Perhaps you saw the recent story on WFMY 2, Greensboro Named One Of The Worst Cities To Start Career
" Bankrate ranked the 100 largest cities in the u-s with strong economies to tell which ones are the best for career growth. Greensboro was listed as one of the 10 worst cities to start a career. "
The story even went viral. Funny, we here at EzGreensboro.com have been pointing out that very fact for years.
Well perhaps after you read the collection of information I've put together about Greensboro you will see fit to make this long and dreary post go viral as well so that Greensboro's elected leaders will finally get off their sorry asses and do something about Greensboro myriad of as yet unresolved problems rather than beg you for $100 Million Dollar Bonds and 5% tax increases to pay for projects intended to benefit only a selected few already very rich individuals.
In 1982 Greensboro, North Carolina was rated as the #1 best place to live in America. In the years following everything went to hell. For 2015, Liveability.com ranked Greensboro at #91 but in 2008 CNN Money rated Greensboro at #50-- what happened? 41 places in 7 years-- how could any city fall so quickly? What the hell happened to Greensboro? Our corrupt and inept "leaders" will tell you it was a result of the Recession but the Recession was nationwide, worldwide even. While everywhere else was recovering, Greensboro got worse. How much worse? I'm about to tell you.
Let's begin, shall we:
Earnings in the Greensboro-High Point area are among the lowest in the country for the 18-to-34 age group.:
"Median earnings for people in that age group in Greensboro-High Point are $30,249, according to figures from Census Explorer. The only regions with lower median earnings for young people are Fresno, Calif.; Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.; El Paso, Texas; and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas.
The Atlantic presented several "top 10" lists showing how cities stack up for millennials.
Durham-Chapel Hill makes the list for "Highest Share of Americans Under 35." Both Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh are on the "Highest Share of Young College Graduates" list."
Now you know why college graduates are leaving. Want more proof that Greensboro sucks?
Greensboro is not a safe city.
"Movoto Real Estate just published their list of the 50 Safest Cities In North Carolina.
Greensboro isn't on the list but Charlotte is at 47th. Asheboro came in at 48, High Point 42 and Burlington at #40. Fifteen minutes north of Greensboro, Reidsville came in at number 35.
Raleigh came in at 31, Graham in nearby Alamance County at 26 and Kernersville, which like High Point, now borders Greensboro, came in at 21."
We don't have good communications infrastructure either.
"The rich are getting gouged, the poor are very often left out, and this means that we're creating, yet again, two Americas, and deepening inequality through this communications inequality." --Susan Crawford, former special assistant to President Obama for science, technology and innovation, and author of Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age.
And where does Greensboro stand in these 2 American Internets? According to the map below taken from Gizmodo.com we fall in the bottom 50%.
The Greensboro City Council controls contracts with cable TV and Internet providers and can at the end of their contract revoke their right to do business here. The good news from Gizmodo is that there are no Pizza Deserts in Greensboro- a pizza desert being defined as any place where one has to travel more than 10 miles to buy a pizza.
Here's another via way of Gizmodo. The map of where Americans are moving indicates that people are flooding the Southland and North Carolina. That is: except for Greensboro. This city looks as barren as some of the mountain deserts of northern Arizona which, if you've ever been there, you know are mostly protected lands, national parks, Indian reservations and largely uninhabitable for average Americans.
Here's some interesting figures that Fec dug up in a piece titled On Poor And Struggling In The State
"Mecklenburg and Greensboro have the largest shares of that poverty. In 2000, Mecklenburg had 16 tracts of deep poverty. By 2010, that number had zoomed to 26. This is not news to Beverly Howard, executive director of Loaves and Fishes, which provides food to people in need. “Our numbers have risen substantially,” she said. “And they keep growing.”
Among those most in need? Children. “Of the 126,000 (we feed), 48 percent are children,” she said."
Haven't we spent the last 50 years trying to be like Charlotte/Mecklenburg? I guess Jim "Bobblehead" Melvin's dreams have finally come true. We're dirt poor just like Charlotte!
On Wednesday, December 24, 2014, I wrote:
"...the Greensboro City Council must act now!"They did nothing but give more money to rich people.
Previously I wrote that on July 12, 2013. Since then the Greensboro City Council has done nothing to promote economic development in Greensboro.
Why would any CEO move his company to Greensboro when the areas being pitched most by Greensboro are the highest crime areas?
