Most depressing city/town you've been to?

[Rothman]

I kind of walked into that above, didn't I.

As much as I enjoyed Superior, there was a strong simultaneous mix of hopefulness/pride and depression in that city.

I ran for City Council in Superior.  Lost the election, but ended up participating in their lobbying effort ("Superior Days") and ended up on their Zoning Board of Appeals.

It is an interesting little city precisely for what you describe.  Locals love their city, but have thrown up their hands at their economic troubles and alcoholism, especially.  When I lived there, some kid in the area (greater Duluth area) ended up dead nearly every weekend from DUI.  The community just sort of nodded as if they couldn't do anything about it.

So yeah, lots of pride with an underlying depression/hopelessness.

[hbelkins]

Can I just nominate all of Coal Country, PA? It's really hard to pick one town in there, they're all so depressingly sad that it all blends together.

Welch, WV.

There and Grundy, VA are my other contenders.

Grundy was the butt of a lot of family jokes when I was growing up, but the last time I was through there, it didn't look as bad as I remembered.

Much of Grundy has been rebuilt due to a flood plain relocation program.

[ET21]

Gary IN

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Duluth sold itself out to become a tourist mecca which cleaned up a lot of the grit along the lakeshore (but don't go north of Superior Street or west of Mesaba ), though all the problems with employment, substance abuse, etc. still remain beneath the carefully polished surface. Superior never went that route so all of that remains in the open.

[Rothman]

Duluth sold itself out to become a tourist mecca which cleaned up a lot of the grit along the lakeshore (but don't go north of Superior Street or west of Mesaba ), though all the problems with employment, substance abuse, etc. still remain beneath the carefully polished surface. Superior never went that route so all of that remains in the open.

I just miss the House of Donuts, Tacos and Subs.  Complete with their bizarre labor/union issues.

[GCrites]

Duluth sold itself out to become a tourist mecca which cleaned up a lot of the grit along the lakeshore (but don't go north of Superior Street or west of Mesaba ), though all the problems with employment, substance abuse, etc. still remain beneath the carefully polished surface. Superior never went that route so all of that remains in the open.

I went poking around on Streetview and man does Superior have a lot of bars.

[Rothman]

Duluth sold itself out to become a tourist mecca which cleaned up a lot of the grit along the lakeshore (but don't go north of Superior Street or west of Mesaba ), though all the problems with employment, substance abuse, etc. still remain beneath the carefully polished surface. Superior never went that route so all of that remains in the open.

I went poking around on Streetview and man does Superior have a lot of bars.

Locals say that once it was identified as the city with the most bars per capita in the country.  Sailors + railroad workers...

[I-55]

Gary IN

[KeithE4Phx]

Gary IN

Worst city in Indiana by far, for at least the last 60 years.  My grandmother taught school in Miller Beach, on the east side of the city and was Gary's last viable neighborhood in the '50s and '60s (not sure if it still is), for 30 years before retiring in 1968.  And it was going downhill then.

But as far as other dirtbag towns go, I've never stayed overnight in a worse town than Gallup NM.  Cheap rooms on old Route 66, but no place to eat at night.  We got warned by the motel manager where we stayed that Native American and Mexican-American gangs took over the restaurants and bars after about 9 PM.  Fortunately, we were able to find a place to eat before then.  This was in 1994. Never again.

[brad2971]

I've passed through Death Valley on Amtrak, which is depressed (i.e. lower elevation than its surroundings).

Speaking of the desert probably the most depressing place in California that I can think of is Needles.  That's some serious decline and neglect going on in that city. 

Edit:  I thought that you probably referring to Needles above but I wasn't quite sure you weren't making a geology joke about Death Valley either.  I just saw you edit so I assume you probably were thinking of Needles?

Even as depressing as Needles is, the worst is yet to come for that place. After all, it could become a generally accepted practice among California drivers to hold off on gas buying until the Lake Havasu City exit (AZ Exit 9 on I-40), where gas prices are at least $1.75/gallon lower than Needles.

[Max Rockatansky]

I've passed through Death Valley on Amtrak, which is depressed (i.e. lower elevation than its surroundings).

