canoecarrier From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, RR: 12 Reply 1, posted (10 months 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 11541 times:
Memphis is pretty high on that list, if not at the top. A large sprawling city that is full of 2 story buildings. Little Rock, Jackson, MS also cities I'm not very fond of. Rounding out the US, Albuquerque, LA, Oakland and Gary, Indiana are places I won't go unless I have to again.
Saskatoon is my least favorite city in Canada. I like just about all of the rest of the Canadian cities though.
Rome. Hot (that changes obviously), cramped, and dirty. Southern Italians (I've never been to Northern Italy) just don't seem interested in cleaning or maintaining things. It's kinda hard to tell what things are ancient Roman ruins and which are newer things they just didn't bother to take care of.
I didn't see much of Naples, but it looked like more of the same, if not worse. The airport is a bit small, but kinda cool in a throwback way. Sorrento is quite pleasant though, and is just a graffiti covered train ride away.
A lot of the American south is pretty awful, but special mention goes to Branson, MO. The place is like Las Vegas, just without all the cool stuff. The people are not only hillbillies, but they are proud of it for some reason. And it's filled with old people looking to buy slacks.
Peoria is a lot of ghetto. The surrounding areas are nice, but the city itself is kinda like South Gary. Actually, if you must go to Illinois stay north of I-80. You'll be much happier that way.
I also didn't like Ocean City, Maryland. Typical crummy tourist traps with low rent spring break type hotels. I didn't care for it at all. I didn't spend much time in Virginia Beach, but it seemed similar.
I also once had the misfortune of spending the better part of a week in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. It's hard to get anywhere and the whole place smelled like mildew.
Why do Aerospace Engineering students have to turn things in on time?
NZ107 From New Zealand, joined Jul 2005, 5672 posts, RR: 40 Reply 6, posted (10 months 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 11482 times:
Tijuana, Mexico. The only place in Mexico I have been to and didn't enjoy it one bit! Then again, I was only 12 at the time and it was just after 9/11 but it wasn't very nice.
nighthawk From UK - Scotland, joined Sep 2001, 4991 posts, RR: 38 Reply 8, posted (10 months 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 11469 times:
Quoting Braybuddy (Reply 3): Las Vegas: tack-o-rama on a grand scale, and there's something sad about a city founded on gambling.
Gonna have to disagree with you on this one! Vegas is an amazing city, and one of the few places ive been back to. Great selection of bars and restaurants, and always plenty to do. But each to their own.
Quote:
Dubai: as above, albeit a very wealthy one, although it does have the Burj Khalifa, which is something positive, I suppose.
Completely agree on this one though. As a friend once said "Dubai isn't a city, it's a collection of shopping malls". I was really disappointed by Dubai, there's bugger all to do there!
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (10 months 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 11429 times:
Cities I haven't enjoyed visiting?
Um... Er... Hmmmm... None?
Sure, some parts of Athens looked depressing, some parts of Paris were annoying, some parts of Rome look very sketchy... But I don't think there's a place I didn't enjoy visiting. I wouldn't enjoy many places in the States due to a lack of efficient/good/any public transportation though. Unless someone else is driving, of course!
On the other hand, I didn't like living in Kansas City, though. For the same reason given above.
aerorobnz From Rwanda, joined Feb 2001, 6328 posts, RR: 14 Reply 14, posted (10 months 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 11347 times:
Prague. I have been there twice and it just hasn't grown on me.
Ho Chi Minh. I didn't enjoy it, all the locals seem hell bent on parting you from your money and ripping you off. The Traffic was fine, but the people drained me
joffie From Australia, joined Mar 2006, 775 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (10 months 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 11322 times:
Los Angeles - Overrated - Too many people, pushing everywhere.
Hong Kong - People spitting on the street - Too many tailors trying to pull you in. Liked the train system though
Melbourne - Overpriced, too many metrosexuals, crap customer service in department stores.
Las Vegas - Boring walking through all the hotels.
KL - Been there so many times now I find it boring
Canberra - Yawn
Sydney - Seriously, a bridge.
Istanbul - Yes, I would like an overpriced carpet please. I am more than happy to pay $60 to enter your country, last year it cost only $20 for the visa...
New York - Too many people. People look like they are too good for eachother all walking around on their cell phones lol.
kiwirob From New Zealand, joined Jun 2005, 5305 posts, RR: 3 Reply 16, posted (10 months 4 days ago) and read 11302 times:
Quoting joffie (Reply 15): Istanbul - Yes, I would like an overpriced carpet please. I am more than happy to pay $60 to enter your country, last year it cost only $20 for the visa...
Odd considering us Kiwi's can enter Turkey visa free, I guess we made a better impression at Gallipoli than you lot did.
I can't stand Baku, it's a complete turd of a city, it's all smoke and mirrors, looks nice in places but underneath it's a different story. Thank christ they weren't shortlisted for the Olympic Games.
NZ107 From New Zealand, joined Jul 2005, 5672 posts, RR: 40 Reply 17, posted (10 months 4 days ago) and read 11294 times:
Quoting joffie (Reply 15): Hong Kong - People spitting on the street - Too many tailors trying to pull you in.
You're bound to hate mainland China then. I guess you chose the wrong areas because in my experience, spitting isn't nearly as widespread than in China. And with the tailors - there are places where there aren't any!
Quoting kiwirob (Reply 16): Odd considering us Kiwi's can enter Turkey visa free, I guess we made a better impression at Gallipoli than you lot did.
Hahahaha. I feel it might be because Australia charge other countries for visas whereas NZ is still free.
na From Germany, joined Dec 1999, 9614 posts, RR: 10 Reply 18, posted (10 months 4 days ago) and read 11284 times:
Lima, Peru. The most dreadful agglomeration of slums I´ve seen.
Guayaquil, Ecuador. Miserable place. Slums and gated communities. Sad.
Cairo, Egypt. God, how can someone live there without being a millionaire?
Agra, India. Huge, dirty, cramped. Not as depressive as Lima mentioned above though. And it has some of the most beautiful sights as well (Taj Rahal, Red Fort).
Not that I hate those, but the following are a mix of good and very bad:
LA, USA. Just big. Just boring.
Birmingham, UK. Just boring.
Naples, Italy. Dirty, ugly, neglected - but with some big-scale beauty added.
Mumbai, India, Fascinating it is, but what a huge pile of mess!
Dubai, UAE. Awesome in parts, but feels wrong and artificial.
Singapore. Antiseptic capital of boredom.
Tunis, Tunesia.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 21, posted (10 months 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 11233 times:
Quoting Pyrex (Reply 20):
Bucharest, Romania - was there a few days for work (but with enough time to see something of the city) and not impressed at all.
Curious, what season were you here? Anyway, as someone living here 3 months a year, I'm neutral towards it. Which is good cause it's very easy for me to rank places.
OK, if we're talking about cities we dislike, I'll actually add some cities that are on my negative scale (that I've visited/lived, not just passed through):
Kansas City (shopping centers, houses and ghettos, mostly the latter)
Los Angeles (the best thing about LA is leaving LAX)
Ft. Lauderdale (nothing there)
Atlanta (Coca-Cola World and ATL, but that's it)
Seville (blazing hot and horrible food)
Athens (blazing hot, great food, but I think the choice of neighborhood affected the experience negatively)
Paris (yeah, you know, just didn't like it that much, but it's worth a visit)
That said, I don't regret visiting any of these cities. I just rank them below Bucharest. Might've missed a couple.
WestJet747 From Canada, joined Aug 2011, 1273 posts, RR: 7 Reply 22, posted (10 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 11172 times:
Charleston, West Virginia: A boring city that gave me a really eerie feeling the entire time I was there. The locals I encountered were...odd.
Surat Thani, Thailand: I had to fly here on my way to another part of Thailand. I can't think of another time I've been so depressed while travelling. We drove through a majority of the area and it was just pure poverty the whole way through. What is sad is that you can tell that once upon a time it was beautiful, bustling town, but now all the infrastructure is just crumbling away.
fr8mech From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 4265 posts, RR: 12 Reply 23, posted (10 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 11162 times:
Athens, Greece: dirty, indifferent, congested.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana: dirty, bad feeling about the place.
Paris, France: too many reasons to post.
Miami, Florida: too glitzy and annoying. Crowded.
Hong Kong: crowded, noisy, annoying.
A few others.
Now, this is not to say I wouldn't visit again (except maybe, Baton Rouge & Paris), just didn't enjoy my visit at the time.
klmcedric From Belgium, joined Dec 2003, 794 posts, RR: 24 Reply 25, posted (10 months 3 days 21 hours ago) and read 11603 times:
Lots of people put LA on that list.
The first couple times I was in LA I had that same dissapointment.
Now I've been there about 20 times, met locals who showed me around and became friends, and I can honestly
say it belongs to my favourite cities in the world.
I love LA.
I just can't believe that people are mentioning cities like NY,Sydney,Hong Kong, Cape Town, ???
danielmyatt From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2011, 160 posts, RR: 0 Reply 26, posted (10 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 11561 times:
*shakes fist at anybody that says Birmingham*
Anyway, I don't like;
Paris, people are rude and it's just dull really
New York, see above, but it's not dull. Too big, too loud.
Liverpool, a hole of a city.
Middlesbrough, see above.
Leige, nothing to do.
EZEIZA From Argentina, joined Aug 2004, 4933 posts, RR: 28 Reply 27, posted (10 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 11794 times:
Lagos, Nigeria.
I hated everything about it except for a few friends I made, but the place itself ... I would never go back there unless I really had to.
DesertJets From United States of America, joined Feb 2000, 7673 posts, RR: 18 Reply 29, posted (10 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 11754 times:
Most of Florida for me. I've been to Orlando, Tampa/Clearwater, the Space Coast and Jacksonville. The best parts were Clearwater Beach (having not been to many beaches in my lifetime one of the best that I've been to. Just sucks that it was in winter) and I surprisingly liked Jacksonville, but I was at a downtown hotel.
Las Vegas. Been once, wandered through a good chunk of the south strip hotels, ate at a buffet or two. Not being a big fan of gambling, drinking, crowds or clubs makes the novelty wear off fast. And now that the Star Trek experience at the Hilton is long gone there is little reason to go back.
Atlanta. Though this is a maybe. I'd be willing to go back if I had somebody to show me around. There were parts I liked and parts I hated. It didn't help that I was trapped most of the time in a Marriott adjacent to the freeway and an office park. I was mostly disappointed by downtown. I thought on a nice summer evening there would be more to do.
Stop drop and roll will not save you in hell. --- seen on a church marque in rural Virginia
We were just on a road trip to Wall, South Dakota. My list is:
Spokane, Washington: Exactly like Paris without the class, charm, history, art, or whimsy.
Lewiston, Idaho: On the bridge crossing the Snake River from Clarkston, there is one sign saying how to get out of town. The next sign is at the interchange 6 miles away. If you miss the turns between the two, good luck getting out! I am convinced the people who live in Lewiston are stuck there driving around endlessly trying to get to Pullman or Missoula. It took us about an hour to get out of a town of less than 40,000.
SW733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 31, posted (10 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 11748 times:
Paris and Rome are the two most overrated cities on Earth. I've been to both multiple times and really don't enjoy them very much. Dubai is also quite a bit overrated in my opinion - another place I've been to multiple times and only go because the boss tells me to.
Other cities I have been to that are not enjoyable were expected - Lagos isn't terribly nice, nor are Bamako, Bangui or Niamey (though the latter is probably the best out of those four).
In the US, I am not impressed with Los Angeles.
In Australia, Brisbane is a snooze fest.
Quoting na (Reply 18): Naples, Italy. Dirty, ugly, neglected - but with some big-scale beauty added.
So true! I was there during a garbage strike too, so it was even worse. Not a pleasant place. Decent pizza, though
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 21): Kansas City (shopping centers, houses and ghettos, mostly the latter)
You really hate KC, don't you? I've been here for 10 years and love it.
ajd1992 From UK - England, joined Jul 2006, 2645 posts, RR: 6 Reply 32, posted (10 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 11737 times:
I hated Geneva in Switzerland. Just dull, drab and I got mugged by a "questionable character of a foreign ethnicity" shall we say by the main train station. Phone and camera stolen, although thankfully my passport was OK.
I'm going to be a tad bit controversial now but.... Monte Carlo.
I've just come back from Nice and we spent a few hours in Monte Carlo, driving and walking around. It's shown as this glam place with money everywhere when in fact it's full of snooty dickheads who are incredibly vain. The tunnel next to the harbour (yes, the tunnel that is in the F1 race) has a McDonalds above it, for God's sake. Seeing all the nice Ferrari's and Lamborghini's was pretty cool but everywhere else was just full of vain people. Really did not enjoy it apart from driving around the track.
moo From Falkland Islands, joined May 2007, 3599 posts, RR: 4 Reply 36, posted (10 months 3 days 19 hours ago) and read 11688 times:
Jo'berg - I never once felt safe there, even in a locked guarded compound. There were five shootings within 500 yards of me in the three days I was there and someone else on the flight home two weeks later had been carjacked but luckily not hurt.
Maverick623 From United States of America, joined Nov 2006, 4744 posts, RR: 6 Reply 37, posted (10 months 3 days 19 hours ago) and read 11693 times:
Quoting Flighty (Reply 35): Phoenix, Arizona. But I hear that Yuma is worse.
There are 3 types of people that live in Yuma: Mexicans, meth-heads, and Marines. Phoenix can be miserable during the summer, but the winters are the real reason to live here. Just stay out of Maryvale and South Phoenix and you'll be fine... and don't grab the attention of the MCSO if you're not white. Just sayin'....
And for all the people who said NYC: there's more to it than Manhattan. Just sayin'...
UltimateDelta From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 1994 posts, RR: 6 Reply 38, posted (10 months 3 days 19 hours ago) and read 11665 times:
Oberammergau, Germany.
Don't me wrong, the location is beautiful, but otherwise it's extremely overhyped. I'm sure there's a lot to do in the area (hiking, etc), but my travel group last year didn't do that and as a result the three hours we spent there were thoroughly uninteresting. It's a nice enough place to stop and look around or maybe eat on a longer tour, but otherwise there's little else to offer (especially in off-years for the Passion Play).
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 39, posted (10 months 3 days 19 hours ago) and read 11650 times:
Quoting SW733 (Reply 31): You really hate KC, don't you? I've been here for 10 years and love it.
Well, there's good food, at least. I'll give it that. Hmmm... that's pretty much it.
But living there? No way; having to have a car decreases my quality of life tremendously... And I hear there are much worse places in the USA. Don't like the people there, either, I have to say.
Yeah, typical American suburban towns/cities=no way!
It's not even about crime; Chicago's perfectly fine, aside from the weather...
NorthStarDC4M From Canada, joined Apr 2000, 2804 posts, RR: 40 Reply 40, posted (10 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 11621 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Hated 3 cities i've visited:
Miami, FL - find it dirty and except for Miami Beech nothing really I liked, also drinking the water ALWAYS makes me sick.
Detroit, MI - nice city core that gets abandoned by 7pm with a patchwork of suburbia, run down industrial and empty warzone looking areas around it.
Spokane, WA - boring, US version of Saskatoon or Regina...
And my it's a nice city but it's not me:
Montreal, PQ - Never feel quite right when im there. Maybe im just used to Toronto but i find Montreal to be pretending to be many things and not quite being any of them.
Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
rampart From United States of America, joined Aug 2005, 2855 posts, RR: 7 Reply 41, posted (10 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 11593 times:
It's very difficult for me to find a location that I haven't enjoyed at least something while visiting. I even found Topeka, Kansas interesting. I was underwhelmed by Charlotte NC, however. And Houston hasn't given me reason to stay more than a few hours. I wouldn't mind seeing Galveston or even the Johnson Space Center, however.
lewis From Greece, joined Jul 1999, 3448 posts, RR: 5 Reply 42, posted (10 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 11596 times:
Brussels - Was fine for a day trip but after 5pm I felt that I was the only person walking outside. Everything looked kind of dead and there was not much to do other than walking around and enjoying the architecture.