Why would a CEO move his company to Greensboro when the of City of Greensboro is unable to provide documentation that their previous economic development projects for which citizens and corporations were taxed, were in-fact a success? CEOs are number crunchers, they deal in facts, not fantasy.
12% of our mortgages are ‘seriously underwater’
Greensboro was rated 175 out of 200 for comparable city's in 5 year job growth.
33% Of Greensboro Urban Population Lives In Food Desert
That link is to a document on the City of Greensboro website where I found the following. Click on the photos to view them full size.
Did you get that? Greensboro is the #1 Hungriest City In America with 23%, almost 1 person in 4 not having adequate food to eat. And still the Greensboro City Council does nothing but make plans they never implement.
Greensboro Ranks bottom 10 in Equality of Opportunity Harvard Study.
Greensboro is ranked a Transitional City, a city on the verge of failure, by the Demand Institute in Greensboro Fails Another Test.
Greensboro #4 For Empty Industrial Parks You might think that a good thing except for the fact that our existing industrial parks are empty and our "leaders" are pushing to build more empty industrial parks.
Most Gerrymandered City In America? Yep, that too.
Greensboro at high risk of natural disasters.
Downtown Greensboro Not Safe For Pedestrians
Not safe to drive in either.
Speaking of getting run over by a car, while Greensboro's leaders like to make a really big deal about our extensive walking trails, Greensboro isn't ranked at Walk Friendly Communities. That's right, not ranked at all. Not even mentioned.
Local bicyclists often complain Greensboro's streets are unsafe to ride on and street funds get diverted to projects no one wants to talk about.
As a matter of fact: To clear up the whole walking and biking thing, WalkScore.com rated Greensboro at 39 for walking and 40 for biking with the following comments:
"Greensboro has an average Walk Score of 39 with 269,666 residents.
Greensboro does not have many bike lanes.
The most walkable Greensboro ZIP codes are 27402, 27403 and 27408. "
For the most part, those are Greensboro's big money zip codes.
This is beginning to look like a really crappy place to live.
In terms of healthy living and life expectancy, Greensboro, North Carolina is rated the 2nd oldest City in America:
Greensboro is #1 in allergies "According to an annual report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Greensboro, NC has won the national crown as the nation’s fall allergy capital! "
Check this out: 5 NC cities make the top 50 most generous cities and Greensboro comes in at #72: What's wrong with that picture?
But hey, we are the 2nd most religious. How can it be that the second most religious city in America couldn't even make the top 50 in terms of generosity? Aren't the angels supposed to be watching over us?
Speaking of angels, Greensboro exports more capital than it imports. You won't find any angel investors here.
William Sydney Porter, aka O. Henry, Greensboro's most famous writer and the man for which several buildings, streets, schools, hotels, businesses and neighborhoods are named was a well known drinker and jail bird in his day. Of course he also coined the term, banana republic. Could it be he was in-fact describing he hometown and not Honduras as is generally presumed by readers of Cabbages and Kings?
By the same token, University of North Carolina at Greensboro Professor, Randall Jarrell, aka The Bat Poet, and United States Poet Laureate has yet to ever have anything in Greensboro named after him. Drink yourself to death, they name half the city after you, get run over by a car and Greensboro doesn't know you.
We come in 10th highest in obesity? Looking at that religion/generosity thing and the hunger/obesity thing it becomes pretty obvious Greensboro might also rank poorly on any scales measuring our ability to share. I wonder if anyone has ever studied that?
Greensboro is #61 on the list of best and worst cities for Moms.We got beat by Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham again! And to think, this is a city that sells itself on quality of life issues?
Okay, how about something for Dad? We didn't even get on the list of Best Public Access Golf Courses and this city is covered up in golf courses. So much for Councilman Barber's First Tee of the Triad ever finding a good place to play.
Still single? Planning on staying that way? Then Greensboro just might be the place for you as Greensboro ranks sixth worst city for dating:
Of course it's hardly a wonder Greensboro's a bad place for singles when Greensboro is ranked the least sexy city in America.
Get out Kids, while you still can. Greensboro is not the place you want to grow old. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.
Gangs are still such a big problem that gangsta rappers are afraid to perform in Greensboro.
So what list didn't Greensboro make. Greensboro is not among the Top 100 Safest Cities in America nor are we among the Top 100 public schools. Thinking about your property values? Greensboro is not among the Top 100 Highest Appreciating Cities in the U.S. Much of Greensboro is under water.
When you go to the ABC liquor store in Greensboro, your credit card gets hacked by a scammer. Damn, you can't even drink your troubles away in Greensboro without falling in a hole-- what next?
