The Right Armpit of Indiana: Marion

Рет қаралды 22,743

Күн бұрын

This place is your classic “Has Been” town. It was great in the past, but no longer is today. There used to be thousands of jobs 50 years ago, but today you’re lucky if you have a good one. This town used to be a thriving community, today it’s a dying community. Community pride used to be on display, but today there’s very little of it on display. Head through town and you get that old blue collar feel, along with loads of abandoned buildings unfortunately so. This is a town that has lost many many many factory jobs since the city was at its peak. As we go along with the video, you’ll see just how rough things look in this town these days and I’ll talk about how this city got to be this way.
0:00 - 0:52 Intro
0:52 - 2:20 It's Marion!
2:20 - 4:45 Appearance matters
4:45 - 14:00 Economic stats
14:00 - 16:45 Industrial past
16:45 - 24:30 Downtown
24:30 - 26:35 Where everything is in town
26:35 - 32:06 More blight
32:06 - 33:00 Marion High School
33:00 - 35:09 Indiana Wesleyan University
35:09 - 42:01 Chris's Livability Score and Final Thoughts
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@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

See more of what Marion, Indiana looks like these days here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p5txjJVp1Lqromg.html Armpit Cities playlist: kzfaq.info/sun/PLkAKbwTlGHeKiBMIC2RcftN5mUGrzp4VO Indiana Playlist: kzfaq.info/sun/PLkAKbwTlGHeK4wgF6Vl_e-_rKxPqfLVO6 USA Small Cities Playlist: kzfaq.info/sun/PLkAKbwTlGHeILqWIwMkMLAV7t7UeD7E8J Help me grow my 2nd channel! KZfaq.com/@chrishardenarchives ==================================================================== EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=35.2437531716631%2C-91.53765609999999&z=5 SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7 On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

@TheREALJosephTurner 5 ай бұрын

Marion resident here. If anyone thinks he was too harsh on Marion, I can assure you that he was actually GENTLE. This video only showed some of the main streets in town. Once you get into the side streets- the residential areas- the outlook gets EVEN MORE gloomier. Abandoned and dilapidated houses are EVERYWHERE. I bought a house here about 5 years ago because it was CHEAP. Right across the street is a burned up house that burned over a decade ago, another burned up house on my street two properties down is gone now- but only because I bought it and took it down myself. Also bought the meth den house next to me and tore it down too. Two more are coming down this summer. I literally bought the entire block on my side of the alley, one property across the alley, and one across the street, all for LESS THAN MOST PEOPLE SPEND FOR A DOWN PAYMENT on an average modest-sized house! While my actions have improved just one neighborhood, I'm still surrounded by blight. One more thing- the crime statistics don't show the sheer amount of meth-related issues Marion has- the jail is constantly overcrowded, so you're likely not going to get charged unless you have enough to qualify for "intent to distribute." Meth-related theft (stealing things to pay for your meth) rarely goes reported, because everyone knows it won't be investigated. As far as the new mayor goes- it seems as if he's accomplished more in the short time he's been in office than anyone in the last two decades. He has a steep uphill battle ahead of him, but the man loves this city, cares about the opinion and ideas of people who live here, and rolled up his sleeves on day one. But he can't do it alone. The people of Marion have to start loving Marion again as well. Clean up your yards. Tear down those blighted houses. and QUIT THROWING YOUR GARBAGE OUT YOUR CAR WINDOWS.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

I never intend to offend anyone but I understand sometimes that harsh truth and opinions from an outsider can rub some people the wrong way. Buying entire blocks of real estate though? Wow. Thats what people do in Detroit! For the same reasons that you’re doing it too. - Best of luck to you going forward in Marion!

@TheREALJosephTurner 5 ай бұрын

@@ChrisHarden I agree with you. And citizens who live in these kinds of cities might not have any control over the employment opportunities, they DO have control over what their properties look like. It costs zero dollars to pick the garbage up out of your yard. And it's not very expensive to help out a neighbor that is down on their luck. I've mowed a few yards to help neighbors out, rehung some gutters, etc. If you want a city to be proud of, often times it starts in your own neighborhood!

