[Meg Lesher]

It is a truism that you can prove anything with statistics. Dmetro quotes those comparing the number of 9th graders graduated from high school in southern states. I doubt there are many ninth grade high school graduates; this must be an error. Do people really make major decisions based on statistics? Yes. Is this wise? I don't know, but I sure wouldn't trust one source.

There are good reasons to leave Michigan now. Of course it's a beautiful state, and there was a time when it was being flooded with people from the south coming up for a better life here. The tide is reversing now. Yes, there are problems in the south. But on balance, a lot of people must be figuring it's worth it to make the switch. Everyone has to eat, and most have to work. If you can't afford to stay where you are, then the reasonable thing is to change where you are so that you can live. Many from Michigan and the midwest aren't that comfortable with the northeastern states; thoughts of all those people crammed on that little land make us clautrophobic. The west is, well, too far west, if you have family ties to cling to, and besides, it and the southwest are drying up anyway, and as Great Lakes States residents, we sure do like trees and green, don't we? (generalizing, of course). That leaves the southeast and the south. We know it's not Shangri La down there, but it beats the alternative of going broke, and many of the folks making their way down there are going back where their ancestors harkened from, so there is a sense of place for them.

[southernlady5464]

But if you look at the fattest/fittest cities:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050...fattest-cities
25 Fattest Cities
Rank City Rank in 2004
1 Houston 2
2 Philadelphia 7
3 Detroit 1
4 Memphis, Tenn. 20
5 Chicago 5
6 Dallas 3
7 New Orleans 22
8 New York 21
9 Las Vegas 16
10 San Antonio 4
11 El Paso, Texas 24
12 Phoenix 18
13 Indianapolis 17
14 Fort Worth, Texas 6
15 Mesa, Ariz. 12
16 Columbus, Ohio 10
17 Wichita, Kan. 16*
18 Kansas City, Mo. 14
19 Miami 15
20 Long Beach, Calif. 23*
21 Oklahoma City 13
22 Tulsa, Okla. 19
23 Atlanta 11
24 Charlotte, N.C. 22*
25 Baltimore 23
* Ranking in the top 25 fittest cities in 2004


25 Fittest Cities
Rank City Rank in 2004
1 Seattle 6
2 Honolulu 1
3 Colorado Springs, Colo. 5
4 San Francisco 2
5 Denver 4
6 Portland, Ore. 8
7 Sacramento, Calif. 10
8 Tucson, Ariz. 9
9 San Diego 14
10 Albuquerque, N.M. 12
11 Boston 7
12 Virginia Beach, Va. 3
13 Minneapolis, Minn. 18
14 Fresno, Calif. 15
15 Milwaukee, Wis. 21
16 Omaha, Neb. 11
17 San Jose, Calif. 20
18 Jacksonville, Fla. 13
19 Austin, Texas 19
20 Oakland, Calif. 17
21 Los Angeles 25
22 Arlington, Texas 8*
23 Washington 25
24 Cleveland 9*
25 Nashville-Davidson, Tenn. 24
* Ranking in the top 25 fattest cities in 2004
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050...fattest-cities

Of the top 10, 4 are up north, 5 are in the south assuming TX is south and not southwest. And one out west. Liz

[aiangel_writer]

Isn't it strange that everything moves in cycles?

When I was a very young child, my parents and I moved to Holland, MI to find work. We lived with relatives the whole time we were there. Both my parents found good jobs, my dad worked for I think LifeSavor company and I don't remember where my mom worked.

But, it seemed that many people were migrating North to find work. Now, suddenly, the cycle has changed and people are flocking South for work.

I think if you can find an opportunity to find a better job, you most certainly should take it.

But, please, don't make assumptions on our Southern states. Many seem to put us in a catagory we left behind years ago. The South has changed, and changed much in many places. Not to say that we don't need to change more, but we are not as backward as many think.

Our school system has changed over the past 20 years, for the better. Yes, there is a problem with high school drop-outs, and our Gov. has put into plan steps to improve this stastic. One thing should be menitoned here, it is only parts of our state that we see the most drop out rate. The Mississippi Delta is still lagging way behind on growth and poverty still is a problem there, this is where the highest total of children who do not finish school come from.

