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Why is Kentucky so unhappy?
Posted on 7/25/14 at 4:46 pm
Posted on 7/25/14 at 4:46 pm
Georgia and Louisiana are apparently the happiest SEC states. Missouri and Kentucky are the least happy. Why?
SOURCE
Study reveals 'unhappiest' cities in the U.S.
Date: July 22, 2014
Source: University of British Columbia [WTF?]
Summary: New research identifies the unhappiest cities in the U.S., but finds that some young people are still willing to relocate to them for a good job opportunity or lower housing prices. The analysis suggests people may be deciding to trade happiness for other gains.
Top 10 happiest metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million (as of 2010):
1. Richmond-Petersburg, VA
2. Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA
3. Washington, DC
4. Raleigh-Durham, NC
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Houston, TX
7. Jacksonville, FL
8. Nashville, TN
9. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL
10. Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ
Top 10 unhappiest metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million (as of 2010):
1. New York, NY
2. Pittsburgh, PA
3. Louisville, KY
4. Milwaukee, WI
5. Detroit, MI
6. Indianapolis, IN
7. St. Louis, MO
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. Buffalo, NY
10. Philadelphia, PA
U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest reported happiness:
1. Charlottesville, VA
2. Rochester, MN
3. Lafayette, LA
4. Naples, FL
5. Baton Rouge, LA
6. Flagstaff, AZ
7. Shreveport, LA
8. Houma, LA
9. Corpus Christi, TX
10. Provo, UT
The least happy American regions are:
1. Scranton, PA
2. St. Joseph, MO
3. Erie, PA
4. South Bend, IN
5. Jersey City, NJ
6. Johnstown, PA
7. Non-metropolitan West Virginia
8. Springfield, MA
9. New York, NY
10. Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY
SOURCE
Study reveals 'unhappiest' cities in the U.S.
Date: July 22, 2014
Source: University of British Columbia [WTF?]
Summary: New research identifies the unhappiest cities in the U.S., but finds that some young people are still willing to relocate to them for a good job opportunity or lower housing prices. The analysis suggests people may be deciding to trade happiness for other gains.
Top 10 happiest metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million (as of 2010):
1. Richmond-Petersburg, VA
2. Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA
3. Washington, DC
4. Raleigh-Durham, NC
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Houston, TX
7. Jacksonville, FL
8. Nashville, TN
9. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL
10. Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ
Top 10 unhappiest metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million (as of 2010):
1. New York, NY
2. Pittsburgh, PA
3. Louisville, KY
4. Milwaukee, WI
5. Detroit, MI
6. Indianapolis, IN
7. St. Louis, MO
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. Buffalo, NY
10. Philadelphia, PA
U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest reported happiness:
1. Charlottesville, VA
2. Rochester, MN
3. Lafayette, LA
4. Naples, FL
5. Baton Rouge, LA
6. Flagstaff, AZ
7. Shreveport, LA
8. Houma, LA
9. Corpus Christi, TX
10. Provo, UT
The least happy American regions are:
1. Scranton, PA
2. St. Joseph, MO
3. Erie, PA
4. South Bend, IN
5. Jersey City, NJ
6. Johnstown, PA
7. Non-metropolitan West Virginia
8. Springfield, MA
9. New York, NY
10. Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY
This post was edited on 7/25/14 at 4:47 pm
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Posted on 7/25/14 at 4:49 pm to KSGamecock
self hatred for not joining the south
Posted on 7/25/14 at 4:51 pm to KSGamecock
Atlanta and Jacksonville. 
Posted on 7/25/14 at 4:56 pm to KSGamecock
Strange, I would have thought people from Louisville would have been on the more happy side. I can see the country being unhappy since tobacco has been under fire the last decade or so.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 4:58 pm to KSGamecock
The fact that the divisions seem to adhere to state lines seems really weird. Why are western Nebraska and kansas so unhappy while the people directly over the state line are happy?
Same thing for Indiana, Kentucky, etc.
Same thing for Indiana, Kentucky, etc.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:07 pm to Mizzeaux
Have you ever been to Kentucky? What the frick is there to be happy about?
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:08 pm to Mizzeaux
Have you been to Eastern Kentucky? You would be unhappy if you lived there. Besides Lexington, Bowling Green and Louisville, the state is poor. Obama is killing the coal industry which is basically the only job in the hills.
This post was edited on 7/25/14 at 5:24 pm
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:09 pm to WildcatMike
Horses, women, bourbon, University of Kentucky and chicken. So GFY.
This post was edited on 7/25/14 at 5:10 pm
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:18 pm to KSGamecock
I'll just cut this thread down by like 20 pages and save everyone the trouble:
EVERYWHERE BUT WHERE I'M FROM SUCKS.
Feel free to copy and paste.
EVERYWHERE BUT WHERE I'M FROM SUCKS.