Las Vegas - Tackiest place on earth. It was extremely hot when I was there, once I saw most of the hotels I was done and ready to leave. Those people with the prostitute cards all over the place were very very annoying.
Houston - I was there for work. The city was vast, reminded me of LA - without the nice weather and all the fun things to do. The BBQ was good - that's about it.
GrahamHill From France, joined Mar 2007, 2518 posts, RR: 2 Reply 43, posted (10 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 11611 times:
It's funny, I have been to many places (Paris, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Sydney, Valletta, New York, Montreal, Quebec City, Chicago, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Geneva, Nagasaki, you name it) and there is not one city I have disliked.
I guess I find it refreshing being outside of my daily environment (not that I don't like my daily environment, of course!).
"A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant one" - Moliere
Confuscius From United States of America, joined Aug 2001, 3636 posts, RR: 2 Reply 44, posted (10 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 11583 times:
Manila, Philippines. It's hot, humid, dirty, and half the day you're stuck in traffic. BTW, I'll be there in September but I will enjoy it because I'm having my teeth pulled.
SW733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 45, posted (10 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 11569 times:
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 39): Well, there's good food, at least. I'll give it that. Hmmm... that's pretty much it.
But living there? No way; having to have a car decreases my quality of life tremendously... And I hear there are much worse places in the USA. Don't like the people there, either, I have to say.
Yeah, typical American suburban towns/cities=no way!
It's not even about crime; Chicago's perfectly fine, aside from the weather...
Fair enough. I'm just trying to defend the city I live in and love.
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Reply 47, posted (10 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 11555 times:
Quoting seb146 (Reply 30): Yes, because you had the good sense to leave!
Actually my parents did. I was still a kid when we moved.
The neighborhood I grew up is trying to leave Gary and become it's own city - Miller Beach.
It's still relatively nice and has great beaches, large custom homes on large lots, lots of trees and the sand dunes.
Quoting klmcedric (Reply 25): I just can't believe that people are mentioning cities like NY
I have a love/hate view of New York.
The part I like of New York is the Caribbean parts of Brooklyn. The people there are friendly, down to earth with lots of random greasy spoon restaurants and I like the illegal taxis that run up & down Atlantic bl.
The part of New York I can't stand is the part that everyone goes to visit - Manhattan.
It's unnecessarily abrasive, people are full of themselves, arrogant, the place is dirty and very expensive. I can deal with it for about 2 days and that's about it.
canoecarrier From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, RR: 12 Reply 48, posted (10 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 11549 times:
Quoting SW733 (Reply 31): You really hate KC, don't you? I've been here for 10 years and love it.
I'm with you on that. I really like KC, more so than St. Louis. I suppose if you spent your time in KC on Troost and Prospect you'd hate it, but the people are nice and every point but southeast of the city center is decent.
Quoting seb146 (Reply 30): Quoting Superfly (Reply 7):
I was born & raised in Gary, Indiana and look at how I turned out.
Yes, because you had the good sense to leave!
You beat me too it. He loved it so much he moved out of the country to get away from Gary.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 49, posted (10 months 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 11503 times:
Quoting canoecarrier (Reply 48): I'm with you on that. I really like KC, more so than St. Louis. I suppose if you spent your time in KC on Troost and Prospect you'd hate it, but the people are nice and every point but southeast of the city center is decent.
The city doesn't really have a positive personality to it. The southeast side certainly has a negative personality attached, but what about the rest? Suburbia is bland no matter where in the world it is.
I just don't see its redeeming qualities! What neighborhoods would you like to take a walk through in KC? To see some architecture, for example? All you have, really, is downtown, which wasn't exactly the place to be when I was there... Plaza? Just an open-air shopping mall. Then again, that's not something only against KC, it's about most of America. Westport?
Boring...
Quoting SW733 (Reply 45): Fair enough. I'm just trying to defend the city I live in and love.
I'm glad you live some place you enjoy. KC ate up 4 years of my life, 4 years that I haven't enjoyed too much... It's not the city's fault but it sure didn't help.
Confuscius From United States of America, joined Aug 2001, 3636 posts, RR: 2 Reply 50, posted (10 months 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 11498 times:
Gary, Indiana. I worked there for almost 20 years and survived without a scratch! Yes, there were a few incidents; I had a tire stolen after having bought it the area a day earlier. I wonder who could have done it. Another, I told a police officer that a person was just assaulted, he couldn't help because he was on his way to a murder scene. That was his story anyway and the incident occurred less than a hundred yards from police headquarters. Also, there was the girl looking for her grandma inside a doctor's office. She couldn't find her because her grandma was outside smoking a blunt. And yes, I'm a magnet for hookers, don't know why, but I've been propositioned many, many times! We also had an employee who was a hooker as a side job. She did house calls. Gotta love Gary!!!
canoecarrier From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, RR: 12 Reply 51, posted (10 months 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 11411 times:
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 49): I just don't see its redeeming qualities! What neighborhoods would you like to take a walk through in KC? To see some architecture, for example? All you have, really, is downtown, which wasn't exactly the place to be when I was there... Plaza? Just an open-air shopping mall. Then again, that's not something only against KC, it's about most of America. Westport?
Fair enough, I'm just surprised that someone wouldn't enjoy visiting there. I'm not saying it's a place someone not from the US or even most of the US would put it on their vacation list, but the people are nice, the Plaza during Christmas is beautiful, Westport isn't that bad, etc.
I think if you look hard enough in nearly any city, you'll find good architecture. The Power and Light building, Municipal Auditorium and the Jackson County Courthouse in KC are some of the best art deco buildings you'll find anywhere. There's also 3 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in KC. If I was to walk around I'd pick the Quality Hill neighborhood.
I'd add that you may find suburbia in any city in the US. It is everywhere. But, as someone who's moved to the west coast from Missouri I find the people in the Midwest some of the friendliest people you'd meet anywhere. They may not always be as worldly as people from the coasts but they certainly welcome you.
AirPacific747 From Denmark, joined May 2008, 2091 posts, RR: 23 Reply 52, posted (10 months 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 11306 times:
Many of you are way too picky if you don't like cities like Sydney, London, Paris, Geneva, NYC, etc, then you should be grateful that you have not seen the rest of the world.
sq_ek_freak From United Kingdom, joined Dec 2000, 1585 posts, RR: 21 Reply 53, posted (10 months 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 11292 times:
Mumbai, India - huge metropolis but the disparity is constantly in your face and quite depressing really.
Lagos, Nigeria - dislike going there
Guangzhou, China - cheap buys but I just can't take a liking to China for some reason, no matter how many times I try.
Beijing, China - same as above, but ruder people
Shanghai, China - same as above, but ruder people
Rome, Italy - tourist central, almost feels like Las Vegas!
Sao Paolo - Brazil is beautiful, but the city I found rather dull
Houston, Texas - Highlight for me was the space center
Washington, DC - I find the place so boring, so small compared to other east coast centers and just lacking in soul.
canoecarrier From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, RR: 12 Reply 54, posted (10 months 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 11281 times:
Quoting AirPacific747 (Reply 52): I didn't like Sofia in Bulgaria.. nothing to see except concrete buildings from the soviet era..
My wife said the same about Odessa in the Ukraine. And, at the time all anyone could talk about was the good old days of the Soviet Union. But they do have good beaches there. She also wasn't fond of Novosibirsk in Siberia.
DesertJets From United States of America, joined Feb 2000, 7673 posts, RR: 18 Reply 55, posted (10 months 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 11275 times:
Quoting sq_ek_freak (Reply 53): Washington, DC - I find the place so boring, so small compared to other east coast centers and just lacking in soul.
All the politicians suck the soul out of the place. I like DC and it is a fun city to explore, especially as you move away from the mall and the monuments (which are worth a visit for by themselves). But now that I have no family there I no longer have a reason to visit.
Stop drop and roll will not save you in hell. --- seen on a church marque in rural Virginia
AirPacific747 From Denmark, joined May 2008, 2091 posts, RR: 23 Reply 56, posted (10 months 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 11249 times:
Quoting canoecarrier (Reply 54): My wife said the same about Odessa in the Ukraine. And, at the time all anyone could talk about was the good old days of the Soviet Union. But they do have good beaches there. She also wasn't fond of Novosibirsk in Siberia.
Ok.. haven't been to Odessa yet, but Kiev is somewhat nice.. the old part is nice, the new (soviet part) on the eastern side of the Dnepr river is not so nice.
aerorobnz From Rwanda, joined Feb 2001, 6328 posts, RR: 14 Reply 57, posted (10 months 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 11237 times:
Quoting GrahamHill (Reply 43): I guess I find it refreshing being outside of my daily environment (not that I don't like my daily environment, of course!).
So do I. I was perhaps just disappointed by the cities I mentioned. I still entertained myself and had fun but was left wanting more from both places I mentioned
canoecarrier From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, RR: 12 Reply 58, posted (10 months 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 11181 times:
Quoting AirPacific747 (Reply 56): Ok.. haven't been to Odessa yet, but Kiev is somewhat nice.. the old part is nice, the new (soviet part) on the eastern side of the Dnepr river is not so nice.
Well, as I said, you can probably find a nice place in any city if you look hard enough. The Black Sea beaches have to be worth something in Odessa. But, I'd have to talk to someone who's a local to discover just what is nice about Novosibirsk or any of the other mining/industrial cities of eastern Russia.
tz757300 From United States of America, joined Aug 2005, 2836 posts, RR: 7 Reply 59, posted (10 months 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 11176 times:
I'm fond of many places I go to, but...
Los Angeles - I couldn't force myself to try to like anything about the place. Sprawl, sprawl, 24 traffic, sprawl. Not my cup of tea. (Did like the tar pits though)
Atlanta - I had very high hopes for the city but I spent a day being a tourist and then wondering what to do with the rest of my time. Not really a good thing for a city that large.
Camden, NJ - Well, no explanation needed (I'm still alive).
AirPacific747 From Denmark, joined May 2008, 2091 posts, RR: 23 Reply 60, posted (10 months 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 11162 times:
Quoting canoecarrier (Reply 58): But, I'd have to talk to someone who's a local to discover just what is nice about Novosibirsk or any of the other mining/industrial cities of eastern Russia.
Honestly, they probably wouldn't have an answer for you.. some of the locals in Kiev I talked to also said they don't like the new part of the city or didn't like Kiev altogether.
jetBlue777 From United States of America, joined Jul 2009, 1427 posts, RR: 1 Reply 62, posted (10 months 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 11119 times:
Quoting Confuscius (Reply 44):
Manila, Philippines. It's hot, humid, dirty, and half the day you're stuck in traffic. BTW, I'll be there in September but I will enjoy it because I'm having my teeth pulled.
Quoting Confuscius (Reply 44): Perhaps the cleanest place in Metro Manila...
I agree. The only reason why we even go to Manila is because MNL usually gets the cheaper fares from/to the US compared to CEB plus the US Embassy is there. I'll have to spend two nights there in a few weeks, last time I was there (9 NIGHTS!) I had food poisoning...so no "fresh food" for me there.
My list:
1) Salt Lake City - I just didn't feel it and there was a weird vibe to it IMO.
2) Los Angeles - Not that I didn't enjoy visiting LA but it's just way too overrated like the others have mentioned. However, I do love California as a whole, especially the neighboring and less congested suburbs of LA.
zippyjet From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 4724 posts, RR: 13 Reply 64, posted (10 months 3 days 9 hours ago) and read 11035 times:
Several years back I went for an audition/job interview at a radio station in a town called Washington, NJ. I used to do news and some on air in that industry back in the day. Washington, NJ at least back then was far from everything, seedy looking and run down. A combination of the boondocks but with the North NJ. attitude and high prices/rents to boot. Believe it or not it was almost a 4 hour drive from Atlantic City where I was residing at the time.
Almost anywhere in Prince George's County, Maryland. Suburban sprawl meets ghetto tropolis. The only halfway decent area is College Park, (University of Maryland) I'm an alumnus. PG County and next door Montgomery County are different as night and day, A vs. B, I think you get the idea.
Also the wo-begone towns of Essex and Dundalk which are part of my area of Baltimore. When in these areas the air changes and not for the better and depressing would be a gross understatement.
captaink From Mexico, joined May 2001, 5093 posts, RR: 13 Reply 65, posted (10 months 3 days 9 hours ago) and read 11019 times:
MIlan. Grey, boring and over hyped.(from my wifes list.)
Pittsburgh, Charlotte. Nothing really special. (from my list.)
Everywhere else even some mentioned here like Miami (South Florida) they are not special by any means, but I don´t dislike them enough to not want to return.
3DoorsDown From United States of America, joined Oct 2005, 368 posts, RR: 0 Reply 66, posted (10 months 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 11014 times:
Even though it has a significant amount of history, for the US anyway, I absolutely despised Boston. The best part of it I enjoyed was flying out after 3 days.
76794p From United States of America, joined Apr 2008, 341 posts, RR: 0 Reply 67, posted (10 months 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 10999 times:
Quoting lewis (Reply 42): Houston - I was there for work. The city was vast, reminded me of LA - without the nice weather and all the fun things to do. The BBQ was good - that's about it.
We are a business city. People come here to work and make money. If you like museums, we have some great ones. also we have a diverse food scene, we have one of the largest populations of Vietnamese in the country.
It is a huge city and some not too nice areas, but they often adjoin some pretty nice areas which makes it so diverse - take Hampstead Heath and West Hampstead, or Wood Green and Southgate. London is a great city, but I agree you need to know your way around or be shown around by a local.
For me, most cities I have been to in Africa (the countryside, people & cuisine makes up for it though), in this order for me
Johannesburg
Nairobi
Casablanca
Blantyre
Dar Es Salaam
Rabat
Also Houston, Calgary, Toronto & Edmonton this side
Bradford in the UK has to be up there
Dislike Edinburgh too - bagpipers everywhere, seriously - STFU... there has been one time, and one time only they have been remotely cool - AC/DC Its a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll...
zippyjet From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 4724 posts, RR: 13 Reply 69, posted (10 months 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 10926 times:
I've never been but, from what I've heard and learned New Orleans sounds like a place I'd like to skip. Hot, humid, and mostly bad neighborhoods even pre-Katrina. And though it's steamy and tropical your beaches are at least 90 minutes away. Some of the food sounds good but...And I understand crimewise it's right up there with such notorious places as Camden and Newark, NJ., Detroit, MI and Cincinatti. My home town also has too much crime but thats the stuff of an entirely different thread.
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Reply 70, posted (10 months 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 10925 times:
Quoting Confuscius (Reply 50): I had a tire stolen after having bought it the area a day earlier.
Did they leave the rim? It's seems like it would be easier to steal the entire wheel by simply jacking up the car and unbolting the 5 lug-nuts.
Getting the tire off takes more work.
Quoting Confuscius (Reply 50): I'm a magnet for hookers, don't know why,
You've got that look that makes hookers swarm to you.
Quoting AirPacific747 (Reply 52): Many of you are way too picky if you don't like cities like Sydney, London, Paris, Geneva, NYC, etc, then you should be grateful that you have not seen the rest of the world.
Why do you assume that people that don't like those cities haven't travelled much? It's different strokes for different folks.
People tend to have high expectations of those cities and are underwhelmed with they finally see it.
Manila is not a popular destination but I'll take Manila over New York, London, Paris ANYDAY!
