Worst county in your state?

[Roadgeekteen]

Well, there are two somewhat divergent directions that you could run with "opposite of redneck". The most obvious is "urban and diverse", which is what I think SectorZ was going for, but "wealthy and white-collar" also works, and is in many respects more accurate.

There are very few places that are all of those things at once, so maybe a county like Jefferson with an urban core and plenty of suburbia is as close as you're going to get to having at least some of all of those features. I would tend to think of a place like Northern Virginia, or perhaps Westchester County, NY; certainly not anywhere in the Rust Belt, with the possible exceptions being contemporary metro areas like Indianapolis or Columbus.

Maybe Needham, MA. Not a lot of rednecks here.

[JoePCool14]

AFAIK, no one has said anything about Illinois. So I'm just going to come out and say it:

Cook County is the worst.

You could be in Chicago which has plenty of issues from violent crimes to high taxes and strict regulations to political corruption (and also a cringeworthy mayor... that whole thing Lightfoot did for Halloween, dressing up as the "rona destroyer" was so dumb.). There's also plenty of run-down suburbs in the south. And the suburbs up north are nice in terms of overall quality of life, but many of the people living there are incredibly entitled or arrogant.

Also, the kids that the parents "raise" are for the most part the absolute worst. Morality and decency? What are those? Nah, forget that. Just whore yourself out for the entire world and get drunk 24/7 while posting vapid softcore-porn selfies on Instagram and Snapchat to get hundreds of useless likes and copy-paste "urrr soooo hoooot" comments.

I know what I've said is personal opinion, but this thread's definition of "worst county" is vague, so it's valid in my eyes. If you disagree, .

[JayhawkCO]

This thread is a sterling example of how it's difficult to find the "worst" anything because of our own subjective tastes.

Except when it comes to Kiowa County, CO.  Everyone would objectively say it sucks. 

Chris

[kphoger]

AFAIK, no one has said anything about Illinois. So I'm just going to come out and say it:

Cook County is the worst.

I don't really dislike any county in Illinois that I'm familiar with.

One thing I will say, though, is that I always though Lake County should have better public transit than it does.

[US71]

AFAIK, no one has said anything about Illinois. So I'm just going to come out and say it:

Cook County is the worst.

Crook County?

My aunt lived in Blue Island all her life and I got to watch the city slowly go downhill.

[webny99]

Another point: Orleans County isn't that far (relatively speaking) from Toronto and not that far (again relatively speaking) from the major cities on the east coast. It's also not far from the Adirondacks or the Great Lakes.

Kansas doesn't have those adjacencies.

That's a fair point, and I suppose that is a quality-of-life based argument to a certain extent. But then again, you do have to leave the county to get to those places; the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations in day-trip range doesn't, itself, make Orleans County a better place.

[kphoger]

But then again, you do have to leave the county to get to those places; the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations in day-trip range doesn't, itself, make Orleans County a better place.

Isn't that precisely why many people LOVE living in a city's suburbs, though?  All the benefits of the big city are just a short drive away.

[webny99]

But then again, you do have to leave the county to get to those places; the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations in day-trip range doesn't, itself, make Orleans County a better place.

Isn't that precisely why many people LOVE living in a city's suburbs, though?  All the benefits of the big city are just a short drive away.

But in many cases, said benefits (presumably restaurants, shopping, entertainment, access to health care, employment opportunities, etc.) are also in the suburbs. Personally, I can't think of many reasons why I would need/want to visit the city of Rochester, and can probably count on one hand the number of city destinations that I've been to this year.

[kphoger]

But then again, you do have to leave the county to get to those places; the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations in day-trip range doesn't, itself, make Orleans County a better place.

Isn't that precisely why many people LOVE living in a city's suburbs, though?  All the benefits of the big city are just a short drive away.

But in many cases, said benefits (presumably restaurants, shopping, entertainment, access to health care, employment opportunities, etc.) are also in the suburbs. Personally, I can't think of many reasons why I would need/want to visit the city of Rochester, and can probably count on one hand the number of city destinations that I've been to this year.

Having lived in a collar county of Chicago (DuPage), I have a different experience.  People there had to leave their own county to do downtown shopping, go to pro sports events, attend concerts, go to the beach, etc–all things that people definitely appreciate being able to do nearby–not to mention working at their high-paying downtown job or flying out of the airport.  They were quite happy to live near all those things but have to leave their county do so.

[webny99]

Having lived in a collar county of Chicago (DuPage), I have a different experience.  People there had to leave their own county to do downtown shopping, go to pro sports events, attend concerts, go to the beach, etc–all things that people definitely appreciate being able to do nearby–not to mention working at their high-paying downtown job or flying out of the airport.  They were quite happy to live near all those things but have to leave their county do so.

