Influx of climate refugees from places like the southern United States should help... I predict that the rust belt (Great Lakes area in general really) is gonna see a revitalization due to being one of the places least heavily messed up by the effects of climate change...
@@JadenTapscott you should look at the latest census numbers. The south is growing by leaps and bounds. But you predict that… Paul Erhlich would love it.
I'm amazed Cairo, Illinois isn't on this list. Cairo is *brutal* . The last time I visited Cairo, there was ONE open business downtown, and the upper floors in the closed businesses were actually collapsing onto the lower floors.
I actually live in Bastrop and you described it perfectly. The problem with Bastrop is the corruption and nepotism here. In addition to that most people don’t seem to care. All that people seem to care about here is going to high school football games on Fridays, Walmart on Saturdays and church on Sundays.
My husband and I looked at a house in Bastrop about 10 years ago when we were house hunting, we ended up buying in West Monroe instead. No offense, but I'm glad we didn't move there.
my grandparents are from the area (Archibald and Rayville) and lived in Bastrop in the early 2000s. i knew the place was falling apart but as a kid it didn't seem that bad out there. Especially considering the only thing to do was the Friday and Saturday night auctions over in Mangum (idk if I even spelled that town right)
@@thomasyoung8953 my mom and her siblings basically grew up here and my uncles worked at the old paper mill. We used to come up here from New Orleans when I was a kid and it was pretty nice back then. But now so much has changed.
You do also have to consider however. In a town with less that 3000 people, when compared to a country with a million, even one violent crime can make a huge difference in crime rate
Not sure that quite holds true if crime rates are consistent over a long period of time. If its very swingy though that typically can be due to a small sample size (small population with a minor crime spree). If the average person in a very small city has a 8% chance of being a victim of any crime every year, thats a pattern. If it goes from 8% to 2% to 14%... probably means a bit less.
I lived just south of Nome, Alaska in 1979-1980 in an Eskimo village. We went to the big city of Nome by plane about twice a year. It wasn’t bad. It’s strange to think of it as the #1 worst town in the U.S. now. 🤔
@@WorldAccordingToBriggs It would be great if you actually visited New Jersey outside of Newark airport. Sopranos and toxic waste dump? I don't think anyone's heard of the mafia here since the 80s.
Your mentioning Bastrop, Louisiana brings back a joyful childhood memory. I was ten and my four year old neighbor girl would come over every day and knock on the door. My evil brother would open the door and say "Bastrop!" Susie would answer back "Jackass!"
As a Michigander it always hurts a little when we get talked about how terrible some of our cities and towns. It’s a truly beautiful place with great people. Just sucks how the worst outshines the best
I lived in Michigan until 1985 and grew up there. It is beautiful in the country, and Michigan grows wonderful, delicious food crops. The politicians that are in office there certainly are not helping Michigan progress.
I'm from Flint, Michigan (enough said). It is nice. It can be at some times. Has its downsides. Been going downhill for awhile. There have been changes made for the better. Need to get back to the way we were. Downtown has improved A LOT.! Total 360! My complaint is the weather. Give it a few minutes and it will change. We go through three seasons in one day...LOL
What makes Benton Harbor even more messed up is the fact that it's literally across a river from St. Joseph. The following book is a great look at some significant differences: The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America's Dilemma
Indeed. I lived in the area for years. Saint Joseph could help Benton Harbor fix all it's problems, but it's filled with racists and bigots. The hatred is like something out of the '50s. KKK was HUGE in that area, and still is.
Many times in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, my family would stop in Benton Harbor to rest and get something to eat on our drive farther north in Michigan for our summer two-week vacation. Benton Harbor was a nice place then. Now...I don't know.
Great explanation of Town, City, Village. I just always assumed it came down to how the different municipalities got categorized by the state. Great explanation.
It’s just an explanation of how the Census categorizes. Which has no relevance to what any area calls themselves. Your definition is actually closer to how these categories work. You can call yourself a town, city, village, whatever, as long as you follow local government guidelines. There is no standard definition for any of these. They vary state to state and sometime local municipality to local municipality.
Pennsylvania, a Commonwealth, has it’s own unique definition of communities. In actuality in PA there is officially only one true, incorporated town, Bloomsburg. Every place else is a village, borough, or city. Oh, and counties are broken down into townships and there are a few with the same name but in different parts of the state. As a transplanted Californian I found it a bit confusing.
My brother-in-law got to meet both the late Harry Anderson at his magic shop in New Orleans when he was helping as part of the National Guard rebuild that city post-Hurricane Katrina, and then later met John Larroquette when 'The Librarians' was being filmed in Portland.
You missed my hometown of Niagara Falls, NY (pop. 48,000). The local newspaper once said that going from NF NY to NF Ontario is like going from San Diego to Tijuana except NF NY was the Tijuana. It was an enormously successful city in the WW II era because of cheap power which allowed the chemical industry to thrive. It was in NF where the technology for extracting aluminum from bauxite was developed and Hooker Chemical learned to chlorinate benzene giving us lots of great solvents and pesticides which 30 years later became dioxins along with lots of other hazardous wastes. The reason industry died out was because the plants became old and outdated. Plus taxes in NYS were less than business-friendly. Like those other rust-belt towns in Michigan, the industry that once was is never coming back. I think what will make these Great Lake areas population centers again is the availability of lots of freshwater.
I'm in Hamburg (south town suburb of buffalo near NF if you don't know). There's a lot of great places in the buffalo area but Niagara falls is probably the worst besides the city of buffalo itself. Although they have redone the state park and it's great
Hated seeing the raw chemical waste pouring out of those old factories into the Niagara river creating tumoured fish, as a kid id ask my dad to make the Americans stop!!
Yeah I've done both border crossings, I see your point but TJ is still way more of a scenery change. Odder still, the US crosses either border for better healthcare, cheaper medication and looser regulations on drinking ages.
Definitely agree with Salem, although the town did have the oldest white oak tree in the state, so that's something. Over 600 years old, it (sadly) finally came down a few years ago. Glad I got to see it and get some photos before it's end :)
Barstow is definitely a restroom stop on the way through the desert to Vegas or the Colorado River. The Del Taco along the 15 Freeway is the original Del Taco, and it's pretty good and has larger portions than most. I like to stop at the McDonalds because it's an old train station and converted train cars are used as the dining area. Other than those 2 places, the rest of the city is trash
Yep, Barstow has the worst of everything. The climate of the Mojave, the entertainment choices of a farming community, with California prices, plus the added bonus of being the preferred choice of gangsters on the run.
@@Stephen-ob3ij yeah, that's why the crime rate is also high, just drunk people beating each other and their wife's up trough the 3month nights in winter
One of the historic businesses that left in the 80's? Benton Harbor's Heathkit. They had 7 or 8 buildings there of the industrial type that housed their designers/engineers and soo on....After Zenith bought the company and closed it, things in the city went down hard.... They have huge gang problems... Thus the violent crime issue...
I happen to live in Miami Arizona on the western edge at the top of one of the peaks of the Pinal mountains. You are correct on the crime here, however most of the crime is committed by (sadly) local meth heads and (even more sadly) the native community. We have natives shooting people at least a few times a year. There is a lot to do here just not your typical stuff. Arizona, including the Globe/Miami area is the worlds capital for Rockhounding (if you don't know what that is go ahead and look it up). There is hunting, fishing, camping, hiking. We have town fairs and farmers markets almost year round. We have Classic Car shows, Ren-Fairs, Motorcycle clubs. As I said so much to do here just not your typical dinner and a movie. We even have beaches! O.O ... I know in ARIZONA?! The tooth thing... Hate to say most of those are current or recovering meth heads. But yeah great place to visit but takes a truly hearty person to live and thrive here. Enjoyed the list thanks for the entertainment. Now I'm going to go rock hounding.
