Cities you'd never return to

Akrasia

Lollipops23 wrote: »

Had a 2 hours stopover in Detroit while bussing to Chicago from Toronto.

Obvs it wouldn't have a great rep these days, but it was a ghost town. Defo wouldn't be going back any time soon.

Take a google streetview tour of detroit. it's shocking how the 'greatest country in the world' has simply abandoned this entire city.

http://gizmodo.com/tracking-detroits-decay-through-google-street-view-1586631393

ben.schlomo

Zillah wrote: »

So, C+ at most?

For my own: San Francisco was a filthy, intimidating, drug-ridden, homeless person-besieged sh1thole. I think I might want to go back in the hopes of seeing the nice end of it, but what I saw was 90% horrendous.

We had a conversation at work about San Francisco the last day, two of the three had been there, the consensus was that it was unsafe, homeless riddled and just not great.

yourdeadwright

Lollipops23 wrote: »

Had a 2 hours stopover in Detroit while bussing to Chicago from Toronto.

Obvs it wouldn't have a great rep these days, but it was a ghost town. Defo wouldn't be going back any time soon.

Was in Detroit visiting a friend last month, he lives 30 minutes from the city towards Ann arbour and it was beautiful but Its hard to believe how rundown the city is,
We had a night out in the city and it was like a 3rd would city ,its so strange to have such kip of a major city in North America ,

fleet_admiral

Power

Bought a hoover off them that packed up after a week

Akrasia

fleet_admiral wrote: »

Power

Bought a hoover off them that packed up after a week

in that case you probably should return there....

FTA69

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

The boy or the elephant?

In fairness you were there during civil unrest. Thats never going to show a place in the best light.

The young fella. Thought he was a bit of a legend myself, riding an elephant around town with barely a stitch on him and sh*tting where he pleased.

Glebee

FTA69 wrote: »

Dhaka in Bangladesh. I went to Bangladesh as I worked in a largely Bengali community centre in East London for a few years and wanted to explore more about the culture and origins of the people I worked with. I had some fantastic experiences there but also some utterly f*cking nutty ones.

When I arrived in January I was picked up by a friend of a friend who drove me to my hotel. The dual carriageway had people driving down the wrong lanes in the wrong directions, swerving everywhere. I saw a 15 year old lad riding an elephant down the hard shoulder who then got off and took a massive sh*te in full view of passing traffic.

As look would have it, I arrived in time for the "hartal" or political strike whereupon mobs would take to the street for a bit of burning and rioting. Two people were killed by the cops outside my hotel the first night I was there. There are literally no foreigners in the country so people stare at you like a zoo exhibit; the lads in the hotel wouldn't let me leave as they thought it was too dangerous.

I snuck out after one day and saw some poor bastard get shot in the face point-blank with a rubber bullet before his mates dragged him off, blood p*ssing everywhere. Also while in a café I witnessed a mob attack a lawyer's social club full of supporters of the opposition and proceed to drag people out the windows and batter them with bamboo canes. I can still hear the sound of stick beating off people's skulls.

Piece de resistance was seeing the police drag the body of a dead homeless man off a 20 foot pile of rubbish with a rope around his foot.

I saw that on Griffith Avenue one day, ok no elephant mind but this guy just sqauts down and has a dump...:eek::eek:

ohnonotgmail

FTA69 wrote: »

The young fella. Thought he was a bit of a legend myself, riding an elephant around town with barely a stitch on him and sh*tting where he pleased.

In fairness it is what we all aspire to.

fleet_admiral

Glebee wrote: »

I saw that on Griffith Avenue one day, ok no elephant mind but this guy just sqauts down and has a dump...:eek::eek:

Saw the same on a 16 in Terenure. Old drunk snarted and followed through

Rakish Paddy

fleet_admiral wrote: »

Saw the same on a 16 in Terenure. Old drunk snarted and followed through

I once missed a bus because I sharted while waiting for it. My fault entirely for committing to a large fart not long after eating a potentially dodgy meal, in a cold climate where my arse had gone somewhat numb. Needless to say there was a nasty case of 'gas followed by mass'. At least I had the decency to go bin the underpants and wipe the arse before going back to wait for the next bus.

clever user name

Manila!

