by Eric Lendrum
A new survey has declared that the nation’s capital of Washington D.C. is the least desirable place to live, primarily due to high costs of living and rampant crime.
As reported by Breitbart, the survey published by Home Bay, which specializes in real estate education, asked residents to determine the most and least desirable places to live based on such factors as costs of living, home affordability, and crime rates.
“Rural (21%) and suburban (24%) residents agree that the District is the most undesirable city, while urban residents (16%) rank it No. 4.,” the survey revealed. By contrast, the survey found that residents ranked Seattle as the most desirable place to live.
“The most desirable places to live have a low crime rate (46%), affordable homes (43%), and a low cost of living (41%),” the survey continues. “More than 1 in 3 Americans agree that high crime (41%), a high cost of living (36%), expensive homes (34%), and high taxes (33%) make a place overrated.”
“Americans consider Seattle the most desirable city in the U.S. and the most underrated — stealing the distinction from Virginia Beach,” the Home Bay survey reveals. “Americans say the most overrated city in the U.S. is New York, while the least desirable city is Washington, D.C.
Issues such as crime and homelessness have plagued D.C. for years, and have led to numerous businesses shuttering or moving away from the city. The most recent example is a Giant grocery store located in Southeast D.C., which previously announced that it will be removing name brand products from its store, such as Advil, Colgate, and Tide, in order to prevent a likely rise in thefts.
“We want to continue to be able to serve the community, but we can’t do so at the level of significant loss or risk to our associates that we have today,” said Giant president Ira Kress. “I don’t want to do this — I’d like to sell [those products]. But the reality is that Tide is not a profitable item in this store … In many instances people stock the product and within two hours it’s gone, so it’s not on the shelf anyway.”
Kress noted that thefts in the store have risen “tenfold in the last five years,” while violence has also been on the rise, especially at the Giant, located on Alabama Avenue.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.