Topic: City/Cities that you absolutely hate

[Musketeer Gripweed]

According to a television programme I watched, the toilets are not meant to be up to much in Naples.

[Jookie]

This is perhaps not the correct thread, but maybe as close as it gets.

I've never been to Dubai or the UAE, and I've never been interested in going. I just don't get the reasons why people would go there on holidays? I checked Wikipedia and it said the number one reason is for shopping? Really? It just seems like a Las Vegas without the gambling and some narrow-minded laws to boot?

This.

Don’t really understand the attraction.

Had a layover there once. Wouldn’t go for a holiday.

[Kenny's Jacket]

This.

Don’t really understand the attraction.

Had a layover there once. Wouldn’t go for a holiday.

What did you think of KL mate?

[Jookie]

Ive done exactly the same, we went to Bratislava in November, Ive never been so cold. It seemed a really miserable place.  Quite liked Vienna the pubs were friendlier and I liked the coffee shops with cake, they seemed historic and grand.

Berlin - Ive lived and worked in "third world" and used to a lack of facilities, but their attitude  was as bad as their beer.  Ive never been so happy to get on a flight home with British cabin crew.

I found Bratislava dull, solemn, even depressing during the day.

At night it was friendly, lively and really boss nightlife. Food was terrible though.

Love Berlin and other German cities I’ve been to.

Most underwhelming places Iive been are Barcelona, Amsterdam, Boston. Been all of them more than once and whilst I don’t mind any of them they are massively over rated by some people, IMO. To some degree I think Los Angeles is like that also.

The most disappointing or underwhelming attraction I’ve been to is the Northern lights.

EDIT: Oslo also. Most boring place on earth. Loads of other better Scandinavian cities to visit 

[paulrazor]

I was in Rome recently, found the centre an absolute dump to be honest

[Kenny's Jacket]

I was in Rome recently, found the centre an absolute dump to be honest

Had a flying 24 hour visit, its so historical, a tourists wet dream

Shame about the food

[Jookie]

What did you think of KL mate?

I quite liked it for a few days stop over. 1st time I e taken kids to SE Asia so it was an eye opener for them to see a very different culture. Loved the food tours we did plus places like Batu Caves.

Spent rest of the time in various parts of Borneo. Was a truly amazing experience. One of the best places I’ve ever been.

[Kenny's Jacket]

I quite liked it for a few days stop over. 1st time I e taken kids to SE Asia so it was an eye opener for them to see a very different culture. Loved the food tours we did plus places like Batu Caves.

Spent rest of the time in various parts of Borneo. Was a truly amazing experience. One of the best places I’ve ever been.

Lived there for years and to my regret, never got to Borneo

[paulrazor]

Had a flying 24 hour visit, its so historical, a tourists wet dream

Shame about the food

ended up in McNasty's, through a combination of a narky kid and poor hygiene as well as lack of proper hand washing facilities and toilets elsewhere, not that McNasty's was much better

The Airport was impressive but pricey, some nice sights but I wouldnt rush back, Paris was streets ahead for me

[Jookie]

Lived there for years and to my regret, never got to Borneo

KL must have been a nice place to live.

Clean, friendly, safe. Really nice pace of life but within a vibrant city with amazing wildlife and natural beauty close by in the rest of Malaysia

[Riquende]

Surprised by the dislike of Naples.

I think people get this idea about places in the Med being mostly geared for holidays, and then you get to Naples and as you say, it's a working port city. Full size, ugly in places and dirty, and full of people very much not interested in your vacation there. Our first venture outside of the hotel, just 5 minutes away on foot, saw us walk past homeless folk pulling binbags open scavenging for food.

I grew up in the countryside and don't much care for big cities in general, so the excursions out along the rest of the bay were a delight, and I was much less happy about having to find somewhere for dinner in the city.

[Kenny's Jacket]

KL must have been a nice place to live.

Clean, friendly, safe. Really nice pace of life but within a vibrant city with amazing wildlife and natural beauty close by in the rest of Malaysia

It was mate, Ive lived in Bangkok, Phuket Singapore and KL  and KL was my favourite. It has less to do than the others, but the people are nicer IMO and its the cheapest.

[NarutoReds]

Blackpool , utter shitehole , if ever a place needed knocked down and rebuilt from scratch .The beach looked nice they should start from there .

Thought Blackpool is a nice place?

[gerrardisgod]

It’s a dump, sad to see and it’s not the only seaside resort that’s totally rundown and in serious need of investment.

There’s so many boarded up stores/units/hotels and particularly down the south end an awful lot of borded up housing.

[gazzam1963]

It’s a dump, sad to see and it’s not the only seaside resort that’s totally rundown and in serious need of investment.

There’s so many boarded up stores/units/hotels and particularly down the south end an awful lot of borded up housing.

Southport getting that vibe when I work that way

[Son of Spion]

Thought Blackpool is a nice place?

No, it's a seriously depressing place. One of the most deprived towns in the UK. It's listed as the most dangerous town in Lancashire with a crime rate 193% higher than the North West average and 96% higher than the England, Wales and Northern Ireland overall figure.

