Posted by jay on April 26, 2005, at 18:27:43
In reply to MSN article: depression ratings by city, posted by jrbecker on April 26, 2005, at 11:19:19
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> http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100103843
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> Is Your Town Down?
> By: Sara Vigneri
> Rodale
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> Maybe it was all those years of futility for the Phillies. Or the shadows cast by New York City to the north and Washington, D.C., to the south. Whatever the reasons, Philadelphia has earned the melancholy distinction of being America's most depressed city, followed closely by Detroit and St. Petersburg, Florida. Men's Health compiled this list based on antidepressant sales, courtesy of NDC Health; suicide rates, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the number of days inhabitants reported being depressed, based on the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, accessed through http://www.bestplaces.net.
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> Where can you find happiness? Texas, that's where. Three of its cities placed in the top four: number one, Laredo; number two, El Paso; and number four, Corpus Christi.
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> The 20 Happiest Cities
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> 1. Laredo, TX: A+
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> 2. El Paso, TX: A+
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> 3. Jersey City, NJ: A+
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> 4. Corpus Christi, TX: A+
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> 5. Baton Rouge, LA: A
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> 6. Honolulu, HI: A-
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> 7. Fresno, CA: A-
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> 8. San Jose, CA: A-
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> 9. Lincoln, NE: B+
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> 10. Bakersfield, CA: B+
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> 11. Buffalo, NY: B+
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> 12. Anchorage, AK: B+
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> 13. Stockton, CA: B+
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> 14. Shreveport, LA: B+
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> 15. (3-way tie) Madison, WI: B, Montgomery, AL: B, and Des Moines, IA: B
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> 18. Wichita, KS: B
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> 19. (tie) Sacramento, CA: B and Omaha, NE: B
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> The 20 Most Depressed Cities
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> 1. Philadelphia, PA: F
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> 2. Detroit, MI: F
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> 3. St. Petersburg, FL: F
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> 4. St. Louis, MO: F
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> 5. Tampa, FL: F
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> 6. Indianapolis, IN: F
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> 7. (3-way tie) Mesa, AZ: F, Phoenix, AZ: F, and Scottsdale, AZ: F
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> 10. Cleveland, OH: F
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> 11. New York, NY: D-
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> 12. Salt Lake City, UT: D-
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> 13. Atlanta, GA: D
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> 14. (3-way tie) Yonkers, NY: D, Pittsburgh, PA: D, and Kansas City, MO: D
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> 17. (3-way tie) Long Beach, CA: D, Los Angeles, CA: D, Nashville, TN" D
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> 20. Portland, OR: D
>I don't mean to dump on anybody's parade...hey..be happy! But, this 'study' doesn't include a lot of things, so it's not exactly that accurate. It doesn't include the people who are depressed but don't report it, or who don't buy antidepressants; suicide rates doesn't include, well, all the suicides that went unreported as such; and lastly, it doesn't count people who don't have internet access through bestplaces.net (or however they came up with the numbers...)
So, really, home is still just a place to hang your hat, and there are likely lots of happy folks in Buffalo at any given time as there are in a Texas town. I wouldn't be calling the moving truck just yet...;-)
Jay
poster:jay
thread:489794
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050426/msgs/489991.html