Very good comments. Thank you for explaining! I was surprised that Globe was on the list. I live in Apache Junction, and have been to Globe a couple of times. Wonder how Superior rates?
I'm guessing the beaches are on the Colorado River and maybe some reservoirs, but aren't some of the beach towns on the Gulf of California in Mexico relatively close to Phoenix and Tucson?
@@MariaMarquez-ok4hf Current stats I could find say 20% higher than the national average on violent crime and 19% higher in crime in general. No murders or rapes as far as I can tell (at least not reported), but it seems like it's mainly assaults and property crime. I've been checking it out for awhile because I'm hopefully moving up there in the next few months. The beaches, since Big Surf in Tempe just closed, are probably at Roosevelt Lake. Huge reservoir along the Salt River created by the Theodore Roosevelt Dam that is used for recreation all year long.
Interesting perspective on challenges faced by some towns. Let's remember every place has its story, and communities work hard to overcome obstacles. Positive vibes for everyone!
I do appreciate the photos to go with the descriptions. I weigh how "bad" a place is by living standards, not earnings or population. So a visual gave me some idea of what each place is like. And it's true, crime rate says something about daily life in a location.
Toledo, Ohio is really bad. Has almost 50 homicides already this year. I see shootings on the news every week. Gangs, and even street racing legitimately drifting in the middle of the road of a four way intersection with a huge fire the set for the cars to drift around and they were setting off fireworks. It happened this month. I had people come in my yard multiple times, once attempted to break in my garage. The other time I came home to find a couple thousand dollars worth of stuff cleared from my house.
@@gregscottfordemocracy Toledo crime rate is 150% Higher than the national average regardless of Homicide, and 1 in 25 people is likely to be a victim of a crime.
I can seriously vouch for Benton Harbor, Michigan and the way things are considering I currently live in Benton Harbor. I looked up the stats last week and it’s spot on
Omg bro, I'm almost pissin' my pants laughing! Deny's = drunk food... even back in the late 70's that's where if we ended up there, we were way to drunk to drive! Thx for the flashback 😎
So glad I live in Arkansas where our biggest town is a little over 2,000 people at our county seat and we are way way overcrowded I can see my neighbors and hear them even in their yards. But we can get by on our $1,500 a month salary and a little change
Well, that was depressing. I have no clue how a town have right a violent crime rate almost 1,000 times the national average and still have anyone alive there.
Because the national average per capita is actually that low. Even with the outliers, in spite of how the news makes things seem, life is generally still improving for more people than not. It's still kinda shitty, and we could be doing way better, but things in the world actually are getting better, not worse. It's a perspective problem. Crime is going down, not up. But it LOOKS like it's going up because it's all the news reports, and there are more people in the world, so even if there's a lower rate of crime per capita, there are technically more crimes being committed. But even then, not by much. There are a lower percentage of the population doing crimes, but a higher number of people because there are just more people alive. If you have 100 people, and 10 do crimes, and then you have 1,000 people and 50 do crimes...you SEE a 500% increase in crime, even though the per capita crime rate dropped dramatically. That's what's happened with pretty much everything that everyone is worried about in the world today.
My grandparents had a little house in Bishopville. We spent lots of time there before my great grandmother died, when I was 8. My Gimma's sisters stayed there their whole lives.
For a couple of years, I lived near Americus in a town that usually shows up in one of these lists. While living was pretty cheap (2 Bedroom/Bathroom Apartment was roughly $500), wages were really bad unless you had a government type job. If you want to know how a black man might feel in the majority of other states and cities, try being a white man there.
Americus is my home town, and I couldn’t agree with you more! I finally moved out after graduating, but the crime rate, poverty, etc. is terrible despite being a college town.
To any Canadians watching, is that also true of Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan? That town is kinda interesting; whereas Texarkana (and Kansas City) is actually two cities in their respective states, Lloydminster actually has only one city government despite straddling the provincial border. Residents and businesses still use their respective province depending which side of the border they live on, and the respective rules of each province apply on their respective sides, but they both vote for the same mayoral and city council candidates.
I totally disagree with the city versus suburb life comparison. I live in downtown Boston. Yes, there’s tons of traffic in the city but those are all suburban people that need to drive. I take public transit or walk to everything one can possibly need, so I don’t deal with traffic. My friends that live in the suburbs get packages stolen because it’s easy to sneak around those neighborhoods with widely spaced homes. In the city, there are so many people and cameras that theft of stuff like Amazon packages is rare. Also, it’s nearly impossible to buy property in the city because it’s so popular. Maybe this move to the suburbs is occurring elsewhere, because that’s not the case here.
@@HappyH4ppyHappy yeah Houston def sucks in terms of walkability. Thankfully east coast cities were built before cars so places like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia are very easy to get around
@@HappyH4ppyHappy I've lived all over and worked just about everywhere and Houston is the worst. Everything you mentioned and more. You name it, Houston's is bad or doesn't even have it. The only exception I can think of is that there a few good restaurants, not the best of course, but good. It's the only city I've worked in that you can smell even before you see the glow of lights on the horizon. A true libertarian paradise.
There's a book about Benton Harbor from 1998..."The Other Side of the River" by Alex Kotlowitz. It contrasts it with nearby St. Joseph, which (at least back then) was doing a lot better.
Firth, I think of that alot riding around. I'll seem some vacant dilapidated house, and I'll ponder that this was once brand-spankin new, and was someone's pride and joy. Imagine moving into that house right after it was completed, and t freshly smelled of new wood and paint
City and town classifications vary. I know that it goes mostly by population density in most northeastern states. Villages are usually under the jurisdiction of a town or city, and have a really weird situation.
I live 5 miles from pine bluff lol it’s just assumed at this point. 😂👏🏼 “Crime Bluff” oh and our hospital sucks. Surprisingly with all the shootings we have.
Auto and large machinery manufacturing is absolutely getting reshored to the US, but it's happening in places like Alabama and Texas. Don't expect those plants to get built anywhere near the rust belt, they don't have the parallel infrastructure to support those kinds of facilities anymore.
well this is untrue. My home county is known as The RV Capitol of the World. Indiana also produces a bunch of automotive parts, Allison Transmission to name one. I'm not so sure about Ohio and Illinois, but Michigan and Indiana certainly have the infrastructure.
I live near Benton Harbor, MI. Benton Harbor has Whirlpool headquarters, sits on Lake Michigan, now has Harbor Shores Golf Course. Many new businesses are popping up in Benton Harbor and it is undergoing a revitalization. It has potential. While these are all positive, all towns, cities, etc. need to address the social issues and income levels in order for a place to thrive.
“We need to bring back the auto industry” is all we ever hear in Michigan. It’s not coming back, we need to move on already. In the words of Chevy, we need to find new roads.
@@pmscalisi It absolutely doesn't. Cars cost way more than bicycles, that's common sense. You can't argue otherwise. Even the most expensive electric bicycles I've seen never cost more than around $7,000 new, and that's excessive for a bike. The cheapest new car for sale is the Chevy Spark, which costs more than double that. Factor in gas prices, insurance, registration, maintenance, parking, etc. and the costs add up. What are the costs of bicycle ownership? Basic maintenance like tires, tubes, and brakes from time to time. You don't have to pay to insure a bicycle, you don't have to register them, and you don't have to pay for gas or parking. A good bicycle will have an upfront cost of around $500-$1500, but you can get even cheaper ones than that. I'm not even sure how you could reach the conclusion that cars are cheaper to own than bicycles. That would be absurd.