That's a function of the metro area spanning multiple counties. In other words, being a part of the Chicago area, and thus being in close proximity to everything that there is to do in the Chicago area, is a key part of DuPage County's identity.

Being an hour from Niagara Falls, 2 hours from Letchworth State Park, 3 hours from Toronto, and 6 hours from most of the East Coast, meanwhile, is not a key part of the identity of Orleans County, not having an everyday impact on its residents or their quality of life, and thus being largely irrelevant.

[The Nature Boy]

Another point: Orleans County isn't that far (relatively speaking) from Toronto and not that far (again relatively speaking) from the major cities on the east coast. It's also not far from the Adirondacks or the Great Lakes.

Kansas doesn't have those adjacencies.

That's a fair point, and I suppose that is a quality-of-life based argument to a certain extent. But then again, you do have to leave the county to get to those places; the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations in day-trip range doesn't, itself, make Orleans County a better place.

It does make it cheaper to go on vacation or give you more interesting places to drive to for the weekend, which is a huge boost in quality of life (at least for me). A similarly situated Kansas county can't go to those places for a weekend. I mean, Toronto is only 2.5 hours away, that's an easy day trip.

You can technically visit Lake Ontario without leaving Orleans County but I imagine that anything fun might take you of the county but even then, it has to only be a short drive.

A shitty place is a shitty place but being able to easily go somewhere fun makes it slightly more bearable.

Having lived in a collar county of Chicago (DuPage), I have a different experience.  People there had to leave their own county to do downtown shopping, go to pro sports events, attend concerts, go to the beach, etc–all things that people definitely appreciate being able to do nearby–not to mention working at their high-paying downtown job or flying out of the airport.  They were quite happy to live near all those things but have to leave their county do so.

That's a function of the metro area spanning multiple counties. In other words, being a part of the Chicago area, and thus being in close proximity to everything that there is to do in the Chicago area, is a key part of DuPage County's identity.

Being an hour from Niagara Falls, 2 hours from Letchworth State Park, 3 hours from Toronto, and 6 hours from most of the East Coast, meanwhile, is not a key part of the identity of Orleans County, not having an everyday impact on its residents or their quality of life, and thus being largely irrelevant.

Whether something is a key part of the identity of the county doesn't change its impact on your life. There's no wall that stops you from driving to those places, whether your neighbors consider it important or not.

[webny99]

You can technically visit Lake Ontario without leaving Orleans County but I imagine that anything fun might take you of the county but even then, it has to only be a short drive.

Correct on both counts, considering that Hamlin Beach State Park is decent (though by no means world-class) and it's less than a mile from County Line Rd.

Whether something is a key part of the identity of the county doesn't change its impact on your life. There's no wall that stops you from driving to those places, whether your neighbors consider it important or not.

Fair point, but my argument is that when you consider variety and proximity of nearby activities, a county like DuPage, IL, the one kphoger mentioned, is still going to rank a lot higher because there really isn't much of anything in Orleans County itself. Even if you wanted to go to a fairly basic restaurant for dinner - think Sonic, Chick-Fil-A, heck, even Wendy's! - you'd have to drive close to an hour to Rochester or Buffalo.

And sure, there's a lot of places you can get to in a day, but there's going to be an hour or more of traveling involved, which is fine for you and I, but that's not for everyone. Sure, day trip range is workable, but wouldn't you rather be closer?

I guess that gets back to the point of Orleans County being, at the very least, worse than the surrounding counties (and, IMO, all other NY counties) in that respect, but, I'm not going to argue that it's better or worse than similar areas in other states; primarily because I don't know enough about those areas to make a fair comparison, and after all, this is about "your state", so that's really outside the scope of the thread.

Now, if this was about "worst county in the nation", I presumably wouldn't have spent so much time discussing Orleans County... but then again, maybe I would've... don't give me any ideas! 

[JoePCool14]

Having lived in a collar county of Chicago (DuPage), I have a different experience.  People there had to leave their own county to do downtown shopping, go to pro sports events, attend concerts, go to the beach, etc–all things that people definitely appreciate being able to do nearby–not to mention working at their high-paying downtown job or flying out of the airport.  They were quite happy to live near all those things but have to leave their county do so.

That's a function of the metro area spanning multiple counties. In other words, being a part of the Chicago area, and thus being in close proximity to everything that there is to do in the Chicago area, is a key part of DuPage County's identity.

This kind of logic also applies to Lake County. You get the convenience of being near Chicago, but not in the same county, thereby escaping a bit of what makes Cook County suck (politically, for the most part). Lake (in Illinois, not Indiana) and DuPage are definitely a step up from Cook.