Another unpopular destination that I could have enjoyed more if it wasn't for roaming skinhead gangs is Moscow. I tend to like the more non-touristy places and big cities that are not pristine and scrubbed down.
The only 'clean' and expensive city I like is Tokyo.
Pyrex From Portugal, joined Aug 2005, 3538 posts, RR: 28 Reply 72, posted (10 months 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 10893 times:
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 21): Curious, what season were you here? Anyway, as someone living here 3 months a year, I'm neutral towards it. Which is good cause it's very easy for me to rank places.
Was there in early September. Weather was actually pretty nice (a tad humid but the great swimming pool at the hotel made it better). What I disliked was the drab, grey, soviet era buildings (particularly around the Parliament area) and the general seediness to the place (seemed like you couldn't walk more than three blocks at night without some pimp jumping out from a night club to ask if you wanted to party, and even the bar at one of the nicest hotels in town was full of "working girls").
Also, in terms of places I disliked, forgot to mention Tahiti. Too hot/humid, expensive and staffed by incredibly rude people who truly don't give a crap about quality of service.
Quoting sq_ek_freak (Reply 53): Sao Paolo - Brazil is beautiful, but the city I found rather dull
There are plenty of things to criticize about São Paulo, but dull, really? That place is like New York on steroids, there is certainly no lack of amazing restaurants, trendy bars, cultural events, etc. It might be a bit overwhelming for someone in São Paulo for the first (or 7th, as in my case) time, maybe you just didn't go to the right places.
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 69):
I've never been but, from what I've heard and learned New Orleans sounds like a place I'd like to skip.
New Orleans is an amazing city, and I don't typically find the more gritty side of things charming. The amazing architecture, food, drink, music, atmosphere, etc. more than make up for any shortcomings. Just be careful of where you go.
Read this very carefully, I shall write this only once!
danielmyatt From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2011, 160 posts, RR: 0 Reply 73, posted (10 months 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 10772 times:
Quoting 3DoorsDown (Reply 66):
Even though it has a significant amount of history, for the US anyway, I absolutely despised Boston. The best part of it I enjoyed was flying out after 3 days.
Are you mad? I'm currently living in Boston and it is by far and a way my favourite city in the US, possibly the world apart from my hometown.
The people are friendly, the beer is good, the food is excellent, it's reasonably cheap (compared to the UK anyway), the greater Boston area has some great beaches, countryside, and it's only a short ride from cape cod and all that has to offer.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 74, posted (10 months 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 10752 times:
Quoting danielmyatt (Reply 73): Are you mad? I'm currently living in Boston and it is by far and a way my favourite city in the US, possibly the world apart from my hometown.
The people are friendly, the beer is good, the food is excellent, it's reasonably cheap (compared to the UK anyway), the greater Boston area has some great beaches, countryside, and it's only a short ride from cape cod and all that has to offer.
Yeah, Boston's pretty nice. They have good public transportation too. Alongside Washington DC, Chicago and NY, among my favorites in the US, and one of the few places in the USA where I'd want to live.
SW733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 75, posted (10 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 10676 times:
Quoting canoecarrier (Reply 48): I suppose if you spent your time in KC on Troost and Prospect you'd hate it,
My brother-in-law lives right around there and actually enjoys it! He sticks out like a sore thumb though as just about the only white guy in the neighborhood. And his POS truck has been broken in to 3 times. And his barber down the street was shot to death earlier this year for like $40 in cash. Despite that, he enjoys it. But he's young and stupid
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 69): I've never been but, from what I've heard and learned New Orleans sounds like a place I'd like to skip
Don't skip it - give the city a chance. Its an amazing city with tons of character and history. The music is amazing, the food is amazing, the architecture is amazing and most of all, the people are amazing! Been four times and I know I'll be back some time soon!
Quoting Pyrex (Reply 72): There are plenty of things to criticize about São Paulo, but dull, really? That place is like New York on steroids, there is certainly no lack of amazing restaurants, trendy bars, cultural events, etc. It might be a bit overwhelming for someone in São Paulo for the first (or 7th, as in my case) time, maybe you just didn't go to the right places.
Maybe I did it wrong. I've only been on layovers which also don't afford me much time to discover the city.
Quoting Pyrex (Reply 72): New Orleans is an amazing city, and I don't typically find the more gritty side of things charming. The amazing architecture, food, drink, music, atmosphere, etc. more than make up for any shortcomings. Just be careful of where you go.
Agreed!! Was with several friends drinking and partying, till we found ourselves lost in the 9th Ward late at night, maybe around 4am. Was not a good situation.
Flighty From United States of America, joined Apr 2007, 7451 posts, RR: 2 Reply 78, posted (10 months 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 10549 times:
Quoting Maverick623 (Reply 37): There are 3 types of people that live in Yuma: Mexicans, meth-heads, and Marines. Phoenix can be miserable during the summer, but the winters are the real reason to live here. Just stay out of Maryvale and South Phoenix and you'll be fine... and don't grab the attention of the MCSO if you're not white. Just sayin'....
Phoenix could be a great place, they need to re-organize things, mix more residential/commercial, get the density up, build more parks with shade.
Houston.. no excuse.
[quote=AustrianZRH,reply=77]Aberdeen, WA and
Kayenta, AZ.
Ever been to Coos Bay, OR? Eureka, CA? Pretty run-down places
Why?
They have space and with 120 degree summertime temps, you don't want to be crowed in with your neighbors.
The extra space was a major reason many people relocated there from densely populated northeast cities.
Density is really over-rated.
Probably the most run-down places I ever had the misfortune of getting out of my car in. And in the case of Kayenta, even staying there for a night...
Aberdeen is a hell hole, although not really a city. It grew up as a lumber town and most of the jobs left when the mills started closing. I drove through there once with a friend of mine from Germany and she was amazed at how bad it looked.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 79): Why?
They have space and with 120 degree summertime temps, you don't want to be crowed in with your neighbors.
The extra space was a major reason many people relocated there from densely populated northeast cities.
Density is really over-rated.
I'm not sure where all the Phoenix dislike is coming from. I liked the areas north around Camelback and Scottsdale. It's also an incredibly easy city to learn how to get around in.
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Reply 84, posted (10 months 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 10463 times:
Quoting canoecarrier (Reply 83): I'm not sure where all the Phoenix dislike is coming from. I liked the areas north around Camelback and Scottsdale. It's also an incredibly easy city to learn how to get around in.
Agreed.
It's a grid pattern just like Chicago, Manhattan and San Francisco.
Phoenix isn't my favorite city but I do like their airport and all of my experiences there have been good.
The best Mexican food I've had in an airport was at Sky Harbor. It was better than the one at LAX.
lewis From Greece, joined Jul 1999, 3448 posts, RR: 5 Reply 85, posted (10 months 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 10455 times:
Quoting 76794p (Reply 67):
We are a business city. People come here to work and make money. If you like museums, we have some great ones. also we have a diverse food scene, we have one of the largest populations of Vietnamese in the country.
Agreed - Houston is a business center and I didn't mind being there for work, as you said, there is good food. But, purely for visiting, I would not want to go back again.
Very true. Give me at least six lanes of interstate and acres of shopping with even more acres of parking lot. And with lawns mostly optional in Phoenix, there's little reason to not have a large lot since you don't need to mow.
Why do Aerospace Engineering students have to turn things in on time?
canoecarrier From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, RR: 12 Reply 88, posted (10 months 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 10355 times:
Quoting usflyer msp (Reply 87): St. Louis, MO - Dangerous and one of only two cities where I have a had a taxi driver attempt to have relations with me (the other was Jaipur, India).
As much as I like parts of St. Louis like the area downtown by the Arch, I was surprised to find on one list that it's the 3rd most dangerous city in the US right below Detroit. Although I haven't lived near St. Louis in over 10 years I do read the paper there and there are shootings almost every day. E. St. Louis though is someplace I would never go if I went back.
Quoting YVRLTN (Reply 68): Also Houston, Calgary, Toronto & Edmonton this side
I liked Toronto and Calgary. Both have pros and cons but if you stay out of east Calgary I though it was ok. I do remember backpacking through Alberta and BC and asked someone what there was to do in Edmonton and they answered "go to the mall". I bought a ticket for Lake Louise instead.
Flighty From United States of America, joined Apr 2007, 7451 posts, RR: 2 Reply 89, posted (10 months 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 10307 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 79): Why?
They have space and with 120 degree summertime temps, you don't want to be crowed in with your neighbors.
The extra space was a major reason many people relocated there from densely populated northeast cities.
Density is really over-rated.
PHX could be one of the best cities in America. It needs some redesigns, that's all. Well, I'd probably start over.
Avianca From Venezuela, joined Jan 2005, 5857 posts, RR: 40 Reply 90, posted (10 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 10287 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 84): What's it like?
I've always wanted to go there.
well of course its impressive to see the Andes - but well lets start.
For me its like the moon, just dirty, crowded, smoogy, old houses (and not in good shape), for me a strange culture of a big part of the people - and most important for you my friend - the girls are all other than hot....
also the altitute is a nightmare...
but if you stil dicide to go once bo Bolivia - go also to Santa Cruz, ok its like a big Village with over 1 million of inhapitans but nice clima, good and cheap food and drinks and opposite to La Paz hot girls and a lot of them.
NASCARAirforce From United States of America, joined Feb 2005, 3084 posts, RR: 5 Reply 91, posted (10 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 10273 times:
No desire to go back to New York City other than to go spotting at JFK.
Most of New Jersey with exception of Cape May
Pretty much anything in the middle of the U.S. west of St. Louis and east of Denver
Salt Lake City
City of Detroit (not outlying areas) - I been there enough as I grew up there and not a place to take a vacation.
ZKSUJ From New Zealand, joined May 2004, 6937 posts, RR: 10 Reply 92, posted (10 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 10268 times:
I've enjoyed alot of the places I've travelled to from Sydney to Singapore, Rome, Milan, Zurich etc... But one place I would'n go back to in a hurry is Jakarta. I personally found it chaotic and depressing.
Good to hear not many places in NZ mentioned here from people outside of NZ. Either a) we must be doing OK as a place or b) none on here have been bothered enough to come visit us
BMI727 From United States of America, joined Feb 2009, 14356 posts, RR: 26 Reply 93, posted (10 months 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 10219 times:
Quoting canoecarrier (Reply 88): As much as I like parts of St. Louis like the area downtown by the Arch, I was surprised to find on one list that it's the 3rd most dangerous city in the US right below Detroit.
Most of the inner city areas can get dangerous. Some parts of downtown aren't too bad at night, like near the ballpark, but I wouldn't want to spend too much time there. The suburbs, however, are quite nice and cheap too.
Why do Aerospace Engineering students have to turn things in on time?
Pyrex From Portugal, joined Aug 2005, 3538 posts, RR: 28 Reply 94, posted (10 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 10166 times:
Quoting ZKSUJ (Reply 92): Good to hear not many places in NZ mentioned here from people outside of NZ. Either a) we must be doing OK as a place or b) none on here have been bothered enough to come visit us
How could I forget Haast (or how I like to call it, the Royston Vaysey of the Southern Hemisphere). But maybe that belongs in the best hotel horror story thread...
Rest of the country is just gorgeous, though, so maybe that is why I forgot.
Read this very carefully, I shall write this only once!
MillwallSean From Brunei, joined Apr 2008, 1115 posts, RR: 5 Reply 96, posted (10 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 10150 times:
I am surprised no one has mentioned cities in Africa or Saudi.
Horrible places.
Riyadh is a nightmare in robes.
Cairo has the rudest people anywhere in the world I have been.
Lagos was bad but Kano was horrible.
No fan of New Delhi or Dhaka either.
In the two Americas I struggle with all those suburbia/shopping-mall cities where downtown is dead at 6pm.
Worst one must be Atlanta.
Nightmare with 4 lane streets everywhere. What do people do there? How can they disappear so fast? Do they stay in their houses watching TV eating themselves fat or what?
In 2003 I would have said Auckland but the city is improving, a few close suburbs have developed heaps lately, improvements to streets and commerce has made the city more livable, increased public transport and less people hiding in their houses drinking premixed booze. Its moving in the right direction in Auckland. Lets hope it continuous and that the rest of the country understands we need some raillopps and other infrastructure before they build more fonterra milkroads.
Still have to agree on Hamilton NZ its hmm as fun as watching paint dry.
zhiao From United States of America, joined Jan 2011, 356 posts, RR: 0 Reply 97, posted (10 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 10131 times:
Quoting Pyrex (Reply 72): There are plenty of things to criticize about São Paulo, but dull, really? That place is like New York on steroids, there is certainly no lack of amazing restaurants, trendy bars, cultural events, etc. It might be a bit overwhelming for someone in São Paulo for the first (or 7th, as in my case) time, maybe you just didn't go to the right places.
type-rated From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 4355 posts, RR: 20 Reply 98, posted (10 months 2 days 2 hours ago) and read 10094 times:
I once visited Huntsville, AL for work some 20 years ago. I thought the town was pretty dirty and had lots of low class people. Mind you I DID NOT SAY ALL. Reminded myself never to return and I haven't.
Minneapolis. Let's see there is the mall and MSP. What else?
Memphis -Elvis Presley & MEM, what else?
I really enjoyed Boston the few times I had been there but the people are definitely not friendly at all. For some reason I kept running into snobs.
I live in Houston and it all depends on the part of town you are in. If you are in SW Houston better bring combat gear. If you are in SE Houston be prepared to speak Spanish. The central metro area is quite trendy, but keep your hands on your wallet. The north side suburbs are pretty nice. And since all the NASA cuts, the Clear Lake area is going to hell in a handbasket very quickly.
Colorado Springs, CO. Probably one of the most boring places I have ever been. Denver is much better.
Fly North Central Airlines..The route of the Northliners!
na From Germany, joined Dec 1999, 9614 posts, RR: 10 Reply 99, posted (10 months 2 days 2 hours ago) and read 10075 times:
Offenbach, near Frankfurt is a dump. Rundown, ugly, full of emigrants. Its just 10 km from my home, but I dont go there more then once a year - and then only to cross it!
Quoting sq_ek_freak (Reply 53):
Mumbai, India - huge metropolis but the disparity is constantly in your face and quite depressing really.
Actually I never found poverty in large scale less depressing than in Mumbai. All these poor people there actually do something, and most are dressed decently well. And you rarely see depressed faces. Go to South America and its much more depressing.
photoshooter From Belgium, joined Feb 2010, 353 posts, RR: 20 Reply 100, posted (10 months 2 days 1 hour ago) and read 10053 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Brussels - Belgium.
Things I don't like:
- Emigrants of children of emigrants who are very annoying, offensive, disruptive and think they own Brussels.
- Dog poo everywhere, they don't pick it up.
- Streets are dirty, glass everywhere...
- Bad smell
- Too much police when you don't need them, no police when you need them
- In a country where they speak 3 languages, you can't even speak Dutch... Try to find a hospital where they speak Dutch.
- ugly buildings, no skyline or whatsoever.
- Dirty train stations, not to mention Brussels-North train station.
- Subway system is ok but not safe at all!
I'm sure other fellow Belgians can add things to this list?
Not so keen on Antwerp either.
'A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.' - Winston Churchill
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 24929 posts, RR: 60 Reply 101, posted (10 months 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 9979 times:
I cant really say that I have that many . I usually make the best of every city and enjoy it and see it for what it is. Maybe only one exception was Prague , dont know what all the fuss was about and got sick there so maybe it was doomed to begin with .
Quoting lewis (Reply 42): Brussels - Was fine for a day trip but after 5pm I felt that I was the only person walking outside.
Haha too true . Belfast is like that too . Not as bad as it was but the centre is quite empty at night .
