Cities you'd never return to

thrashmetalfan

not a city but me and my father (RIP) stopped off in kells on the way to a wedding. not much there to be honest. we were disappointed.

Pearlstone

Miami. Got lost there twenty odd years ago. Took a wrong turn just ten minutes from the airport and ended up spending nearly an hour trying to get out of what can only be described as the scariest place I have ever travelled through.

whisky_galore

ivytwine wrote: »

Perth in Australia is worth a visit but don't stay there longer than a week. If you do, you'll swiftly realise:

Time has stopped somewhere around 1975, and for all the pretty skyscrapers you have a city centre that is roughly the size of Limerick, and is run by the most narrow-minded of the emigrants who got their 10 shilling tickets from Southampton in the 1950s.

I think things have changed slightly from when I was lived there, but late-night opening and daylight savings were the twin evils threatening the status quo in 2009. If you realised you didn't have milk after 5pm you were screwed, unless you wanted to pay a Chinese grocer $10 for a souring carton (IF he was open).

Whereas every Ballygobackwards in Ireland has a Centra that opens til 10!

£10 not 10 shillings, hence the term '10 Pound Poms'.

I am pie

Pearlstone wrote: »

Miami. Got lost there twenty odd years ago. Took a wrong turn just ten minutes from the airport and ended up spending nearly an hour trying to get out of what can only be described as the scariest place I have ever travelled through.

20 years ago! It may have changed.

I was there for work recently, thought it was OK. Decent food & drink, clean enough in the centre. Not awful.

KCC

I love this thread - it's very informative!

As a rule, I try never to return to the same place twice if I can, but the following are some cities I didn't like or understand the hype about:

• I found Melbourne to be small and boring.
• Canberra seemed like a retirement village although I was on a very quick visit so perhaps I'm wrong
• I was disappointed at how unromantic Paris was. It's huge and traffic is crazy.
• I found Berlin to be boring and of all the places I really never wish to return there. I don't see what it has going for it at all.
• I was on a very quick visit to Glasgow recently and thought it was a kip.
• We went on a day trip to Tijuana when visiting San Diego - all the Americans we met told us we were crazy to have went there. It was totally bleak and empty, a ghost city. I've never felt so sorry for the shopkeepers - we only saw two other tourists besides ourselves. There was a terrible air of danger about the place and there were "pharmacies" everywhere. We visited in 2009 and I think that the drug cartels were causing huge trouble at the time but it may have improved since then.

I'm surprised at how many times Prague has been mentioned on this thread. I loved it. We went in late November almost ten years ago and I have lovely memories of drinking mulled wine outdoors on St. Wenceslas Square while the snow was falling softly. It was like stepping back in time (I'm fairly sure there were gas street lamps which contributed to that).

BuilderPlumber

Pearlstone wrote: »

Miami. Got lost there twenty odd years ago. Took a wrong turn just ten minutes from the airport and ended up spending nearly an hour trying to get out of what can only be described as the scariest place I have ever travelled through.

From watching Miami Vice, I automatically associate Miami with drug dealers and yes you will find and see a lot of this in this city!! Colombian, mafia and Cuban dealers set up shop there and it is a handy entry point for the coke trade into the US.

Now, with Love/Hate, I get the same feeling going to Dublin! I am always feeling that I'd be meeting up with Nidge and Fran in some parts of it!

ivytwine

whisky_galore wrote: »

£10 not 10 shillings, hence the term '10 Pound Poms'.

Damn! Ah it was all before my time anyway

JohnMearsheimer

I wouldn't be in a mad dash back to Bratislava. The old town was nice but I found it a bit boring. We spent the last day of our trip in Vienna as it was only anhoyr away by train.

Philadelphia is another place I wouldn't be rushing back to. It was nice but not nice enough for me to want to go back. I saw the Rocky steps when I was there. The steps lead to a big art museum. More people were I interested in the steps than the art museum haha. South Bend,Indiana is quite possibly the most boring place in the planet. Me going there was like an American tourist going to Banagher.

ManofStraw

Edmonton ... First place I have visited that I really have no desire to go back to. No city as such just a collection of strip malls. Grim place really.

