Worst county in your state?

[Roadgeekteen]

I'm going to go with Worcester County. Has anyone actually ever wanted to go to Worcester county?

[Max Rockatansky]

What criteria are we using to determine "the worst?"   To me the worst in California would be Orange County.  I base my opinion on the massive urbanization, dystopian past of Long Beach, and lack of open spaces. 

[Roadgeekteen]

What criteria are we using to determine "the worst?"   To me the worst in California would be Orange County.  I base my opinion on the massive urbanization, dystopian past of Long Beach, and lack of open spaces.

Just your personal least favorite.

[Max Rockatansky]

What criteria are we using to determine "the worst?"   To me the worst in California would be Orange County.  I base my opinion on the massive urbanization, dystopian past of Long Beach, and lack of open spaces.

Just your personal least favorite.

Then I stand by my above post. 

[allniter89]

Miami Dade, nuff said?

[Max Rockatansky]

Miami Dade, nuff said?

Miami-Dade has too much National Park lands.  Palm Beach County on the other hand lacks all of that, is heavily urbanized, and somehow manages to be the locale of some really horribly impoverished Sugar Cane based communities in the Everglades. 

[oscar]

To me the worst in California would be Orange County.  I base my opinion on the massive urbanization, dystopian past of Long Beach ....

Which is in Los Angeles County (one of my least favorite California counties, though there are other contenders).

[thspfc]

For Wisconsin, I really have no idea. Waushara and Marquette seem really boring and have no scenery so I guess I'll throw them under the bus.

[NWI_Irish96]

For Indiana I would say Howard County. Kokomo is a very drab city, and the county doesn't have any water features to provide scenery or any sizable colleges to provide atmosphere.

[Max Rockatansky]

To me the worst in California would be Orange County.  I base my opinion on the massive urbanization, dystopian past of Long Beach ....

Which is in Los Angeles County (one of my least favorite California counties, though there are other contenders).

Thing with Los Angeles County is that it has a crap ton of open spaces.  The City basically stops at the San Gabriel Mountains and there are swathes places to find in Los Padres National Forest/Angeles National Forest.  One of the best bike rides in the state is on the Old Ridge Route and even the State Poppy Reserve in the Mojave Desert is a nice during the Spring.  Orange County cuts out pretty much all of that and has much of the same urban issues Los Angeles County does.  Some other favorites of mine Los Angeles County are Griffith Park and Dirt Mulholland Highway. 

A non urban county I would throw out there is Kings County.  Kings County has some very unappealing places like Corcoran but nothing really that bad in terms of civic landscapes.  What really is a negative is that it has almost no interesting geological features and the prominent range is probably the oil rich Kettleman Hills.  Tulare Lake would have been a huge plus but it's been completely dry for almost a century. 

[Max Rockatansky]

For Arizona I would say La Paz County which  is in one of the least interesting parts of the Sonoran Desert (Swansea not withstanding).  The communities in La Paz County like Quartzsite are based around Snow Bird RVers instead of anything truly tangible economically.

[empirestate]

I'm going to go with Worcester County. Has anyone actually ever wanted to go to Worcester county?

Sure, my mom was born there and we still have family there. What's not to like?

[corco]

Canyon County, Idaho without any question. Besides being a flat, dusty redneck hellhole, if you ever see 2C license plates give them a wide berth.

[hotdogPi]

I'm going to go with Worcester County. Has anyone actually ever wanted to go to Worcester county?

Sure, my mom was born there and we still have family there. What's not to like?

The places to the east are known for their history (Boston, Lowell/Lawrence/Haverhill, Salem, Lexington/Concord, Plymouth, New Bedford). Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket are obvious tourist destinations. The westernmost four counties have mountains, and the I-91 corridor is interesting for its own reasons. This leaves just Worcester County. (Norfolk County wasn't mentioned earlier, but it has a bit of coastline and is also very close to Boston.) Worcester doesn't have that many reasons to go there, and the rest of the county doesn't have anything major.

However, I have gone that way for a trip to the Clinton dam and abandoned train tunnel and Rutland, Shirley, and Pepperell covered bridges.

While there are some things in Worcester County like those in the previous paragraph, the Quabbin Reservoir, Lake Webster, and the MA/CT/RI tripoint, there are things to do in other counties, too (pretty much any town along the coast, Basketball Hall of Fame, MA 2 hairpin turn, Tanglewood, Gillette Stadium, Topsfield Fair, Six Flags New England, the three casinos, the cranberry bogs, etc.)

[empirestate]

I'm going to go with Worcester County. Has anyone actually ever wanted to go to Worcester county?

Sure, my mom was born there and we still have family there. What's not to like?

The places to the east are known for their history (Boston, Lowell/Lawrence/Haverhill, Salem, Lexington/Concord, Plymouth, New Bedford). Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket are obvious tourist destinations. The westernmost four counties have mountains, and the I-91 corridor is interesting for its own reasons. This leaves just Worcester County. (Norfolk County wasn't mentioned earlier, but it has a bit of coastline and is also very close to Boston.) Worcester doesn't have that many reasons to go there, and the rest of the county doesn't have anything major.

Well, it has at least as many reasons as I mentioned, showing that at least some people have, at some time, wanted to go there. So the argument at hand would be to refute those reasons, either by showing that they don't exist, or that they don't actually make anybody want to go there.

[jmacswimmer]

Speaking as someone who did their undergrad at WPI, why yes I did want to go to the city of Worcester, within Worcester County, and yes I was quite excited about it too! 