@GeeEm1313 5 ай бұрын

Keep up the good work. I live in the suburbs of Portland, and like you said, very basic upkeep of a property costs nothing. The people around here think nothing is a zillion dollars.

@EbenezerWar 4 ай бұрын

@@TheREALJosephTurner One other thing when I was there I had never seen so many white women with black boyfriends or baby daddes like almost half of the couples I saw there were white girls especially the younger ones with black boys, I was shocked, nothing wrong with it but like who do the white guys date then

@TheREALJosephTurner 4 ай бұрын

@@EbenezerWar I can't speak for all white guys in Marion, but in my case... nobody! But then again, I'm in my early 50s, lower income, and pretty set in my ways. I'm not exactly what most women would call a catch these days. LOL

@anthonyjackson1446 5 ай бұрын

Pretty nice video of Marion Indiana, l see it’s a good sized city with true urban i briefly visited there back in the 90s at night so didn’t get to see much let alone the downtown and size of the city, but this video did it justice, and could only think it has potential, but it takes the new mayor and other leadership and it’s citizens to make that happen.. Thanks for sharing this video.. Tony j. from Indianapolis. 🙌🏼👍💪👏🏼🏢📸

@PhyllisBouldin 3 күн бұрын

I lived there years, years ago and I loved it. Great people . I would love to be there again with friends. You did not look for the Good professional Police and the restaurants with real food we can not get just anyplace. I think it was decent priced utilities . People actually knew how to do repairs and would do the work when you needed it done. I had my Dream House there. Some of my best friends are still there and out of all the places I ended up I am going to be in the cemetery there when I am done. With memories and some good people.

@johnc.2325 5 ай бұрын

This decline in Marion is sad. I have never lived in Marion, but I used to live about 30 miles away from it in the 1970's. I remember when my family went into Marion to go shopping at the mall or downtown, out to eat, etc.. since there weren't many services where I lived. In the 1970's, Marion wasn't exactly a wealthy city, but it was doing well. Like Chris said, the city had a lot of good factory jobs at places such as RCA and General Motors where car parts were made. State Highway 9 and 15, one of the main business thoroughfares at the time, had a lot of restaurants, a nice indoor mall, a popular department store called Mr. Wiggs, and many other businesses along the highway. Now, most of those businesses are long gone except for a couple of fast-food chains and a few gas stations. The once thriving mall is now defunct, but the last time I was in Marion the building was still there but was an eyesore. The downtown has absolutely nothing anymore. Marion is an example of the need for a city to diversify its economy.

@judithkrongard4010 5 ай бұрын

Chris, your videos are great. I'm sitting here drawing and learning a lot .

@geesmith3107 19 күн бұрын

Thank you Chris for this tour of Marion, IN. Your livability score is also helpful. Great job!

@craignovy2090 5 ай бұрын

Another excellent to the point and often hearbreaking portrait. Chris one of your many talents is how you truly paint and narrate the picture and take a place from abstract to real therefore affecting real people. Given my senior citizen age it was easy for me to envision how the good days would have looked. Again thank you for sharing your exceptional ability to making a place alive and authentic especially for those who have never been there like me. Mega bravos! Craig

@AvaZinn 5 ай бұрын

Former Marion resident from 1996-2018. It wasn’t like this when I grew up in nearby Van Buren (my childhood home was four miles north of Indiana 18 on 600 East).

@dennisboyd4262 5 ай бұрын

It's a dump, but I met some nice folks there while working in nearby Kokomo, 4 years ago. The trail through town is beautiful, called The Cardinal Greenway. The AmVets in town is nice, and open to the public.

@jaypeter7446 6 күн бұрын

I've passed through Marion twice. The park is beautiful.

@joannunemaker6332 5 ай бұрын

This town needs help. It looks abandoned. I like this video!😊❤

@jetsons101 5 ай бұрын

Hmmmmm Outsourcing jobs lowers the price of "Stuff," but then who's left with money to buy the cheap "Stuff."