The Philippines is an amazing country with many spectacularly beautiful places and lovely people. Manila however, is dirty crowded kip...and there is sweet f**k all to do. Plus the traffic is a god damn nightmare. Cheap though.

beerbuddy

Liverpool what a total kip

yourdeadwright

beerbuddy wrote: »

Liverpool what a total kip

I think Liverpool is nice if you think its a kip now you should have seen it in the 80's and 90's

Saipanne

Warsaw is pretty grim. Not much going on.

I might return to Rome, but I'm not pushed. I was very disappointed with the place.

Kuala Lumpur is the most boring place on earth.

I'm not that fond of London, either, but you kind of end up going there a lot because it's close.

323

Hard to say, OP. Most cities no matter how bad they may seem have usually some good characteristics.

Only one's for me that has almost no redeeming characteristics and have refused to go back to are both in Egypt, Cairo and Alexandria.

Saipanne wrote: »

Warsaw is pretty grim. Not much going on.

I might return to Rome, but I'm not pushed. I was very disappointed with the place.

Kuala Lumpur is the most boring place on earth.

I'm not that fond of London, either, but you kind of end up going there a lot because it's close.

WOW.
The mind boggles, you did actually leave the hotel/accommodation in KL?

Magico Gonzalez

I can forgive places like Rome and Paris for the traffic, the rudeness and the occasional chaos for the food, the history, the architecture and the views.

It's all about priorities. If you want to turn up, see a clean, well managed city with no obvious signs of poverty, traffic and stressed out locals I'm not really sure what you are left with. Frankfurt...meh.

Anyway, probably Buenos Aires would not appeal to the same people that don't like Rome or Paris wouldn't like it here either. Chaotic, dirty & noisy, not for everyone certainly! In all that madness the city somehow finds it's character. Certain places make you work a little to appreciate, you have to peal back a few layers to get the best of some places and the greatness of the place isn't always evident by taking a Google Street View perspective. Sometimes the character of a city takes a little discovering but I appreciate some people aren't into those kinds of places.

Magico Gonzalez

Saipanne wrote: »

Warsaw is pretty grim. Not much going on.

I might return to Rome, but I'm not pushed. I was very disappointed with the place.

Kuala Lumpur is the most boring place on earth.

I'm not that fond of London, either, but you kind of end up going there a lot because it's close.

What would you look for in a city?

London has so much to offer, music, theatre, restaurants, sights, museums, sports, i could go on but I wonder what you are looking for you couldn't find?

Saipanne

Magico Gonzalez wrote: »

What would you look for in a city?

London has so much to offer, music, theatre, restaurants, sights, museums, sports, i could go on but I wonder what you are looking for you couldn't find?

It has loads of stuff, just too big and mental for me.

Saipanne

323 wrote: »

Hard to say, OP. Most cities no matter how bad they may seem have usually some good characteristics.

Only one's for me that has almost no redeeming characteristics and have refused to go back to are both in Egypt, Cairo and Alexandria.



WOW.
The mind boggles, you did actually leave the hotel/accommodation in KL?

No. Never left my room once. I'm still there, ten years later.

Agent Smith

bruges

ohnonotgmail

Agent Smith wrote: »

bruges

whats not to like about bruges?

FLOOPER

Bruges ??? It's a fairytale town, isn't it? How's a fairytale town not somebody's ****ing thing?How can all those canals and bridges and cobbled streets and those churches, all that beautiful ****ing fairytale stuff, how can that not be somebody's ****ing thing, eh?

asherbassad

Ice Storm wrote: »

Lots of negativity about LA here!

I was there about a week ago. I had to pass through the city but I decided to spend just the one night there as I hadn't heard anything good about it.

So I had very low expectations of the place but it actually surprised me and I wish I'd spent more time there. Its such an iconic city and if you're into music, so many bands have their roots in LA. I really enjoyed seeing famous places like The Troubadour, Whisky a Go Go, The Viper Room etc.

I wouldn't rule out returning and if I do, I'll make it a longer visit.

Think about what you just wrote......i.e. every place you liked about LA was actually indoors.

I'd like to add a few other US cities. The only place I liked was Seattle. Lived in New York for 6 years when it was great. Now it's just a damn retirement home for millionaires and a shopping mall for tourists. Every city in upstate New York is a kip, Ithaca, Albany, Syracuse, non-descript soulless dumps.
Reston, Virginia. KIP. It's like an episode of Stepford Wives.
Dusseldorf is a bit of a kip too. Altstadt is ok but German apartment blocks make me cringe. They are the most awful design ever.