OLYMPIC AIR - ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΗ "Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΨΗΛΑ" "GREECE FLYING HIGH"
zippyjet From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 4724 posts, RR: 13 Reply 102, posted (10 months 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 9892 times:
Quoting type-rated (Reply 98): I really enjoyed Boston the few times I had been there but the people are definitely not friendly at all. For some reason I kept running into snobs.
I can second that. Though I've never been to Boston, judging from our passengers, many have a chip on their shoulder, have negative energy, manners challenged and have that government mentality (entitled) and I hear Boston drivers outdo NYC motorists for driving from hell. Otherwise, Boston should be a hoot to visit.
PSA53 From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 3004 posts, RR: 4 Reply 103, posted (10 months 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 9863 times:
My vote also goes to Las Vegas.
Quoting Braniff747SP (Reply 10): Las Vegas, in general. That's a place where you can see everything of interest in a day. In general, it's not a nice place to go.
I agree. If you're going to Las Vegas, keep it short like a couple of days at the most.
Others:
Bakersfield,Ca
Enid,OK
Freeport,Bahamas
I right now,one might want to detour Anaheim,Ca.
EricR From United States of America, joined Jul 2010, 1458 posts, RR: 1 Reply 104, posted (10 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 9815 times:
As some have mentioned, most cities have their quirks or nuances, but are attractive in their own ways. However, Beijing and Shanghai are two cities that I would never go to again (and China in general).
As others mentioned the Chinese have a fascination for constantly spitting on the ground. Both cities are crowded and very polluted (you don't see the sun for days because of the emissions from coal plants and automobiles - maybe this explains the constant spitting). In addition, the Chinese are loud (sounds like they are constantly barking at each other) and and lack basic human courtesies that I have not seen in any other country.
In comparison, I have been to several cities in India including Mumbai and Bangalore. Both cities are also crowded and noisy, however, I found these cities to be fascinating and loved visiting them. The difference is in the people. The Indians are much warmer and have a sense a common courtesy. This makes the traveling experience much more pleasurable.
canoecarrier From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, RR: 12 Reply 105, posted (10 months 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 9778 times:
Quoting EricR (Reply 104): As some have mentioned, most cities have their quirks or nuances, but are attractive in their own ways. However, Beijing and Shanghai are two cities that I would never go to again (and China in general).
Apparently I live vicariously through my wife, but she said the same thing about Shanghai and Nanjing. She has photos when she was in Nanjing where you couldn't see the other side of the river through the pollution.
As an aside, I don't think I'll visit Fukishima anytime soon.
MD-90 From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 8418 posts, RR: 13 Reply 107, posted (10 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 9711 times:
My least favorite town (definitely not a city) is Aberdeen, Mississippi. I lived there for six months while I completed my student teaching internship for my music ed degree. Very, very poor populace and my landlady (who lived next door to my rental house) was incredibly racist and assumed I was too just because I was white like her. This really grated on my nerves because almost all of the school aged students were black and I really enjoyed teaching them.
Quoting Pyrex (Reply 94): How could I forget Haast (or how I like to call it, the Royston Vaysey of the Southern Hemisphere). But maybe that belongs in the best hotel horror story thread...
I spent a night in Haast once. We were driving down 6 from Greymouth to Queenstown and spent the night in Haast. Had a nice basic backpacker/hotel and a good restaurant and that was about all I saw of the town.
Quoting type-rated (Reply 98): I once visited Huntsville, AL for work some 20 years ago. I thought the town was pretty dirty and had lots of low class people. Mind you I DID NOT SAY ALL. Reminded myself never to return and I haven't.
It's changed a lot in the last 20 years. The Huntsville metropolitan area (Huntsville/Decatur/Athens/Madison) is now the second largest in Alabama and it's the beneficiary of a lot of smart people immigrating from other states and going to work for NASA, the Army, Boeing, etc.
757MDE From Colombia, joined Sep 2004, 1753 posts, RR: 7 Reply 108, posted (10 months 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 9694 times:
Quoting EricR (Reply 104): However, Beijing and Shanghai are two cities that I would never go to again (and China in general).
On the other hand I enjoyed both cities greatly.
The only thing I did not like (letting alone pollution) was that in Shanghai they tried to trick me with the tea house scam A LOT, and I mean being approached more than 10 (yes, ten) times in just one afternoon I was walking around. I did not fall and the last tries I just trolled them instead but it was annoying.
The spitting on the floor thing is true, but it's not such a bad thing for me.
Quoting canoecarrier (Reply 105): As an aside, I don't think I'll visit Fukushima anytime soon.
I would if it was possible, Chernobyl and Prypiat were great! (and I even saw very cute girls in Chernobyl town but then again that's almost a given in Ukraine).
I gladly accept donations to pay for flight hours! This thing draws man...
kiwiinoz From New Zealand, joined Oct 2005, 2029 posts, RR: 5 Reply 109, posted (10 months 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 9681 times:
Quoting EricR (Reply 104): As some have mentioned, most cities have their quirks or nuances, but are attractive in their own ways. However, Beijing and Shanghai are two cities that I would never go to again (and China in general).
As others mentioned the Chinese have a fascination for constantly spitting on the ground. Both cities are crowded and very polluted (you don't see the sun for days because of the emissions from coal plants and automobiles - maybe this explains the constant spitting). In addition, the Chinese are loud (sounds like they are constantly barking at each other) and and lack basic human courtesies that I have not seen in any other country.
I am not a great fan of Shanghai but I love Beijing. The pollution can be an issue but on a blue sky day it's beautiful. I am heading to both cities next week for work.
Oh, and don't confuse "basic human courtesies" with "basic western courtesies". Having lived here for 6 years, I can assure you that the behaviour you describe is very much accepted within this culture. And additionally, there are some things that westerners do that shock the Chinese in much the same way, (despite us not thinking anything of it)
Tupolev160 From Ukraine, joined Oct 2011, 318 posts, RR: 1 Reply 111, posted (10 months 22 hours ago) and read 9609 times:
I see you've opened a great topic guys. Since i have a lot to list, i'll do it by continent, so this would be for Europe:
=> Bucharest - The ugliest large capital city and India (its worst sides) in Europe, dirtiness, distaste, overwhelming primitiveness, chaos in all possible forms from architecture to people, bus windows on the buildings, 2 million stray dogs and there would be a lot more to say. Without the subway it would be a hell on Earth.
=> Sofia - The ugliest large capital city in Europe number 2
(though relatively enjoyable and interesting in some places so i don't know if it should be included in the list; much cleaner than Bucharest though)
=> Saint Petersburg (Russia) - One of the "if you want yourself to commit suicide within a short period of time go there" places, one of the most depressive and dark cities on Earth, climate (extreme cold and humid, winds), extreme social decay, drugs/alcohol abuse, extremely high AIDS rates, historical heritage etc.
=> Gomel (Belarus) - Similar to the above listed-one, just in smaller (the worst affected not evacuated city following the Chernobyl disaster, population around 500.000, the whole society seems to be suffering from extreme mental disorders and nuclear-related health issues)
=> Zaporozhiya and the region (Ukraine) - This fairly unknown large Ukrainian city is at the center of Ukraine's most industrialized region, producing cars, turbines, nuclear industry spare parts, extremely depressive and probably the worst example of urban decay in Ukraine; Energodar, the largest nuclear power-plant in Europe is located nearby, region's residents having the highest rates of cancer in Ukraine
=> Lille (France) - One of those places that if they were to disappear overnight not a drop in the ocean would move; a boring, depressive and insignificant city, a transportation hub but in fact a hole, around 270 drizzling days in the year
=> Budapest - Boring, plastic, and depressive, totally overrated and over-promoted by the tourism industry (roughly the place where the mass-tourists that have no money go to more Westwards end up actually)
=> Zagreb - Similar to Budapest except that there is really nothing to see, utterly boring and small, predictable, constricted, complexed people, feeling of mental unease/discomfort within them
Bonus:
My best unexpected surprises in Europe were the Slovakian city of Kosice, the Polish capital Warsaw and the city of Brest in Belarus, very very pleasant places.
[Edited 2012-07-28 06:51:20]
[Edited 2012-07-28 06:53:27]
[Edited 2012-07-28 06:57:10]
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
MCOGVADCA From China, joined Oct 2006, 442 posts, RR: 0 Reply 113, posted (10 months 20 hours ago) and read 9568 times:
Outright dislike:
-Name a second-tier Chinese city, and I dislike it. Seriously, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Chongqing, Luoyang, Xi'an, Xuzhou, Jinan...soooo boring.
-Johannesburg. Never felt safe; quite surreal.
-Luang Prabang
-Bruxelles
Meh:
-Madrid
-Milan
-Taipei
-Beijing
-Kuala Lumpur
-Sydney
-Philadelphia
12 months: mco fra ory nce mxp doh pvg hkg bkk zrh iah lhr gva iad clt lax nrt sin mnl ceb del jai gay vns szx zuh
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 114, posted (10 months 20 hours ago) and read 9565 times:
Quoting BMI727 (Reply 86): Very true. Give me at least six lanes of interstate and acres of shopping with even more acres of parking lot.
Ah, yes, you just described hell.
Shopping malls are useless. There's now amazon and all the online stuff, no need for physical stores anymore.
Quoting canoecarrier (Reply 88): asked someone what there was to do in Edmonton and they answered "go to the mall"
Hmm... and you don't see why I dislike KC? That's exactly how I feel whenever I come back from anywhere in Europe, for instance. Maybe it's not as bad as Edmonton (never been), but you get the idea.
Quoting MillwallSean (Reply 96): Nightmare with 4 lane streets everywhere. What do people do there? How can they disappear so fast? Do they stay in their houses watching TV eating themselves fat or what?
Love the way you put it
Quoting Tupolev160 (Reply 111): The ugliest large capital city and India (its worst sides) in Europe, dirtiness, distaste, overwhelming primitiveness, chaos in all possible forms from architecture to people, bus windows on the buildings,
I agree it's one of the ugliest cities I've been to.
Bus windows on buildings? Never heard that one before, what's that supposed to mean? You mean the windows which keep the noise out? If so, more cities should follow suit and put "bus windows" on their buildings
Can you elaborate? Especially the primitiveness part, what happened to you here?
Quoting Tupolev160 (Reply 111): Without the subway it would be a hell on Earth.
That's the best subway in Europe that I've experienced. Well, the new cars, anyway.
DeltaMD90 From United States of America, joined Apr 2008, 5318 posts, RR: 47 Reply 115, posted (10 months 20 hours ago) and read 9550 times:
I can find something to like in any city and have a great time! That being said...
TIJUANA!!! I think it's really been crippled from the lack of tourism, and looking back, I don't think I should've chanced going to Mexico with all the violence happening. Tijuana was dirty, run down, and there were only about 10 tourists there so we got heckled way more than usual. It was ridiculous
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0 Reply 116, posted (10 months 19 hours ago) and read 9543 times:
Hmm out of the cities this year at least i'd say my least favourite was Frankfurt - wouldn't say i didn't enjoy it, i just felt there wasn't an awful lot there.
Quoting OA260 (Reply 101): I cant really say that I have that many . I usually make the best of every city and enjoy it and see it for what it is.
Agreed
Quoting lewis (Reply 42): Brussels - Was fine for a day trip but after 5pm I felt that I was the only person walking outside. Everything looked kind of dead and there was not much to do other than walking around and enjoying the architecture.
I know what you mean! I was back in my hotel at 7:30 as nearly everything was shut! Although there was quite a bit to see during daylight.
Revelation From United States of America, joined Feb 2005, 10481 posts, RR: 20 Reply 117, posted (10 months 19 hours ago) and read 9543 times:
Quoting kiwiinoz (Reply 9): Quoting byronicle6 (Reply 5):
London, UK
Interesting, can I ask why?
For me London definitely had its positives, but its negatives were that the locals were full of big city aloofness, and seemed to be regulated by some unwritten set of rules that you were supposed to know in advance.
Quoting DesertJets (Reply 29): Most of Florida for me. I've been to Orlando, Tampa/Clearwater, the Space Coast and Jacksonville. The best parts were Clearwater Beach (having not been to many beaches in my lifetime one of the best that I've been to. Just sucks that it was in winter) and I surprisingly liked Jacksonville, but I was at a downtown hotel.
I have to agree that FL has not much appeal to me. I go there a lot because of friends and family, but the place itself has become cookie cutter American suburban sprawl and kitsch, with a few palm trees thrown in to break things up a bit.
Having said that, I thought Naples, FL and the Fort Meyers / Sanibel / Captiva areas were nice.
I can't wait for all the particle board palaces that shot up between Tampa and Ft Meyers in the boom of the 90s/00s to all fall down.
Quoting moo (Reply 36): Jo'berg - I never once felt safe there, even in a locked guarded compound. There were five shootings within 500 yards of me in the three days I was there and someone else on the flight home two weeks later had been carjacked but luckily not hurt.
Actually that describes a business trip I made to LA shortly after the Rodney King riots. Hotel had fences with razor wire on top. I never left the hotel except to go to work during the well-lit days.
Quoting UltimateDelta (Reply 38): Don't me wrong, the location is beautiful, but otherwise it's extremely overhyped. I'm sure there's a lot to do in the area (hiking, etc), but my travel group last year didn't do that and as a result the three hours we spent there were thoroughly uninteresting. It's a nice enough place to stop and look around or maybe eat on a longer tour, but otherwise there's little else to offer (especially in off-years for the Passion Play).
A bit harsh judgement to be based on a 3 hour stay.
Quoting DesertJets (Reply 55): Quoting sq_ek_freak (Reply 53):
Washington, DC - I find the place so boring, so small compared to other east coast centers and just lacking in soul.
All the politicians suck the soul out of the place.
Not to mention the various lobbyists, lawyers, contractors and other political camp followers.
However, lots of great diverse restaurant choices if you get away from the Mall area.
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 64): Almost anywhere in Prince George's County, Maryland. Suburban sprawl meets ghetto tropolis. The only halfway decent area is College Park, (University of Maryland) I'm an alumnus. PG County and next door Montgomery County are different as night and day, A vs. B, I think you get the idea.
Yep, PG is indeed a place to be avoided.
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 69): I've never been but, from what I've heard and learned New Orleans sounds like a place I'd like to skip. Hot, humid, and mostly bad neighborhoods even pre-Katrina.
A trip to NO should be done in the cooler months and with a hotel room near Bourbon Street. If you like lively and even outrageous night life, interesting and diverse food to eat and all kinds of intereresting history and culture, it's a great place to go. I loved the French Quarter, the waterfront, and the trolley ride out to the Zoo.
comorin From United States of America, joined May 2005, 4677 posts, RR: 17 Reply 118, posted (10 months 19 hours ago) and read 9526 times:
Quoting kiwiinoz (Reply 109): And additionally, there are some things that westerners do that shock the Chinese in much the same way, (despite us not thinking anything of it)
aloges From Germany, joined Jan 2006, 8358 posts, RR: 47 Reply 119, posted (10 months 18 hours ago) and read 9509 times:
Due to a lack of time to prepare, I didn't care much for Delhi when I was there for a couple of days earlier this year. After ten minutes of walking around, I felt like a cash piñata that everyone was trying to whack open - a truly off-putting experience. Add the tremendous heat, smog and chaos and I'd had enough after a couple of hours. Luckily, my stay wasn't that long.
I might however try it again if I get the chance... now that I know that I'll have to haggle and behave like an arse, by my own standards.
Walk together, talk together all ye peoples of the earth. Then, and only then, shall ye have peace.