@Paramount531 5 ай бұрын

Interesting, I had never even given Marion a second thought. This video will probably spare me from a third. As far as Indiana goes, I have only been in South Bend to visit the Studebaker museum, the downtown area seemed reasonably nice but that was in 2000.

@frankwoods4532 5 ай бұрын

Thank you Chris for sharing. As always great job. I was wondering where you were. Thanks again.😀😃😄👍

@Comm0ut 5 ай бұрын

NAFTA did most of this by gutting US industry but many communities were fading as industry changed and efficiency (which also means job destruction) made manufacturing very different. NAFTA BTW was bipartisan, more proof the parties really are two wings of the same bird. The US was deliberately destroyed and the men in power were not boomers but the two generations before them. I was alive when that 1958 photo looked like much of America. The American public made or permitted or rewarded the choices that ended that era and they did it at the ballot box.

@sharksport01 5 ай бұрын

I visited Marion in the 80's, my friend had a motel that he had renovated really nicely. There was a exiled persian princess who lived in one of the rooms, a relative of the Shah. Her small room was packed with exquisite furniture and tapestries she had escaped with. She would get all dressed up like a queen and sit in her window all day, every day. I would always wave and smile to her when i passed by, she would stare blankly straight ahead yet raise one of her pinkys, on her bejeweled hand, and ever so slightly acknowledge me. If you are going to film many of the depressed neighborhoods, why not film Shady Hills? Maybe that's in the 2nd video.

@jonly1993 5 ай бұрын

As a compliment to the left and right armpits, Brazil and Anderson would be the nasty, unwashed underboobs.

@jetsons101 5 ай бұрын

Maybe Marion is not at the top of its game right now, but I saw very little graffiti during the video, that's a good thing...... Thanks to Chris for his time, work and posting.....

@TheREALJosephTurner 5 ай бұрын

That's because we can't afford the spray paint here...

@jetsons101 5 ай бұрын

I hope it's because you have pride in your hometown. @@TheREALJosephTurner

@TheREALJosephTurner 5 ай бұрын

@@jetsons101 It was a joke, based on our average income. Thanks for playing though.

@warreneckels4945 5 ай бұрын

The Wesleyan College is a mixed blessing. A bottle company wanted to move in, but the College did not want a place that could make beer bottled to set up shop. Marion is also the site of the last lynching north of the Ohio, in 1938.

@TheREALJosephTurner 5 ай бұрын

The city government places more weight on the opinions of the college than they do the citizens who actually live here.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Interesting. Being a Christian college I could see that. Wow.

@SDC509BowmanDeal 4 ай бұрын

Even Mayor Henry said that bottling story was not true.

@TheREALJosephTurner 4 ай бұрын

@@SDC509BowmanDeal Not sure I'd listen to much he had to say on that issue, but to each their own. After all, he's the same mayor that stuck all the boulders around the courthouse because Marion, Indiana was somehow a target for terrorists...

@shelbyz1974 5 ай бұрын

When you see multiple gas stations shut down that's not a good thing for a community. This town seriously needs some good companies to move there and help this economy.❤

@mikewilson4852 5 ай бұрын

Whoops! Looks like you answered my question. Thanks!

@Ruffi0 5 ай бұрын

Perfect timing. Can watch while coding

@stephaniehein7025 2 ай бұрын

My family lived in Marion from 1974-1977, nice place back then.

@waynesimpson4081 5 ай бұрын

Maybe because it's a bright spring day, but the town looks much more orderly and clean than most southern or border state shrinking towns. No, not New England level tidy, nor Western rustic romantic, but decent. (Good Lord, that's got to be the most boringly plain college campus I've ever seen though!)