Wompa1

FLOOPER wrote: »

Bruges ??? It's a fairytale town, isn't it? How's a fairytale town not somebody's ****ing thing?How can all those canals and bridges and cobbled streets and those churches, all that beautiful ****ing fairytale stuff, how can that not be somebody's ****ing thing, eh?

Beat me to it! It's a shame they didn't have somebody other than Colin Farrell play the lead. He was awful. He seems like a nice enough guy but Jeepers, he ruins everything he's in....Himself and Rachel McAdams killed True Detective

asherbassad

Wompa1 wrote: »

Venice Beach does have a lot of oddballs, alright. It's also wall to wall with people trying to hustle you. There's far nicer beaches along the Pacific Coast highway like Hermosa Beach.

Los Angeles has some great bars and great restaurants but overpriced. Actually some of the best restaurants in the world BUT it's still a crappy place. Driving there is a bag of crap. The airports are awful, have had a few domestic flights to LAX and Bob Hope. Long Beach is one of the ugliest places I've ever been to.

The Hollywood walk of fame is pretty underwhelming.

The drivers are probably the worst and most rude in the US.

But in fairness. I've only been there once for leisure. The other times were for work. So, maybe it's a great place to just visit. It's not a great place to work. I couldn't imagine living there. When I stayed out in Burbank my hotel room had a view of the freeway. I was jetlagged so, I woke around 3am. By 4am traffic was already building. What an awful way to live.

That sounds like fcuking hell!

Wompa1

asherbassad wrote: »

The only place I liked was Seattle.
Dusseldorf is a bit of a kip too.

NYC has lot it's edge a little but maybe that's a good thing.

Seattle is pretty amazing. San Francisco is great. Denver is a nice city, though there's not a whole lot do but it's still very nice. Honolulu ain't bad! Boston is ok, at least the little Italy part. There's a bunch of small cities in the US that are very nice like Sedona, Arizona. Monterey, California. Newport, Rhode Island etc. etc.

asherbassad

Akrasia wrote: »

Take a google streetview tour of detroit. it's shocking how the 'greatest country in the world' has simply abandoned this entire city.

http://gizmodo.com/tracking-detroits-decay-through-google-street-view-1586631393

Take a look at New Orleans. Parts of that place still look like Nagasaki 10 years on.

asherbassad

Rakish Paddy wrote: »

I once missed a bus because I sharted while waiting for it. My fault entirely for committing to a large fart not long after eating a potentially dodgy meal, in a cold climate where my arse had gone somewhat numb. Needless to say there was a nasty case of 'gas followed by mass'. At least I had the decency to go bin the underpants and wipe the arse before going back to wait for the next bus.

:pac:

Where did you manage to dispose of the toggs and clean the sewage outlet?

Wompa1

asherbassad wrote: »

Take a look at New Orleans. Parts of that place still look like Nagasaki 10 years on.

Or Tuscon, Arizona!

DEFTLEFTHAND

Akrasia wrote: »

Take a google streetview tour of detroit. it's shocking how the 'greatest country in the world' has simply abandoned this entire city.

http://gizmodo.com/tracking-detroits-decay-through-google-street-view-1586631393

Amazing to think that Detroit was known as the 'Paris of the West' in the 1920s. A booming economy, full of well to do people and wonderful architecture. Now look at it, It's a very sad story really.

ActingDanClark

yourdeadwright wrote: »

I think Liverpool is nice if you think its a kip now you should have seen it in the 80's and 90's

So true- was there in 1991 and went down to Albert dock- every lad we saw had a ' calm down, calm down' perm and a shiny tracksuit-i was convinced I was going to be mugged at every turn.
Went back a couple of years ago and gotta say I like the place now- some amazing new buildings complimenting the old merchant areas, running into L1. Its a shame we don't have anything similar in dublin when you see all the empty acres along the docks

Ice Storm

asherbassad wrote: »

Think about what you just wrote......i.e. every place you liked about LA was actually indoors.

Lots of interesting places are indoors. Muesums and theatres for example.

I'm not saying that everyone should visit LA, just that it surpassed my (admittedly low) expectations.

Bulbous Salutation

yourdeadwright wrote: »

I think Liverpool is nice if you think its a kip now you should have seen it in the 80's and 90's

I'd rate Liverpool far higher than Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle. Not exactly difficult competition, but Liverpool is a grand spot to spend a few days.

Kev_2012

Bulbous Salutation wrote: »

I'd rate Liverpool far higher than Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle. Not exactly difficult competition, but Liverpool is a grand spot to spend a few days.

