Stockton is Moving Up; Now With Video

Last year, Stockton was the most miserable city in America according to Forbes. Well, that statement is true no longer. Now Stockton is only the second most miserable city in America. Wooohooo. And the city's government is working hard to give it a makeover. Peep the video.


Look, I love Stockton. It's my home, and it always will be deep down. It's where the people I care about the most are, it's where my youth was spent, it's a place I will always fondly look back upon. Absent extenuating circumstances, I'm never going back, but that's not the point. I really never thought it was that bad, but then again when I was home my dad's car was broken into while in the driveway and no one was really in shock (particularly because my car had once been broken into 3 times (once in the driveway), and his car had previously been broken into in the driveway and in front of the house.

So yeah, Stockton kind of is a dump, but it's my dump. And sometimes, I miss it terribly.

So Lately...

I've been thinking a lot about home.

For some reason, the Pacific Ave and Ben Holt intersection come to mind. I guess, to me, that's the center of town. I'd cross it every morning going to and from work. Every afternoon coming back from school. The bars are located around there, tower records, school, I used to skate around there....

So Pacific Ave and Ben Holt, five years or so removed from Sticktown, are visions of home.

Maybe because it's the area that changes the least. Sure, in the time since I've been gone Michael's relocated, Tower Records went bankrupt, Naughty Nicks turned into the Cameo Club....but aside from that, it's largely the same. And somehow, that makes me smile.

I've had thoughts about that area during the winter time (which is the primary time when I'm home). Wearing a sweater or a jacket (hey, I've been sweating it out during one of the hottest summers in Houston for a while now). Something is just so exciting about home.

Then again, I can only take being home for so long. It's cycle that happens every year. After a few weeks I get bored and can't wait to get home.

However, that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to getting home, seeing the family, the dog, and seeing my friends. And lets not forget home cooked meals!

#1

Stockton. My home. Always #1 where it's worst to be #1. And people ask why I left California. I'll attest that most people are pretty miserable overall. Although I love going home and I'm never miserable with my friends and family. But still....it's the most miserable city in the United States.

Stockton ranks in the bottom seven in four of the nine categories we looked at: commute times, income tax rates, unemployment and violent crime. Only New York City has a higher income tax rate than what Stockton, and all California residents, are forced to pay.

Stockton was ground zero for the housing boom and now the subsequent bust. Home prices more than tripled between 1998 and 2005 and then came crashing down last year. Stockton had the country's highest foreclosure rate last year at 9.5%, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed property. Things are not looking much brighter in 2009 as housing prices are expected to fall another 36% on the heels of a 39% drop in 2008. Also, unemployment is expected to jump to 13.3% from 10.4%, according to economic research firm Moody's Economy.com.

"We are engaging the entire community and encouraging everyone to get involved and help us find solutions that meet the needs of our community," says Stockton Mayor Ann Johnston. "Volunteerism is encouraged, looking out for your neighbor, and taking personal responsibility where individuals can make a difference. We are partnering with all community organizations--schools, churches, non-profits-- to provide support services and help individuals and families get through these difficult times."

We compiled our rankings by looking at the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., which meant those with a population of at least 378,000. We ranked those metros on nine factors: commute times, corruption, pro sports teams, Superfund sites, taxes (both income and sales), unemployment, violent crime and weather.

For this year's ranking, we added the corruption component. We used the criminal conviction of government officials in each area over the past decade as compiled by the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice. This division of the Justice Department was created in 1976 to focus on "crimes involving abuses of the public trust by government officials."

Yup. It's where I'm from.

Source: Forbes

Another Reason It Sucks Coming Home

I sign my own death certificate basically everytime I step foot in this city. Something in the air (my sis thinks it's mold) gets in my respiratory system and puts me near death. It happens annually. So that's a major downside to coming home since coming home will generally involve me laying in bed coughing, sneezing, and blowing my nose for days on end. And it also makes me relatively anti-social as well. Not good times. Not at all.