@angelaworking3641 24 күн бұрын

It is a religious college

@1pelicanmarsh 4 ай бұрын

Greg (from kokomo). Was an educational vid for me as ive never been there (to my memory, and certainly not in today's condition) and never knew anyone that went to Indiana Wesleyan. I thought I remeber in the 80's a Mercedes repair place....as it seems like my parents went there for car svc, but then started to go to W Lafayette.....I know the W. Lafayette moved to Lafayette but googling I think I was mistaken that Marion ever had an agency. looked like an after market repair shop. it just seemed very out of place, considering todays blight and past employer was GM. Indiana has never been very receptive to foreign cars, so we always had to go out of town for svc. Thanks again for your tours of places ive not been

@stlrfn3190 5 ай бұрын

I’d rate Gary as the ahole of Indiana. Far worse than Marion & it’s not even close.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

No city in Indiana compares to Gary.

@jeffaulik3980 5 ай бұрын

A friend used to live in Marion. He worked at RCA when they were at their peak..

@davehawash2255 3 ай бұрын

Great video

@fs6622 2 ай бұрын

I've driven coast to coast a TON of times. Turns out, I've also driven armpit to armpit. Who knew.🤣

@ChrisHarden 2 ай бұрын

Best comment yet 😂

@actionatnetrox 4 ай бұрын

Thanks! People need to know what is going on.

@TraceyRolandelli 4 ай бұрын

As an artist living in an expensive state, I’m tempted to show this to some friends…..we could take over some abandoned places and fix them up.

@warbirdwf 5 ай бұрын

Having watched ton's of these videos of yours and other KZfaqrs who visit and drive through cities, Marion honestly doesn't look that bad. Again, think Cleveland, Detroit or other rust belt cities that lost their industries/jobs and large portions of population plus white flight. I saw one video recently of east Cleveland and just wow.. Horrible. I've seen some videos of downtowns that were empty and vacant in dying cities in Texas and other midwest small towns. The classic downtowns of the early and mid 1900's have been emptying since the 1950's and 60's. Shopping malls opened, big box stores like KMart, Gemco, Walmart closed lots of those downtown mom and pop stores. You use to go downtown to hit multiple stores to do your shopping. Now, you could just go to Kmart or Walmart and do all your shopping there in one store. It's only gotten worse with all the big box stores that opened in the 1980's through 2000. Now, we're seeing those big box brick and mortar stores and companies closing due to online shopping. Hi Amazon. Shopping trends change as do many things in our everyday lives. I'm nostalgic in general and I do enjoy seeing a video of a vibrant old city with a revitalized old downtown with the restored old buildings and architecture, with lots of folks on the streets and every store filled with a business. As you said, it's mainly in larger metro areas or in smaller towns with an population growth. My bet is in the next 20-30 years, people are going to tire of living in crowded big cities, with all the traffic, expense and other BS and start moving back to these smaller cities for a slower pace and better quality of life.

@anthonyjackson1446 5 ай бұрын

I thought the same thing, that Marion doesn’t look all that bad, and has big time potential.. 😮😊🙌🏼🏢📸

@TheREALJosephTurner 5 ай бұрын

As a resident of Marion, I can say this- he hasn't even shown you the worst of it yet.

@jKLa 5 ай бұрын

They already have been moving to those relitively near larger urban areas. With work from home growth since 2020 that trend will likely spread geographically.

@mdmarko 5 ай бұрын

Place looks as if the life has been sucked right out of it. Reminds me of another area that's has the life sucked out of it, the Alton/East Alton/Wood River/Roxana, Illinois area. Saw that six years ago.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Sadly those are some accurate assessments for both Marion and Metro East.

@stevenichols2938 Ай бұрын

Worked in a jail in a nearby county; at any given time, it seemed like half of the inmates were from Marion.

@33Donner77 5 ай бұрын

The repairs needed on the older homes (replace plumbing, etc.) might come close to the value of the homes. Seems like a sleepy Midwestern town that might not wake up unless society becomes less global.

@JenSAN4105 5 ай бұрын

Btw, the "railroad overpass" by the splashhouse is the cardinal greenway. Its a walkway that goes through Marion and Gas City. I think it used to be a railroad tho.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Yeah. Good catch. It was a railroad at one point. I mentioned the cardinal greenway at the end but could’ve said something about it when I passed by it a few times in the video.

