#1. Absolute WORST state in
the US: Arkansas
Arkansas calls
itself the Land of Opportunity, but some might beg to differ. While the state
does provide protections against discrimination based on race, sex, religion and
national origin, it lacks such protections based on sexual orientation, gender
identity, marital status and age. And it is one of only three states that bars
localities from enacting wider protections of their own. According to the most
recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16
percent of Arkansans reported frequent mental distress. That is the
second-highest rate in the nation.
2018 Quality of Life score: 81
out of 300 points (Grade: F)
Weaknesses: Lack of
inclusiveness, health, high crime
Strength: Air quality
Arkansas was ranked as the
second worst state in the country on the new version of Gallup's National Health and Well-Being Index.
Only West Virginia ranked
lower on the list of the happiest and healthiest U.S. states. West Virginia has
been in last place for ten years in a row.
The research organization
published the results of the healthiest and happiest states in the United
States, a ranking based on the way residents graded their careers, relationships, finances, physical health and their communities at large.
Gallup collected more than 115,000 survey responses from U.S. adults in all 50
states for the entire year of 2018.
Arkansas was in the bottom 5
in the Career, Social, Financial and Physical categories. The Natural State was
ranked dead last in Financial and Physical.
Using a scale of 0 to 100,
with 0 being the lowest possible well-being and 100 the highest, the
calculations took into consideration survey respondents' relationships and
families, job satisfaction, economic security, neighborhood safety
and pride in the community, plus health and energy levels to maintain an active
lifestyle. Below are the results for the bottom 10 states, along with their well-being index score.
West Virginia 57.0
Arkansas 58.7
Kentucky 58.8
Mississippi 58.9
Tennessee 59.5
Oklahoma 59.8
Alabama 59.9
Louisiana 60.0
Illinois 60.3
Indiana 60.3
Here are 10 observations I've
made about Arkansas.
1. The culture – Arkansas has a very redneck culture. It dominates from the small towns to the heart of Little Rock. Most people are interested in NASCAR, the "deer woods", and muddin’ in their free time. Country music and bluegrass dominate the music scene. These people believe that a Willie Nelson concert is “culture”. And all of this probably goes back to the education systems. Arkansas always ranks one of the worst states for a reason. Public schools in Arkansas put far too much emphasis in things like football stadiums and not near enough on keeping curriculum up to date.
2. Obesity - Arkansas is always ranked one of the highest states for obesity. Fast food restaurants and chain bar and grills dominate the dining scene. Subway is considered “health food” here. Also, there is only one whole foods store near me and it is very small
3. Food - It is nothing, dominated by chain restaurants like Chili’s. Little Rock has little exposure to ethnic cuisine. Many of the supposedly “ethnic” restaurants are very bland and Americanized compared to their counterparts in real cities. Here people rave about the Olive Garden (crappy Italian food) and this area has zero for health food options.
4. Lack of Entertainment- Pro Sports, Concerts, shopping, nightlife, beaches, water parks, museums, the arts, the zoo sucks, etc.
5. Lack of young people – Most young people who are educated leave after college and never look back. Therefore, there isn't much of an intellectual community. Everybody who sticks around gets married straight out of high school, so there is virtually no dating scene. If you are my age and not married yet it's very awkward. If you are gay/lesbian, you can hang it up.
6. Car culture - Unbelievable sprawl for such a low population. The natives LOVE to drive EVERYWHERE. People commute 100+ miles on a regular basis. Also, zero public transit.
7. Nightlife – Nightlife consists of hanging around a Chili's bar, going to a country bar filled with country music, or the evening church service. The streets roll up at sunset here.
8. Bible Belt – The culture here and everything about it revolves entirely around church. Your social life and networking in this area pretty much depends on it. My co-workers have Bible verses plastered all over their walls and people carry Bibles around the office. What if someone is non religious or Jewish, etc?
9. Retail - There are few retail options outside of Wal-Mart, Target, and low end department stores like Kohls, even in Little Rock. It’s unbelievable that a town with almost 200,000 people can have such few options for shopping. Similar sized cities across the country do MUCH, MUCH better in this area than Little Rock. Most people drive to Dallas or Memphis to do their shopping.
10. Crime – Little Rock has a very high crime rate for such a small town. The problem is that there are no amenities to offset the crime. People here say stuff like "Well, all major cities have crime". Newsflash. Little Rock is not a major city. It’s far from it.
That said, I know most people here are just going to say "if you don't like it, then you can leave". Well I am working on a job transfer so I can move somewhere that is living in the 21st century. I only have one life to live, and I am tired of pissing it away in this boring hellhole.
