Tampa Bay most stressed?

Tampa Bay most stressed?

How can this possibly be?!

There they go again, those rank-yankers at Forbes magazine.

After previously ranking the Tampa Bay area dead last in commuting among U.S. major metros, then No. 2 among cities in economic free fall, the publication has seen fit to name it the fourth-most-stressful city behind Houston, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

How can this be, one may ask, when we live so close to some of the nation's most beautiful (and oil-free) beaches? Coffee Talk attempted a quick trip to the coast to investigate, but got stuck in causeway traffic.

Lest anyone think the solution lies in an extra penny of Hillsborough County's sales tax for light-rail service, let's review Forbes' breakdown for its No. 4 ranking. The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area ranks lowest in areas such as poor physical health and high unemployment, and not much better in terms of limited exercise, health care, and lengthy commute times.

The ranking might not be so bad except that Tampa Bay was listed worse than places like Miami, New York and Detroit. Wait, don't they make crime shows based on these cities? And yet Tampa's crime rate has been so improved in recent years that “Cops” won't even ride along with the local law enforcement agencies anymore.

This is all very stressful!