[kphoger]

Fair point, but my argument is that when you consider variety and proximity of nearby activities, a county like DuPage, IL, the one kphoger mentioned, is still going to rank a lot higher because there really isn't much of anything in Orleans County itself. Even if you wanted to go to a fairly basic restaurant for dinner - think Sonic, Chick-Fil-A, heck, even Wendy's! - you'd have to drive close to an hour to Rochester or Buffalo.

But I was originally replying to your pointing out that "you do have to leave the county to get to those places" and stating "the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations in day-trip range doesn't, itself, make Orleans County a better place".

What I'm saying is this:  the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations within range DOES in fact make suburban counties better, even though one has to leave the county to get to those places.  That is, in fact, why many people live there to begin with.

And sure, there's a lot of places you can get to in a day, but there's going to be an hour or more of traveling involved, which is fine for you and I, but that's not for everyone. Sure, day trip range is workable, but wouldn't you rather be closer?

From DuPage County to downtown Chicago–especially on a Friday or Saturday evening, when many people go into the city–can easily be an hour-long drive.  For example, right now, Google Maps estimates 1 hour 9 minutes to get from downtown Saint Charles to Soldier Field.  It estimates 1 hour 6 minutes to get from Albion to Bills Stadium.

[JayhawkCO]

What I'm saying is this:  the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations within range DOES in fact make suburban counties better, even though one has to leave the county to get to those places.  That is, in fact, why many people live there to begin with.

100% this.  I lived in Kansas City for 11 years and I really love KC. That said, to get to anything else cool, you need to drive for quite a while -- IMO, 6 hours or more (Minneapolis, Chicago, etc.).  Living in the Denver metro now, I can drive a little over an hour and feel like I'm on vacation since I'm in the mountains.  Yes, I have to leave Arapahoe County to get there, but leaving Johnson County, KS took a lot longer.

Edit - And no offense intended to the poster who I'm quoting, but I don't add Wichita to the "cool places you can drive from KC" list. 

Chris

[webny99]

What I'm saying is this:  the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations within range DOES in fact make suburban counties better, even though one has to leave the county to get to those places.  That is, in fact, why many people live there to begin with.

There's no disagreement from me on this point. Orleans County, though, is not suburban by any stretch of the imagination. It's very rural, perhaps among the most rural counties in the state.

Also note that while the Chicago area has several primarily suburban counties that are part of the metro, this is not the case for smaller metros across the country. In fact, I wouldn't characterize a single county in Upstate NY as primarily suburban except perhaps Saratoga (north of Albany). Most suburbs of Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, etc. are located in the same county as their respective city.

From DuPage County to downtown Chicago–especially on a Friday or Saturday evening, when many people go into the city–can easily be an hour-long drive.  For example, right now, Google Maps estimates 1 hour 9 minutes to get from downtown Saint Charles to Soldier Field.  It estimates 1 hour 6 minutes to get from Albion to Bills Stadium.

Interesting comparison; sounds like one I might make myself when boasting about our light traffic! 
There's a couple key differences, though: one is that the trip from St. Charles to downtown Chicago has the potential to be quicker. It could likely be done in 35-40 minutes late at night or in the early morning. That means it "feels" much closer, even if it's similar time-wise at rush hour. Albion to Buffalo, meanwhile, is a solid hour at noon, 3 PM, or midnight.

Another is that traffic in Chicago is unlikely to be that bad when most games occur, because the prevailing trend (lighter traffic on weekends) is easily enough to offset the fans traveling to the game. In western New York, meanwhile, returning from a Bills game may be the only time, outside of maybe right at 5 PM or during a large snowstorm, when returning to Albion could take well upwards of an hour. The Thruway from Buffalo to Batavia is an absolute nightmare in the wake of Bills games, not least because, unlike in the inner city, weekend traffic on connecting interstates is already much heavier than it is on weekdays.

[The Nature Boy]

Whether something is a key part of the identity of the county doesn't change its impact on your life. There's no wall that stops you from driving to those places, whether your neighbors consider it important or not.

Sure, day trip range is workable, but wouldn't you rather be closer?

Sure but my initial comparison was between Orleans County and a hypothetical rural Kansas county

My point is that you probably wouldn't want to be in Kansas because Orleans County is at least within a day's drive of a lot of really good shit.

[hotdogPi]

Some of Kansas is within day trip range of Denver.

[webny99]

Sure but my initial comparison was between Orleans County and a hypothetical rural Kansas county

My point is that you probably wouldn't want to be in Kansas because Orleans County is at least within a day's drive of a lot of really good shit.

