Don't Move Here: St. Petersburg is saddest city;Tampa not far behind (Memphis: unemployment rate, living in)

[BucFan]

Sigh! Men's Health magazine says St. Petersburg is the country's saddest city. The sunshine city inched out Detroit — second on the dubious list — followed by Memphis, with Tampa just behind.

The magazine based its rankings on suicide rates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It also compiled information from a website called SimplyMap to determine the percentage of households using antidepressants and the number of people who say they feel sad all or most of the time.

"We put America on the therapist's couch and discovered that not only is St. Petersburg our Saddest City, but Florida in general seems to be a depressing place to live,'' the magazine said.

Happiest city on the list: Honolulu.


Magazine says St. Petersburg is country's saddest city; Tampa not far behind - St. Petersburg Times

[GoRays813]

I'm curious of their methodology. If the BLS includes retirees in their unemployment statistics, then the results are obviously inaccurate. I have no facts to support this, but I'm curious if the retiree-element can also affect the antidepressants and sadness statistics as well since they may be medicated and sad that they are in old age. Either way, I'm happy!

[BucFan]

You've got to believe everything is swayed by elderly (depression, suicide, unemployment).....I'm happy (but wouldn't mind moving back to Hawaii if I had unlimited financial resources).

[gypsychic]

That is surprising. That, coupled with it being #20 "most dangerous" city in the US makes is pause for thought. Don't live in St. Pete, but we love to visit (mostly the downtown area). Here is the article about the dangerous cities:

The Most Dangerous Cities In America

Not surprised about Tampa being sad. It's been on those "depressed" lists before.

[FloridaKash]

I enjoy living in an area where everyone around me is depressed and/or sad. It makes me feel better about myself. lol

[user8]

let the weak minded ones thin their own numbers out.

[Casher O'Neill]

I read this article and some of the comments on the tampa.com website were -- well, depressing. It seems like many people hate living there. When i visited people seemed pleasant and friendly and the weather, of course, was beautiful. I was thinking of retiring there, but now I'm beginning to have second thoughts!

[user8]

Originally Posted by Casher O'Neill

I read this article and some of the comments on the tampa.com website were -- well, depressing. It seems like many people hate living there. When i visited people seemed pleasant and friendly and the weather, of course, was beautiful. I was thinking of retiring there, but now I'm beginning to have second thoughts!

long story short - most people are stupid, and that very much includes the people who created this "survey."

anyone who thinks tampa or st. pete is more depressing than, say, dayton, ohio or flint, michigan has a serious screw loose.

the poll results are laughably stupid. take them with a grain of salt and formulate your own opinions.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by user8

long story short - most people are stupid, and that very much includes the people who created this "survey."

anyone who thinks tampa or st. pete is more depressing than, say, dayton, ohio or flint, michigan has a serious screw loose.

the poll results are laughably stupid. take them with a grain of salt and formulate your own opinions.

LOL - totally agree! These lists are incredibly stupid. Maybe the list-makers have been reading city-data too much?

[vaughanwilliams]

The entire state is depressing for a multitude of reasons.