1. The culture – Arkansas has a very redneck culture. It dominates from the small towns to the heart of Little Rock. Most people are interested in NASCAR, the "deer woods", and muddin’ in their free time. Country music and bluegrass dominate the music scene. These people believe that a Willie Nelson concert is “culture”. And all of this probably goes back to the education systems. Arkansas always ranks one of the worst states for a reason. Public schools in Arkansas put far too much emphasis in things like football stadiums and not near enough on keeping curriculum up to date.
2. Obesity - Arkansas is always ranked one of the highest states for obesity. Fast food restaurants and chain bar and grills dominate the dining scene. Subway is considered “health food” here. Also, there is only one whole foods store near me and it is very small
3. Food - It is nothing, dominated by chain restaurants like Chili’s. Little Rock has little exposure to ethnic cuisine. Many of the supposedly “ethnic” restaurants are very bland and Americanized compared to their counterparts in real cities. Here people rave about the Olive Garden (crappy Italian food) and this area has zero for health food options.
4. Lack of Entertainment- Pro Sports, Concerts, shopping, nightlife, beaches, water parks, museums, the arts, the zoo sucks, etc.
5. Lack of young people – Most young people who are educated leave after college and never look back. Therefore, there isn't much of an intellectual community. Everybody who sticks around gets married straight out of high school, so there is virtually no dating scene. If you are my age and not married yet it's very awkward. If you are gay/lesbian, you can hang it up.
6. Car culture - Unbelievable sprawl for such a low population. The natives LOVE to drive EVERYWHERE. People commute 100+ miles on a regular basis. Also, zero public transit.
7. Nightlife – Nightlife consists of hanging around a Chili's bar, going to a country bar filled with country music, or the evening church service. The streets roll up at sunset here.
8. Bible Belt – The culture here and everything about it revolves entirely around church. Your social life and networking in this area pretty much depends on it. My co-workers have Bible verses plastered all over their walls and people carry Bibles around the office. What if someone is non religious or Jewish, etc?
9. Retail - There are few retail options outside of Wal-Mart, Target, and low end department stores like Kohls, even in Little Rock. It’s unbelievable that a town with almost 200,000 people can have such few options for shopping. Similar sized cities across the country do MUCH, MUCH better in this area than Little Rock. Most people drive to Dallas or Memphis to do their shopping.
10. Crime – Little Rock has a very high crime rate for such a small town. The problem is that there are no amenities to offset the crime. People here say stuff like "Well, all major cities have crime". Newsflash. Little Rock is not a major city. It’s far from it.
That said, I know most people here are just going to say "if you don't like it, then you can leave". Well I am working on a job transfer so I can move somewhere that is living in the 21st century. I only have one life to live, and I am tired of pissing it away in this boring hellhole.
Don't come to Arkansas
Currently, I live in Arkansas.
And not because I want to, mind you. The entire time I've been here has been
utter hell. Bottom line, is this place sucks, and I hate it here. I don't know
why anyone in their right mind would want to live here. Almost everyone I've
met has been an asshole, or unpleasant. Finding anyone who is halfway decent is
like pulling teeth. Not to say there aren't nice people here, they're just hard
to find. There is also nothing to do here, and with a lot of cities being dry,
there is so much drug activity. Want some meth? Fucking, I'm sure three people
on any given block sells it. Hell, right across the street from where I'm
currently staying, there was a drug dealer, mind you, we are like two blocks
from the police station, yet they were still selling drugs. They recently got
raided by the police, which makes me feel a bit better. I come from a pretty
large city, and the "culture" I guess you could say, is much
different. And God forbid you're a little different from everyone else here,
otherwise you'll most likely get ridiculed. I have a job, and for probably the
next month or so, I'll be working with a complete dumbass who all he talks
about is sex, his penis, all the women he's been with, and drugs. All I want to
do is shove my boxcutter that I work with down his fucking throat with the
blade extended. Almost everyone here is homophobic. And the guy I'm working
with thinks I'm gay There's tax on food. I'm not sure if tax on food is normal,
but where I come from, if you bought food from the grocery store, you didn't
have to pay tax. There's a lot of other things I would like to say about how
shitty Arkansas is, and I know this probably doesn't sound like much, but I
don't really know how to put it into words.
Just don't come to Arkansas,
it's probably one of the worst states. I'm counting down the days till I don't
have to live here anymore, and if I never have to come back here, it will be
too soon.
Side note. Its difficult to
get a WiFi connection here too. If you so much as sneeze in the wrong
direction, or enter a building, you'll lose your connection, and it's downright
frustrating, especially since I'm paying for the service and getting almost
fuck all back
Worst States In The US For
2019
No comments:
Post a Comment