Sinkholes are common under Greensboro streets. Seems the aging water mains break with surprising regularity, wash all the rock and soil out from under the street then suddenly and without warning as you're driving your car down any major thoroughfare, poof! You're a goner!
Okay, lighten up, we finally made the Dave Barry Blog... for a city council candidate with a felony record...
And our youth? Young Facebook users recently founded a group called Greensboro is Purgatory, with the motto "... if we try we get pulled right back." Well, we are trying to keep our young people from leaving, right?
Last but not least: Greensboro gains international acclaim on racist websites and the Dredge Report for a Downtown riot that Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins claimed happened but in reality, never took place.
This just gets sadder as we go.
Household earnings? At #96 and falling you'll not get Greensboro shoppers to spend much money with your business should you bring it here.
Greensboro is #76 on the list of best cities in the US for small businesses. Raleigh came in at #4, Durham at #6 and Charlotte at #11. Of note, the best cities for small businesses are also the best cities for big businesses but if you're already in business you didn't need me to tell you that. But Greensboro was also named one of The Worst Cities To Start a Career.
Greensboro is fast becoming the armpit of North Carolina.
While a recent News & Record article announces that Greensboro's Cone Hospital system ranks 5th in the state among major hospitals, allow me to remind you there are less than 10 major hospitals in the State of North Carolina.
And according to the same report cited by the News & Record, Winston Salem beats Greensboro hands down once again.
Greensboro ranks 100th out of 102 markets in economic vitality. You'll never sell anything here.
Greensboro has the unique distinction of being the city that killed the Livable Communities Act causing cities across the nation to suffer.
A recent study by the Equality of Opportunity Project ranked Greensboro, North Carolina 95th out of the largest 100 cities in terms of citizens' ability towards upward mobility.
Greensboro is 4th on the list of America's Emptiest Cities. Tell me again why we're building new industrial parks.
As was to be reported by the News & Record but what City Council wasn't counting on, was Greensboro College School of Business Dean and economist William K. MacReynolds who said:
“The Greensboro-High Point metropolitan area is lagging behind employment growth in most areas of North Carolina,” said MacReynolds, founding dean of the college’s School of Business. “From September 2013, employment increased by only 0.2% compared with a statewide average growth of 2.2%.”
The state’s top two employment areas, the Charlotte and the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan areas, grew 2.6% and 3.2%, respectively.
“The employment numbers in Greensboro-High Point are troubling,” MacReynolds said. “Over the past year, the number of unemployed fell by 5,100. However, the number of jobs increased by only 2,100. The reason for this disparity is that more than 6,000 left the labor force altogether, having given up looking for productive work.”
As a matter of fact, Dean MacReynolds called it a "Wake up call."
Dean MacReynolds, a former "...economist for the Federal Trade Commission, director of economic forecasting for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a Blue Chip Economics forecaster..." seems to have a much better grasp of real world economics. Besides, he links to the BLS Documents to prove his points.
But hey, at least we rank high at Zombie Surviveability. Too bad the Goth crowd doesn't feel welcome here, if they did the city might could capitalize on it.
As reported by News & Record reporter, Joe Killian, UNCG makes prestigious list...of students looking for Sugar Daddies, Mommas:
"According to www.seekingarrangement.com, UNCG is #36 on its annual list of "Fastest Growing Sugar Baby Schools."
The site matches people looking for a...ahem, "mutually beneficial arrangement."
Seeking Arrangement CEO Brandon Wade, who financed his MIT education through loans, thinks the site's growth on college campuses is down to students looking for creative ways to pay for college in a challenging environment.
“While other countries seek to create opportunity and provide a better start for students by abolishing tuition fees or at least lowering them to reasonable amounts, Congress continues to ignore the problem,” Wade said in a Monday press release. “The average debt is more than what most of these new graduates will make in a year.”
That's right, what has long been Greensboro's most prestigious university is now home to high dollar hookers made possible in no small part with the help of UNCG Chancelor Linda Brady whose wild voyages into speculative real-estate ventures have pushed skyrocketing college costs through the stratosphere and cost her her job in a scandal that was first broke right here at EzGreensboro.com.
Greensboro ranked one of the most dangerous cities in the nation.
Guilford County Worst Place To Grow Up.
Greensboro Top 10 Tourist Hating City
According to the New York Times Greensboro Police Discriminate Against Minorities.