Thank you! So informative! I watch you .I love the honesty ..I'm looking for more info on northeastern Louisiana... Shreveport area...no one talks about that part of Louisiana...I'm from Chicago and I've been travel nursing south only: I'm staying south...I'm not going back...but can you look into the rural north east Louisiana/Longview/Texarkana..area....and talk about it..if you feel up to it or have time...thank you
Texarkana is northwest Louisiana. Between Shreveport/Bossier and Texarkana, it’s just a lot of trees really. If you head northeast you’ll (coincidentally) hit Bastrop and Ruston, and then it’s all trees until you get to Mississippi.
Have you done videos like this about other countries? Would love to know about my home country New Zealand or even Australia. Sorry if you have, im new to this channel, just found this video
Crime in smaller towns are going to be magnified due their smaller population. Crime data is often measured per 100,000 population. I live in a town of 45,000 and one year we had 7 homicide, and the town was labeled one of America's most dangerous small towns, even though all these homicide were on one bad area of town and drug related. Yes that was bad, but the math made us seem like the Sout side of Chicago.
@@JoeKasino1947 Not to me it wasn't, I never felt afraid. A North South interstate runs through, and a few of those people wasn't even from here. In spite of that the towns is actually growing, people moving here from everywhere, the locals know what side of town to avoid, it's pretty spread out for a town it's size, about a 150,000 people in the county. And that was about 5 years ago and that was a bad year for us.
I was stationed at China Lake many years ago and then worked on base and lived in Ridgecrest for many years. My son still lives in RC and works in Trona. I haven’t even visited the hell hole in several years.
As for Nome, that doesn't surprise me "too" much because it's so isolated! Either you come from a Inuit tribe, in which case you live "around" the city as much as "in" it, or you're there on specific business, be it a pastime passion, company or state department. "Escaping something" or "desired isolation" are the only sound reasons I can see for everyone outside those justifications. Such people either don't want to attract attention, or are just trying to get away from the world. I get the feeling most natives assume some skeletons' in any outsider's closet if they aren't "nature-bound" people like themselves, or aren't clearly there on corporate/official business.
With a place like Nome, alcohol is the root cause of much violent crime. Alcohol/cigs are totally fine and while weed is legal up there, more people should be doing that over something as bad as the rampant alcoholism in many Native communities.
Alcohol abuse really does have severe effects on both people and communities. Bob Marley once said “Alcohol is the destruction of the nation”. I think he’s right.
The only thing is that Harlem is not like way it used to be. One would be fazed how much it changed from 30 years ago. In the 80s you would not stop at lights or stop signs outside of 125th St, if you wanted to avoid getting carjacked, shot, or both. Then again, I recently heard NYC is trending downward in the safety department. Never been to MI, but I have been to every state around it. One would think that it would be nicer because of it’s proximity to Lake MIchigan, but I am going to guess that the more east you go within it, the worse it gets.
@@manfredmann2766 yay some of Michigan is good and some of it is bad here are the bad places Detroit, Battle Creek, East Lansing, Ypsilanti, Flint, Imlay City, Warren, Benton Harbor, Newberry, and Ludington.
@@WTMR42 honestly i think a lot of the east side of the state has gone downhill. They just relied so much on the auto industries it's gone downhill for sure. People lost their jobs. Some of them moved overseas some just closed their doors. But when when people lose their jobs they lose their income which leads to poverty. Which leads to crime. Also, I think Muskegon should be added to your listed. It's on the west side of the state but also not the best area in Michigan to live in.
@@sundinfamforlife4129 yay you are exactly right but Newberry is the Northwest side has just been voted the worst place in the U.P. for crime it's wonderful seeing what that town has become.
What kind of violent crime is happening in Nome,AK ? Drunken fights ? dog problems ? domestic issues ? I am guessing it isn't bank robberies & drive by shootings.
This sucks man because these crime rates wouldn’t be so bad if they just paid them living wages/invested in these cities..so much money to be made for everyone
I've driven through Bastrop, LA a few times and honestly it's just depressing. When my husband and I were looking to buy a house about 10 years ago we looked at a house in Bastrop because it was inexpensive, but I flat out refused to live there.
I’m messaging this from the UK I’ve moved from London where I had a one bed apartment and wanted a house. I’ve moved out to a town called Basingstoke which is a fantastic commuter town 48 minute fast train into work. My quality of life has so improved so I know what you mean about looking at properties. Several friends of mine live in LA and I know it well.
So, I AM DYING at the truth about stopping in Barstow to pee...and yes, DEL TACO ONLY. OMG, this is so true and funny!!! Nice one! I have just discovered your channel and I am obsessed!!
Hey Briggs, thanks for the list of places to avoid! I have a question. When you say the crime rate is, for example, 150% over (or higher or above) the national average, are you saying that it is 50% higher than the average, or 250% of the average. 'Cause... you know... 100% of the average IS the average. Thanks for the clarification.
Hey guys, I understand the math. This isn't a MATH question, it's a GRAMMAR question. If someone says that the crime rate is 150% OVER/HIGHER/ABOVE the average, then that person is saying that the crime rate is 250% OF the average. I was asking Briggs if that was intentional, or he was just being a bit sloppy in his use of prepositions.
Not surprisingly, most of the poorest towns are in the Southeast. Also not surprisingly, some are in the Atlantic Coastal plain. You’re being gentle. I went to a relative’s funeral in a town near Lake City. I flew into Florence and while I’m driving along I say “Is this the United States?” It was like going back into the 50’s … the 1850’s.
My good friend and I are both "outdoor adventure" TH-camrs, and we make the drive from Pensacola up to the Talladega National Forest for backpacking and video content. Our first trip up, we were looking for a hotel for the night and took the Selma exit (unknowingly). I've heard of the place throughout my life but never anticipated going there, but there we were. You could just sense this terrible vibe, and the place was trashed. It was a late friday afternoon, and you could just feel something bad brewing in the air, making my first visit there, my last ever! I was born in Alabama and love its mountains, rivers, waterfalls, but most of the towns, including the town I was born in SUCK!
I have been in some sketchy neighborhoods and you just know things are bad. However I have found that I am way to big and look too intimidating to be at risk.
My late friend Lisa moved to Nome and worked for the hospital. She also became a paramedic/EMT for the volunteer fire department out of sheer boredom. She would often run to the firehouse. I sure miss her, when she told me she was leaving Texas to drive to Alaska I thought she was kidding, but she did it the week of Thanksgiving.
The federal government will forgive or payoff your student loan if you go to Alaska and work for the IHS for at two years. The IHS, Indian Health Service, is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services which is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. I have a friend who did it. She said she was glad to have the experience and be done with her student loan but she moved back to FL as soon as she could.
:22, um, what? I live in Alaska! Well, Fairbanks resembles Mississippi towns like Greenville and Vicksburg. A River with a boat, swampy terrain, not an aesthetically pleasing town with decrepit warehouses all over, etc.
I'm very surprised that my hometown, Flint, MI, is not listed. The city is going downhill steadily since 1987. GM has pretty much pulled out and moved their factories out the country.
Why is Benton Harbor Michigan ranked so high on your list? I have been to some of these cities on your list and that city improved enormously. Also it did not rely on auto industry either.. Chicago once killed it too. Anyhow, it's where Whirlpool Co is located. The city is doing far better now..
