Forbes ranks Providence on their Misery Scale

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by ctman1987

Honestly this is the stupidest list ive seen....for god's sake they have put New York City and Chicago on this list as miserable places...COME ON.

Personally I love Providence. Its a great little city with lots of historic charm, great neighborhoods, lots of vibrancy and is great center of higher education

New York is not just Midtown and lower Manhattan. I'd say that Harlem, Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn are rather miserable places.

[Rnrboy]

Originally Posted by Terrapin2212

Saw the heading in the forum and have to respond.

Don't believe the list. Charlotte is on it??? C'Mon!!!!!!! Whatever is going on in Providence (and I'm not a fan of New England or the North), there is no way it can be more miserable than Baltimore. Washington, D.C. also has more crime, traffic, drugs, poverty, and gangs than Providence. Though I do recall in The Departed they mentioned Providence as a center for gang activity.

They lost all credibility when they put Charlotte and Modesto, California on it but excluded Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and BUFFALO. And also post-Katrina New Orleans is also quite a miserable place.

The Departed is based on occurrences from over two decades ago. Back then mafia activity in Providence was far more prevalent than it is now.

Providence's crime rate, despite an unfortunate rise last year after years of decline, is actually still lower than most cities of its size. And the downtown is seeing a vast renewal.

Whenever my old friends from FL come up here to visit they can't get over how nice it is. A lot of folks who live here just don't get it. If they spent one night on the wrong side of the tracks in Orlando, they'd laugh about 'Providence gangs'.

[ProvGuy]

Originally Posted by Terrapin2212

New York is not just Midtown and lower Manhattan. I'd say that Harlem, Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn are rather miserable places.

How are Brooklyn and Queens miserable places? Have you ever even been to them?

[ctman1987]

Originally Posted by Terrapin2212

New York is not just Midtown and lower Manhattan. I'd say that Harlem, Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn are rather miserable places.

As a New Yorker myself from the Bronx I know there is more to NYC then Midtown. Although as the previous poster asked have you ever visited anything outside of midtown?

If you had visited the Bronx for example maybe you would have stumbled into Riverdale, the boroughs wealthiest neighborhoods that is home to 3 private schools (that rank among the best in the nation), 2 catholic colleges and multi-million dollar mansions located in a neighborhood called Fieldston.

If you had traveled past 96th street in Manhattan and went up to 125th Street you would see that brownstones in Harlem cost between 2-4 million dollars and now national chain stores that 30 years ago would have never opened in Harlem have. Major League Baseball even wants to built their 21 stroy headquarters on 125th Street

Brooklyn is a city unto itself - it is after all the most populous borough. Putting it simply Brooklyn is a hot place to live. Brownstones are worth millions, there are tons of great neighborhoods with shops, restaurants, botiques, book stores, AND great views of the Manhattan skyline.

So lets not be so quick to call NYC miserable.....almost everyone who lives here loves it and almost everyone who lives here lives outside Midtown

[nitroae23]

In 1971,the 25(or was it the 26)precinct in Manhattan had a sector car stationed at the house,to close the doors and lock themselves in if there was a riot!,Today,you could walk the length of Harlem and not feel your life in danger,Forbes,puleeze!

[ambient]

That was about the STUPIDEST survey I've ever seen. The people at Forbes must be having trouble churning out enough crap to keep their business running. Their definition of "miserable" seems to be "anything that is a big city". Well...yeah, if you get a whole bunch of people together you will have more traffic, a higher cost of living, crime in certain places....

...so if you want "non-miserable" according to Forbes, then I guess you can choose to live somewhere like East Jesus, Arkansas. Population 15.