Naid23

Kuala lumpar was probably my most hated city of my travels. Spent 2 nights there coning back from a 3 month trip around south east asia and was easily the worst place ive been.
Gangs of men standing round the streets all day- really intimidating! 2 men tried to drag me into a shop until 2 local women fought them off and walked me back to my hostel- i didnt leave it again much after that til i flew home

C14N

Well there's lots of cities I probably won't return to but ones I wouldn't be too eager to return to:

Las Vegas. It's really a kip. Everything costs too much, service is poor, weather is too hot, there's almost nothing to do besides giving money to casinos and hiring illegal prostitutes. There's a real atomosphere of "everyone here is trying to wring as much money out of you as possible". It looks alright at night but again, not that much to do unless you're over 21 and into expensive clubbing. Anything else you can do can be done better elsewhere. Only recommended for having good shows and being the nearest big city to the Grand Canyon.

Miami. It was okay but it seemed like a kind of poor city.

Paris. I was a kid when I was there but it wasn't particularly interesting to me. It's the only major world city I've been to that I'm just not that interested in going back to.

Skuxx

For me it's Belfast! Just back from a long weekend there with the missus and couldn't wait to pack up the car and leave! Certainly won't be heading back anytime soon!!

road_high

Skuxx wrote: »

For me it's Belfast! Just back from a long weekend there with the missus and couldn't wait to pack up the car and leave! Certainly won't be heading back anytime soon!!

A day or two is more than enough in Belfast alright. What we did was a day in the city, a day at giants causeway.
Didn't get the shopping attraction. Clothes expensive as hell and quite dowdy as well. Dublin is leagues ahead IMO.

road_high

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

The tax rate is one thing. The animosity towards foreigners is another. We have problems with scumbags in Dublin being racist but they are equal opportunity scumbags and attack everyone verbally. Up north they burn the Polish fleg.

Really stood our for me about Belfast...the lack of African or Asian people....they just don't live there. Dublin (and even rural ireland!), is a virtual melting pot by comparison. It says a lot about the place really.
So no I can't ever see the Googles etc flocking there. They won't attract international talent to that backwater.

DoctaDee

A long story but Kingston Jamaica in the "neighbourhood" was my only wtf moment abroad

darkdubh

I met the rudest woman ever in Valencia Spain.I bought a T-shirt off her at a market,she diden't say a single word during the transaction and fixed me with this look of complete contempt the whole time.I wasen't drunk or anything and was polite,you'd swear I'd personaly insulted her by buying the bloody thing off her.

Banjo String

CptMackey wrote: »

I'd say Malaga. People weren't the nicest. Found Stuttgart a lovely place op. Maybe because I was there for the beer fest. Also didn't think much of Sydney

Dyslexic prev here.

Tell me more.

purplecow1977

The thread title is 'cities youd never return to'

Majority of comments are about one person in that particular place looking sideways at them,or getting the wrong change,or a bad smell,or a broken sign post! Ie all very minor things and not really reasons for not wanting to return to a place!

I've travelled a bit and enjoyed and would revisit pretty much everywhere I have been-if it weren't for the fact that there are so many other wonderful places yet to visit!

colman1212

Manila. Travelled about 10 countries in south east Asia and this was the only place I had some serious culture shock. Strange city.

smurgen

Tijuana, was held at gunpoint there in a nightclub when I was on j1.don't go to the place at all.You're taking your life into your own hands there,most menacing place ive been to.weird people looking out of doorways and alleys and you constantly feel like you're being observed.it looks lawless.it's like that movie mad max past the thunderdome.

As regards normal places I didn't like I'd say avoid Pisa in Italy,looks as if the place is stuck in a 1970's time warp and food is woeful.

Dietsquirt

Deise67 wrote: »

Krakow, unfriendly place, air of menace in bars , guy tooled up like a stormtrooper on the door of Mickey Macs ! wont b back !

What?

Olive8585

darkdubh wrote: »

I met the rudest woman ever in Valencia Spain.I bought a T-shirt off her at a market,she diden't say a single word during the transaction and fixed me with this look of complete contempt the whole time.I wasen't drunk or anything and was polite,you'd swear I'd personaly insulted her by buying the bloody thing off her.

I met a lot of incredibly rude people in Spain. I did my Erasmus there and the day I arrived went to buy some bedding. I asked for a single duvet and your one in the shop looked at me like I was an utter retard and asked me what size, like how many centimetres. I had never been asked that before, said I didn't know, but any 'single' one should be grand and she made me feel like the biggest idiot in the entire world. Never figured out what her problem was. Left without buying anything.

gemini_girl

Sydney, very over rated & dirty
LA & Hollywood ... Kip
Miami ... felt unsafe
Johannesbourg .... felt terrified!
Perth ... Boring but nicer than sydney

Have to say that the australian people themselves were super friendly. Strangers saying hello & super friendly shop assistants.
Knysna on the garden route in sth africa was also a lovely place & didnt have groups of people shouting Umlungu (whites) at us ...

