One man's pessimism is another man's realism, I always say. Here is the story from Pressconnects.com:
Maybe it's the weather, even with the relatively mild winter. Maybe it's the region's long-term economic woes. Maybe it's fallout from last year's flood that left some people and businesses struggling to rebuild or relocate.This is actually kind of funny given peak oil author James Kunster's repeated assertions that upstate New York will be among the best places in the country to reside after the oil crash. I'm not saying he's wrong, just that plenty of his fellow citizens don't seem to agree.
Whatever the factors, the Gallup polling organization says we're one pessimistic bunch.
Residents of the Binghamton metropolitan area, which covers Broome and Tioga counties, are the least optimistic in the country about whether their community is becoming a better place to live, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday.
Residents in 190 metro areas were polled for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being index, which tracks community satisfaction and optimism on a daily basis.
The Binghamton region ranked dead last in terms of optimism, with 27.8 percent of residents expressing a positive feeling about the community's direction in 2011. By contrast, Provo-Orem, Utah, led the list with 76 percent of residents expressing optimism.
People can point to the weather and the economy as reasons for pessimism, and those are valid points, said Benjamin Perkus, a psychologist licensed by the state and practicing in Binghamton.
The literal lack of sunlight does affect brain chemistry, with people suffering the doldrums from Seasonal Affective Disorder, he said.
But people's perceptions may also be a factor, he believes. "The community is rather conservative and not very open-minded, so it's stuck in the old paradigm of big industry, which is gone now, Perkus said.
Bonus: Patton Oswalt is NOT optimistic
Combination of high unemployment and the 2011 flood. Around 40% of the city of Binghamton alone was evacuated. Not to mention the flood damage in Johnson City, Owego, etc. Lots of people lost everything they owned. Even for those who have jobs, the pay is likely quite low. Plenty of people are barely hanging on.
ReplyDeleteLots of people don't have things like cars or internet service. I knew one guy who would bike 15 miles or so to and from work in December. In the winter of 2010-2011.
Single biggest problem has nothing to do with absence of art or culture or entertainment, but the absence of JOBS. You'll see a lot of "must have experience" even for jobs like "dishwasher" or "cleaner," or for a weekend job that only has 10 or 15 hours a week.
If you were to walk around in Binghamton, one of the first things you would notice are all the boarded-up, closed shops and businesses. Also the large number of DSS recipients walking to or from somewhere, or just standing around. Most of the DSS folks seem to be in their late teens, 20s, or 30s.
Obviously the pessimism rating is not due to SAD. If that were the case, many states in the colder parts of the US would be rated as very pessimistic.
On Kunstler: Maybe he's imagining himself in the 'world made by hand' as a local baron. Upstate NY might not be a bad choice for the wealthy. The not-wealthy will probably try to be where the jobs are.
"This is actually kind of funny given peak oil author James Kunster's repeated assertions that upstate New York will be among the best places in the country to reside after the oil crash. I'm not saying he's wrong, just that plenty of his fellow citizens don't seem to agree."
ReplyDeleteJimmy is right, because he is looking at the place with a correct expectation.
The interviewees in this survey are looking at the place with 1980's glasses, wondering "where did all the good fossil-fuel based STUFF go?"
It's a great location to cross into the post-industrial world. It's not a good place to try and preserve what isn't there any more.