Benton Harbor use to have a manufacturing plant, Auto Specialities a long time ago. They hired a lot of people of Benton Harbor. Auto Specialties Manufacturing Co., known as Ausco, died under an avalanche of strikes, shrinking auto markets and pollution problems in the early 1980s.
I used to go to NTC when I was in the Army back in the early 90s. Barstow was just a typical crappy highway town with fast food restaurants and pawnshops. Nothing to see there.
This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. My friend lives in Nome and he’s only been robbed and shot like 9 times.
😂😂😂😂my lawd
😂😂😂😂 thanks for the warning.
Lol. 9 lives
I'm sorry, but that's funny.
😂
I'm no fan of Detroit, but it really is working on coming back. The downtown area is really quite nice. I hope it continues getting better.
Hahahahahahahahahaha
Yeah good vision! Maybe they will add more car manufacturing jobs like BMW, Tesla, etc. j/k
Influx of climate refugees from places like the southern United States should help...
I predict that the rust belt (Great Lakes area in general really) is gonna see a revitalization due to being one of the places least heavily messed up by the effects of climate change...
@@JadenTapscott you should look at the latest census numbers. The south is growing by leaps and bounds. But you predict that… Paul Erhlich would love it.
@@chrisalfano589 To be fair, it’s more of a long-run (post 2050) prediction...
I'm amazed Cairo, Illinois isn't on this list. Cairo is *brutal* . The last time I visited Cairo, there was ONE open business downtown, and the upper floors in the closed businesses were actually collapsing onto the lower floors.
There are lots of towns that could be named, but this is looking at the South. Minneapolis should be listed too.
Oh and don’t dare pronounce it like the city in Egypt. It’s K-ROW
@@bevdavis4148 This list is for small towns, not large cities.
One of the toughest towns out there.
@@catography4164 coward town
I actually live in Bastrop and you described it perfectly. The problem with Bastrop is the corruption and nepotism here. In addition to that most people don’t seem to care. All that people seem to care about here is going to high school football games on Fridays, Walmart on Saturdays and church on Sundays.
I grew up in West Monroe and I must say, you are very much correct.
I'm so sorry, that all sounds like a nightmare, hopefully you can make it out if you wanna
My husband and I looked at a house in Bastrop about 10 years ago when we were house hunting, we ended up buying in West Monroe instead. No offense, but I'm glad we didn't move there.
my grandparents are from the area (Archibald and Rayville) and lived in Bastrop in the early 2000s. i knew the place was falling apart but as a kid it didn't seem that bad out there. Especially considering the only thing to do was the Friday and Saturday night auctions over in Mangum (idk if I even spelled that town right)
@@thomasyoung8953 my mom and her siblings basically grew up here and my uncles worked at the old paper mill. We used to come up here from New Orleans when I was a kid and it was pretty nice back then. But now so much has changed.
I think it would be interesting to hear which towns are the worst in each state
In NJ the the candidates are almost too numerous to mention but I mentioned a few here.
Vermont would be rutland
I agree
California would prob be Bakersfield 😭😂
New Mexico would be New Mexico
You do also have to consider however. In a town with less that 3000 people, when compared to a country with a million, even one violent crime can make a huge difference in crime rate
Good point.
Yeah but you also have to consider that you have a 1 in 3000 chance of being the victim of that one violent crime.
Not sure that quite holds true if crime rates are consistent over a long period of time. If its very swingy though that typically can be due to a small sample size (small population with a minor crime spree). If the average person in a very small city has a 8% chance of being a victim of any crime every year, thats a pattern. If it goes from 8% to 2% to 14%... probably means a bit less.
These are based of crimes per capita
god people are bad at math
I'm watching this from Globe, AZ and I grew up in Barstow, CA.
I'm sorry
So you’re basically trash
@@WorldAccordingToBriggs 💯👏🤣
By choice?
I lived just south of Nome, Alaska in 1979-1980 in an Eskimo village. We went to the big city of Nome by plane about twice a year. It wasn’t bad. It’s strange to think of it as the #1 worst town in the U.S. now. 🤔
I think the plague of alcoholism up there has fueled a lot of Nome's stats.
@@marksnyder8022 If a person doesn't drink too much , Nome is probably okay.
Thank you Briggs. Great video. It's actually sad that the lovely vintage architecture goes to waste. Some of the buildings are sooooo cool. 👍❤
Totally agree
And some of the towns appear to be quite charming ! So sad....
@@SirManfly Perhaps charming to look at but not so charming to live in.
@@WorldAccordingToBriggs It would be great if you actually visited New Jersey outside of Newark airport. Sopranos and toxic waste dump? I don't think anyone's heard of the mafia here since the 80s.
the east side of Lake City SC is really rather nice. I thought about living there for a time.
Your mentioning Bastrop, Louisiana brings back a joyful childhood memory. I was ten and my four year old neighbor girl would come over every day and knock on the door. My evil brother would open the door and say "Bastrop!" Susie would answer back "Jackass!"
As a Michigander it always hurts a little when we get talked about how terrible some of our cities and towns. It’s a truly beautiful place with great people. Just sucks how the worst outshines the best
I lived in Michigan until 1985 and grew up there. It is beautiful in the country, and Michigan grows wonderful, delicious food crops. The politicians that are in office there certainly are not helping Michigan progress.
I'm from Flint, Michigan (enough said). It is nice. It can be at some times. Has its downsides. Been going downhill for awhile. There have been changes made for the better. Need to get back to the way we were. Downtown has improved A LOT.! Total 360! My complaint is the weather. Give it a few minutes and it will change. We go through three seasons in one day...LOL
What makes Benton Harbor even more messed up is the fact that it's literally across a river from St. Joseph.
The following book is a great look at some significant differences:
The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America's Dilemma
Benton Harlem to Michiganders
@@missmichigan3863 I moved out of Michigan 18 years old ago and I still call it Benton Harlem.
Came here to mention this book also!
Indeed. I lived in the area for years. Saint Joseph could help Benton Harbor fix all it's problems, but it's filled with racists and bigots. The hatred is like something out of the '50s. KKK was HUGE in that area, and still is.
Many times in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, my family would stop in Benton Harbor to rest and get something to eat on our drive farther north in Michigan for our summer two-week vacation. Benton Harbor was a nice place then. Now...I don't know.
Great explanation of Town, City, Village. I just always assumed it came down to how the different municipalities got categorized by the state. Great explanation.
Hemptead ny is a village with over 800k residents.
It’s just an explanation of how the Census categorizes. Which has no relevance to what any area calls themselves. Your definition is actually closer to how these categories work. You can call yourself a town, city, village, whatever, as long as you follow local government guidelines. There is no standard definition for any of these. They vary state to state and sometime local municipality to local municipality.
Pennsylvania, a Commonwealth, has it’s own unique definition of communities. In actuality in PA there is officially only one true, incorporated town, Bloomsburg. Every place else is a village, borough, or city. Oh, and counties are broken down into townships and there are a few with the same name but in different parts of the state. As a transplanted Californian I found it a bit confusing.
@@skidmark9863 _Hemptead ny is a village with over 800k residents._
Did you hear him say that the locale may _CALL_ itself something else?
I live in the Town of Apple Valley. Way more than 1k people. I think they think it sounds more charming.
#10 - There's one Selma I liked - Selma Diamond, the chain-smoking actress who played a bailiff on Night Court.
My brother-in-law got to meet both the late Harry Anderson at his magic shop in New Orleans when he was helping as part of the National Guard rebuild that city post-Hurricane Katrina, and then later met John Larroquette when 'The Librarians' was being filmed in Portland.
