contractor that still remains), almost all jobs are farm related or retail minimum wage based. Other surrounding counties fall into similar circumstances.
NYC has it's own declined areas too, for the city that never sleeps. All areas of the state of New York, one considered to be a "wealthy state" has it's poorer zones.
And they are often areal or regional.
So picking one is hard to do.
Granted few people live in camps or cardboard boxes everywhere, but it's close. But some people actually don't even have electricity or sewer systems.
It's all relative.
Actually, Bronx County is the poorest County in NY State in terms of poverty rate, but it also has its middle class(lower to upper) areas as well. Tioga County actually has one of the lowest poverty rates in the state.
In Broome County, you also have what is left of IBM in Endicott, BAE Systems also in Endicott, Visions FCU HQ's in Endicott, i3 electronics in Endicott, NYSEG in Vestal, Maines in Conklin and Colombian Financial Group in Binghamton, with some possibly working at the Raymond Corporation in Greene in adjacent Chenango County to the NE or Lockheed Martin in Owego in Tioga County.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 08-25-2017 at 06:49 AM..
California has many areas that are poor; the inland empire is one, so is the imperial valley and many areas of the central valley. It is a state of contrasts; not every town is Palo Alto or Beverly Hills.
Northern Michigan (meaning the Northern half of the Lower Peninsula, not the Upper Peninsula. I'm pretty sure most people rate the UP pretty highly).
Maybe I'm getting this backward, but I think a lot of people underestimate just how poor the region is. Traverse City for example, has a median household income under 50k/yr. Places like Cheboygan, Charlevoix, and Manistee - which are all considered to be rather nice for coastal towns, have median incomes in the 30-35k range. When you get inland things don't change or improve. Northern Michigan is relatively poor, but incredibly beautiful and probably underrated by those not from Southern/Mid-Michigan.
The poor are pretty well hidden in certain areas of Northern MI. Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Antrim, Emmet and Charlevoix counties seem beautiful and full of life on the surface. For rich vacation home-owners it's a playground. The service workers left in their wake aren't enjoying it so much.
That said, I've lived in several states and travelled all over the country and if I could choose where to live and retire, it would be somewhere in Grand Traverse or Leelanau County. The hubby and I plan to retire there some day.
Depending on who your talking to, New Mexico is a pretty obvious one.
I remember driving my Norwegian cousin down highway 337 (from Tijeras to Mountainair) to go hiking in the Manzanos and to check out the Quarai ruins.
At one point she says, "Why are all these villages abandoned?"
Plot twist: They are not abandoned. Just because people have a rusty tin roof held on by the weight of tires and cinder blocks does not mean no one lives there.
How common is Third World type poverty in these regions ? I saw that some people wrote that there are people in Upstate NY who lack electricity and sewer systems ( for example ) , so how common is that type of poverty in these regions ?
I dont know if people realize that New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the country. Always has been, but there is scenery so I think that overlooks the poverty a bit. There are lots of really ugly places also in New Mexico, dont let the mountain scenery fool ya.
What's sad is that it's not entirely unreasonable to predict that New Mexico may one day overtake Mississippi as the poorest state. Maybe not for another generation or so, but it's heading that way.
On a somewhat more positive note, New Mexico reminds me a bit of South Dakota (the biggest difference is the Spanish influence). They're dry, sparsely populated states with significant percentages of indigenous peoples, and simultaneously have some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country, along with some of the dullest.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