@JenSAN4105 5 ай бұрын

@@ChrisHarden its ok. I just didnt know if you knew when you saw it. 🙂👍

@philfurrow9026 5 ай бұрын

That railroad was the Chesapeake & Ohio of Indiana and running from Cincinnati to Chicago. It was abandoned by CSX in the early 80s I think. Amtrak ran on it and had a stop in Marion.

@James-B 23 күн бұрын

I don't think you are too harsh and anyone who has lived there for any amount of time within the past 30 years shouldn't say you are being too harsh either. I grew up here in the 80's and 90's and can say everything you have mentioned in this video about the decline of the city is true. Once the jobs started leaving, people no longer had the income for the upkeep of their homes as they were focused on making sure they had food on the table for their family. I moved away in 1999 and lived there again between 2008-2011 but don't think I will ever be returning there to live and only go there to visit my mothers grave now. I know a lot people there keep thinking the city will be alright if they could just get more of the factory jobs that used to be there back. They don't realize those type of factory jobs are just not coming back any more. Not like they were anyway. There will always be some but not the type where they employed thousands of people. Do I miss living there? Yes, but I think it's more of the nostalgia of what Marion used to be rather than what Marion is now. I hope that the city makes a turn around and I have hope with the new Mayor that seems to acknowledge the current issues the city faces while not forgetting the history of the city.

@jasong428 5 ай бұрын

From what I've seen, it's very similar to Kenton, OH. The people who have jobs and use castile soap live about 5-15 miles outside of town and tend to have a house and it tends to be nice. The people who don't have jobs and use Dove/Irish Spring live in town and have either an apartment, trailer or a house that it's an ugly state of disrepair. The people that live in town just can't get it together enough to leave.

@JenSAN4105 5 ай бұрын

I have a factory job and live in an apartment. My rent is $800/month and 25% of my check is taken in taxes because minimum wage is still $7.50. Give me a way to get a better job having epilepsy and I will be out of here in a heartbeat. Some things you just can't help. I was born in this town. I didn't choose to be here.

@jasong428 5 ай бұрын

@@JenSAN4105 my situation isn't too different. There are videos about online/at-home work which can frequently be flexible and not crazily hard to get in to. Good luck out there

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Marion is probably similar to a lot of places in Ohio. Lima comes to mind. I have yet to see many of the small rust belt cities spread throughout Ohio though.

@lumberhack2002 3 ай бұрын

Listen. Do you all hear the loud sucking sound in Indiana? Hoosier government seems to allow most industry and higher paying jobs to go to one city. Indianapolis. Ever since Dick Lugar was mayor of Indy it seems like everything that made Indiana vibrant has been centralized toward its capitol city. If you are withing commuting distance of Indy you are ok, while outlying cities have or are becoming a footnote of the past.

@ChrisHarden Ай бұрын

Columbus, Bloomington and Seymour come to mind of places that are sort of rural but are doing ok economically. The Fort Wayne area is doing fine for a city of its size. Lafayette.

@DLeadVox 5 ай бұрын

💛💛💛

@silmarmeglio9721 Ай бұрын

Eu assisto todos os seus vídeos e gosto muito ok sou do Brasil muito legal os EUA tenho muito vontade de conhece-lo (CrisHardem)

@toddcharbonneau1368 5 ай бұрын

Will you ever do a video of Elkhart Indiana ?

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Probably one day

@dougaustin1328 Ай бұрын

Sounds like flint mi!😮

@ChrisHarden Ай бұрын

Yes, a mini flint. Minus the lead water.

@chrisbrzezniak6067 3 ай бұрын

marion needs to build these battery plants like kokomo indina. I’m from Chicago working out there.. I just sit in a meeting for a $3 billion dollar plant. One is in progress and the other ones starting soon.

@lindastevens2573 3 ай бұрын

So so sad to see what used to be a very pretty city go down hill so bad. People dont care about keeping their lawns mowed or keeping their homes up,this town could get cleaned up if only the residents would get in there and get busy. The businesses need to start up again but this falls on the Mayor and others in office to do something!! Maybe that would give the residents some incentive ,looks like a lot of people just gave up!!