Liverpool is a nice town these days, but Newcastle is also very nice. I think Newcastle probably shades it!

I find Galway to be very overrated. It lovely in terms of visiting during the day and stuff but going out is a nightmare! It's full of messy feckers and the bouncers are arseholes!

LA is a kip for the most part and the people aren't nice in general. Had to work there for a few weeks. Nice restaurants and that but traffic is crazy (Not as bad as Mexico City, but bad!)

I can't say there is any city I've been to where I would hands down not return to ever again. Many of them are enormous with good parts and bad parts.

Although Paris is an almighty dump!

lisasimpson

Agree with Paris somewhat.there are parts of the city id love to go back to again..however if you go to some of the areas that arent in the main tourist spots, well they are some kips already.1st went there on a fieldtrip in college the hostel we were put up in..well lets say none of us left it..it was up there with dodge parta of Rio

Notavirus.exe

Dublin = Hell.

It's quite puzzling how people can survive living in a place like that without going crazy. Dublin life must be very artificial.

Lirange

Tangier Morocco. We were hassled non stop. Really rude and pushy. We didn't want to leave the hotel. Such a departure from Marrakech and Agadir where the people were lovely. We were expecting the worst in Marrakech but we had a nice time. Once you know how to communicate and deal in the souks you won't get hustled. Negotiate down to a fair price and you'll get on grand.

Grueller

Miami. Dirty over rated hole.

ArnoldJRimmer

Lirange wrote: »

Tangier Morocco. We were hassled non stop. Really rude and pushy. We didn't want to leave the hotel. Such a departure from Marrakech and Agadir where the people were lovely.

Not sure if I commented on it earlier in this thread, but this place is absolutely horrible. The locals were so aggressive and unfriendly. At one stage, myself and my friend's stopped for a tea and sat outside a cafe. The female in the group was obviously not welcome there as a young guy just kept shouting in our direction and pointed at her. Eventually, the owner came over to us and told us (in English) to ignore him and that we were very welcome to his cafe and Tangiers, but it was quite intimidating all the same.

Istanbul...

DEFTLEFTHAND

NoDrama wrote: »

Istanbul...

Did you have an altercation with a street trader?

Jesus Wept

Notavirus.exe wrote: »

Dublin = Hell.

It's quite puzzling how people can survive living in a place like that without going crazy. Dublin life must be very artificial.

lol

AidySevenfold

Can't understand all the Prague hate, I loved it, but I do agree locals aren't too friendly.

I walked into a bar with a Finn Harps top on and Sparta Prague where playing - they really scrutinised the jersey.

Also, on the first night there I spent all the money I had taken out with me, no idea where I was going, drunk outta my head and stumbled across a park I remembered seeing when we arrived. Only hassle I had was an Indian man trying to sell me a Nokia 3310.

Great city.

I can understand the Barcelona hate though, full of African hookers, overpriced nightclubs and people trying to get you into the bars etc.
The only reasons I'd go back would be 1) another Barcelona game 2) to stay at the hostel we stayed in and 3) to actually do something touristy.

Wompa1

Rome

I asked my Fiance and she said Limerick

worded

Court Town Nice snack box from local chipper but way too many stones on the beach for my liking, even for a stoney beach .

Having read the lonely planet guide to the place I was disappointed but that was my fault as I reading about Cape Town not court town.

from_atozinc

Ignore,duplicate.

from_atozinc

Ignore, duplicate.

from_atozinc

ROME.

I absolutely hated it. Could not wait to get home. Every day, just incessant traffic and horns beeping and mopeds everywhere. (I know people will say, wait till you see Bangkok etc) Every taxi driver trying to do ya. People just seem full of **** and they just constantly talk in what always sounds like an argumentative tone.
And I know tourists flock to see the attractions, but every tourist place we went to was uncomfortably packed. We were there for a wedding and I visited other people's different hotels and they were all very over priced, old fashioned kips.......like our own. Not one half modern looking hotel in all the ones I seen.

Just hated it.

from_atozinc

Sorry. Didn't mean to post same thing 3 times.

Boards is all messed up and gave me a 404 error when I tried to post each but obviously was not an error so attempted again each time.

liquoriceall

Frankfurt....most boring city ever and stupid Ryanair flight drops you about 2 hours away!
Caracas....all that needs saying really is I was terrified the whole time most scarey place ever
Surprised by the Naples hatred....I loved it in a it has no notions about itself way