SoulTrader

Great to see so many diverse opinions on this read, and lots of good travel advice for the future. Kudos to the OP!

As for me, there's nowhere I really hated but given the multitude of choice in where to holiday nowadays, I can't see myself going to the following:

Cancun: Just a big trashy outpost of America, nothing authentically Mexican about it all. Feels like the whole place is just trying to shake you down for a pound. If you love Joe's crab shack, Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe etc... you can just get them in the US, where it's also cheaper.

San Fran: Felt sad with all the homeless and mentally unstable people walking around. Was approached on numerous occasions by 'characters'. Didn't feel safe in the very centre. Pretty enough city and some good tourist spots but nothing to go back to really. On the other hand, I actually quite enjoyed LA.

Some others have been mentioned on this thread that I really liked: Paris, Budapest and Rome in particular. Love NY as well, have visited about 15 times and I'm always finding new things to see and do. London's a great city to visit but didn't enjoy living there.

Miami is a strange one. Quite a few people have mentioned it and I didn't like it that much at all my first time. There were a lot of hoodlums parading South Beach and it felt very dangerous. Was back a 2nd time and stayed downtown and it seemed safer. Was back for a 3rd time recently in South Beach and everyone was really friendly in shops and restaurants etc, although there was one area we went to that again felt quite dangerous at night. Still, overall, I'd probably go back again.

Knob Longman

Antwerpen,Seriously needs paint.

Knob Longman

Pearlstone wrote: »

Miami. Got lost there twenty odd years ago. Took a wrong turn just ten minutes from the airport and ended up spending nearly an hour trying to get out of what can only be described as the scariest place I have ever travelled through.

Spent 5/6 of the longest hours of my life at the airport waiting for a lift as we were diverted there, Lost 40 dollars there too..

Fort Pierce up the coast was some shíthole, After we heard about tourists getting shot in a convenience store a few weeks before we decided our curiosity was not worth it and got the fúck out of there..

Rory Gallagher

I can't believe I have seen Moscow and St.Peterburg on here.
I've never been to either but when I get out school I would love to finally get to see Moscow,St.Petersburg and Chicago.

greeno

Naples, the place was filthy and the locals looked like they were lining up to mug you. Intended spending a day here but went to Pompeii came back to the city and left immediately

Graham_B18C

Was in a place in Borneo called Semporna that was an absolute kip. Lovely Islands less than an hour from there but Semporna is literally a dump. Full of beggars and sea gypsies.

BetterThanThou

I was only there for a day, but Barcelona was the most boring place I've ever been to in my life. Santa Cruz in Tenerife wasn't great either. I may just not be a fan of Spanish lifestyle, because I'd pay not to go back to either of these cities.
Edit: I just remembered, the one positive thing about Barcelona was the beautiful fountain light show, I'd return to the city if I was passing by just for that, but I wouldn't go near the rest of the city.

dimcoin

Chicago. I have been to many cities in more than a dozen countries, yet I never felt as unsafe as I did in Chicago.

AlanS181824

homemadecider wrote: »

What? Do you mean 'close proximity'?

That's the one!
Sorry it was really late when I posted.
Even though I live in the town in Ireland there is still a sense of personal space whereas when I was in New York everyone felt so on top of each other.

Balmed Out

dimcoin wrote: »

Chicago. I have been to many cities in more than a dozen countries, yet I never felt as unsafe as I did in Chicago.

Location Washington, if thats DC then surely its far more dangerous then Chicago which I dont remember being dodgy at all

Balmed Out

KCC wrote: »

I love this thread - it's very informative!

Nope theres a lot of crap written about some brilliant places by people who often spent just one weekend or less in them and happened to be having their period at the time.

KCC wrote: »

I found Berlin to be boring and of all the places I really never wish
.

Its a very interesting city with a fascinating history though it isn't the prettiest. The main reason people like it so much is its a contender for city with best nightclubs in the world.

Graham_B18C

Balmed Out wrote: »

Nope theres a lot of crap written about some brilliant places by people who often spent just one weekend or less in them and happened to be having their period at the time.

+1, there's some amount of crap in here that I couldn't disagree more with but haven't because it's all opinions. It's just a real shame some people may avoid good places because others didn't like something silly about certain places

keano_afc

Have no desire to go to Bangkok again. Smelly, seedy kip. Was there for 3 days and that was more than enough.

whisky_galore

keano_afc wrote: »

Have no desire to go to Bangkok again. Smelly, seedy kip. Was there for 3 days and that was more than enough.