Coming soon to the New York Times, Greensboro Not Ranked For Future
"How is it that two North Carolina cities, Raleigh #6 and Charlotte #15 can rank among the Top 25 Future-Ready Cities In America and Greensboro doesn't rank at all? Could it be Greensboro's elected leaders simply aren't up to the job of managing any city bigger than Dogpatch?"
While Raleigh came in at #2 in Forbes list of Best Cities for Young Professionals for us it's just Another List And Greensboro Ain't On It
Cities with jobs at risk from robots/automation = Greensboro Number Three
WXII 12 says Greensboro is the 7th worst city for dating.
JoeyG reports Greensboro failed to make the list of the 10 smartest municipalities in North Carolina even though 2 Guilford County communities, Summerfield and Oak Ridge did make the list.
"A report in the Triad Business Journal indicates that Oak Ridge and Summerfield rank among the ten smartest municipalities in North Carolina.
Surprisingly, Greensboro is not found on the list.
This, on the surface, seems entirely unexpected. Over the last two decades, I have noted a heaping portion of liberal condescension emanating from Greensboro. The Big Message has been that our "enlightened" city is much more cosmopolitan, much more wise, much more advanced than its smaller town counterparts. (Part of the reason, of course, is that we are bigger, and much more diverse and multicultural.)
But it all turns out not to be true."Roch Smith jr and Greensboro101.com point us to.
" GUILFORD COUNTY — A newly released report from the Guilford County health department says that the rate of sexually transmitted infections in the county are not only some of the highest in the state, but in the nation as well. The two most common communicable diseases in Guilford County are chlamydia and gonorrhea."
Don't worry, if you catch a disease, no one will come here to take it from you.
From Greensboro Don't Need No Stinkin' Migrants:
"But while much of North Carolina seems to be growing, Greensboro continues to buck the trends showing a Net Migration Increase of only only 35 people per 10,000, a Domestic Net Migration Rate of 9 people per 10,000, a Total Net Migration of 2,640 people and a Domestic Migration of 675 people from July 2014 until July 2015."
Sad, isn't it?
Greensboro 2044 of 2570 Cities In Money Management:
"In a recent list of 2570 cities across the nation ranked on how they manage their money, the financial website Wallethub ranked Greensboro, North Carolina a dismal 2044. With the exception of Boone which was dead last, almost every city in the state ranked higher."
Being told be financial experts that our City leaders don't know how to handle money is pretty damning especially when you consider they are currently pitching an additional $20 vehicle tax, $100 Million Dollar Bond and 5% tax increase all at the same time. But remember: we here at EzGreensboro tried to warn you when they first started talking about that performing arts center we still can't afford to build.
Wonder why News 2 didn't cover that story?
Come back and visit this post again from time to time as I'll continue to update it as more sad facts about Greensboro emerge. You know, to try and keep our leaders on their toes and off their asses. And if you'd like to contact City Council to tell them something needs to be done... Well that was the link.
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Update: Wednesday May 11, 2016: Greensboro Fails ROI Police Spending:
"Perhaps that lack of transparency is why Greensboro scored just 49th overall in return on investment on Police Spending according to a recent survey by WalletHub. And when you consider that Detroit, Michigan, long known as a very dangerous place to live, is ranked 5th in police ROI, it is beginning to look as if those new body cameras everyone is fighting about were a complete waste of money."
Update: Saturday, May 14, 2016: Greensboro: Stroke Capital Of North Carolina
"According to the local chapter of the American Heart Association, there are more people treated for strokes in Greensboro than in any other part of the state."
Update: Thursday May 19, 2016: North Carolina Among Highest Taxed Southern States
Well Greensboro is in North Carolina and Greensboro is one of the highest taxed cities in the state.
Update: Friday, May 20, 2016: Greensboro #3 Fast Food Consumption And people wonder why downtown restaurants can't stay in business.
Update: Thursday, June 2, 2016: Greensboro Makes List Of Cities Caught Cheating On Water Testing Will we become another Flint, Michigan?
Update: June 10, 2016 Gaping holes, cracked pavement, 75 percent of streets need some sort of attention.
Update: Friday, September 2, 2016, Greensboro Radio Sucks
Update: Thursday, October 6, 2016, As if it couldn't get any worse, Greensboro Is An Expensive Place To Live
Update: Monday, December 5, 2016 Greensboro Among Worst Cities For Dating
Update: Wednesday, December 21, 2016, You can bet it doesn't get any worse than this: UNCG Economist Andrew Brod Agrees: Greensboro Sucks!
Stay tuned for more updates.....
