Wakefield is one of the most versatile cities in all of England. It has risen and fallen countless times during its existence but it has always bounced back stronger and healthier each time. During the mining boom, the city was one of the most important and prominent locations for coal. Many of the problems that afflicted other mining towns, like pollution and strikes, arose in Wakefield as well and the city was nearly ruined because of it. Fortunately, Wakefield managed to overcome the problems of coal mining and now is one of the foremost manufacturing towns in West Yorkshire with the production of glass, metal, tools and chemicals filling in the void that coal had previously left.
Wakefield also suffered from a major unemployment problem more than once in its history and, during the 1980s, the rate of unemployment was one of the highest in all of England. This trend continued through the 1990s as more and more mines closed up or were shut down but the city quickly solved this problem as well and now unemployment in Wakefield is below the national average. Even more remarkable, Wakefield now has one of the lowest crime averages in all of England, a fact that shows the remarkable spirit of the city and its people against difficult situations. Unfortunately, some problems remain with Wakefield and its glum surroundings. Suicide is a particularly sticky problem that has plagued the city for countless years and Wakefield still has a high incidence of suicides in comparison to other cities in the country. While this problem is incredibly complex and requires multiple levels of intervention from various sources like counseling and education, one can be comfortably confident that Wakefield will find a way to overcome this obstacle as well.
Heroin has been a thorn in the side of Wakefield's paw for quite some time as well, as is common with many towns that focus on manual labor and industry for their main economy. The addiction problem in Wakefield, however, was anything but common. In the first five years of the 21st century, Wakefield's heroin addiction rate shot up almost five thousand percent! This represented one of the worst drug addiction epidemics of any city in history but, thankfully, the city has bounced back from this problem as well and the heroin problem in Wakefield is now under control.
These days, Wakefield seems to be once again heading to the top. The local industry is on the rise and large parts of the city that were formerly run down are now being renovated as upscale shops replace slums and gangbang dens. Though a global recession has stricken the world in recent years the homes in and around Wakefield have seen prices double and even triple in some cases as land by the River Aire is being cleaned up and sold for exorbitant prices, driving more income and spending into Wakefield. Though some drawbacks persist, anyone who knows a bit about Wakefield and its history knows that the city will manage to overcome anything that would dare to infiltrate it.
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