PSA53 From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 3004 posts, RR: 4 Reply 120, posted (10 months 17 hours ago) and read 9478 times:
Quoting DeltaMD90 (Reply 115): TIJUANA!!! I think it's really been crippled from the lack of tourism, and looking back, I don't think I should've chanced going to Mexico with all the violence happening. Tijuana was dirty, run down, and there were only about 10 tourists there so we got heckled way more than usual. It was ridiculous
That could all change.With PRI back in power they might be getting payoffs from drug cartels once again.While it's to soon to say that,the PRI are responsible for making drug thugs what they are today.
If the violence suddenly stops then it's a tip off that PRI are getting kick backs.
ju068 From Serbia, joined Aug 2009, 2579 posts, RR: 6 Reply 121, posted (10 months 17 hours ago) and read 9489 times:
The worst bigger city in Europe has to be Brussels. It is simply disgusting and the architecture of the city is totally random and it seems as if the city was built without any urban planning. On top of it all the city is extremely dirty and I had the feeling of being unsafe. The city is very boring, yes, there are a lot of pubs in downtown but most of them are filled with people wearing suits. If you remove the chocolate and a small boy peeing there is nothing in the city.
- Amsterdam, I found it totally depressing and uninspiring. Too many hippies on top of it all. I prefer the north of the Netherlands and some cities in the south such as Maastricht.
- Oslo, it is a glorified village with absolutely nothing to do! The city itself is cute but only for a few hours.
- New Delhi: I think if you would turn any immigration department into a city you would get New Delhi. It is the definition of Hell on earth. It is dirty, overcrowded, smells really bad and you will see things you are not supposed to see, at least not in the 21st century. Their new airport is quite nice though.
However, if we are to take smaller cities in Europe then I guess Tatabanya in Hungary would take the crown. I think they could even compete with Lagos, and win! Though it is safer than Lagos, Tatabanya will depress you to such a point you will wish you were in Lagos!
You can see this gem by following the link below: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Tatabanya.png
Absolutely true! I completely forgot to add Geneva to the list as one of the most disgusting places in Europe i've been too. I remember amongst other a guy in the bakery refusing to sell me a certain cake unless i won't eat it right in the bakery, thinking customers presence might seem appealing to other potential customers passing through the street...very bad memories of that place, very dirty and materialistic.
I think Odessa and Sofia can't be compared. Odessa is very run-down outside the city center but the people and spirit is totally different and there is so much to do. The center of Odessa is lovely and the Opera may be the most beautiful Opera house in the world, here is the link.
I'm absolutely sure this might seem subjective but after Moscow i consider Kiev as the most beautiful city in Europe. Unlike cities such as Paris both cities boost an incredibly varied architecture of exceptional beauty.
Kiev remains totally unknown in the tourism-industry world, for the best and for the worst (i would say rather for the best).
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
Tupolev160 From Ukraine, joined Oct 2011, 318 posts, RR: 1 Reply 123, posted (10 months 16 hours ago) and read 9449 times:
In the Middle East
(the list is fairly shorter than what was the case for Europe, i find the region actually one of the more enjoyable in the world overall)
1 => Abu Dhabi (UAE) - As artificial and plastic as Dubai, but with far less money to cover up the shortcomings.
Visibly less means invested to help mask the disastrous void of this place, the magic here has less time to last; poor version of the former with all its worst sides magnified.
From my notes: "All low class foreigners stay within their own group, no cultural exchange but each culture decays. The low class people living in untenable uncertainty and high class in maddening opulence".
2 => Ajman and Dubai, similar to the previous, with the exception of the slums located in Dubai suburbs, near DWC . Unbearable feeling of emptiness and artificiality.
3 => Bushehr (Iran) - The city hosting the well-known first Iranian nuclear power plant is an open-air sauna bursting 40-50 degrees under 100% humidity, half-way between the Hungarian depression and the Indian chaos, dirtiness and lack of facilities (no functional canalisation in the streets of Bushehr). Locals blame the provincial government for drifting away all the city's funds to the nuclear power plan project.
4 => Kayseri, Erzincan, Konya and most Turkish cities - Money matters everywhere but in Turkey that's the only thing that matters. After some time the material voracity of Turkish men gets really unbearable and becomes one of the dominant impression of their societies and cities therefore. Couple to that a near-absence of any architectural style and just imported fragments of modernity a-la US.
5 => Damascus - To say it short: the decay of everything one would appreciate in Aleppo, the other side of the coin.
Bellow that i can't recall any ME city as being outright unpleasant to deserve to be mentioned here.
[Edited 2012-07-28 12:38:03]
[Edited 2012-07-28 12:40:23]
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
usflyer msp From United States of America, joined May 2000, 1789 posts, RR: 0 Reply 124, posted (10 months 15 hours ago) and read 9407 times:
Quoting Revelation (Reply 117): Quoting moo (Reply 36):
Jo'berg - I never once felt safe there, even in a locked guarded compound. There were five shootings within 500 yards of me in the three days I was there and someone else on the flight home two weeks later had been carjacked but luckily not hurt.
Actually that describes a business trip I made to LA shortly after the Rodney King riots. Hotel had fences with razor wire on top. I never left the hotel except to go to work during the well-lit days.
Interesting, I have been to Jo'berg twice and I loved it. I was never afraid and I thought it had some interesting art galleries and bars. Of course, I blend in there I love Soweto too!
Quoting Revelation (Reply 117): Quoting zippyjet (Reply 64):
Almost anywhere in Prince George's County, Maryland. Suburban sprawl meets ghetto tropolis. The only halfway decent area is College Park, (University of Maryland) I'm an alumnus. PG County and next door Montgomery County are different as night and day, A vs. B, I think you get the idea.
Yep, PG is indeed a place to be avoided.
I have generally had good experiences in PG county as well. It is not as fun as DC but its okay...you just have to hang out with a local to know where the higher-end places are.
MasterBean From UK - England, joined Apr 2010, 181 posts, RR: 0 Reply 125, posted (10 months 15 hours ago) and read 9414 times:
Glasgow - I'm not really an arty person and the fact the Fringe was taking place meant I got on a train for the full day I had their. In the evening I did what every other young person was doing and went to the cinema to see the Inbetweeners movie.
Santo Domingo is a bit of a boring capital, not much to see and loads of people trying to sellyou stuff you don't want or need.
eurowings From UK - England, joined Sep 2011, 298 posts, RR: 0 Reply 126, posted (10 months 15 hours ago) and read 9402 times:
I try to find something good everywhere I visit, but as for large European cities I'd agree with the mention of Brussels. Sure, it has its highlights right in the centre, but the rest of it didn't appeal to me at all.
Other than that, I wasn't keen on Tangier in Morocco, preferred Marrakesh.
Two of my favourites in Europe actually (despite their touristy nature), I really like the architecture and atmosphere in those cities. I am a sucker for interesting architecture. Prague's Mala Strana (Lesser Quarter) was a real gem. Amsterdam's principal canals lit at night are (IMO) incredibly appealing.
usflyer msp From United States of America, joined May 2000, 1789 posts, RR: 0 Reply 127, posted (10 months 14 hours ago) and read 9408 times:
Quoting MasterBean (Reply 125): Santo Domingo is a bit of a boring capital, not much to see and loads of people trying to sellyou stuff you don't want or need.
I definitely agree. Most aggressive pimps and prostitutes I have ever seen as well.
PITingres From United States of America, joined Dec 2007, 959 posts, RR: 12 Reply 129, posted (10 months 11 hours ago) and read 9328 times:
Lots of nice places have crappy areas and vice versa. One or two that impressed me the wrong way more than usual:
Trenton, NJ: a slum with a domed building in it. Seriously, a state capital that doesn't even have an airport (with scheduled airline service) nearby? (and I don't count EWR ... EWR is only close to Trenton on the map.) Even Harrisburg has air service, even if not much of it.
Geneva: very pretty place with some of the most unfriendly and standoffish natives I've met anywhere. (no, I'm not a francophobe, I've been other places in France or with a French population and was treated very nicely. I very much liked Paris.)
Limerick: Arrive at the city limits on a nice day, cross a bridge, it starts to rain. Leave the city on the other side, the rain stops and the sun comes out. This happened to me more than once. I am not making this up.
Philadelphia: Trenton writ large. Has an airport but the airport makes up for it by being poorly laid out, delay-prone, and rife with nasty and/or dishonest workers. (and if any of you work at PHL, maybe it's better now, but I'll never know.)
Boston gets an honorable mention because of the horrible road signage and outrageous drivers. The place does have some small merit otherwise.
Another honorable mention for St Louis. I did some contract work there, and the phrase "... but it's not really safe there ..." was omnipresent. The only reason I don't have it solidly on my "yuck" list is that I didn't see all that much of it.
ipodguy7 From United States of America, joined Aug 2008, 301 posts, RR: 0 Reply 130, posted (10 months 9 hours ago) and read 9309 times:
Bruges, Belgium- been there twice, each time just for a day (not my choice, family trips). This had to be the most boring city I've ever been to. There is literally nothing but lace and chocolate. Not to mention the fact that we were ripped off at a local café.
San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, Honduras- been to SAP 7x and TGU 2x (on missions trips to a city halfway between SAP and TGU). While I love Honduras, these cities always seemed really unsafe to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm used to the Honduran Security System (Shotgun and metal detector hand wand armed man on the street), but the constant stories of gruesome murders turned me off. In fact, the last time I was in Honduras, it was with a group mission team, and we were 2 weeks in to the trip when the government kidnapped the president in a Coup d'etat and flew him out of the country. Power was cut off for the next 2 days, army personnel took over gas stations, and it was just insanity. By day 3, my parents had already contacted TACA and Miami Air (I think) about chartering a plane to pick our team up, but luckily the exact number of seats opened up for a SAP-ATL flight that departed within 12 hours. All in all, a beautiful country, though.
London- been there twice, way too crowded, dirty, and bland for my likings. I much prefer Paris (5x).
flyingturtle From Switzerland, joined Oct 2011, 1292 posts, RR: 2 Reply 131, posted (10 months 8 hours ago) and read 9291 times:
- Zurich. I never understood why that city is so popular with tourists.
- Saarbrücken. A town that, due to financial constraints, has neglected its infrastructure, and has historically been neglected by the French until its reunification with Germany in 1957. Though bleak on average, it has some fine spots.
- Rome, but only because of the pollution and heavy automobile traffic.
Honestly, I have troubles remembering other cities that I did not enjoy staying there. One big minus with every town or city, however, is being popular with tourists. I just do not belong into alpine towns that cater to Japanese, Indian, Korean and Chinese tourists - cow-bells here, chocolate there and above all, pictures of the Matterhorn.
David
Even a letdown, if it is thoroughly and final, is a step forward.
PITingres From United States of America, joined Dec 2007, 959 posts, RR: 12 Reply 132, posted (10 months 6 hours ago) and read 9255 times:
Quoting comorin (Reply 118): Quoting kiwiinoz (Reply 109):
And additionally, there are some things that westerners do that shock the Chinese in much the same way, (despite us not thinking anything of it)
Please tell us! Inquiring minds want to know!
Ok, I dunno about "shock", but I know for a fact that I was a source of great amusement for the locals when I climbed HuaShan. (With a chinese buddy who had mostly given up on making sense of his Western friend.) It's hard work climbing some 13 thousand steps, so I was in my workout gear complete with sweatband. The average Chinese visitor was wearing what I'll call "Friday business casual" outfit, complete with light-dress trousers and painful looking shoes. Both sides were amazed.
Anyway, I'll second what I suspect kiwiinoz was trying to get at: if you live in a land where geographically sourced dust is a major factor in every-day life, you might not be as concerned about "cleanliness" as your average westerner. In large parts of China, if you are going to worry about dust, you might as well slit your throat now, and I don't doubt that that has translated into what westerners see as "dirtiness". (But hey, a little dirt is good for the immune system!!!)
type-rated From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 4355 posts, RR: 20 Reply 135, posted (9 months 4 weeks 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 8989 times:
Quoting MD-90 (Reply 107): It's changed a lot in the last 20 years. The Huntsville metropolitan area (Huntsville/Decatur/Athens/Madison) is now the second largest in Alabama and it's the beneficiary of a lot of smart people immigrating from other states and going to work for NASA, the Army, Boeing, etc.
Thanks for the info. I was a bit hard on Huntsville, I know. Maybe I should go and try it again someday.
Now if they cleaned up the shopping malls and streets, got rid of the whisley swiggin' female cab drivers and if the Ramada Inn got rid of their circular water beds......
Fly North Central Airlines..The route of the Northliners!
kiwiinoz From New Zealand, joined Oct 2005, 2029 posts, RR: 5 Reply 136, posted (9 months 4 weeks 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 9003 times:
Quoting comorin (Reply 118): Quoting kiwiinoz (Reply 109):
And additionally, there are some things that westerners do that shock the Chinese in much the same way, (despite us not thinking anything of it)
Please tell us! Inquiring minds want to know!
Prolonged direct eye contact in conversation
Eating with fingers
Disregarding the "order" of how people should be seated at a dining table
Casually talking about death or ways of dying
Touching on the upper arm or shoulder
Casually discussing sex, especially with women present
Treating people like idiots just because they don't speak English
Interrupting conversation
Some of these are of course also rude in Western culture, however we have a greater level of acceptance of them.
The trick with enjoying China is switching to a different frame of thinking that allows one to really appreciate what it has to offer. In particular, the things I find amazing are:
The family unit. It is unbreakable. Chinese kids know how to respect their elders
The master plan - one exists, across the whole country and it is mind boggling as you get a sense of perspective in how it is all coming together
Ambition: Despite being small cogs in the "master plan" most Chinese are full of pride and respect for the vision. And they are not robotic about it, (any more).
Perspective: Most Chinese are quite well educated, either formally and informally, and can discuss a wide range of topics
Progress: The rate of progress as a result of some of the above is impressive. Some of the collest architecture, development, etc you can find in some of the most unlikely places.
But I agree, it can be a hard place to swallow. I didnt really start appreciating these things for a couple of years
MD-90 From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 8418 posts, RR: 13 Reply 137, posted (9 months 4 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 8981 times:
Quoting type-rated (Reply 135): Now if they cleaned up the shopping malls and streets, got rid of the whisley swiggin' female cab drivers and if the Ramada Inn got rid of their circular water beds......
Yes to all three. Well, I HOPE the Ramada Inn has.
HELyes From Finland, joined Oct 2010, 644 posts, RR: 1 Reply 138, posted (9 months 3 weeks 6 days 14 hours ago) and read 8781 times:
Barcelona:
I thought I'd love it but it's not a city for me: didn't feel safe, too many junkies, bad service in shops and restaurants. Probably July wasn't the best month to visit.
Kuala Lumpur:
After Thailand the city felt kind of cold and conservative, smiles were rare.
Confuscius From United States of America, joined Aug 2001, 3636 posts, RR: 2 Reply 139, posted (9 months 3 weeks 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 8709 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 70): Quoting Confuscius (Reply 50):
I'm a magnet for hookers, don't know why,
You've got that look that makes hookers swarm to you.
More like the chickenheads think I've got the cash and the crack. Lots of them in Gary.
gemuser From Australia, joined Nov 2003, 5219 posts, RR: 6 Reply 140, posted (9 months 3 weeks 6 days 3 hours ago) and read 8667 times:
Quoting Tupolev160 (Reply 111): => Saint Petersburg (Russia) - One of the "if you want yourself to commit suicide within a short period of time go there" places, one of the most depressive and dark cities on Earth, climate (extreme cold and humid, winds), extreme social decay, drugs/alcohol abuse, extremely high AIDS rates, historical heritage etc.
This surprises me! Admittedly I was only there for the first week of August but I thought it was a brilliant city. Light, bright and specular looking. Much, much better than Moscow the following week.
I can understand it being different in winter, but then the whole of Russia is a different matter in winter!
I've been many times. Twenty or more years ago it was like visiting a different country now its hard to tell where the border is. I took my wife about 5 years ago and was surprised at the change, bad on the us side and better on the mx side.