@NeonRazer42 5 ай бұрын

I wonder if you're going to do some of the top 3 places to live in Indiana supposedly. Carmel, Fishers, or Zionsville

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Definitely will one day

@sharksport01 5 ай бұрын

Columbus

@garyszewczyk6577 4 ай бұрын

Love all your content will done

@user-xe4yr7pb1x 3 ай бұрын

I married in Marion 58yrs I worked and had my 1st son

@user-mf7zn4ed9u 5 ай бұрын

U HAVE A VERY EAZY TO LISTEN TO VOICE YOUR TRAVELOGS ARE CRISP & PRETTY MUCH NON-JUDGEMENTAL I'D SAY U WERE ROOTING FOR THE NEW MAYOR TO START A REVITALIZATION OF MARION...THEY MIGHT GIVE U THE KEY TO THE CITY ..MAKE SURE GARFIELD GIVES IT TO U 👍👍👍👏👏👏🤓🤓🤓

@Everythingis22 Ай бұрын

James Dean is from (and buried in) Fairmount, IN about 10 miles south of Marion. My wife grew up in a small nearby town and I hated visiting the area. Nothing to do there and very depressing area.

@laurapatton9508 Ай бұрын

But he was born in Marion. I am from & was raised in Gas City, but was still born at MGH

@Everythingis22 Ай бұрын

@@laurapatton9508 I stand corrected. My dog is from Gas City though. True story

@erictorow250 5 ай бұрын

Do they sell toilets here . I think 🤔 they sell them in either Gary Indiana or flint Michigan or Camden nj or Chester pa or even pine bluff Arkansas 😮

@mdelkinz 23 күн бұрын

Rumor is IWU cockblocked Budweiser from bringing a thousand+ jobs into town because “beer”. Also, no Groundhog Mounds shout out?

@mikewilson4852 5 ай бұрын

Wasn't there a General Motors Body by Fisher and Guide Lamp factory back in the 1970s?

@TheREALJosephTurner 2 ай бұрын

The GM plant is still here, but like most automotive factories, automation means that there is only a fraction of employees compared to what they used to have. I remember when the parking lot was full of employee cars- now they could get rid of over half of the parking lot and still have plenty of employee parking.

@travisj2695 2 ай бұрын

Yep

@JenSAN4105 5 ай бұрын

Indiana Weslyan is also known for buying up as much property as possible and being too expensive for anyone in the area to afford. They have ridiculous rules and treat their workers horribly. IWU has an aweful reputation in Marion.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Interesting. Other people have mentioned that about IWU too.

@byron30 5 ай бұрын

I thought you were going to pick South Bend

@ChrisHarden Ай бұрын

South Bend isn’t an armpit. It’s a bald spot, and Notre Dame is the remaining patches of thinning hair.

@r.pres.4121 5 ай бұрын

This is what Niagara Falls NY looks like, deteriorating, depressing, and impoverished.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

I’ve been there. I’d say Niagara Falls is worse!

@anthonyjackson1446 5 ай бұрын

Really, and that city has a fancy name like that, you would think they would pour all kinds of money into it to keep it on point.. and a visitor attraction type of city too . 🏢🏢📸

@susanfaulkner2304 5 ай бұрын

1958- looked decent . Things seemed to have gone downhill in 1968. For the town where I was I was born, it did go downhill fast. White Flight. This was in Passaic,N J.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

@@anthonyjackson1446 A small area around Niagara Falls is ok to visit and stay at a hotel in for a weekend. Otherwise it's easily the "Left Armpit" of New York

@JonEdwardJordan 5 ай бұрын

I'm glad you didn't pick my hometown of Richmond,. It looks like Marion is a lot worse off.

@UserName-ts3sp 5 ай бұрын

ive been to richmond. it sucks but marion looks a lot worse

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Marion today is what Richmond will be in a few decades if Richmond is unable to reverse their own negative economic trends.