Feel free to copy and paste.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:23 pm to WildcatMike
quote:
Have you been to Eastern Kentucky? You would be happy if you lived there. Besides Lexington, Bowling Green and Louisville, the state is poor. Obama is killing the coal industry which is basically the only job in the hills.
The mines in Eastern Kentucky were gone looooooong before Obama came around. It was one of the first exploited coal resource areas in the US and coal is finite. Centuries of mining kinda do that and those rich veins were bled dry long ago. You can't fuel a country for that long and not run out. By and large only the smaller veins are being worked these days.
That said, there are more than a few that are still around but mining operations, especially these days, don't require many workers. Machines have replaced humans and if you've ever seen what the old ways of working coal in Eastern Kentucky did to a man or the perpetual poverty of those families even when the coal was running strong, you might feel a bit differently about things. Eastern Kentucky needs economic help and something to replace the coal industry but coal as it was mined for ages in Eastern Kentucky is nothing to romanticize. It was hard, dirty, and didn't pay well but it was the only game in town. And even when it was strong, violence was epidemic.
Bloody Harlan isn't Bloody Harlan because of recent times.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:26 pm to Prof
What? The only jobs in Eastern Kentucky is with the state, the Feds, or coal. Sure, some white collar with medical or lawyer, but coal jobs are it. If you are not hooked up with those. Then those are on the gov dole.
This post was edited on 7/25/14 at 5:28 pm
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:27 pm to Prof
I mean, Appalachian coal had always been a boom and bust economy (that's why it was in the coal company's best interests to keep a supply if unemployed folks around so the could ramp up production when necessary). But to say it was long gone before Obama is incorrect. Appalachian coal was killing it in 2008 until a mild winter hit and was later compounded by over regulation.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:28 pm to LegendOfCobb
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:31 pm to LegendOfCobb
According to a recent list, Eastern Kentucky had 4 out of top 10 worse counties to live in the US. It is because of lack if jobs in area.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:33 pm to lsutothetop
Errbody's drunk.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:42 pm to LegendOfCobb
quote:
I mean, Appalachian coal had always been a boom and bust economy (that's why it was in the coal company's best interests to keep a supply if unemployed folks around so the could ramp up production when necessary). But to say it was long gone before Obama is incorrect. Appalachian coal was killing it in 2008 until a mild winter hit and was later compounded by over regulation.
Demand makes prices skyrocket but profit isn't the same as workers benefiting from it or even employing many workers.
My family has been involved in Eastern Kentucky mining for generations - both sides of it (workers and owners). My great-grandparents were murdered in their home and their house torched because they had the week's payroll. I've had uncles and cousins who've worked it both in old times and new (only those post-70s had decent pay and conditions). In the 90s, one cousin was trapped in a cave-in (thankfully he was rescued). Another cousin currently owns a mine in Eastern Kentucky, he doesn't employ many people - that's the way it is today - but he makes a LOT of money.
The big veins are shot and the old ways terrible. What remains are smaller coal veins and smaller mines and combined machines and modern mining techniques mean fewer jobs.
There's a reason mining companies are trying to get on this side of the border. The veins in places like Scott Co. are rich as hell - you can literally see the coal veins on the ridges and mountains while you drive.
I love Eastern Kentucky and have some of my fondest memories visiting family there. It's gorgeous but romanticizing the past operations isn't something I'll ever do.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:43 pm to Prof
quote:
My great-grandparents were murdered in their home and their house torched because they had the week's payroll.
Wow, that sounds like a really interesting story.
This post was edited on 7/25/14 at 5:44 pm
Posted on 7/25/14 at 5:45 pm to Prof
If you want to know the actual answer,, they've elected a lot of Democrats, and have been suffering the consequences.
I know this is not the poli-board, but it was a poli-question, even if the op didn't realize it.
Posted on 7/25/14 at 6:07 pm to KSGamecock
quote:
Wow, that sounds like a really interesting story.
In the early 1900s, some places in rural Eastern Kentucky were wild as hell. Violence, even murder and shootouts, were all too common. My family would never say much about what happened other than it happened - I think for my grandparent's and other older relatives it was too painful or just forbidden to say much about. There's also a weird kinda thing that happens in some spots of Appalachia - because it's so tightly knit you don't point the finger because someone is either related to the person, married into the family, or otherwise has some kind of relationship with them. Things like this are told in private or in whispers and often only to people who already know, sometimes it's like listening to a code in that if you don't already know what the older people are talking about you're just kinda lost except for the bare details. This is changing but some places are still like this.
What I know for sure is that it was a robbery to get the payroll and and after they were killed (I really hope they were already dead) the murderers torched the place to try and hide what happened.
Now that you mention it, I need to ask my aunt about it. Since my grandparents/great-aunt/great uncle's generation is gone I bet she'd tell me more of the details.
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