I live in the Northern part of the state, where manufacturing especially furniture manufacturing helped to raise our standard of living tenfold. We moved back to MS. when the jobs opened up, I was still very young. Now, these jobs are heading overseas and thankfully, we have people in the right frame of mind to realize there needs to be something replacing these lost jobs before the economy turns for the worse. Many are laboring to bring in good jobs with the realization that our workers must be trained for different types of jobs. OUr colleges are supporting this with specialized schooling for short term training and for careers in different types of work. Take the Nissan plant helping to build an automotive school at Mississippi State and now University of Mississippi is gearing up with it's own automotive school thanks to Toyota. Suddenly engineering majors have more meaning for our kids, etc.

I guess what I am saying is, don't have preconceived notions about us until you get to know us. We are very friendly people, who help our neighbors and welcome newcomers. WE are part of the New South, where we took the best from the Old South and kept it, but intergrated new traditions and standards that are not so backwards, nor so predijuced against people and implimented this into current practices.

We welcome you with a warm Southern hospitality to make you feel at home.

[Evlevo]

Originally Posted by southernlady5464

But if you look at the fattest/fittest cities

I'm not trying to start an arguement (and I agree that the info is good to base/shape an opinion of North/South), but they really shouldn't have called that survey "Fattest/Fittest", it should have been Healthy/Unhealthy. I think they named it that you get more attention because who cares if you are unhealthy as long as you are thin? (As Billy Crystal's "Fernando" used to say, "it is better to look good than to feel good"). If you've ever been to NYC, you'll know that it has no place in the top ten fattest cities (I mean come on, the average New Yorker walks 2-3 miles MORE each day than the average American, and they can't really swing by the drive in when they don't have a car!)

That study had 14 equally weighted catagories, and being fat was only one of them. "Gym membership and sporting goods stores" had equal weight, as did "Air Quality" (which is why I think Houston topped the list).

Air Quality certainly contributes to overall health, but it doesn't have any bearing on whether someone is a porker or not.

[southernlady5464]

but they really shouldn't have called that survey "Fattest/Fittest", it should have been Healthy/Unhealthy. I think they named it that you get more attention because who cares if you are unhealthy as long as you are thin?

Great thought. But who would pay attention if it had been called that.

The last acceptable prejudice there is is the one against the overweight. It's automatically assumed that if you are fat, you are unhealthy and that if you are thin, you have to be healthy.

Some day maybe whoever creates this poll (fattest/fittest) will figure that out. Liz

[Virginia1]

Living in Va. Beach and my fiance living in Flint one of the first comparisons I noticed were the bodies of the people in Flint. The first time I went grocery shopping with her she noticed I was just staring with my jaw open. She asked me what I was looking at. I told her I have noticed that there are a lot of overweight people here. I would not have said anything, but when there are a good number of people who were overweight, you take notice. When she went to the grocery store with me in my area, she realized what I was saying. We have overweight people also, but they are outnumbered by far by non-overweight people. One can make a case for thin not being healthy and vice versa. But in general and to keep it simple, overweight is not good and obesity is on the rise. It is interesting though to see the difference.

[southernlady5464]

One can make a case for thin not being healthy and vice versa. But in general and to keep it simple, overweight is not good and obesity is on the rise.

While that is generally true, like everything else in this world, there are exceptions to that.

Obese is different from being overweight, just as being thin is different than being emaciated.

The best thing to do is go by what you feel is your best weight with a doctor's input. My doctor and I have me about 35 lbs over the height/weight table for my BEST weight. Too bad I'm above that right now but am working on it. Liz

[pambeesly]

Here's an article somewhat related to what you all were talking about-

Link.

[wallstreet1986]

Originally Posted by magellan

Cue poverty map of the U.S.




But hey, as long as I can get a job there today, that's all that matters. Right?

Ouch Flint looks bad thats the red spot up there in the map of Michigan. Why aren't the poverty figures higher in Michigan I'd expect a huge splotch of read around Detroit and down through Monroe County?

[Cato the Elder]

Flint is south of Saginaw Bay, not west. I think that's the vicinity of Mt. Pleasant. That's probably the American Indian reservation up there - another great moment in US history.