Forbes ranks Providence on their Misery Scale (low crime, unemployment rate)

[anifani821]

Just dropping into your forum from the Charlotte, NC, forum, to find out what you all think about ranking a step higher than our city on Forbes Magazine's misery scale.

Anyone read that article? We are rather mystified here in Charlotte. We agree that we have experienced burgeoning growth that has strained our infrastructure. But to call our city "miserable" - wow.

Just wondered how you guys felt about this. Some great national expose However, maybe it will slow down some of the newcomer influx to Charlotte, wh/ might just be a good thing for us at this point.

[CoventryDude]

America's Most Miserable Cities - Forbes.com

Imagine living in a city with the country's highest rate for violent crime and the second-highest unemployment rate. As an added kicker you need more Superfund dollars allocated to your city to clean up contaminated toxic waste sites than just about any other metro.
Unfortunately, this nightmare is a reality for the residents of Detroit. The Motor City grabs the top spot on Forbes' inaugural list of America's Most Miserable Cities.
In Pictures: America's Most Miserable Cities

[Rnrboy]

...is because of the taxes. It's not crime, but taxes. But, what about the automatic deduction?


All of these pro-business magazines never mention you get an automatic offsets that are part of the tax code. I wonder why?

[sevenofsix]

Well I live in prov. and i'm not miserable. The only thing that bothers me is the loud music from neighbors, other than that it's all peachy.

[skytrekker]

Surprises me that Charlotte a booming area supposedly with a strong economy is rated before Providence- Forbes and Sperling use both objective and subjective criteria for this study--Hartford here in CT did not make the list-interesting.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Surprises me that Charlotte a booming area supposedly with a strong economy is rated before Providence- Forbes and Sperling use both objective and subjective criteria for this study--Hartford here in CT did not make the list-interesting.

Agree. I have found it puzzling. We are fully aware here in CLT that we have had explosive growth - there is no doubt our infrastructure is strained and it is showing up w/ crowded schools, bumper to bumper traffic and crowded streets/highways . . . and we have seen an increase in some types of crime. But it is a great quality of life here . . . cost of living . . . very reasonable taxes . . . I was just very surprised. And Providence basically floored me!!!

[mr2448]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Surprises me that Charlotte a booming area supposedly with a strong economy is rated before Providence- Forbes and Sperling use both objective and subjective criteria for this study--Hartford here in CT did not make the list-interesting.

Curious, just recently, last 2-3 years, Providence was ranked by Forbes as a top 10 city focusing on its revival and other assets such as culture, food, colleges, low crime, etc. What Happened? Or can we put out a survey portraying any city the way we want to?

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by mr2448

Curious, just recently, last 2-3 years, Providence was ranked by Forbes as a top 10 city focusing on its revival and other assets such as culture, food, colleges, low crime, etc. What Happened? Or can we put out a survey portraying any city the way we want to?

Well, same for Charlotte. We have gotten into the "Top Ten" - recognized for many reasons - in Forbes as well as other pubs. I will come back and post what CLT has been recognized for (by Forbes) in the last few years - when I find that info. Somebody else had posted some links re: that on the Charlotte Forum.

Providence has always seemed a well balanced city to me - every city has challenges.

[boardmanite]

I just happened to click on this thread and I looked at the top ten most miserable cities. It says that Providence's tax rate is 9.9%. Is that the wage tax??? I surely hope not...

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by boardmanite

I just happened to click on this thread and I looked at the top ten most miserable cities. It says that Providence's tax rate is 9.9%. Is that the wage tax??? I surely hope not...

No, it's not. I don't think Prov. has a wage tax. I don't know what that figure is from. Perhaps a high state income tax rate?