Speaking of the desert probably the most depressing place in California that I can think of is Needles.  That's some serious decline and neglect going on in that city. 

Edit:  I thought that you probably referring to Needles above but I wasn't quite sure you weren't making a geology joke about Death Valley either.  I just saw you edit so I assume you probably were thinking of Needles?

Even as depressing as Needles is, the worst is yet to come for that place. After all, it could become a generally accepted practice among California drivers to hold off on gas buying until the Lake Havasu City exit (AZ Exit 9 on I-40), where gas prices are at least $1.75/gallon lower than Needles.

Even driving over the State Line to AZ 95 yields a $1 dollar a gallon savings at minimum.  I'm kind of surprised no enterprising casino out of Laughlin hasn't put a gas station on Needles Highway.

[Concrete Bob]

Blythe, CA is pretty depressing, too.  There is little interesting or picturesque in that town.   

I remember spending the night at a hotel on US 95 in Blythe back in 1999, and not being able to fall asleep because someone would go to the ice machine every five minutes. 

[mgk920]

Da YooPee of Michigan is a pretty steady depression to drive around in, the whole thing just seems so run down and threadbare.  Even in a twin-city metro, the contrast between Marinette, WI and Menominee, MI is STARK.  IMHO most depressing of all is Ontonagon, MI.  That place has been turning into a literal ghost town ever since the Smurfitt-Stone paper mill there shut down and was demoed in the mid-to-late 00s.  Then the drive to it on US 45, all the way from the Wisconsin state line, is even more of a downer.  And there are smaller mining and other ghost towns scattered all over (it is a great area to drive around in if you are into ghost-towning).  Flint, MI has nothing on that area, IMHO.

For Wisconsin, I'd say Ashland is up there in depressing.  Elsewhere in Wisconsin, the most depressing drive that I ever remember was on US 12 between Black River Falls and Tomah.  Millston, WI may as well not even be there.



Mike

[Flint1979]

I live just outside of one of the most depressing cities in Michigan which is Saginaw. It's probably not the most depressing town I've been to because Flint, Pontiac and Detroit are equally as depressing. These four Michigan cities I mentioned are all dying towns that were once thriving automotive towns. Now what's left of them is urban decay. high crime rates and other urban headaches.

I've been to Cairo, Illinois and although that is truly a depressing city I think it's not anymore depressing than what I deal with in these Michigan cities.

[Flint1979]

Gary, Indiana by far.  My home city of Detroit is pretty depressing too but at least it still has a pulse and people who care about it.

Although Gary is depressing I didn't think it was anymore depressing than say Flint or Pontiac. Your right about Detroit it still does have life to it and for the most part the downtown area is as nice as any other major cities downtown area. It's probably about 3 or 4 of Detroit's 139 square miles that are actually considered nice but the other 136 square miles or so are just dreadful.

[Flint1979]

Gary IN

Worst city in Indiana by far, for at least the last 60 years.  My grandmother taught school in Miller Beach, on the east side of the city and was Gary's last viable neighborhood in the '50s and '60s (not sure if it still is), for 30 years before retiring in 1968.  And it was going downhill then.

But as far as other dirtbag towns go, I've never stayed overnight in a worse town than Gallup NM.  Cheap rooms on old Route 66, but no place to eat at night.  We got warned by the motel manager where we stayed that Native American and Mexican-American gangs took over the restaurants and bars after about 9 PM.  Fortunately, we were able to find a place to eat before then.  This was in 1994. Never again.

If I can I always try to check out the area online before I stay somewhere but of course there are times where that is hard to do and you just have to stay somewhere for the night. I've had that issue and I think the worst hotel I've ever stayed at was one of those hotels south of Chicago near where I-80/94 enters the state from Indiana. I believe I either stayed at Motel 6 or Red Roof Inn I can't remember now but it wasn't the best of places to say the least. I thought well it's Chicago and the rates are this cheap something's wrong here.

Last time I stayed in the Chicago area I stayed at a Motel 6 in Elk Grove Village out near O'Hare. Well the hotel is now shuttered.