Quoting MillwallSean (Reply 96): In the two Americas I struggle with all those suburbia/shopping-mall cities where downtown is dead at 6pm.
yip
Ever been to Wichita? This is an aviation site so i'm sure some people have been as its a big player in the sector. World champion boring city.
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 24929 posts, RR: 60 Reply 142, posted (9 months 3 weeks 6 days 1 hour ago) and read 8620 times:
Quoting flyingturtle (Reply 131): - Zurich. I never understood why that city is so popular with tourists.
I love Zurich . Very clean and civilised and some lovely places to eat,relax and shop . One of my favourite cities. Always feel safe there too.
Quoting mad99 (Reply 141): Not at all, Belfast night life is great!
Well if you base it all on drink ! The City streets themselves and city centre are empty. I know Im 50 mins from Belfast and in the city most weeks. It most certainly doesnt have the buzz of other European cities.
OLYMPIC AIR - ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΗ "Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΨΗΛΑ" "GREECE FLYING HIGH"
AeroWesty From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 18888 posts, RR: 64 Reply 144, posted (9 months 3 weeks 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 8512 times:
Vienna, Austria.
A dull, grey imperial city without an empire to rule any longer. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone to Salzburg first, and done it the other way 'round.
StuckInCA From United States of America, joined Oct 2005, 1782 posts, RR: 1 Reply 145, posted (9 months 3 weeks 5 days 12 hours ago) and read 8486 times:
The first couple times I was in LA I had that same dissapointment.
Now I've been there about 20 times, met locals who showed me around and became friends, and I can honestly
say it belongs to my favourite cities in the world.
Man. I lived there and couldn't stand it. Hate it.
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 102): Though I've never been to Boston, judging from our passengers, many have a chip on their shoulder, have negative energy, manners challenged and have that government mentality (entitled) and I hear Boston drivers outdo NYC motorists for driving from hell. Otherwise, Boston should be a hoot to visit.
No doubt about it. I love Boston, have spent a lot of time there and have friends there, but as a whole, the people are pretty unfriendly. Very high strung and self important.
MSPNWA From United States of America, joined Apr 2009, 1574 posts, RR: 4 Reply 146, posted (9 months 3 weeks 5 days 12 hours ago) and read 8484 times:
Seattle - some nice views, but I didn't like the people, geography, or the grunge. Don't get the hype.
Detroit - words can't describe the experience in many areas
Fresno - scary at night.
StuckInCA From United States of America, joined Oct 2005, 1782 posts, RR: 1 Reply 147, posted (9 months 3 weeks 5 days 12 hours ago) and read 8473 times:
Quoting MSPNWA (Reply 146): Seattle - some nice views, but I didn't like the people, geography, or the grunge. Don't get the hype.
I appreciate that different people have different tastes, but it's hard to imagine not liking the geography of the Seattle area. *shrugs*
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Reply 148, posted (9 months 3 weeks 5 days 1 hour ago) and read 8417 times:
Quoting HELyes (Reply 138): Kuala Lumpur:
After Thailand the city felt kind of cold and conservative, smiles were rare.
I wanted to say that in my recent trip report there but I decided to be nice.
My report is mostly bashing that crap airline called Air Asia that many people rave about. Kuala Lumpur was just kind of boring.
Quoting Confuscius (Reply 139): More like the chickenheads think I've got the cash and the crack. Lots of them in Gary.
Gary went downhill once I moved from there back in the 80s.
If I were a crackhead, I'd buy from you.
Quoting MSPNWA (Reply 146): Seattle - some nice views, but I didn't like the people, or the grunge. Don't get the hype.
Seems like Seattle's depressing, 'grunge' element is something recent within the last 20 years since the grunge trend and Kurt Cocaine. I'm sure it was a decent place 30+ years ago. The people aren't as friendly and I've never seen so many ugly women in my life. Many of them have their faces pierced and tattoos all over. They intentionally look like trash!
Quoting MSPNWA (Reply 146): Detroit - words can't describe the experience in many areas
I enjoyed Detroit but I was lucky to have Falstaff as my armed bodyguard.
There are some cool things to see and eat in Detroit. Check out my trip report there.
Bluebird191 From Australia, joined Apr 2011, 76 posts, RR: 0 Reply 153, posted (9 months 3 weeks 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 8114 times:
There are a few on my list:
- Florence. Primarily because there are too many tourists crowded into a small area around the famous artworks (the Statue of David, da Vinci's Cupid, and the like) and down to the Pontevecchio.
- Paris. Visited there in September last year, and it seemed dirty, touristy, most of trees in the parks had a rather distinct lack of trees, and being hounded by gypsy's was a major put off.
- Amsterdam. Can't quite put my finger on exactly why, but I may have been put off by the dodgy hotel (Hotel Nieuw Slotania), dodgy area around the hotel, not a fan of the red-light district, and not knowing who was high on illicit substances.
- Palmerston North, New Zealand. Had 1 afternoon and night there in December 2010, and boring as all heck. The only saving graces - the Rugby Union Museum (half an hour), the shopping centre, the cinema theatre (saw the Angelina Jolie movie "The Tourist"), and that the hotel gave me a room with a view of one of the most fantastic sunsets I had ever seen.
- Hopfgarten, Austria. Was there in September last year in the warmer time of the year, and still was rather slow and mundane.
Kiwiinoz From New Zealand, joined Oct 2005, 2029 posts, RR: 5 Reply 155, posted (9 months 3 weeks 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 8081 times:
Quoting Bluebird191 (Reply 153): - Palmerston North, New Zealand. Had 1 afternoon and night there in December 2010, and boring as all heck. The only saving graces - the Rugby Union Museum (half an hour), the shopping centre, the cinema theatre (saw the Angelina Jolie movie "The Tourist"), and that the hotel gave me a room with a view of one of the most fantastic sunsets I had ever seen.
I had one of the most bizarre, "Leaving Las Vegas" type of nights in Palmerston North. It included:
Drinking beer from an ash tray
Making out with a girl that had 3 nipples
Riding pillion on a vespa with a guy who used to ride through stop signs with his eyes closed for thrills
So whilst I agree it is not a town that features on many tourist maps, it certainly has some interesting memories for me. I have only been once. It would be interesting to go again and see if the experience is similar.
BAViscount From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2004, 2338 posts, RR: 4 Reply 157, posted (9 months 3 weeks 2 days 22 hours ago) and read 7899 times:
The first (and I think really the only) city that springs to mind for me is Dusseldorf, Germany. I had been working on a project with someone from the Dusseldorf office of the company I worked for at the time and we got on really well. We had never met (everything was done via phone or email) so when the project ended he suggested I went to visit him in Dusseldorf for a couple of days.
I can't even really put my finger on what it was about the place that I didn't like. My friend showed me all the nightlife that the city had to offer and we went to many bars, but there was just something about the place that I found dull and depressing. I also spent a fair amount of time exploring, but there was nothing that captured my imagination. Frankly, I was glad to leave! I don't think I've ever felt that way about a city, either before or since. Weird!
Actually, I was just about to post this reply when I remembered that there is one other city I've visited that really didn't live up to my expectations, and that's Atlanta. I didn't find it depressing like I did with Dusseldorf, it just wasn't the exciting, vibrant place I thought it was going to be. Granted I was there alone, so maybe if I'd had someone to show me around things may have been different. I just found that once I'd done Coca Cola World (or whatever it's called) and the CNN tour, I struggled to find things to fill my time there.
Ladies & gentlemen this is Captain Tobias Wilcock welcoming you aboard Coconut Airways flight 372 to Bridgetown Barb
comorin From United States of America, joined May 2005, 4677 posts, RR: 17 Reply 159, posted (9 months 3 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 7885 times:
Quoting BAViscount (Reply 157): The first (and I think really the only) city that springs to mind for me is Dusseldorf, Germany.
I felt the same way there when I did some work there a decade ago. Saving grace was the Breidenbacher Hof Hotel, the best I have ever stayed at.
Btw, mein Deutsch Freunden, does Dusseldorf = Donkey City?
luckyone From United States of America, joined Aug 2008, 1587 posts, RR: 0 Reply 160, posted (9 months 3 weeks 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 7886 times:
Prague!! Vastly over hyped, full of drunk tourists. The city center felt more like Disneyland than a city center.
Quoting tz757300 (Reply 59): Atlanta - I had very high hopes for the city but I spent a day being a tourist and then wondering what to do with the rest of my time. Not really a good thing for a city that large.
The City of Atlanta is actually quite small, and not really a tourist's paradise. Most of the growth and population is in the suburbs, where there is indeed plenty to do, but you have to know where to go.
Quoting ju068 (Reply 121): The worst bigger city in Europe has to be Brussels
Well, it's Düsseldorf with an umlaut, but that sort of detail is hardly relevant when you're making fun of a place. My own translation of "Dusseldorf" would have to be "numpty village", so you were very close. As a resident of Cologne, I must of course never say or write or type the name (oops... ), so what I might do instead is call it "Dusseldoof" - "numpty daft".
I do believe there are some people who actually take this rivalry seriously, so don't toy with the idea when you're in that part of Germany.
Walk together, talk together all ye peoples of the earth. Then, and only then, shall ye have peace.
NoUFO From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 7798 posts, RR: 13 Reply 162, posted (9 months 3 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 7816 times:
Quoting aloges (Reply 161): Well, it's Düsseldorf with an umlaut, but that sort of detail is hardly relevant when you're making fun of a place.
Right.
Düssel is actually a tributary of the Rhine feeding the canal alongside of Königsallee, D'dorf's main shopping street.
Quoting aloges (Reply 161): I do believe there are some people who actually take this rivalry seriously, so don't toy with the idea when you're in that part of Germany.
Is that so? I thought it was all in good jest. Well, one guy from D'dorf even dared to throw horse manure at the King.* So better don't mess with them.
Anyway, I never understood why Düsseldorf always ranks high on those best-cities-to-live surveys.
* Which led to renaming Kastanienallee (Chestnut Alley - where it happened) Königsallee - King's Alley.
comorin From United States of America, joined May 2005, 4677 posts, RR: 17 Reply 163, posted (9 months 3 weeks 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 7735 times:
Quoting aloges (Reply 161): I do believe there are some people who actually take this rivalry seriously, so don't toy with the idea when you're in that part of Germany.
Message understood!
Quoting NoUFO (Reply 162): Düssel is actually a tributary of the Rhine feeding the canal alongside of Königsallee, D'dorf's main shopping street.
I see, thanks. It was a nice place to sit and have an ice cream while the good people of D'Dorf walked by...
Corinthians From United States of America, joined May 2008, 277 posts, RR: 0 Reply 165, posted (9 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 7602 times:
Here is my list in no particular order.
Shanghai - I think this city is totally overrated and nothing special other than tall buildings. People there seem to be scamming or scheming something. Most Mainland people seem to dislike Shanghai and its residents, too.
Toronto - Another city that's totally overrated and residents seem to think the world revolves around Young and Bloor. Sadly, my sister lives there so I have to go visit every few months. Also used to live there during college.
Philadelphia - This city is depressing. Half of it is run down. This is the only place I've been to where the residents seem really proud of the crime problem and think that "acting hard" is an asset. Unfortunately, I have to go here fairly often because of my job. Airport really sucks, too.
Cleveland - Just depressing.
Detroit - Ghetto. But the airport is nice.
Cincinnati - Like Cleveland, but no lake.
Winnipeg - My least favourite city in Canada.
Baltimore - Aside from the harbor area, this city is just a ghetto.
Corinthians From United States of America, joined May 2008, 277 posts, RR: 0 Reply 166, posted (9 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 7593 times:
I'm also going to add Luxembourg. Really, really boring!
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21498 posts, RR: 24 Reply 167, posted (9 months 3 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7581 times:
I note several references to Brussels, Prague and Budapest. They're actually 3 of my favorite cities in Europe. Brussels used to seem boring and depressing when I only visited a couple of times on business, but now that I've been there 4 or 5 times and done some exploring in neighborhoods away from the city center I've grown to like it. Many good restaurants and much cheaper than Paris. You can also get some very low rates in some of the best hotels on weekends when the EU civil servants go home.
My strategy everywhere I go is to avoid the touristy areas as much as possible and get to know some of the areas that tourists probably rarely visit.
Quoting OA260 (Reply 142): Quoting flyingturtle (Reply 131):
- Zurich. I never understood why that city is so popular with tourists.
I love Zurich . Very clean and civilised and some lovely places to eat,relax and shop . One of my favourite cities. Always feel safe there too.
But too expensive, just like Geneva (and everywhere else in Switzerland). I've lived 25 km from GVA for 16 years and even London now seems fairly cheap compared to Switzerland (the weaker pound helps).
I don't like to feel like I'm being ripped off when I travel and that's the impression I expect most visitors to Switzerland get. I've been to most major cities in Germany and it always amazes me how much cheaper it is there, e.g. restaurant bills about half what you spend for the same thing in ZRH or GVA, and usually better quality and friendlier service.
MSPNWA From United States of America, joined Apr 2009, 1574 posts, RR: 4 Reply 168, posted (9 months 3 weeks 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 7542 times:
Quoting StuckInCA (Reply 147): I appreciate that different people have different tastes, but it's hard to imagine not liking the geography of the Seattle area. *shrugs*
I like the geography of the area. The mountains and waters and beautiful. I just don't like the geography of the city itself. It feels too cramped and the inhabitants aren't my type.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 148): Fresno is scary day & night.
Me an 2 friends chased away a guy trying to break in to my car.
That's not good. I felt okay there during the day, but it's probably just danger in disguise.
lukeyboy95 From Papua New Guinea, joined Apr 2008, 951 posts, RR: 35 Reply 170, posted (9 months 3 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 7474 times:
*Not so sure there is such a thing as a 'bad city' - it is all in the eye of the beholder. I try and find a local person in each city as it can totally tranform an experience. *
RIYADH - RIYADH - RIYADH - misery in the desert. No woman/ cinemas/ fun/ booze/ pavements/ public transport/ sights/ civic pride. During Ramadan you can't even drink water during daylight hours. It is horrid. And it is home for the next year!
Aberdeen, UK - oil industry/ beach with needles/ grey buildings and full of economic migrants.
Preston, UK - curled up in my megabus when I passed through this city
Jakarta, Indonesia - Filthy and without obvious features
Mumbai - Good and bad points combine here. Nicer out of Monsoon season.
Guangzhou - featureless... which brings me to Chongqinq
Manila - thrilling after a good nights sleep but all the polution and noise does tire you out.
Dubai - Don't get it. Just don't. It's fickle.
Cairo - Loud, rude, grabby people. Not keen one bit. Give me Alexander.
Amman, Jordan - there during Ramadan. Difficult to get around and fairly boring. Looks pretty.
Windhoek, Namibia - Dull and looking like a lego city.
Kimberly, South Africa - Literally a big hole.
Singapore
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Prague - Robbed there, and very over-rated/ over-run
I won't defend Glasgow... but it is a gritty old place that requires a bit more penetration to find the excellent aspects. More a living persons city. I've heard from others that theyfound the poeple very friendly.
bigorange From United States of America, joined Apr 2004, 2358 posts, RR: 3 Reply 173, posted (9 months 2 weeks 6 days 14 hours ago) and read 7257 times:
KBJCpilot From United States of America, joined May 2012, 96 posts, RR: 8 Reply 174, posted (9 months 2 weeks 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 7225 times:
BlueLine From United States of America, joined Jun 2012, 72 posts, RR: 0 Reply 175, posted (9 months 2 weeks 6 days 10 hours ago) and read 7190 times:
Hempstead, NY
Not so much a visit, as I went to college there. After telling my family in Long Island that I was going there, they immediately told me to not leave school grounds, and I can see why as the place is filthy and crime infested. I pretty much stopped reading all of the campus advisories posted about on people being mugged and sexually assaulted near school grounds after the first month as it happened so much. The last year I was there, the school newspaper started printing the Nassau County Police blotter and it was commonplace to see; "Mr. Soandso was found on 123 Front St. in Hempstead with a gunshot wound to the back of the head." a couple of times every week, along with the usual multitude of armed robberies.