You missed my hometown of Niagara Falls, NY (pop. 48,000). The local newspaper once said that going from NF NY to NF Ontario is like going from San Diego to Tijuana except NF NY was the Tijuana. It was an enormously successful city in the WW II era because of cheap power which allowed the chemical industry to thrive. It was in NF where the technology for extracting aluminum from bauxite was developed and Hooker Chemical learned to chlorinate benzene giving us lots of great solvents and pesticides which 30 years later became dioxins along with lots of other hazardous wastes. The reason industry died out was because the plants became old and outdated. Plus taxes in NYS were less than business-friendly. Like those other rust-belt towns in Michigan, the industry that once was is never coming back. I think what will make these Great Lake areas population centers again is the availability of lots of freshwater.
thats crazy because even Niagara, ONT is a shithole by canadian standards.
I'm in Hamburg (south town suburb of buffalo near NF if you don't know). There's a lot of great places in the buffalo area but Niagara falls is probably the worst besides the city of buffalo itself. Although they have redone the state park and it's great
Hated seeing the raw chemical waste pouring out of those old factories into the Niagara river creating tumoured fish, as a kid id ask my dad to make the Americans stop!!
I lived in Tijuana. I loved it. I preferred it over San Diego.
Yeah I've done both border crossings, I see your point but TJ is still way more of a scenery change. Odder still, the US crosses either border for better healthcare, cheaper medication and looser regulations on drinking ages.
FYI: Ronald McNair, an astronaut who died in the Challenger disaster, grew up in Lake City, SC
I'm sure Lake City wasn't nearly that bad, during the time he was growing up there.
Yep. I used to drive by Ronald McNair Elementary all the time.
😂Nobody died. They’re all still very much alive. It was a hoax. Didn’t know this??
12:20 - I totally agree with this sentiment. When I watch videos like this, I can't help but think about how you could turn places like this around.
Stop buying from retailers or companies that import foreign goods for max profits, rather than American companies and our own products.
Definitely agree with Salem, although the town did have the oldest white oak tree in the state, so that's something. Over 600 years old, it (sadly) finally came down a few years ago. Glad I got to see it and get some photos before it's end :)
I live 8 Mi away from Salem. It most definitely is a sad pathetic rundown place and very dangerous
@Lucy Summer It came down on it's own. They already had cables supporting some of the branches but I guess it just wasn't enough at the end.
Is it that bad isn’t there a lot of tourists for Halloween.
Barstow is definitely a restroom stop on the way through the desert to Vegas or the Colorado River. The Del Taco along the 15 Freeway is the original Del Taco, and it's pretty good and has larger portions than most. I like to stop at the McDonalds because it's an old train station and converted train cars are used as the dining area. Other than those 2 places, the rest of the city is trash
Even those two places are trash! That McDonalds smells horrible and looks like homeless sleep there
“Fast & Furious 2” made a movie seen there? & besides going from LA to Vegas you wouldn’t know about it lol
Yep, Barstow has the worst of everything. The climate of the Mojave, the entertainment choices of a farming community, with California prices, plus the added bonus of being the preferred choice of gangsters on the run.
Truckers know Barstow as "gloryhole capitol of America".
I knew a guy who lived and worked in Nome for a year. He said the darkness of winter and the culture were depressing.
It drives people to drink, alcohol is more of a problem the further north ya go.
@@Stephen-ob3ij yeah, that's why the crime rate is also high, just drunk people beating each other and their wife's up trough the 3month nights in winter
It's basically the same as in northern europe.
@@thetoyodacar2264 Finland is the happiest country in the world for maybe three or four times in a row.
@@RoyalMela I know, I was comparing the weather and natural conditions. I live in Norway
Barstow is like a 20 minute drive from me. I go there because there’s no lines anywhere. The DMV is a 10 minute turn around, rather than a 2 hour one.
Hello Apple Valley'er
I live like an hour from Barstow
One of the historic businesses that left in the 80's? Benton Harbor's Heathkit. They had 7 or 8 buildings there of the industrial type that housed their designers/engineers and soo on....After Zenith bought the company and closed it, things in the city went down hard.... They have huge gang problems... Thus the violent crime issue...
I happen to live in Miami Arizona on the western edge at the top of one of the peaks of the Pinal mountains. You are correct on the crime here, however most of the crime is committed by (sadly) local meth heads and (even more sadly) the native community. We have natives shooting people at least a few times a year. There is a lot to do here just not your typical stuff. Arizona, including the Globe/Miami area is the worlds capital for Rockhounding (if you don't know what that is go ahead and look it up). There is hunting, fishing, camping, hiking. We have town fairs and farmers markets almost year round. We have Classic Car shows, Ren-Fairs, Motorcycle clubs. As I said so much to do here just not your typical dinner and a movie. We even have beaches! O.O ... I know in ARIZONA?! The tooth thing... Hate to say most of those are current or recovering meth heads. But yeah great place to visit but takes a truly hearty person to live and thrive here. Enjoyed the list thanks for the entertainment. Now I'm going to go rock hounding.
Very good comments. Thank you for explaining! I was surprised that Globe was on the list. I live in Apache Junction, and have been to Globe a couple of times. Wonder how Superior rates?
Most red states.
I'm guessing the beaches are on the Colorado River and maybe some reservoirs, but aren't some of the beach towns on the Gulf of California in Mexico relatively close to Phoenix and Tucson?
@@MariaMarquez-ok4hf Current stats I could find say 20% higher than the national average on violent crime and 19% higher in crime in general. No murders or rapes as far as I can tell (at least not reported), but it seems like it's mainly assaults and property crime. I've been checking it out for awhile because I'm hopefully moving up there in the next few months. The beaches, since Big Surf in Tempe just closed, are probably at Roosevelt Lake. Huge reservoir along the Salt River created by the Theodore Roosevelt Dam that is used for recreation all year long.
@@heraldomedrano1417 Politics moment.
Even though I’m a Canadian and never plan on moving, I enjoy your vlogs. They are very interesting!
I was astonished not to see my hometown, Anniston Alabama, on this list! Thanks, Selma!
I don't know how Anniston hasn't just crumbled into a ghost town.. yet.
Yeah, where's Gadsden?
Interesting perspective on challenges faced by some towns. Let's remember every place has its story, and communities work hard to overcome obstacles. Positive vibes for everyone!
"We were somewhere around Barstow. On the edge of the desert. When the drugs began to take hold."
I was thinking the same thing when Barstow came up lol.
hell "New California" mod for New Vegas' Barstow is safer than it is currently.
Dammit. Somebody beat me to it.
I do appreciate the photos to go with the descriptions. I weigh how "bad" a place is by living standards, not earnings or population. So a visual gave me some idea of what each place is like. And it's true, crime rate says something about daily life in a location.
Barstow actually has some decent restaurants, because it is glorified truck stop between LA and Vegas. But it's 120F in the summer and poor.
Barstow needs some love!
Barstow has more restaurants than teeth!
When I was in the USMC, I had a friend stationed in Barstow, and he despised the place.
I guess Ludlow, the Gateway to Barstow, was too small for this. Also the settlements on the Salton Sea, and in the Owens Valley.
Toledo, Ohio is really bad. Has almost 50 homicides already this year. I see shootings on the news every week. Gangs, and even street racing legitimately drifting in the middle of the road of a four way intersection with a huge fire the set for the cars to drift around and they were setting off fireworks. It happened this month. I had people come in my yard multiple times, once attempted to break in my garage. The other time I came home to find a couple thousand dollars worth of stuff cleared from my house.