[Flint1979]

I never realized how high gas prices are in California.

Right now in Needles all stations are at $3.99 a gallon.

But in Bullhead City, AZ the lowest stations are at $1.75 a gallon.

That's a $2.24 a gallon difference.

Hell I could fill up my car twice for what I could spend in Needles compared to Bullhead City.

[Max Rockatansky]

I never realized how high gas prices are in California.

Right now in Needles all stations are at $3.99 a gallon.

But in Bullhead City, AZ the lowest stations are at $1.75 a gallon.

That's a $2.24 a gallon difference.

Hell I could fill up my car twice for what I could spend in Needles compared to Bullhead City.

Needles isn't really representative of the rest of the state.  My local gas station is $2.68 for 87 Octane as of today.  Being out there all the way in the Mojave Desert has a huge one way delivery surcharge (California blend gasoline doesn't help) that gets passed onto the customer.  Couple that with the typical freeway exit price bump and that's how you get $3.99 a gallon for gas. 

[jp the roadgeek]

No list would be complete without (and I'll attest to it myself; it's a disaster)...

[Rothman]

Blythe, CA is pretty depressing, too.  There is little interesting or picturesque in that town.   

I remember spending the night at a hotel on US 95 in Blythe back in 1999, and not being able to fall asleep because someone would go to the ice machine every five minutes.

So...Blythe is bad because of...people using the ice machine at a cheap motel...

[Max Rockatansky]

Blythe, CA is pretty depressing, too.  There is little interesting or picturesque in that town.   

I remember spending the night at a hotel on US 95 in Blythe back in 1999, and not being able to fall asleep because someone would go to the ice machine every five minutes.

So...Blythe is bad because of...people using the ice machine at a cheap motel...

Blythe is way more bland than it is depressing.  There isn't much going on there aside from farming.  I would say it has more in common with places like El Centro and Calexico than it does Needles. 

[brad2971]

I never realized how high gas prices are in California.

Right now in Needles all stations are at $3.99 a gallon.

But in Bullhead City, AZ the lowest stations are at $1.75 a gallon.

That's a $2.24 a gallon difference.

Hell I could fill up my car twice for what I could spend in Needles compared to Bullhead City.

Needles isn't really representative of the rest of the state.  My local gas station is $2.68 for 87 Octane as of today.  Being out there all the way in the Mojave Desert has a huge one way delivery surcharge (California blend gasoline doesn't help) that gets passed onto the customer.  Couple that with the typical freeway exit price bump and that's how you get $3.99 a gallon for gas. 

Couldn't either CARB or the CA Energy Commission give Needles and Blythe waivers from their regulations so that gas stations in both cities can get their gas supplies from AZ jobbers/suppliers at a lower cost?

[Max Rockatansky]

I never realized how high gas prices are in California.

Right now in Needles all stations are at $3.99 a gallon.

But in Bullhead City, AZ the lowest stations are at $1.75 a gallon.

That's a $2.24 a gallon difference.

Hell I could fill up my car twice for what I could spend in Needles compared to Bullhead City.

Needles isn't really representative of the rest of the state.  My local gas station is $2.68 for 87 Octane as of today.  Being out there all the way in the Mojave Desert has a huge one way delivery surcharge (California blend gasoline doesn't help) that gets passed onto the customer.  Couple that with the typical freeway exit price bump and that's how you get $3.99 a gallon for gas. 

Couldn't either CARB or the CA Energy Commission give Needles and Blythe waivers from their regulations so that gas stations in both cities can get their gas supplies from AZ jobbers/suppliers at a lower cost?

In theory but I'm not sure about that.  What you see in Needles is common in other remote communities and gas stations throughout California.  The gas prices are hugely affected when remote terrain and one way freight loads are involved.  For comparison sake that's why the Florida Keys has way higher prices than the rest of the state, all one-way freight. 

[plain]

Camden, NJ
Trenton, NJ
Oxford, NC

[JoePCool14]

Kenosha, WI - Drove through there a couple weeks ago down WI-32 Sheridan Rd. Kenosha always has had that "depressing" reputation, but after what happened there this summer, it feels even more depressing.