The only good part was the dozen or so times campus security caught my friends and I doing things we shouldn't be doing and would just leave after seeing all of us had school ID's. They really did have bigger things than teenagers getting wasted on the intramural fields/parking lot to worry about.
zippyjet From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 4724 posts, RR: 13 Reply 176, posted (9 months 2 weeks 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 7169 times:
Quoting Corinthians (Reply 165): Baltimore - Aside from the harbor area, this city is just a ghetto.
Hey, but are neighborhoods have a unique character. True, we have lots of ghetto areas but we do also have some funky enclaves of eccentricity. And our accent is a dialect unto itself. HON! Big hair, bad taste and kitsch that's my home town. A little secret, much of the ghetto turds descend upon the Inner Harbor to suppliment their income by helping themselves to everyone else's money and pshyce. The big dead rats and stiffs have migrated away from the waters in our harbor!
Though I've only been to the airport, Charlotte gives me vibes that say I wouldn't be missing anything if I never visited. It's in the middle of nowhere, a good haul from the ocean. Also it's always hot and humid. Plus there is a lack of Southern hospitality because much of the population are transplants from New York and Boston. Plus their airport is a mecca of delays.
Confuscius From United States of America, joined Aug 2001, 3636 posts, RR: 2 Reply 177, posted (9 months 1 week 6 days 15 hours ago) and read 6834 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 70): You've got that look that makes hookers swarm to you.
It happened again today at the Wynn Resorts parking garage. The girl was super cute and probably in her late teens. She was dressed for a night out except it was 10 in the morning. Actually, I kind of felt bad for her to be that young and pretty and walking the street...or the casino in this case.
Oh, how could I forget those places? Drove all the way down the Mississippi Delta region once, from Memphis to Baton Rouge, and I swear I couldn't believe I was actually still in the U.S. From gun store / pawn shops (very convenient if you are an armed robber), to riverboat casinos in every mile of river, to cars parked out in people's lawns painted in 5 different colors (4 of which were shades of rust) I saw it all. Even had a African-American gas station attendant tell me she "never saw a white boy paying with coins" when I didn't want to break a $20 bill to buy a $1.55 ice-cream (although to be fair that was actually in Northern Louisiana). Never drove a 26-foot truck so fast down a narrow, unfamiliar stretch of road at night, with one eye on the road and another on the diesel indicator (started stressing out as soon as the tank became half full).
To make things worst, I was there in June, when it was so hot and humid outside you couldn't even breathe, and driving at night represented a wholesale slaughter of mosquitoes the likes of which has not been known to man. On the plus side, the (complimentary) biscuits with apricot butter and the crawfish etoufée I had in Natchez were one of the most memorable lunch experiences I have ever had.
Read this very carefully, I shall write this only once!
RedAirForce From Ukraine, joined Aug 1999, 197 posts, RR: 0 Reply 179, posted (9 months 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 6398 times:
There are certain cities that are so large they are great to go to and great to leave as they mix terrific and horrible elements; NYC and London are like this for me.
Las Vegas is not a city, if you think of it the same way you would another city you will hate it. I went to visit a friend there and did not like it. I went back 3 years later with my girlfriend in the Summer; we stayed in a small suite at a top hotel (great rates out of season), we drank wayyy too much, swam in the pool, stayed in the hot tub wayyy too long and had one day where we did not even leave the hotel room. It was great! So Vegas is just how you approach it.
I can't believe someone would put St.Petersburg, Russia on this list! It is an amazing city.
I have not been to Africa or Asia, but have spent much time in Europe and the USA/Canada so I'll have to limit my list to those areas:
>Amsterdam- I enjoyed the Dutch countryside, but the city did not impress me, just felt dirty. It has been many years since I have been there though and would not mind trying it again.
>Tallinn- Amazing city, but the woman are just so good looking that I was not able to concentrate on anything else. I can't deal with that again.
>Prague- Could be a great city, but it embraces tourism too much. I hate when friends come back from Prague and say they have been to "Eastern Europe"; No! Go to Krakow, Kiev, Riga, and then tell me you have been to EE.
>Naples- Can all the men please buy shirts that have some sort of sleeve???
>Memphis- What a depressing city, old south with no charm....Graceland is much smaller than you think!
>Boston- Maybe growing up right outside NYC I have a bias, but I just do not like 'Bahstan'.
>Philadelphia- Some history, but most angry population on Earth (these were the people who threw ice balls at Santa and kids on a Christmas mini-train at the Eagles stadium during a December halftime some years back). Oh and just because Camden is over the border in NJ does not mean we own it, it's your dump, please annex it!
>Seattle- Stop raining!!! Actually, when it rains there is a bit of charm...when it stops the local weirdos come out and it is worse. Would not want to go back here (local countryside is nice).
>Buffalo- Am I the first to say Buffalo? American Siberia. And I hate Buffalo Wings.
>Milwaukee- Drab...anybody who has anything going on moved to Chicago a long time ago.
>Bridgetown, Barbados- I should have stayed on the beach.
rwsea From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 3017 posts, RR: 2 Reply 181, posted (9 months 6 days ago) and read 6310 times:
My List of Places that Didn't Impress:
Brussels - probably because we were there over a holiday period and lots of things were closed, but in general the city seemed seedy, boring, and extremely touristy in the center. That said, I'd be willing to give it another try at a non-holiday period and with some good restaurant recommendations.
Kuala Lumpur - just boring, hardly anything to do other than go shopping or look at the Petronas Towers. Also, a horribly designed mess of a city ... very difficult to walk anywhere due to the lack of any sensical street grid and poor sidewalks, and the mass transit is terrible (doesn't go anywhere useful, varying lines that don't connect to each other, etc.).
Arusha, Tanzania - didn't feel safe, and generally speaking the city is quite ugly without much to do.
Stockton, California - didn't feel safe, lack of things to do, run-down.
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Reply 182, posted (9 months 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 6291 times:
Quoting RedAirForce (Reply 179): I hate when friends come back from Prague and say they have been to "Eastern Europe"; No! Go to Krakow, Kiev, Riga, and then tell me you have been to EE.
I know exactly what you're talking about. I've got them all beat. I've been to Moscow.
Quoting RedAirForce (Reply 179): Milwaukee- Drab...anybody who has anything going on moved to Chicago a long time ago.
You should go to the Pfister.
Quoting rwsea (Reply 181): Kuala Lumpur - just boring, hardly anything to do other than go shopping or look at the Petronas Towers. Also, a horribly designed mess of a city ... very difficult to walk anywhere due to the lack of any sensical street grid and poor sidewalks, and the mass transit is terrible (doesn't go anywhere useful, varying lines that don't connect to each other, etc.).
My thoughts exactly.
Quoting rwsea (Reply 181): Stockton, California - didn't feel safe, lack of things to do, run-down.
They have a few good Laos restaurants. It is a dangerous place with many Hmong and Latin street gangs. You should be fine as long as you don't wear red, blue or any gang colors and wear your hat the wrong way.
KL definitely has room for improvement, but I enjoyed my time there. Felt the people were friendly and the food was good. It can get a bit boring if you have several days and nothing to do but see the sights, I agree.
SW733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 184, posted (9 months 5 days 22 hours ago) and read 6288 times:
Quoting joffie (Reply 15): Hong Kong - People spitting on the street - Too many tailors trying to pull you in. Liked the train system though
Melbourne - Overpriced, too many metrosexuals, crap customer service in department stores.
Oh man, you and I would NOT get along as travel partners. Those are my two favorite cities I've ever visited!
I'm intrigued by your HK experiences. In my dozen or so times in HK, I've never experienced a tailor trying to pull me in. I've gone to one by choice, but never had an of them try to get me to come in.
bongodog1964 From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2006, 3019 posts, RR: 2 Reply 185, posted (9 months 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 6221 times:
Quoting Corinthians (Reply 165): Philadelphia - This city is depressing. Half of it is run down. This is the only place I've been to where the residents seem really proud of the crime problem and think that "acting hard" is an asset. Unfortunately, I have to go here fairly often because of my job.
AirPacific747 From Denmark, joined May 2008, 2091 posts, RR: 23 Reply 186, posted (9 months 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 6167 times:
Quoting RedAirForce (Reply 179): >Tallinn- Amazing city, but the woman are just so good looking that I was not able to concentrate on anything else. I can't deal with that again.
Really? And you're from Ukraine. Many hot girls there.
zippyjet From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 4724 posts, RR: 13 Reply 188, posted (9 months 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 6093 times:
Quoting RedAirForce (Reply 179): Memphis- What a depressing city, old south with no charm....Graceland is much smaller than you think!
But Graceland should be on most people's bucket list. True the house is smaller than you think but, I really got into the self paced tour and had an affection for "The Jungle Room." The Memorial Garden where Elvis supposedly is resting with his daddy, momma Gladys and his parental units (Elvis has been spotted in many places btw so the jury is out if he is really dead!   . I got sort of misty eyed as did other people looking at the monuments and seeing the Teddy stuffed Teddy Bears. I went into Zippyjet daydream mode where I was like Elvis but the POTUS who was beloved but hippoed out and lost it like Elvis and it was my digs (a mansion in Baltimore) where I lay with my parents.
I really almost got into the waterworks when I read the inscription on Elvis's monument about how God sensed he was tired and called him home. Otherwise, Memphis is OK but a one night quick trip. Beale Street has some cool music but seems manufactored touristy. The Blues Cafe which was supposedly Memphis's best ribs fell short.
Though not a city but I can do without visiting any of the Florida Turnpike rest plaza's. I don't know which is more depressing boring the Florida Turnpike or Alligator Alley. Otherwise I enjoy visiting the sunshine state.
KGRB From United States of America, joined Sep 2010, 622 posts, RR: 1 Reply 189, posted (9 months 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 6073 times:
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 69): And I understand crimewise it's right up there with such notorious places as Camden and Newark, NJ., Detroit, MI and Cincinatti
Since when did Cincinnati become notorious for crime?
Quoting type-rated (Reply 98): Minneapolis. Let's see there is the mall and MSP. What else?
Well to begin, you have pro and college sports, nice museums, great dining, and a beautiful downtown. A city doesn't have to be a tourist trap to be a nice place to visit. I love MSP!
kiwiinoz From New Zealand, joined Oct 2005, 2029 posts, RR: 5 Reply 191, posted (9 months 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 6067 times:
Quoting RedAirForce (Reply 179): >Tallinn- Amazing city, but the woman are just so good looking that I was not able to concentrate on anything else. I can't deal with that again.
Quoting RedAirForce (Reply 179): >Naples- Can all the men please buy shirts that have some sort of sleeve???
OK you win the prize for worst reasons to dislike a city
MIAspotter From Spain, joined Nov 2001, 2274 posts, RR: 26 Reply 192, posted (9 months 5 days 2 hours ago) and read 6040 times:
Quoting rwsea (Reply 181): Kuala Lumpur - just boring, hardly anything to do other than go shopping or look at the Petronas Towers. Also, a horribly designed mess of a city ... very difficult to walk anywhere due to the lack of any sensical street grid and poor sidewalks, and the mass transit is terrible (doesn't go anywhere useful, varying lines that don't connect to each other, etc.)
I agree with some of the points there, but KL has quite some things to offer, I went there in 08 for 3 days and enjoyed it, yes there is the Petronas towers, KL Tower, Malls, etc but there is also food, Lake Titiwangsa was a nice retreat and photo opportunity, Batung Caves (sp) and you can catch a bus for a daytrip to Malacca.
Quoting Braybuddy (Reply 3): Singapore: a sterile shopping centre.
Yes it is sterile and sanitized, but you can have a great time, I love it.
My list.
Miami, Lived there for around 4 years... and it is not what they show you on the TV with girls in Bikini strutting around guys lifting weights in Miami Beach. it is just a massive sprawl with horrid traffic and horrid drivers, rude people, crappy areas (Hialeah, and everything north of Downtown Miami) it just sucks.
Milan, Italy. Boring beyond reasoning, gray, dull, and unless you are a museum or art connoscenti there is pretty much nothing to do there, better take a train and head for Lake Como.
Liverpool, UK. Again gray, dull and dodgy, I did like the area where the Cavern is.
Quoting joffie (Reply 15): Hong Kong - People spitting on the street - Too many tailors trying to pull you in. Liked the train system though
mainMAN From United Kingdom, joined Jul 2005, 2064 posts, RR: 6 Reply 194, posted (9 months 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 5992 times:
Amsterdam has cropped up a few times on this list for some reason......
If you go to the red light district, up and down Rokin, Damrak and Dam Sq, like most tourists, you're seriously asking to dislike the place! Thankfully, most of the rest of it is wonderful; Jordaan, De Pijp etc.
Which leads me on to Hamburg. I loved this city, but the Reeperbahn is the seediest dump I've ever seen. Very aggressive hookers, and I encountered one down and out, scabby whore who grabbed me and practically begged me to f*ck her. Never again.
luckyone From United States of America, joined Aug 2008, 1587 posts, RR: 0 Reply 195, posted (9 months 4 days 15 hours ago) and read 5923 times:
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 188): But Graceland should be on most people's bucket list. True the house is smaller than you think but, I really got into the self paced tour and had an affection for "The Jungle Room."
I don't think I've ever been in a more deranged place than that house, especially the basement. No wonder the guy went loopy, damn mirrors everywhere distorted up from down.
Quoting MIAspotter (Reply 192): Miami, Lived there for around 4 years... and it is not what they show you on the TV with girls in Bikini strutting around guys lifting weights in Miami Beach. it is just a massive sprawl with horrid traffic and horrid drivers, rude people, crappy areas (Hialeah, and everything north of Downtown Miami)
I was trying to articulate this to someone the other day! I'll hold onto your verbiage, lol. It has its nice parts and charm, but yes, EVERYWHERE is a traffic hassle. Just getting across the highway to the grocery store could be a twenty minute adventure.
That's why I loved Graceland! It was a hoot!I grew up when stuff like mirrors and fur beds were all the rage. I had a cousin now sadly deceased who decked out his townhouse in of all places Brandywine country (Upper Marlboro). Superfly you would have loved his crib. Mirrored walls with golden gilt edge curly cues in the living room, deep thick multi colored vivid shag carpeting, One of the bedrooms featuring one of those 1970's Sweedish mod orange free standing fireplaces, those paintings with velvet backgrounds and feauring waif girls and kittens with those big bug eyes and a round king sized bed that looked exactly like the one in Elvis's basement museaum complete with a ceiling mirror. South of The Border in Dillan S.C. has a few "honeymoon suites" furnished like this. Oh, how could I forget his small well stocked bar with velvetine paintings of Budman!. And he also had customized shutters with orange backgrounds and blue fleur de lies.
Lets face it I'll admit if I was rich and made it like Elvis I'd probably have some of the same kitschy goodies but more with a Jetson's Googie retro 1950's modern theme and of course I'm one sick puppy!
Miami is one of those places I love visiting and like the rest of Florida its great to visit but no thank you on living there full time. To live in a place like Miami I'd have to be mega rich and not have to worry about commuting to work and the day to day routines. I'd be on the beach ogling the hotties in their barley there clothing!
Though I've never been, Jamaica (the country) is quite low on the Zippyjet visitation food chain bucket list. A lot of folks said the beaches were pretty but the rest of the country was dirty, crime ridden and very expensive. I'll leave it at that!