Only 50 homicides??? LOL. Go check out Newark New Jersey if you want to see a real homicide problem
@@gregscottfordemocracy Toledo crime rate is 150% Higher than the national average regardless of Homicide, and 1 in 25 people is likely to be a victim of a crime.
@@gregscottfordemocracy2022 Newark only had 50 homicides
I can seriously vouch for Benton Harbor, Michigan and the way things are considering I currently live in Benton Harbor. I looked up the stats last week and it’s spot on
Came from Jackson Mich. ... yes , Benton Harbor is know for being ""the Land of Suck "..
@@tomrumler3577 I totally agree with you. And I’m sry to say but it’s getting a lot worse out here in Benton Harbor
Did you look up the demographics of these places? 70% majority black population
@@roycegracie7886 ... In Nome Alaska ???
@@tomrumler3577 no. 7 out of the 10 is majority black population. Nome AK is majority native American
Omg bro, I'm almost pissin' my pants laughing! Deny's = drunk food... even back in the late 70's that's where if we ended up there, we were way to drunk to drive! Thx for the flashback 😎
LOLOLOLOL!!!!
Barstow is a pit. There are three things in Barstow: meth, tumbleweeds and truck stops. That's it.
And del taco 😅
It’s a nice stop on the way to Vegas.😂
So glad I live in Arkansas where our biggest town is a little over 2,000 people at our county seat and we are way way overcrowded I can see my neighbors and hear them even in their yards. But we can get by on our $1,500 a month salary and a little change
I live in Utah which has experienced a ridiculous surge in housing costs and now everyone wants to move to Arkansas
Well, that was depressing. I have no clue how a town have right a violent crime rate almost 1,000 times the national average and still have anyone alive there.
1000 percent not 1000 times
Because the national average per capita is actually that low.
Even with the outliers, in spite of how the news makes things seem, life is generally still improving for more people than not. It's still kinda shitty, and we could be doing way better, but things in the world actually are getting better, not worse. It's a perspective problem. Crime is going down, not up. But it LOOKS like it's going up because it's all the news reports, and there are more people in the world, so even if there's a lower rate of crime per capita, there are technically more crimes being committed. But even then, not by much. There are a lower percentage of the population doing crimes, but a higher number of people because there are just more people alive.
If you have 100 people, and 10 do crimes, and then you have 1,000 people and 50 do crimes...you SEE a 500% increase in crime, even though the per capita crime rate dropped dramatically. That's what's happened with pretty much everything that everyone is worried about in the world today.
@@markbajek2541 Point taken----still, wondering how anyone is still alive.
@bestplayerhear That is a lot of violence
Booze and guns.
So enjoy your videos.
Keep up the great work 👍.
Looking forward to the next one.
Thanks 👍
I was born in bishopville, sc in 1980
It used to be a fantastic town.
It’s true that it really sucks today
That’s why I had to move away
Thanks for the warning yet true fact Edward.
My grandparents had a little house in Bishopville. We spent lots of time there before my great grandmother died, when I was 8. My Gimma's sisters stayed there their whole lives.
ImfromgreenvilledouthcarolinadontlikesouthcRolinamove
Thisguydozentlikesouth carolinatpdadwhereishefomdumbassville
Southcarolinaisbetterrhencaligpriniarebbelyell
For a couple of years, I lived near Americus in a town that usually shows up in one of these lists. While living was pretty cheap (2 Bedroom/Bathroom Apartment was roughly $500), wages were really bad unless you had a government type job. If you want to know how a black man might feel in the majority of other states and cities, try being a white man there.
Was the Black population way higher than the white population?
Did you mean the black folk where harassing white folk?
lmao shut up
Try not being so obsessed with "race".
Sounds interesting
You can honestly put many inner ring suburbs of Los Angeles alone and that could be valid enough to make a top 10 list lmao
I suspect most of those were over 100k pop and he was only doing under 100k here.
You mean Miami
Dallas
Houston
Suburbs
@@SA-hz1rs No, the southeast is King of sh** holes....
@@SA-hz1rs St Louis, Memphis.
LA ghettos aren't bad as far as ghettos go.
I was homeless in downtown LA before I escaped that hell. I now have a nice apartment in Pasadena. I can vouch for the above comment.
You were funny, but these towns are sad. Thanks, Briggs.
Americus is my home town, and I couldn’t agree with you more! I finally moved out after graduating, but the crime rate, poverty, etc. is terrible despite being a college town.
I seriously choked when you mentioned how someone ends up at Denny's.
I will like to know more about that dear
Good one, you always have great content.
I appreciate that!
It's really bad when you see someone on the Ring camera stealing it off the wall. Like a pair of thieves were captured doing just that.
It’s hilarious how this guy woke up one morning and decided to dedicate a video to roasting random towns
This was an awesome video. South Carolina represent!
I haven’t been there, but hear that Texarkana is partly in TX and partly in AR - and neither will claim ownership.
Last time I was there, it was getting covered with snow. By the time I got to Dallas the next day, there was 12.5 inches of snow on the ground.
To any Canadians watching, is that also true of Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan? That town is kinda interesting; whereas Texarkana (and Kansas City) is actually two cities in their respective states, Lloydminster actually has only one city government despite straddling the provincial border. Residents and businesses still use their respective province depending which side of the border they live on, and the respective rules of each province apply on their respective sides, but they both vote for the same mayoral and city council candidates.
@@andyjay729 Texhoma is another city in two states. Texas and Oklahoma are the states.
@@atx-cvpi_99 oh I thought it was in Maine and North Dakota
I totally disagree with the city versus suburb life comparison. I live in downtown Boston. Yes, there’s tons of traffic in the city but those are all suburban people that need to drive. I take public transit or walk to everything one can possibly need, so I don’t deal with traffic. My friends that live in the suburbs get packages stolen because it’s easy to sneak around those neighborhoods with widely spaced homes. In the city, there are so many people and cameras that theft of stuff like Amazon packages is rare. Also, it’s nearly impossible to buy property in the city because it’s so popular. Maybe this move to the suburbs is occurring elsewhere, because that’s not the case here.
Yes I just moved to the city and my packages are never stolen anymore best decision I’ve ever made
@@bronchitis3486 Depends on how rural you go, I’ve never had my packages stolen in Ludlow Maine.
@@HappyH4ppyHappy yeah Houston def sucks in terms of walkability. Thankfully east coast cities were built before cars so places like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia are very easy to get around
@@HappyH4ppyHappy I've lived all over and worked just about everywhere and Houston is the worst. Everything you mentioned and more. You name it, Houston's is bad or doesn't even have it. The only exception I can think of is that there a few good restaurants, not the best of course, but good.
It's the only city I've worked in that you can smell even before you see the glow of lights on the horizon. A true libertarian paradise.
@@rickb3650 Everyone here will shit on L.A/Chicago/Detroit but many of those people fail to realize just how much of a shithole Houston really is
There's a book about Benton Harbor from 1998..."The Other Side of the River" by Alex Kotlowitz. It contrasts it with nearby St. Joseph, which (at least back then) was doing a lot better.
St. Joseph is an amazing town, a stark contrast and a literal "other side of the tracks" situation.
It’s a real shame a lot of the houses in these areas have been left to rot. Some of the small ones are actually quite pretty
Firth, I think of that alot riding around. I'll seem some vacant dilapidated house, and I'll ponder that this was once brand-spankin new, and was someone's pride and joy. Imagine moving into that house right after it was completed, and t freshly smelled of new wood and paint
City and town classifications vary. I know that it goes mostly by population density in most northeastern states. Villages are usually under the jurisdiction of a town or city, and have a really weird situation.
