We’re Unhappy, Dead And Unemployed… But At Least We Can Breathe! [Mixed Reviews By People Who Don’t Live Here]

Morgan Levy

It’s been a while since our last Mixed Reviews By People Who Don’t Live Here post. They’ve been sitting around in our inboxes, but now it’s time to dust them off and give them a good airing. Without further ado, the honors of the past month or so:

  • Nashville is Business Week’s 8th Unhappiest City. Cities were ranked based on depression rates, suicide rates, divorce rates, crime, population loss, job loss, weather and green space. Our astronomical unemployment rate also had a lot to do with our overall ranking. Thanks to Michele for the tip!
  • Nashville is in US News & World Report’s Top 10 Cities To Retire (or Top 10 Tax Havens For Retirees, if you ask MSN). Thanks to Kaitron for the tip!
  • Tennessee is the state with the 6th Highest Average Annual Smoking Deaths. Which may have something to do with…
  • …Chattanooga, Memphis and Knoxville all making the Top 10 Asthma Capitals list this year, at 4th, 6th and 7th places respectively (way to go Nashville for NOT making that one). Both via Nashville Blotter.
  • Our alma mater, Belmont University, was ranked BusinessWeek’s 84th Best Undergraduate B-School. We’re not sure if that’s a backhanded compliment, but we moved up from 89th last year, and at least we made the top 100, right?
  • And last (but certainly not least), it wouldn’t be a Mixed Reviews post without some dismal news about our unemployment rate. For 2008, we were tied with Kentucky and Oregon for 9th Highest Unemployment Rate in the country. Yay?

Photo by Matt Carman.