@JonEdwardJordan 5 ай бұрын

@@ChrisHarden It's been in a steady decline for 50 years. I went to Muncie last summer just to look around...and it's no better off. Is there any exception to the East Central Indiana die-off ?

@UserName-ts3sp 5 ай бұрын

@@JonEdwardJordan development is heading towards the cities. i live in central ohio, it’s similar. columbus and the surrounding counties are booming but much of the state isn’t. cities like marion (OH), chillicothe, springfield and zanesville have definitely seen better days indy seems to be the same way. ive driven the 70 corridor between indy and columbus many times, and there’s a good amount of development in the mount comfort/greenfield area close to indy. not much farther out tho.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

@@JonEdwardJordan If anything Greensburg and Greenfield are both doing ok I feel like. Might be a stretch to call those towns apart of East Central Indiana though. Amazingly, I'd say Richmond is actually the nicer one out of the cluster of Anderson, Muncie, New Castle, Marion, Connersville and of course Richmond. That's not saying much though.

@taylor-vl1re 3 ай бұрын

I think I saw " one" piece of litter in that whole Town. Apparently the people of this armpit have a lot of pride. Interesting?

@andreiter 5 ай бұрын

Towns like this, Terra Haute, East St. Louis, when would you say was their "peak"? 1958? 1969? I heard that the middle-class basically peaked in 1969, and has been on a slow downslide since then.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Late 60's early 70's depending on the town. Anytime around that era for most of the Rust Belt cities

@amberhuls5231 5 ай бұрын

Born and raised here in Grant County. Marion is pretty shitty and so glad I left. Gas city is way better even though it's right down the road.

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Where did you end up moving to?

@amberhuls5231 2 ай бұрын

Gas City

@shootythings5086 5 ай бұрын

Man, this dude does not like Indiana 😂

@Van-Schouwen 3 ай бұрын

Thats blinn a slumlord

@amberhuls5231 5 ай бұрын

You didn't show the Bypass

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

Did in the 2nd video. Link is in the pinned comment and description. Don't talk in that video though as it's just extra footage of the town.

@FredGulmire-ml2nk 4 ай бұрын

From a symmetry prospective I think Richmond is the right armpit, awful people as well

@derekdestep40 4 ай бұрын

All the business are out on the bypass

@stache1954 5 ай бұрын

Who mows all that vacant land?

@JenSAN4105 5 ай бұрын

We have a work crew at the jail that helps with rehabilitation and gets the guys out for the day working on things like this. They have been doing pretty awesome lately. I'm glad we have this program.

@stache1954 5 ай бұрын

They're doing an excellent job.@@JenSAN4105

@pascalfriedmann1479 5 ай бұрын

Why not Brazil?

@GeeEm1313 5 ай бұрын

Why not Zoidberg? (Sorry. I had to. I don't know big Brazil is.)

@pascalfriedmann1479 5 ай бұрын

@GeeEm1313 Biggest town between Terre Haute and Indy. That said, it's maybe to far left/west to be the right armpit

@ChrisHarden 5 ай бұрын

@@pascalfriedmann1479 Brazil was a solid contestant but Terre Haute won the prize

@rainman7992 5 ай бұрын

seems the town might want to take advantage of the influx of workers and right the ship. What industry relies on migrant factory workers and then bring that industry to town. you got the buildings and infrastructure, lots of empties. also, as home owners, they tend to improve the property, aka taking pride in where you live

@stevekovacs4093 5 ай бұрын

You know, sad as it may be, I don't see a rash of graffiti that's so common where I live. I guess it's lacking a Latino population. They are obsessed with it.

@JenSAN4105 5 ай бұрын

They save that for the trains that go through. 😂

@billwilson-es5yn 2 ай бұрын

The city may want to consider becoming a retirement community.

@FixIt1975 Ай бұрын

There's a lot worse places than this. We have plenty of shit places to pick from here in NJ. Salem, Bridgeton, Camden, Newark, Trenton, Paterson, Irvington, and many more. All make Marion look like Payton Place