Details aren’t relevant to Briggs. 🤷🏼♂️ Blanket statements will do.
Great info Briggs. Really surprised that Gary, Indiana didn't make the list.
Gary is a city, not a town.
@@aaronclift details, details. The criteria still apply.
Gary, Indiana is a nightmare!
@@cynthiazeitner2098 😂😂😂
@@aaroncliftnot anymore this last census the population was under 80k.
Really had a few good laughs over this one. Selma, CA is “Raisin Capital of the World.” Also know someone who lived in both Globe and Miami, AZ.
Interesting. I thought the Raisin Capital was Fresno CA.
@@deirdre108 nah, it’s Selma…still Fresno County tho.
I love your sense of humor. Plus you do have some helpful information.
Pine Bluff didn’t make the list!!? That is very odd indeed.
I live 5 miles from pine bluff lol it’s just assumed at this point. 😂👏🏼 “Crime Bluff” oh and our hospital sucks. Surprisingly with all the shootings we have.
STANK CITY 🤬 & THE CASINO 🎰🎲
Hey fren, great video, great content. It is even better with a compile list to sum up at the end. Keep up great work.
Auto and large machinery manufacturing is absolutely getting reshored to the US, but it's happening in places like Alabama and Texas. Don't expect those plants to get built anywhere near the rust belt, they don't have the parallel infrastructure to support those kinds of facilities anymore.
well this is untrue. My home county is known as The RV Capitol of the World. Indiana also produces a bunch of automotive parts, Allison Transmission to name one. I'm not so sure about Ohio and Illinois, but Michigan and Indiana certainly have the infrastructure.
GM is building batteries in Michigan.
.
@@LOLHAMMER45678 One single component is not enough to bolster the economy of an entire region or sector.
I live near Benton Harbor, MI. Benton Harbor has Whirlpool headquarters, sits on Lake Michigan, now has Harbor Shores Golf Course. Many new businesses are popping up in Benton Harbor and it is undergoing a revitalization. It has potential. While these are all positive, all towns, cities, etc. need to address the social issues and income levels in order for a place to thrive.
“We need to bring back the auto industry” is all we ever hear in Michigan. It’s not coming back, we need to move on already. In the words of Chevy, we need to find new roads.
The roads we need are railroads and cycling paths.
@@TheMythicalAce is the government giving away free bikes now?
@@pmscalisi
No. Are they giving away free cars? Didn't think so. What costs more though, a car or a bicycle?
@@TheMythicalAce depends on what model you buy.
@@pmscalisi
It absolutely doesn't. Cars cost way more than bicycles, that's common sense. You can't argue otherwise. Even the most expensive electric bicycles I've seen never cost more than around $7,000 new, and that's excessive for a bike. The cheapest new car for sale is the Chevy Spark, which costs more than double that. Factor in gas prices, insurance, registration, maintenance, parking, etc. and the costs add up.
What are the costs of bicycle ownership? Basic maintenance like tires, tubes, and brakes from time to time. You don't have to pay to insure a bicycle, you don't have to register them, and you don't have to pay for gas or parking. A good bicycle will have an upfront cost of around $500-$1500, but you can get even cheaper ones than that. I'm not even sure how you could reach the conclusion that cars are cheaper to own than bicycles. That would be absurd.
Thank you! So informative! I watch you .I love the honesty ..I'm looking for more info on northeastern Louisiana... Shreveport area...no one talks about that part of Louisiana...I'm from Chicago and I've been travel nursing south only: I'm staying south...I'm not going back...but can you look into the rural north east Louisiana/Longview/Texarkana..area....and talk about it..if you feel up to it or have time...thank you
Texarkana is northwest Louisiana.
Between Shreveport/Bossier and Texarkana, it’s just a lot of trees really. If you head northeast you’ll (coincidentally) hit Bastrop and Ruston, and then it’s all trees until you get to Mississippi.
Stay out of Shrevepit , go to the burbs and you will be safe!
Have you done videos like this about other countries? Would love to know about my home country New Zealand or even Australia. Sorry if you have, im new to this channel, just found this video
Love these videos!
Glad you like them!
Crime in smaller towns are going to be magnified due their smaller population. Crime data is often measured per 100,000 population. I live in a town of 45,000 and one year we had 7 homicide, and the town was labeled one of America's most dangerous small towns, even though all these homicide were on one bad area of town and drug related. Yes that was bad, but the math made us seem like the Sout side of Chicago.
7 murders in a 45 k people town Is a lot Bro!
@@marco-gb7if small town yes but 7 murders in 1 year out of 45,000 is still pretty small.
@@tarheelpro87 O.O I live in a 100 k people town and the violent murders by year are 1 or 2 o even 0. 1 or 0 the most.
7 out of 45000 and that’s drug related , boy that’s absolutely no danger town at all .
@@JoeKasino1947 Not to me it wasn't, I never felt afraid. A North South interstate runs through, and a few of those people wasn't even from here. In spite of that the towns is actually growing, people moving here from everywhere, the locals know what side of town to avoid, it's pretty spread out for a town it's size, about a 150,000 people in the county. And that was about 5 years ago and that was a bad year for us.
Can't believe you're knocking Dennys! They have totally upped their game since the 1990s. I actually really like their food!
I keep waiting for Trona, CA to show up on one of these lists. It’s pretty rough..
I was stationed at China Lake many years ago and then worked on base and lived in Ridgecrest for many years. My son still lives in RC and works in Trona. I haven’t even visited the hell hole in several years.
You're very clever and funny. I usually dislike the narrated clips. Yours was surprisingly more than tolerable. Yours was entertaining. Well done.
Five years ago rented an RV, drove from LA to LV. Stopped in Barstow. Temperature went up 30 degrees, and, yes, we ate at Del Taco.
😂 that’s awesome, was the tacos good?
Would love to see more videos like this. Thank You...
As for Nome, that doesn't surprise me "too" much because it's so isolated! Either you come from a Inuit tribe, in which case you live "around" the city as much as "in" it, or you're there on specific business, be it a pastime passion, company or state department. "Escaping something" or "desired isolation" are the only sound reasons I can see for everyone outside those justifications. Such people either don't want to attract attention, or are just trying to get away from the world. I get the feeling most natives assume some skeletons' in any outsider's closet if they aren't "nature-bound" people like themselves, or aren't clearly there on corporate/official business.
I imagine leave So. Cal. when I retire. It's always good to avoid making a mistake, so I THANK YOU, Mr. Briggs.
Not all Selma’s are bad. Selma Hayek. 😍
"Crime scene photography" lol some very funny lines in this one
Prayerfully East St Louis won’t be on the list. There are much worse towns in Illinois who should be in the list!
So long as you have a bulletproof vest
Depends on how many people live there.
East St. Louis is too large to qualify for this list.
@@aaronclift Not anymore. It’s population is below 30,000 now. I was actually expecting to see Cairo on this list.
I'm from California, and I'm actually going to Darlington next week to put a checkmark on my NASCAR bucket list! Yeehaw buddy!
With a place like Nome, alcohol is the root cause of much violent crime. Alcohol/cigs are totally fine and while weed is legal up there, more people should be doing that over something as bad as the rampant alcoholism in many Native communities.
I used to go to Alaska to visit family and, believe me, a lot of the people up there don't even know they're there.
Alcohol abuse really does have severe effects on both people and communities.
