Worst cities ever?

Lynchburg, Virginia is pretty much worthless. Never mind that two Liberty runners have kicked ass the last few years. That doesn't make up for it.

Eugene

Manhattan

Frisco

Chicago

Detroit

Pittsburgh

Manhattan, Kansas?

We've all been overlooking the fact that this is supposed to be about the worst city EVER ...which means at any time in history. I would think a lot of European places during the Plague Years of the 14th century would count. Plus London after WW2 when the air was unbreathable, and a lot of refinery cities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia before anyone tried to clean up the air. And in the 21st century, a lot of those Chinese cities which are sudden teeming with millions of people are real cesspoles.

hi carumba wrote:

1. Any town on the US/Mexican border (crime, heat, no English spoken for 100 miles)

2. Norton/Wise, VA (360 days of clouds from mine dust, approx. 3 college educated residents)

3. Fresno (crime, heat, crime, traffic, crime)

why is wise on the list? Wise is a college town. And the handful of times I was there it was nice and sunny, wouldn't have even known there was a mine.

Mogadishu ain't no picnic.

Still going with Wolverhampton, UK. Can only really go out of the ones I've visited.

I was born in Gary Indiana and lived in Hammond until I was 7. (white flight, anyone?)

whole metropolitan area is a dump.

other US cities ....

East Cleveland

Baltimore

East St Louis.

Pierre SD (I've been there on business, I was mortified)

Benton Harbor MI is underrated, its like a mini-Detroit

International I gotta agree with the guy who said Dhaka Bangladesh. or Mogadishu. But any SE Asian superslum city is a go, people who havent been there will never quite understand. THE ODOR. EVERYWHERE. Millions of people CRAMMED into a few square miles in some instances. No toilets or sanitation. Animals everywhere. Packed. No hygiene whatsoever. Pollution. Loud 24/7. Crime everywhere. Its insane.

Unlike some people on this thread I'll stick to commenting on cities I've actually been.

The most depressing city I've been to is Managua. Unlike the rest of Nicaragua which is amazingly beautiful and full of very friendly people, Managua is quite unwelcoming. It has a few nice spots but it's dominated by desolate slums.

The most disgusting city I've been to is Bangalore. It's not as depressing as Managua because you see signs of a vibrant economy and upward mobility but it's disturbingly filthy and overcrowded.

The most disappointing and uninteresting city I've been to is Houston. I've been forced to go there for business and I can't say anything good about it. Ugh, nothing to do and 90% of the residents are fat, narrow-minded slobs.

All that said, I'm sure a trip to Abidjan, Kinshasa or Mogadishu could cause me to reconsider my nominations.

Living in the Past wrote:

The following Texas towns, unless you're into church, dove hunting, buffet restaurants, arid landscape, and high school football, in which case you will find all of these towns to be paradise:

Wichita Falls,

Midland,

Odessa,

Abilene,

Amarillo,

Lubbock.

I don't know what the problem is with letsrun always bashing West Texas towns. Theres nothing wrong with any of these towns. The permian basin is one of the most independant and prideful areas in America.

You'd be surprised how many of the oil field workers in West Texas are Atheists. NEARLY ALL OF THEM.

If you want to bash Texas, bash the bible belt area around Houston. All the towns West of I-35 are very intelligent and independant and hard working.

Squeegee are everywhere and murder is still high. Thankfully, it's still mostly just occurring in the hood, but it has begun to spread into more normal areas

Damascus

Lots of good people in these towns, I lived in the area....

An atheist obviously has a bias against normal, healthy family type people...

My rank is based on expectations. I expected Jackson MS to be a decent place as it is the capital and has the domed capital building and all. Aside from a few spots, it is full of poverty and depressing. Normally, government centers spawn a decent economy, but not here.

I live in the Suburbs of Detroit in a house that is worth close to $700K. Detroit has its rough area's but downtown is pretty awesome. We also have Casino's night life and historic value. Detroit does not belong on this list. There is a small area of Detroit that is horrendous like any other big city.

So Mississippi has a small section of coast that is ok, the rest of the state is a hell hole. In hurricane season, the coastal section can suck too. There may be small towns or cities that have state parks nearby which make them worth living in in the rest of the state, but probably not many. The same is true of Alabama with the exception of Huntsville as well.

Pittsburgh sucks arse!

Good thread with a lot of bad replies. Chicago? Stockton, CA? Please.

I've visited about 150 countries and every US state and Canadian province. Nothing in the US or Canada is in the discussion for "worst"

For what it's worth, if we're defining "city" as a settlement with more than 50,000 people, I think Gary and Camden have to be at the top of the list. Basically cities that are ghettos, no redeeming areas. Even cities like Detroit have sections that are rich, well-kept, relatively safe and/or fun nightlife areas. Gary and Camden don't have that, so I think they win.

If your definition of "city" extends to under 50,000, then there are a lot of contenders. Tons of small rust belt dumps like Benton Harbor, Chester PA, Braddock PA, lots of little Chicago suburbs like Harvey, Robbins, Ford Heights, etc are absolutely irredemible.

HOWEVER, if the question is "what's the worst city in the world", none of these places are even close. Even the worst cities in the US are better than the best city in many countries.

I've traveled to many, many places. Worst is subjective, but to me if the city is 1) very unsafe 2) very depressing and 3) very poor and 4) not interesting, it's in the discussion.

Based on that criteria, the absolute worst places on earth to me are:

Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Shijiazhuang, China

Georgetown, Guyana

But there is one place I've never been which I'm quite certain is the worst, most awful city in the world. That city is Norilsk, Russia. It checks every box. It's a mining town so it's covered is ash and dust from the nearby mines. It's the coldest city in the world; the city almost never gets above freezing from November to May. Every building in the city is built in the Stalinist concrete style. There are no roads that link it to the outside world. There is nothing of interest in the town other than the mines. It is without question the worst city on earth.

No, he just likes to safely arrive home at the end of the day. Is that racist?