Washington D.C. Ranked Least 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%).

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. Americans say the most overrated city in the U.S. is New York, while the least desirable city is Washington, D.C.

The survey comes after a Giant grocery store in Southeast Washington, DC, announced it will be removing name brands like Advil, Colgate, and Tide from its shelves to better prevent a spike in theft. The store also stated that shoppers will be required to show their receipts to security guards before exiting the store. Ira Kress, president of the chain, told the Washington Post that the store can no longer serve the community by keeping its stores at high risk.

A sign announcing a new receipt checking policy in the Anacostia store as Giant Foods grocery is making some changes to their stores to address organized retail crime, in Washington, DC. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“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,” Kress said.

“I don’t want to do this — I’d like to sell [those products],” Kress later added. “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 also said the store has seen theft rise “tenfold in the last five years” while violence has steadily increased, most especially at the store on Alabama Avenue in D.C.