HL well represented in Forbes '20 Most Miserable Cities in America' list 2013

[wh]

#1 Detroit, MI (what a surprise)
Violent crime in the Detroit metro was down 5% in 2011, but it remains the highest in the country with 1,052 violent crimes per 100,000 people, according to the FBI. Home prices were off 35% the past 3 years, which is the biggest drop in the U.S.

#2 Flint, MI (home of Detroit feeder program Mott Community College and Pathfinder)
Flint has been demolishing homes as the city shrinks with residents leaving in search of jobs. Only Detroit has a higher net out-migration rate. Flint ranks third worst for violent crime, behind Detroit and Memphis.

#4 Chicago, IL
Chicago has passionate supporters, but residents must endure the misery of long commutes, plummeting home prices, brutal winters and high foreclosure rates. The migration rate out of Chicago is the sixth worst among the 200 largest metros.

#7 Warren, MI (extension of the Detroit armpit)
Troy and Farmington Hills are part of the government-defined Warren metro division. Like Detroit, the Warren metro has seen home prices collapse--off 53% the past five years.

#14 Milwaukee, WI
Winter weather in Milwaukee can be brutal with average lows of 13 degrees in January. Property tax rates also rank among the highest in the U.S.

#17 Cleveland, OH
Only Detroit and Flint have had a faster exodus rate out of the city than Cleveland over the past 3 years.

#19 Gary, IN (sorry, but we are both in 'The Region')
Gary was called the murder capital of the U.S. in the 1990s, but violent crime is down dramatically in Gary in recent years. It is still plagued by high foreclosures and a migration out of the city.

#20 Youngstown, OH
The scrapyard above is in the spot of what once was one of the busiest steel mills in the U.S. Youngstown has been trying to recover since the exodus of steel began 25 years ago. There has been a net migration of residents out of Youngstown for 21 straight years.

The list covers 7 of the 9 HL teams, I wonder if there is a more appropriate name for the conference than HORIZON League?  Maybe simply Miserable Cities Conference (MCC)?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/02/21/detroit-tops-2013-list-of-americas-most-miserable-cities/

[valpotx]

Good, now I don't feel as bad about some of the Detroit comments I have made.  I read that it has gone from a city of 1.8 million to 700,000, and will probably bottom out at 600,000 for the future.  In DFW, we have gained something like 500,000 people since 2008, because we haven't really experienced the downturn in the economy due to the diversity of our industries (oil/gas, healthcare, telecom, software development, financial, etc).  Detroit was/is basically all auto, so they were screwed.

[valporun]

For those who wonder what city was #3, that would be Rockford, IL (pass through it going from Chicago to Beloit/Janesville/Madison, WI). For years, Rockford has watched manufacturing jobs leave for China and other cities. Our schools have suffered due to the lack of funding and interest from the community in finding/electing school leadership that wasn't going to use Rockford as a stepping stone to a better district elsewhere. Also, our crime rate is ridiculous, though not as bad as Chicago, but some of their gang problem does flow here. To be honest, Rockford is a bit like the Gary, IN of Illinois. Our best current industry is aviation, where we have a real nice airport, that we're trying to keep making the "hub" of O'Hare, instead of seeing our state leaders give that distinction to Peotone, IL, where they would have to construct space for an airport there, where we already have one. Our unemployment rate really hurts because of all the manufacturing that is leaving the area. Back in the late 1990s, Rockford was commonly ranked #300 in the Forbes list of BEST Cities to Live In. Being in Valpo for 5 years was a nice relief for me. I didn't feel like such a schmuck, living in a community that was becoming something, instead of living in something that was quickly turning into nothing special.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

wow, run.  beautifully written, and I feel your ache for your city and what it was, and could be, versus what it is and is becoming. 

Thanks for that.

[Pathfinder]

I am truly stunned that Dayton didn't make the list as well. Must be 21.

We'll always have Green Bay.

[vuweathernerd]

I am truly stunned that Dayton didn't make the list as well. Must be 21.

We'll always have Green Bay.

Dayton is actually a nice city. Haters gonna hate.

[wh]

I am truly stunned that Dayton didn't make the list as well. Must be 21.

We'll always have Green Bay.

Dayton is actually a nice city. Haters gonna hate.

Another Ohio city that did make the list is Toledo.

#11 Toledo, Ohio
Job growth has been anemic in Toledo and residents are voting with their feet by leaving the city. The net migration rate out of the city was the nation's fourth highest behind Detroit, Flint and Cleveland.