Not arguing with that... but I still think from an overall perspective, having to spend the majority of your time in Orleans County is a big ask. If I had to pick one county and never be able to leave, I'd pick somewhere in the Midwest. But, once you factor in the ability to travel and the positives of the rest of Upstate NY and Ontario (once we can finally travel there again), sure, I'd lean towards Orleans over other parts of the country, but not over other parts of the state.

[vdeane]

What I'm saying is this:  the fact that there's plenty of worthy destinations within range DOES in fact make suburban counties better, even though one has to leave the county to get to those places.  That is, in fact, why many people live there to begin with.

There's no disagreement from me on this point. Orleans County, though, is not suburban by any stretch of the imagination. It's very rural, perhaps among the most rural counties in the state.

Also note that while the Chicago area has several primarily suburban counties that are part of the metro, this is not the case for smaller metros across the country. In fact, I wouldn't characterize a single county in Upstate NY as primarily suburban except perhaps Saratoga (north of Albany). Most suburbs of Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, etc. are located in the same county as their respective city.

From DuPage County to downtown Chicago–especially on a Friday or Saturday evening, when many people go into the city–can easily be an hour-long drive.  For example, right now, Google Maps estimates 1 hour 9 minutes to get from downtown Saint Charles to Soldier Field.  It estimates 1 hour 6 minutes to get from Albion to Bills Stadium.

Interesting comparison; sounds like one I might make myself when boasting about our light traffic! 
There's a couple key differences, though: one is that the trip from St. Charles to downtown Chicago has the potential to be quicker. It could likely be done in 35-40 minutes late at night or in the early morning. That means it "feels" much closer, even if it's similar time-wise at rush hour. Albion to Buffalo, meanwhile, is a solid hour at noon, 3 PM, or midnight.

Another is that traffic in Chicago is unlikely to be that bad when most games occur, because the prevailing trend (light traffic on Sundays) is easily enough to offset the fans traveling to the game. In western New York, meanwhile, returning from a Bills game may be the only time, outside of maybe right at 5 PM or during a large snowstorm, when returning to Albion could take well upwards of an hour. The Thruway from Buffalo to Batavia is an absolute nightmare in the wake of Bills games, not least because, unlike in the inner city, weekend traffic on connecting interstates is already much heavier than it is on weekdays.

There's part of Ontario County (mainly Victor and Farmington) and the part of Wayne County along NY 104 for Rochester.  Some parts of Niagara County around North Tonawanda may count for Buffalo.  And, of course, the Capital District is odd because the core metro area itself is split, with four core cities, one in each county (particularly with the suburbs more closely tied with Albany in Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties).

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Some of Kansas is within day trip range of Denver.

Eh, not really.

[JayhawkCO]

Some of Kansas is within day trip range of Denver.

Eh, not really.

I live on the east side of Denver.  I can be in Kansas in about 2.5 hours.

Chris

[webny99]

...
Also note that while the Chicago area has several primarily suburban counties that are part of the metro, this is not the case for smaller metros across the country. In fact, I wouldn't characterize a single county in Upstate NY as primarily suburban except perhaps Saratoga (north of Albany). Most suburbs of Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, etc. are located in the same county as their respective city.
...

There's part of Ontario County (mainly Victor and Farmington) and the part of Wayne County along NY 104 for Rochester.  Some parts of Niagara County around North Tonawanda may count for Buffalo.  And, of course, the Capital District is odd because the core metro area itself is split, with four core cities, one in each county (particularly with the suburbs more closely tied with Albany in Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties).

Right, I wasn't saying there aren't suburban areas. Parts of Walworth (especially Gananda) and Macedon could be consider suburban as well, but Ontario and Wayne counties as a whole wouldn't be considered suburban; they're primarily rural.

Niagara County and the Albany area counties are more interesting cases because they have a good mix of urban, suburban, and rural, making it hard to put any of them definitively in one category.

[webny99]

Some of Kansas is within day trip range of Denver.

Eh, not really.

I live on the east side of Denver.  I can be in Kansas in about 2.5 hours.

It depends on how one defines "day trip range". For me, it's about 4-5 hours depending on the context, but I imagine that's much higher than average. Certainly anything under 2.5 hours would qualify for most people, but the issue here is that while the Kansas state line is reachable in that time frame... that's about it.

You can't get very far into Kansas without getting upwards of 3 hours. Some of the more well-known places like Hays and Garden City are close to 5 hours, and even Goodland, the second town of significance as you head east on I-70, is a solid 3 hours from downtown Denver, and that's with no traffic this time of night.

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

Allegheny County, NC.