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.
Yeah, relatively small, post-industrial cities come to mind.
Places like Johnstown, PA, Youngstown, OH, Elkhart, IN or Flint, MI are good candidates (also, although not part of the "Rust Belt," there's copious small towns in the South and West that are super blue-collar, as well).
Youngstown OH is the first one that comes to mind - it's slowly trying to shift its economy but the challenges are still there.
Pittsburgh had shift to "knowledge-based" economy for awhile now and definitely revitalized some of the inner core areas - having universities like CMU and UPitt definitely helps. Cleveland still face challenges but is nicer than people make it out to be. St. Louis? It has a diversify economy...just that many things are outside the city limit.
And as other said - for true "rust belt" cities you look at small to medium sized cities or even large towns. Places like Kokomo IN also comes into mind.
Pittsburgh has been able to shift to the medical and technology fields within the last 10-15 years mainly because Pitt and Carnegie Mellon are both top universities, and also the universities won't be going anywhere so people could always work there. As someone else said, the small cities are the most blue-collar and I would say Youngstown, OH, and some towns AROUND (not in) Pittsburgh like McKeesport, PA.
The best answer Youngstown, Ohio. A complete steel city with Mafia history to boot. It’s all the gritty aspects of the industrial heartland rolled into one.
The grittiness of Charleston, West Virginia is underrated. Drive through during winter and check it out, it’s essentially “Appalachia meets Rust Belt.” Lots of chemical plants along the rivers.
Wherever the movie The Deer Hunter was filmed totally fits this category, too. Besides the Vietnam scenes, of course.
The best answer Youngstown, Ohio. A complete steel city with Mafia history to boot. It’s all the gritty aspects of the industrial heartland rolled into one.
The grittiness of Charleston, West Virginia is underrated. Drive through during winter and check it out, it’s essentially “Appalachia meets Rust Belt.” Lots of chemical plants along the rivers.
Wherever the movie The Deer Hunter was filmed totally fits this category, too. Besides the Vietnam scenes, of course.
Since you mention Charleston WV and that chemical industry, all those places with oil refinery / oil storage near Gulf Coast can also be quite "rust belt" / "blue collar".
Somewhere between Youngstown, and Akron is a large Foxconn facility. I know, I saw with my own two eyes.
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.