[Roadgeekteen]

I'm going to go with Worcester County. Has anyone actually ever wanted to go to Worcester county?

Sure, my mom was born there and we still have family there. What's not to like?

The places to the east are known for their history (Boston, Lowell/Lawrence/Haverhill, Salem, Lexington/Concord, Plymouth, New Bedford). Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket are obvious tourist destinations. The westernmost four counties have mountains, and the I-91 corridor is interesting for its own reasons. This leaves just Worcester County. (Norfolk County wasn't mentioned earlier, but it has a bit of coastline and is also very close to Boston.) Worcester doesn't have that many reasons to go there, and the rest of the county doesn't have anything major.

However, I have gone that way for a trip to the Clinton dam and abandoned train tunnel and Rutland, Shirley, and Pepperell covered bridges.

While there are some things in Worcester County like those in the previous paragraph, the Quabbin Reservoir Lake Webster, and the MA/CT/RI tripoint, there are things to do in other counties, too (pretty much any town along the coast, Basketball Hall of Fame, MA 2 hairpin turn, Tanglewood, Gillette Stadium, Topsfield Fair, Six Flags New England, the three casinos, the cranberry bogs, etc.)

Norfolk is mostly suburbs, I didn't say it because it has Gillette stadium and I live here.

[Flint1979]

Worst county as far as what?

[Flint1979]

Worst as far as overall worst such as the county pretty much sucks.

For Michigan, I'll go with Wayne County; Detroit is a shithole and so are most of the inner ring suburbs like River Rouge, Ecorse, Lincoln Park and of course Highland Park which mine as well be part of the city of Detroit anyway along with it's neighbor Hamtramck.

For Indiana, I'll go with Lake County. The southern part of the county like around Lowell and in that area isn't bad but it features cities like Gary, Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Merrillville and so on. Some of those areas aren't as bad as others but they aren't the best areas for sure. Porter County is a little better but you still have the same vibe as Lake County I think.

[Rothman]

Worcester County is pretty bad.  Worcester has been a rustbucket city since I've been alive.  I visited the Blackstone River Valley and Purgatory Chasm recently and people have graffitied the places.  It's like Worcester isn't enough to ruin, they have to go out and ruin state parks and the like in the area.

[Max Rockatansky]

Worst as far as overall worst such as the county pretty much sucks.

For Michigan, I'll go with Wayne County; Detroit is a shithole and so are most of the inner ring suburbs like River Rouge, Ecorse, Lincoln Park and of course Highland Park which mine as well be part of the city of Detroit anyway along with it's neighbor Hamtramck.

For Indiana, I'll go with Lake County. The southern part of the county like around Lowell and in that area isn't bad but it features cities like Gary, Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Merrillville and so on. Some of those areas aren't as bad as others but they aren't the best areas for sure. Porter County is a little better but you still have the same vibe as Lake County I think.

While by any objective criteria for Wayne County is going to make it the pick it does have some stuff going for it if you're into ruins/ghost towning and Arc Deco.  Belle Isle isn't terrible and all the sports teams are now in downtown Detroit again.

[Flint1979]

Worst as far as overall worst such as the county pretty much sucks.

For Michigan, I'll go with Wayne County; Detroit is a shithole and so are most of the inner ring suburbs like River Rouge, Ecorse, Lincoln Park and of course Highland Park which mine as well be part of the city of Detroit anyway along with it's neighbor Hamtramck.

For Indiana, I'll go with Lake County. The southern part of the county like around Lowell and in that area isn't bad but it features cities like Gary, Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Merrillville and so on. Some of those areas aren't as bad as others but they aren't the best areas for sure. Porter County is a little better but you still have the same vibe as Lake County I think.

While by any objective criteria for Wayne County is going to make it the pick it does have some stuff going for it if you're into ruins/ghost towning and Arc Deco.  Belle Isle isn't terrible and all the sports teams are now in downtown Detroit again.

Yeah it does have some big city life to it. I haven't been to Belle Isle since it became a State Park, I use to drive around the island all the time. I do like how the sports teams are all downtown now though and the Lions and Pistons former venues out in the suburbs have both now been demolished.

[NWI_Irish96]

Worst as far as overall worst such as the county pretty much sucks.

For Michigan, I'll go with Wayne County; Detroit is a shithole and so are most of the inner ring suburbs like River Rouge, Ecorse, Lincoln Park and of course Highland Park which mine as well be part of the city of Detroit anyway along with it's neighbor Hamtramck.

For Indiana, I'll go with Lake County. The southern part of the county like around Lowell and in that area isn't bad but it features cities like Gary, Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Merrillville and so on. Some of those areas aren't as bad as others but they aren't the best areas for sure. Porter County is a little better but you still have the same vibe as Lake County I think.

Not sure when is the last time you've wandered off the interstates in Lake County, but the Whiting/East Chicago/Hammond area has undergone some redevelopment recently, and if Illinois keeps raising its taxes, that area is primed for a real resurgence.

[webny99]

Worst county as far as what?

Just your personal least favorite.

[webny99]

For New York, it's objectively Orleans County.

I'm not sure there's any other counties you could make a case for. Perhaps neighboring Niagara County, although that at least has several cool State Parks including Niagara Falls and Whirlpool State Park. Lewis County handily wins "most nondescript", but that's quite different from being outright bad, much less the worst. Genesee County, meanwhile, at least has some quality farmland and countryside, plus the Thruway. Wayne County, which is similar to Orleans on paper, has a Lake Ontario shoreline that's far superior for both beaches and scenery. And the other 57 counties are in my opinion either too scenic, too diverse, or both.