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Reply 197, posted (9 months 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 5820 times:
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 196): Superfly you would have loved his crib.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 190): Went there when I was 9 years old.
Checked off my bucket list already.
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 196): Lets face it I'll admit if I was rich and made it like Elvis I'd probably have some of the same kitschy goodies but more with a Jetson's Googie retro 1950's modern theme and of course I'm one sick puppy!
Elvis was cool because he had his own Lockheed JetStar and Lincoln Continental.
futureualpilot From United States of America, joined exactly 13 years ago today! , 2561 posts, RR: 8 Reply 199, posted (9 months 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 5739 times:
Charleston, WV. Dirty, old, "interesting" local folk. Not my cup of tea. I will say I found the opposite sex "friendlier" here, and it did redeem itself by offering a surprising amount of things to do.
Gary, IN. Some places should just shut down.
Detroit, see Charlie West.
Fresno, why people ever go/stay on purpose is beyond me.
Newark, NJ. Big, busy, old and dirty. Overshadowed with NYC being so close.
Los Angeles, CA. No, just.....no. Way overrated, fake, never ending traffic.
El Paso, TX. Again, dusty, boring, just drab.
Memphis, TN. Not a single redeeming factor. Beale street offered the only relief and that was just copius quantities of overpriced booze.
I've generally enjoyed the cities I've been to abroad, if nothing else just for the local flavor of whichever country I happened to be in.
Hey that's my birthplace and where I grew up. Look how I turned out.
I agree though, the place is sad and depressed today.
Quoting futureualpilot (Reply 199): Fresno, why people ever go/stay on purpose is beyond me.
I only went there because we had front-row seats at Selland Arena to see Rush on the Counterparts tour.
Quoting futureualpilot (Reply 199): Charleston, WV. Dirty, old, "interesting" local folk. Not my cup of tea. I will say I found the opposite sex "friendlier" here, and it did redeem itself by offering a surprising amount of things to do.
PIA777 From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 1738 posts, RR: 7 Reply 201, posted (8 months 4 weeks 1 day ago) and read 5461 times:
Here is my list:
1.) Fort Smith, AK, I was the only non-white person I saw. Very boring!
2.) Buffalo, NY, Just a boring city in general!
3.) Syracuse, NY, Too cold and rainy whenever I went!
4.) London, England, Just way to expensive!!
5.) Fresno, CA, Boring city!
6.) Halifax, Canada, Not a good experience at Airport security everytime I went.
7.) Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Boring city!!
8.) Memphis, TN, Boring City!
9.) Fort Wayne, IN, If I had to stay there one more night, would have killed myself
10.) Sacramento, CA, Another boring city with nothing to do!
B777LRF From Luxembourg, joined Nov 2008, 1010 posts, RR: 3 Reply 203, posted (8 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 5468 times:
A lot of people seem to suffer from either a bad case of "1st world problem" or, more likely, simply haven't been to any really dodgy places yet. NYC, Paris, London and Geneva ... really? If that's the worst you've seen, well, you ain't seen nothing yet!
Here's my list of the very worst places I've ever visited.
The eternal fleepits, places where no sane person should ever go:
Kinshasha, Rep. of Congo
Lagos, Nigeria.
Jo'burg, South Africa.
Bad, like in this is not a nice place at all!:
Accra, Ghana.
Casablanca, Morocco.
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Boring beyond what I though was possible:
Jamestown, North Dakota.
Bergen, Norway.
pvjin From Finland, joined Mar 2012, 548 posts, RR: 0 Reply 205, posted (8 months 4 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 5437 times:
Helsinki. Boring clean city with nothing to see and too modern architecture with certain buildings, I find older cities much more interesting.
Only reason why I ever want to visit our capital is simply to travel away from Finland through Helsinki-Vantaa airport which is really the only good place there.
Avianca From Venezuela, joined Jan 2005, 5857 posts, RR: 40 Reply 207, posted (8 months 3 weeks 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 5306 times:
Quoting lukeyboy95 (Reply 170): RIYADH - RIYADH - RIYADH - misery in the desert. No woman/ cinemas/ fun/ booze/ pavements/ public transport/ sights/ civic pride. During Ramadan you can't even drink water during daylight hours. It is horrid. And it is home for the next year!
sounds like the paradise, a clearly no no no no no no no go to go... if its your home for the next year I am sure you will spend a lot of $$
bigorange From United States of America, joined Apr 2004, 2358 posts, RR: 3 Reply 208, posted (8 months 3 weeks 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 5281 times:
Quoting zippyjet (Reply 188): Graceland should be on most people's bucket list
That's a place I forgot to add to my list! Borng and tacky beyond words!
bwest From Belgium, joined Jul 2006, 1314 posts, RR: 4 Reply 209, posted (8 months 3 weeks 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 5132 times:
Quoting B777LRF (Reply 203): The eternal fleepits, places where no sane person should ever go:
Kinshasha, Rep. of Congo
Lagos, Nigeria.
Jo'burg, South Africa.
Bad, like in this is not a nice place at all!:
Accra, Ghana.
Casablanca, Morocco.
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Been to Kinshasa and Jo'burg. Going to Accra in 2 weeks, been to Casablanca 7 times and I'll probably go to Dhaka and Lagos in the near future... Ain't I the lucky one. Kinshasa is a horrible place, but I still had a good time there.
I've been to lots of cities already and actually found something interesting or like able in most of them. Lots of people have mentioned Singapore, but I love the city. Rome may be busy and touristy, but it's also a beautiful city full of incredible archeological and art treasures. I guess everybody here has different expectations of what they want their cities to be like...
But if I have to choose a city that I didn't really enjoy, it was Montreal. Boring and stuck up.
You can exhaust the potential sights here quite quickly...
Quoting Avianca (Reply 207): sounds like the paradise, a clearly no no no no no no no go to go... if its your home for the next year I am sure you will spend a lot of $$
ha. Indeed. But it is the true definition of a terrible city. I have actually just resigned yesterday it is that bad. Fortunately things can be cheap due to all the migrant workers needing cheap services...
Nitrohelper From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 463 posts, RR: 5 Reply 211, posted (8 months 3 weeks 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 4936 times:
OzGlobal From France, joined Nov 2004, 2598 posts, RR: 4 Reply 212, posted (8 months 3 weeks 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 4928 times:
Quoting BMI727 (Reply 2): Rome. Hot (that changes obviously), cramped, and dirty. Southern Italians (I've never been to Northern Italy) just don't seem interested in cleaning or maintaining things. It's kinda hard to tell what things are ancient Roman ruins and which are newer things they just didn't bother to take care of.
Unfortunately, I have to agree. It could be much better with some effort.
Quoting Braybuddy (Reply 3): Singapore: a sterile shopping centre.
Dubai: as above, albeit a very wealthy one, although it does have the Burj Khalifa, which is something positive, I suppose.
Agreed.
When all's said and done, there'll be more said than done.
idealstandard From France, joined Apr 2009, 355 posts, RR: 0 Reply 213, posted (8 months 3 weeks 2 days 1 hour ago) and read 4853 times:
Naples - I can't stress enough how revolting this city is - if you can - avoid it. There is no good reason to visit.
Berlin - hated it
anything north of Oxford, UK
Braybuddy From Ireland, joined Aug 2004, 5288 posts, RR: 35 Reply 217, posted (8 months 3 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 4690 times:
Quoting idealstandard (Reply 213): Naples - I can't stress enough how revolting this city is - if you can - avoid it. There is no good reason to visit.
Berlin - hated it
I loved it!
How much fun is crossing the street! You'd think that the footpaths would have bodies piled high but once you figure out how to cross your grand. Show no fear!
After about five days in Naples we spent another week on the Amalfi cost. Top!
aerorobnz From Rwanda, joined Feb 2001, 6328 posts, RR: 14 Reply 219, posted (8 months 3 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 4655 times:
I love Naples, it is infinitely better than most Italian tourist traps. Rough as guts,but all the better for not being some try-hard metrosexual city with all the edges rounded off...
There are plenty of reasons to visit - Amalfi, Pompeii, Ercolano, Casserta, The various museums, The Pizza & other street food.... the list goes on..
Quoting Braybuddy (Reply 217): We'll never go on holidays together . . .
Sounds good to me. Naples is an absolute dump. Ever been to Palermo? If you like Naples, you'll love Palermo.
Quoting mad99 (Reply 218): How much fun is crossing the street! You'd think that the footpaths would have bodies piled high but once you figure out how to cross your grand. Show no fear!
We did have a great taxi ride there last Tuesday, had two Fiat multiplas, and paid the guys £5 each more to race each other. Best cab ride i've ever had.
Quoting aerorobnz (Reply 219): There are plenty of reasons to visit - Amalfi, Pompeii, Ercolano, Casserta, The various museums, The Pizza & other street food.... the list goes on..
Using Pompeii as an excuse isn't the best, it's like saying "Visit Southampton....to go to the Isle of Wight"
For Pompeii you should do what we did - carry on the A3 past Naples - stop at Pompeii, and then go a bit further and stop in Positano for your stay. What a lovely place that was.
Braybuddy From Ireland, joined Aug 2004, 5288 posts, RR: 35 Reply 221, posted (8 months 3 weeks 18 hours ago) and read 4585 times:
Quoting idealstandard (Reply 220): Sounds good to me. Naples is an absolute dump. Ever been to Palermo? If you like Naples, you'll love Palermo
Only passed through Palermo, unfortunately, but it's on my to-do list for the not-too-distant future. Naples is probably unique in Europe in that it's a little bit of South America on the continent. And there's nothing fake about it: it has the charm of a city belonging to another era, populated by families (and native ones at that) and not over-run by tourists. It has an edge that you don't normally get in other European cities (unless you go to the dodgier areas) which is all part of it's appeal. And it has some beautiful architecture underneath the graffiti and weeds. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to go back.
Quoting aerorobnz (Reply 219): I love Naples, it is infinitely better than most Italian tourist traps. Rough as guts,but all the better for not being some try-hard metrosexual city with all the edges rounded off...
idealstandard From France, joined Apr 2009, 355 posts, RR: 0 Reply 222, posted (8 months 2 weeks 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 4493 times:
Quoting Braybuddy (Reply 221): Only passed through Palermo, unfortunately, but it's on my to-do list for the not-too-distant future. Naples is probably unique in Europe in that it's a little bit of South America on the continent. And there's nothing fake about it: it has the charm of a city belonging to another era, populated by families (and native ones at that) and not over-run by tourists. It has an edge that you don't normally get in other European cities (unless you go to the dodgier areas) which is all part of it's appeal. And it has some beautiful architecture underneath the graffiti and weeds. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to go back.
We drive, we don't fly so I suppose that gives you a different view to places - we were there last week and it is one of the most unpleasant and stressful places to drive - second to Moroccan cities. And, actually I was a bit harsh on Palermo. Yes it's rough as sandpaper, but it has some un-believ-able cathedrals and views. If you ever want to stay on Sicily, I know a great guy to rent a villa from - it's about an hour from Palermo in the mountains and it was cheap (as far as Villas in Europe go anyway). Again, we drove to Sicily from the UK and it's a beautiful Island. We took the ferry from Palermo to Genova on the way back.
ManuCH From Switzerland, joined Jun 2005, 2971 posts, RR: 51 Reply 223, posted (8 months 2 weeks 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 4412 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW HEAD MODERATOR
Quoting Bluebird191 (Reply 153): - Amsterdam. Can't quite put my finger on exactly why, but I may have been put off by the dodgy hotel (Hotel Nieuw Slotania), dodgy area around the hotel, not a fan of the red-light district, and not knowing who was high on illicit substances.
The very negative reviews on Tripadvisor should have given the dodginess of the place away . I have actually liked Amsterdam a lot, it's now among my favorite cities, together with Copenhagen, Cologne, New York, and Los Angeles.
Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 167): I've been to most major cities in Germany and it always amazes me how much cheaper it is there, e.g. restaurant bills about half what you spend for the same thing in ZRH or GVA
You also have to consider all this in proportion with salaries in the 2 countries. It all adds up. Unfortunately that's a disadvantage for tourism in Switzerland.
Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 167): and usually better quality and friendlier service.
You're right on that one. Still, I love Zurich, I work there, and I really enjoy the city. Geneva not very much, it's kind of boring, and the Swiss concept of "stores are closed on Sundays" is *really* extreme there: you can't even easily find an open restaurant on Sundays there.
And here's my list:
- Rome, Italy: dirty, traffic out of control and everywhere, beggars everywhere (even where the historic stuff is supposed to be), unfriendly people, public transportation is a disaster
- Milan, Italy: see above, but less dirty, snobbish people, and overrated
- Rhodes, Greece: probably the most tourist-unfriendly place I've ever been to (which is ironic, considering they live of tourism). People seem to be downright rude and give you an attitude whenever you ask something (and I believe I'm someone who asks politely).
CGKings317 From Canada, joined Nov 2005, 303 posts, RR: 7 Reply 224, posted (8 months 2 weeks 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 4234 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
For me:
--> Marshalltown, Iowa: The only reason I would go there is because my grandma (who passed away a few years ago) lived there. Verrrry boring. The only two attractions are the Made-Rite (famous for loose-meat burgers) and the YMCA. If you can avoid it, avoid it.
--> Las Vegas, Nevada: So much of Las Vegas seems fake and "in your face". I spent a grand total of 72 hours there over two distinct time periods separated by several years. I think I could have spent time somewhere else and had far more fun for at least 60 of those hours. Some of the people that frequent the slot machines scare me. The only really enjoyable activities are riding the monorail and doing plane spotting.
--> Reno, Nevada: The "downtown" looks like it has been trapped in a time-warp with a few buildings looking like they have been shuttered for a while. My only use of Reno is as a jumping-off point to do exploring either in Long Valley, California or around Lake Tahoe
~CGKings317
I love ✈ & volcanoes but the 2 of them dont get along, just ask KLM867 & PH-BFC
kaitak From Ireland, joined Aug 1999, 11958 posts, RR: 37 Reply 225, posted (8 months 2 weeks 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 4221 times:
I've been been to quite a few places and can't really recall a place of which I'd definitely say "I won't go back there again"; of course, I tend to stay only a short time in some places, so don't get a full flavour of them, but that said, there are many I'd love to go back to again and again:
Dublin - where my heart lives (I live in Jersey, Channel Islands now); it has its faults, but it's the greatest city in the world, as far as I'm concerned.
London - when one is tired of London ...
Hong Kong - I've forgiven them for closing Kai Tak (it took a while!) ; always a great place to visit
Sydney - just love the setting, the sights and even the culture; just chilled and very pleasant
Amsterdam - always liked the Dutch; Amsterdam has always been a favourite of mine
Anywhere in Scandinavia; to me, Scandinavia is what civilisation should be (well, apart from being Irish, but they can't have everything)
Chicago - my favourite American city; lived there for a few months in Summer 1990 and loved it
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Another, I told a police officer that a person was just assaulted, he couldn't help because he was on his way to a murder scene. That was his story anyway and the incident occurred less than a hundred yards from police headquarters. Also, there was the girl looking for her grandma inside a doctor's office. She couldn't find her because her grandma was outside smoking a blunt. And yes, I'm a magnet for hookers, don't know why, but I've been propositioned many, many times! We also had an employee who was a hooker as a side job. She did house calls. Gotta love Gary!!! 
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It is a huge city and some not too nice areas, but they often adjoin some pretty nice areas which makes it so diverse - take Hampstead Heath and West Hampstead, or Wood Green and Southgate. London is a great city, but I agree you need to know your way around or be shown around by a local.
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), so what I might do instead is call it "Dusseldoof" - "numpty daft".
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IS.