Bob Marley once said “Alcohol is the destruction of the nation”. I think he’s right.
Thank you for the update 🤠 stay Kool & awesome brother....
Funfact Benton Harbor is so bad that everyone in Michigan gave it the nickname Benton Harlem
The only thing is that Harlem is not like way it used to be. One would be fazed how much it changed from 30 years ago. In the 80s you would not stop at lights or stop signs outside of 125th St, if you wanted to avoid getting carjacked, shot, or both.
Then again, I recently heard NYC is trending downward in the safety department.
Never been to MI, but I have been to every state around it. One would think that it would be nicer because of it’s proximity to Lake MIchigan, but I am going to guess that the more east you go within it, the worse it gets.
@@manfredmann2766 yay some of Michigan is good and some of it is bad here are the bad places Detroit, Battle Creek, East Lansing, Ypsilanti, Flint, Imlay City, Warren, Benton Harbor, Newberry, and Ludington.
Oh you got that right
@@WTMR42 honestly i think a lot of the east side of the state has gone downhill. They just relied so much on the auto industries it's gone downhill for sure. People lost their jobs. Some of them moved overseas some just closed their doors. But when when people lose their jobs they lose their income which leads to poverty. Which leads to crime.
Also, I think Muskegon should be added to your listed. It's on the west side of the state but also not the best area in Michigan to live in.
@@sundinfamforlife4129 yay you are exactly right but Newberry is the Northwest side has just been voted the worst place in the U.P. for crime it's wonderful seeing what that town has become.
I love getting straight-up body slammed by the facts in these videos.
What kind of violent crime is happening in Nome,AK ? Drunken fights ? dog problems ? domestic issues ? I am guessing it isn't bank robberies & drive by shootings.
Such interesting videos! Thank you!
This sucks man because these crime rates wouldn’t be so bad if they just paid them living wages/invested in these cities..so much money to be made for everyone
Rubbish. That’s insulting to the working poor. Crime is a moral issue, not a financial issue.
You should look into Lake City, FL. That’s gotta be an honorable mention from me.
I've driven through Bastrop, LA a few times and honestly it's just depressing. When my husband and I were looking to buy a house about 10 years ago we looked at a house in Bastrop because it was inexpensive, but I flat out refused to live there.
I’m messaging this from the UK I’ve moved from London where I had a one bed apartment and wanted a house. I’ve moved out to a town called Basingstoke which is a fantastic commuter town 48 minute fast train into work. My quality of life has so improved so I know what you mean about looking at properties. Several friends of mine live in LA and I know it well.
@@jameslyddall interesting. Louisiana?
@@jameslyddall a good transit system can make homes 30% more valuable.
Thank you so much for the Salem New Jersey. I had no clue! I grew up in the area but didn't know!!
Barstow is where dreams go to die.
Same goes with Benton Harbor with an extra side of county lockup and either parol or probation
So, I AM DYING at the truth about stopping in Barstow to pee...and yes, DEL TACO ONLY. OMG, this is so true and funny!!! Nice one! I have just discovered your channel and I am obsessed!!
Hey Briggs, thanks for the list of places to avoid! I have a question. When you say the crime rate is, for example, 150% over (or higher or above) the national average, are you saying that it is 50% higher than the average, or 250% of the average. 'Cause... you know... 100% of the average IS the average. Thanks for the clarification.
the latter
I believe it's more Crime rate in that area = (1.5*national average)+national average (1.5 as 150/100 for percentage)
If the average crime rate is 200 per 1,000 residents, a crime rate 150% above the average would be 500 per 1,000 residents.
Remove the % by sliding the decimal point two numbers to the left to get the multiplication factor. 200%=2x or twice as high.
Hey guys, I understand the math. This isn't a MATH question, it's a GRAMMAR question. If someone says that the crime rate is 150% OVER/HIGHER/ABOVE the average, then that person is saying that the crime rate is 250% OF the average. I was asking Briggs if that was intentional, or he was just being a bit sloppy in his use of prepositions.
Not surprisingly, most of the poorest towns are in the Southeast. Also not surprisingly, some are in the Atlantic Coastal plain. You’re being gentle.
I went to a relative’s funeral in a town near Lake City. I flew into Florence and while I’m driving along I say “Is this the United States?” It was like going back into the 50’s … the 1850’s.
I wonder what in US history could be the reason these cities (from former confederate states) are in such bad condition...
My good friend and I are both "outdoor adventure" TH-camrs, and we make the drive from Pensacola up to the Talladega National Forest for backpacking and video content. Our first trip up, we were looking for a hotel for the night and took the Selma exit (unknowingly). I've heard of the place throughout my life but never anticipated going there, but there we were. You could just sense this terrible vibe, and the place was trashed. It was a late friday afternoon, and you could just feel something bad brewing in the air, making my first visit there, my last ever! I was born in Alabama and love its mountains, rivers, waterfalls, but most of the towns, including the town I was born in SUCK!
Selma Alabama? Weird.
I have been in some sketchy neighborhoods and you just know things are bad. However I have found that I am way to big and look too intimidating to be at risk.
It is very hard for me to look at Greenville, SC, as a "town", especially on Woodruff Road during rush hour.
Amen. Those definitions seem very skewed to me, like someone in New York came up with them.
My late friend Lisa moved to Nome and worked for the hospital. She also became a paramedic/EMT for the volunteer fire department out of sheer boredom. She would often run to the firehouse. I sure miss her, when she told me she was leaving Texas to drive to Alaska I thought she was kidding, but she did it the week of Thanksgiving.
Damn why exactly did she move there?
Just to work at a hospital??
How old was she?
The federal government will forgive or payoff your student loan if you go to Alaska and work for the IHS for at two years. The IHS, Indian Health Service, is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services which is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
I have a friend who did it. She said she was glad to have the experience and be done with her student loan but she moved back to FL as soon as she could.
Globe Az is a nice tourist town the Verde valley is beautiful like anywhere it has its good and bad points
:22, um, what? I live in Alaska! Well, Fairbanks resembles Mississippi towns like Greenville and Vicksburg. A River with a boat, swampy terrain, not an aesthetically pleasing town with decrepit warehouses all over, etc.
I'm very surprised that my hometown, Flint, MI, is not listed. The city is going downhill steadily since 1987. GM has pretty much pulled out and moved their factories out the country.
@@Metalmirq LOL (Random places). Good point! Thanks for the info!
Why is Benton Harbor Michigan ranked so high on your list? I have been to some of these cities on your list and that city improved enormously. Also it did not rely on auto industry either.. Chicago once killed it too. Anyhow, it's where Whirlpool Co is located. The city is doing far better now..
Benton Harbor use to have a manufacturing plant, Auto Specialities a long time ago. They hired a lot of people of Benton Harbor. Auto Specialties Manufacturing Co., known as Ausco, died under an avalanche of strikes, shrinking auto markets and pollution problems in the early 1980s.
"about 70 for you are a good swimmer", Thanks for that! I really a long laugh, and you always tuck them quietly, You are great at your craft!
But what would NTC and the Marine Corp do without Barstow? I agree with you on this.
I used to go to NTC when I was in the Army back in the early 90s. Barstow was just a typical crappy highway town with fast food restaurants and pawnshops. Nothing to see there.
Still just fast food, gas stations and Walmart 🤷♀️
😂😂 I love your comments .and it keeps me from knowing where to stay away from.
Americus, GA is the hometown of legendary NFL coach Dan Reeves..
I'm totally stealing the "fishing and crime scene photography" line 😂