Apparantly, one night there makes a hard man humble, or so I was told.

whatsername42

Miami...fascinating place for the art deco etc but South Beach was an utter kip and anywhere else in Miami felt dingy and unsafe.

wuffly

Bassfish wrote: »

Re: Dubai, the buildings are impressive but there's just no sole to the place. Twenty years ago the place was a strip of sand and when their oil deposits start to dwindle it will be again.

There's plenty of culture if you choose to look for it.
71% of UAE's total GDP comes from non-oil sectors. Oil accounts for only 2% of Dubai's GDP. Its not a perfect place by any means but there's a lot more to it than big buildings and malls.

force eleven

Cairo. Dusty, hot & overcrowded, with suicidal drivers.

turnikett1

Pretty much anywhere in Germany outside of east Germany (ie Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden). Apart from history, Germany is boring and Germans are just as dull and unexciting. Nice people, for sure, but so so dry. Especially Bavaria and ESPECIALLY Munich, I fúcking hate that place. People were so rude and openly snobs towards me and my partner.

Wont be going back to Barcelona, its a great city but Ive been there 2 more times than I wanted to be and its lost any magic it ever had to me.

Ideally I wouldn't go back to Mumbai if I was to return to India, but if I HAD to I guess it wouldnt be the worst. Same goes for Dharamshala, its a lovely place with great potential but unfortunately its been ruined and gentrified by unholy mix of Israelis/Western hippies/super rich Punjabis. Only so much weed you can smoke in a western cafe paying rip off prices for extremely low quality western food hanging out with a bunch of pseudo-hippy ****. There are a lot of parts of India that are like this unfortunately. I much prefer eating real Indian food in Indian cafes and fitting in with the locals and then occassionally running into another westerner. Different story altogether though.

Don't think I'd go back to Casablanca either. Quite dodgy and apart from 1 or 2 sites, very little to do or see.

I'm sure there's a few more! These are the main ones though. Thankfully there's a million more places I would go back to in a heartbeat

Pinch Flat

turnikett1 wrote: »

Pretty much anywhere in Germany outside of east Germany (ie Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden). Apart from history, Germany is boring and Germans are just as dull and unexciting. Nice people, for sure, but so so dry. Especially Bavaria and ESPECIALLY Munich, I fúcking hate that place. People were so rude and openly snobs towards me and my partner though.

I lived in southern germany for a while, worked there 2 summers and went back to do my erasmus year I loved it so much. Lots of germans I met loved ireland and many had visited - generally interesting people, many who invited me ti their homes to meet their family and have dinner. In my experience the people in Munich are more friendly than the northern germans - had some great nights in the hofbrau house with some random germans who were great fun. Bavaria itself is a stunning provence.

Leslie91

Guayaquil in Ecuador. Never felt as unsafe as I did for 1 night in that kip.

ivytwine

Rory Gallagher wrote: »

I can't believe I have seen Moscow and St.Peterburg on here.
I've never been to either but when I get out school I would love to finally get to see Moscow,St.Petersburg and Chicago.

I've not been to Russia but my mother has, she said apart from the Kremlin and St Basil's Moscow is not that great. St Petersburg is supposed to be beautiful on the other hand.

She went in the USSR days, she's got some great stories from it

bear1

I just remembered another city, Podgorica.
Absolutely zero to look at, a dust bowl. To balance that though, Montenegro is beautiful.
Another is Shkoder in Albania, if you want to ever get a hint of what Baghdad would look like then go there. What a kip and you have to pay 2e when you want to leave the country...

Blitzkrieger

Vojera wrote: »

Also the older generation were quite snippy that I wasn't fluent in Portuguese, often shouting "La língua!" at me.

Fook that - like I'm going to learn the language of every little country I spend a weekend in? I do speak more than one language but to learn the language of every country I've been to would have been impossible. Have these people not heard of a flight for a penny?

whisky_galore

Blitzkrieger wrote: »

Fook that - like I'm going to learn the language of every little country I spend a weekend in? I do speak more than one language but to learn the language of every country I've been to would have been impossible. Have these people not heard of a flight for a penny?

It wouldn't kill you to know small phrases and words like 'please' and 'thank you'.

swimming in a sea

New York, was there last November, it was too cold, crowded, expensive and boring...

I might have had a different opinion if I was rich but its not a place for the shoestring tourist.:)

higglepiggle

The lingering smell in Hong Kong would put anyone off a return visit!!

pundy

London.
it's a horrible kip. Keep our hipsters. we dont want them.