Cheddar Tom wrote:I took a trip down near the Bootheel for the first time this weekend....didn't realize Hwy. 67 was a 2-lane highway. Easy access to get down there, but what a dump Southeast Missouri is. Shanty after shanty right along the highway. Burned out, deteriorating buildings that look like they haven't been occupied for decades. Mobile homes clustered in pockets that have massive amounts of junk on the property. That area is an embarrassment.
That's pretty much Missouri outside of the cities. It's not just a Southeast Missouri problem.
67 is a 4 lane road from Poplar Bluff up to St. Louis and in that area gets nicer and nicer (both aesthetically and economically) as you get away from the delta and into the hills and closer to St. Louis. From PB to the line, though, it is ugly flat land especially during the winter. But, that stretch of highway is only 20ish miles in Missouri. Then you get into Arkansas which is much of the same but with stricter alcohol laws. Then, you finally get to a real highway 80ish long miles later.
It's not just a Southeast Missouri problem...true. It's pretty indicative of America. Money is flowing into the cities and into a select few farmers pockets. You'd be hard pressed to find a state that didn't have economically depressed areas with dilapidated houses along 2 lane highways 100+ miles from a true metropolitan area (eg, not Poplar Bluff, Paragould, Sikeston, Jonesboro, etc). Southwest Missouri gets pretty trash too, but at least they are in the hills and not flat lands.
All that said, yeah, the bootheel is a god forsaken dump.
Cheddar Tom wrote:I took a trip down near the Bootheel for the first time this weekend....didn't realize Hwy. 67 was a 2-lane highway. Easy access to get down there, but what a dump Southeast Missouri is. Shanty after shanty right along the highway. Burned out, deteriorating buildings that look like they haven't been occupied for decades. Mobile homes clustered in pockets that have massive amounts of junk on the property. That area is an embarrassment.
That's pretty much Missouri outside of the cities. It's not just a Southeast Missouri problem.
When I said "2 lane" I meant the 2 lanes you could occupy in either direction...sorry if that was the wrong way of describing it.
I was born & raised along 44 between STL and Springfield so I am unfortunately familiar with the trashy, poor areas going each way. St. Clair (located about 45 mi. west of STL) is particularly bad for this. It was just eye opening to see all the deteriorating buildings that are typically tucked away on deep backroads in my area so exposed on 67.
Cheddar Tom wrote:When I said "2 lane" I meant the 2 lanes you could occupy in either direction...sorry if that was the wrong way of describing it.
I was born & raised along 44 between STL and Springfield so I am unfortunately familiar with the trashy, poor areas going each way. St. Clair (located about 45 mi. west of STL) is particularly bad for this. It was just eye opening to see all the deteriorating buildings that are typically tucked away on deep backroads in my area so exposed on 67.
It's something everyone should see. I think there are still a huge number of people that don't understand what true poverty in America looks like.
Cheddar Tom wrote:When I said "2 lane" I meant the 2 lanes you could occupy in either direction...sorry if that was the wrong way of describing it.
I was born & raised along 44 between STL and Springfield so I am unfortunately familiar with the trashy, poor areas going each way. St. Clair (located about 45 mi. west of STL) is particularly bad for this. It was just eye opening to see all the deteriorating buildings that are typically tucked away on deep backroads in my area so exposed on 67.
It's something everyone should see. I think there are still a huge number of people that don't understand what true poverty in America looks like.
i agree but poverty in america and poverty in the rest of the world are 2 completely different things. we do have a problem here but if you are going to be poor this is the place to be poor
