mssabina Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 what the hell?? miami is #2? and nassau & suffolk counties are #4 for least stressful? i'll tell you one thing though, i'd move to honolulu in a heartbeat Top 10 Most Stressful Cities1 Tacoma, WA2 Miami, FL3 New Orleans, LA4 Las Vegas, NV5 New York, NY6 Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA7 Mobile, AL8 Stockton-Lodi, CA9 Detroit, MI10 Dallas, TXTop 10 Low-Stress Cities1 Albany-Schenectady, NY2 Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA3 Orange County, CA4 Nassau-Suffolk, NY5 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI6 Ann Arbor, MI7 Omaha, NE-IA8 Norfolk, VA-Virginia Beach, VA-NC9 Honolulu, HI10 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgmodel Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 how do they define stress, and what did they base their decisions on??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mssabina Posted January 9 Author Report Share Posted January 9 i didn't read the entire article before i posted before, it makes more sense now but it's still odd seeing miami as one of the most stressful... who woulda thought?Between international terrorism and a struggling economy, today's Americans are faced with more stress than ever. In this new study, America's favorite research gurus at Sperling's BestPlaces have identified the most and least stressful U.S. cities in 2003.Which U.S. cities provide an environment that can help make our life more relaxed and enjoyable? Are there certain U.S. cities where residents regularly face particularly stressful conditions?Our "Sperling Stress Index" is comprised of nine different factors that are associated with stress: unemployment rate, divorce rate, commute time, violent and property crime rates, suicide rate, alcohol consumption, self-reported "poor mental health," and number of cloudy days.Here are this year's most and least stressful cities, chosen from the 100 largest metro areas.Top 10 Most Stressful CitiesTacoma, WAMiami, FLNew Orleans, LALas Vegas, NVNew York, NYPortland-Vancouver, OR-WAMobile, ALStockton-Lodi, CADetroit, MIDallas, TX Top 10 Low-Stress CitiesAlbany-Schenectady, NYHarrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PAOrange County, CANassau-Suffolk, NYMinneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WIAnn Arbor, MIOmaha, NE-IANorfolk, VA-Virginia Beach, VA-NCHonolulu, HIRaleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC"Most of the top-ten stress cities are grappling with high unemployment," said Bert Sperling, president of Sperling's BestPlaces. "It affects the entire community, whether you have a job or not. Rising unemployment has been tied to increased crime, and declining tax revenues force reductions in social services that affect young and old alike."Las Vegas has a robust economy, but had the highest percentage of divorced residents and the highest rate of suicides. And despite Miami's #2 stress ranking, they maintained a positive mental attitude, with one of the lowest rates in residents reporting poor mental health.Among the low-stress cities, there appears a common theme of state capitals and institutions of higher learning. "Government and universities provide a solid economic base to smaller cities, lessening the stress caused by economic cycles," reported Sperling."And there's something special about Honolulu. In our studies, it appears that they have a unique attitude that allows them to be less affected by the stresses of today's busy lifestyle."An interesting footnote to this study was the discovery of a strong correlation between the rates of suicide and divorce.Top Five Stressful CitiesTacoma, WATacoma residents contend with one of the highest divorce rates in the country, as well as one of the highest unemployment rates. It's cloudy in Tacoma much of the time, and the suicide and property crime rates are high. On a brighter note, Tacomans can feel safe from bodily harm thanks to the low violent crime rate.Miami, FLMiami has the highest violent crime rate in our study, as well as one of the highest property crime rates. Making Miami even more stressful is the long commute time, a high unemployment rate, and a high rate of divorce. Despite these factors, Miami residents manage to maintain a positive mental attitude.New OrleansMaybe New Orleans should be nicknamed The Big Un-Easy, due to a high violent crime rate and a high unemployment rate. There's also a good deal of suicides and divorces. Las Vegas, NVThe turbulent lifestyle of Las Vegas produces some extremely stressful conditions—the highest suicide and divorce rates in our study, as well as a great deal of alcohol use. Unfortunately, the greatest number of sunny days per year doesn't seem to translate to overall happiness—residents of Las Vegas have a great number of days experiencing poor mental health.New York, NYBeginning and ending their days with the longest commute in the country, the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple can really stress people out. Unemployment is high and so is violent crime, which may explain why New Yorkers spend many of their days experiencing stress, depression, and problems with emotions. But New Yorkers are not quitters—the suicide rate is one of the lowest.Top Five Least Stressful CitiesAlbany-Schenectady-Troy, NYHarrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PAThese hardworking state capitals and their surrounding areas boast two of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. In fact, both areas score well in many categories—low divorce rates, short average commute times, a low overall crime rate, and low rates of suicide. One downside to these northeastern cities is their often-cloudy skies and dreary winters.Orange County, CALife really goes smoothly in "the O.C."—little crime, low unemployment, and a whole lot of sunshine. The commute can take awhile, but Orange County residents seem to be able to handle it. And their suicide rate is one of the lowest.Nassau-Suffolk, NYAlthough residents of Nassau-Suffolk have a very long commute, the area has the lowest violent and property crime rates in the country. The divorce and suicide rates are also among the lowest in the country, indicating a safe and stable place to live.Minneapolis-St. Paul, MNThe Twin Cities have a low unemployment rate and a low violent crime rate. Despite many cloudy days, the suicide rate is low and the stress scores are generally favorable across the board.MethodologyThe Sperling Stress Index is based on the most currently available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (unemployment rate), Census Bureau (divorce rate and commute time), FBI Uniform Crime Reports (crime statistics), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (suicide rate, alcohol consumption, and poor mental health), and the National Climatic Data Center (cloudy days).The data was assigned point values to rank each city with others in each category, while preserving the proportionality. The point values for each city were then summed for all categories.For more in-depth analysis and the complete list of 331 Stressful Cities, including our rankings for small and medium metro areas visit www.bestplaces.net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgmodel Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 ahhh, makes a lil more sense now... thanks bebe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djprotege Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 Woo-Hoo!! #8 least stressful! Gotta love livin' by the beach! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funks0ul Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 Originally posted by mssabina Top 10 Low-Stress Cities9 Honolulu, HI And ppl wonder why I want to move to hawaii?!?! But I could definitely see why miami would be on the top ten for stressful... even before I read the rest. I think I'm one of the few that doesn't enjoy that place much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magilicuti Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 for some of those stress free places i'd be stresses how f'n bored i was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonStephen Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 I was planning on moving to Miami to get rid of the NYC stress:( I dunno.....seems so much laid back down there. I just dont get it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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