[Son of Spion]

Southport getting that vibe when I work that way

Southport has declined too. Nowhere near as bad as Blackpool, though.

[NarutoReds]

No, it's a seriously depressing place. One of the most deprived towns in the UK. It's listed as the most dangerous town in Lancashire with a crime rate 193% higher than the North West average and 96% higher than the England, Wales and Northern Ireland overall figure.

I thought you were making that up and then I googled it myself.

- As of 2023, the crime rate in Blackpool is 193% higher than the North West and 96% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.

Source: https://crimerate.co.uk/lancashire/blackpool

Okay I am not British and I'm just asking, no offence to your people here and I mean it in an honest way.

How the feck on earth in one place within the territory of United Kingdom, could have 96% higher crime rates than the wwhhoooollleee England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure combined??!!

Is that a mistake in statistic or something? No way... right? Mathematically. Jesus.

[Son of Spion]

Both Geneva and Zurich are overly expensive, quite rundown outside a few areas and pretty bad food. Spent quite a bit of time on both for work and have family in Switzerland.

We stayed in the Pâquis district of Geneva a few years ago. Rather seedy, and turns out it's the red light area, but we quite liked it. Never felt unsafe there at all. It surprised me though, because it did conflict with my preconceived ideas of what Switzerland/Geneva would be like.

It was great being by the Geneva Water Fountain. Something I remember from watching The Champions TV series as a kid. 

[Elmo!]

I thought you were making that up and then I googled it myself.

- As of 2023, the crime rate in Blackpool is 193% higher than the North West and 96% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.

Source: https://crimerate.co.uk/lancashire/blackpool

Okay I am not British and I'm just asking, no offence to your people here and I mean it in an honest way.

How the feck on earth in one place within the territory of United Kingdom, could have 96% higher crime rates than the wwhhoooollleee England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure combined??!!

Is that a mistake in statistic or something? No way... right? Mathematically. Jesus.

It's per capita, so the cime rate is proportionally 96% higher.

[NarutoReds]

It's per capita, so the cime rate is proportionally 96% higher.

Aaahh, I see. Thanks mate. Appreciate that.      Bloody hell. That's a bit depressing, isn't it?

[BarryCrocker]

Never been in any city I've hated. Naturally, there's some places that don't bring me joy. But to hate a city is to say (food, culture, people) repulse you.

My home towns of Dublin (dirty, tough) and Sydney (expensive, superficial) are still some of the best places on the planet for the myriad of other joys they bring to their residents and visitors.

[Son of Spion]

I thought you were making that up and then I googled it myself.

- As of 2023, the crime rate in Blackpool is 193% higher than the North West and 96% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.

Source: https://crimerate.co.uk/lancashire/blackpool

Okay I am not British and I'm just asking, no offence to your people here and I mean it in an honest way.

How the feck on earth in one place within the territory of United Kingdom, could have 96% higher crime rates than the wwhhoooollleee England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure combined??!!

Is that a mistake in statistic or something? No way... right? Mathematically. Jesus.

I imagine it's worked out as crimes per head of population.*

A lot of seaside towns have big social problems in the UK. Blackpool itself is a very deprived area of the country. There's a big drug problem there. It's not alone on that one, of course. It will import a lot of crime in summertime too, with the influx of people from all over the UK who struggle to behave once pissed. Once the season is over and the lights have been switched off, it can be a very bleak place.

Seaside towns are weird though. We used to holiday on the Yorkshire coast when I was a lad. Scarborough, Whitby, Filey, Bridlington etc. I went back to Scarborough in the 90s with my then girlfriend for a few nights away. One night we came out of our lovely guest house overlooking the harbour and the locals were raiding a skip for planks of wood to fight each other with. Others were coming out of nearby homes with golf clubs to join in the pitched battle going on in the street. I'd never even seen the likes of that in Liverpool.

* Elmo! beat me to it. 

[Indomitable_Carp]

I'm with Pistolero on this. Much prefer Madrid to Barcelona. Madrid is a city I keep returning to whereas I can take or leave Barcelona. In my experience Madrid is a far more relaxed and friendly city all round.

I live in Barcelona and absolutely love it.

The thing with Barcelona is the tourist trail is ridiculously localised. The centre is beautiful, but the likes of Gotico for example are pretty much devoid of locals. Also, La Rambla is my least favourite street in the entire city and I avoid it like the plague. Why that is considered one of the "big things" to do in the Barcelona tourist guides is beyond me. But there is a whole city that most tourists don't even begin to see. Every barrio here has a distinct identity and flavour, and even the barrios more towards the outskirts (where I live) are just as lively as anywhere in the centre. And its so easy and cheap to get around - you'll never have to be on a metro more than 20 minutes. It's also a great city to cycle and walk around, and it is also so easy to esacape the city here and head up the coasts on the weekend.

Problem with Madrid is it is much more car dominated, the barrios away from the centre are less distinct and take much longer to get to, the summers regularly reach 40c+, the winters can still be freezing, and it is about as far from the sea as you can get in Spain.

I do agree with Madrid being friendlier though. It also has lovely parks, which we don't have in Barcelona (although with the climate they shouldn't really have them in Madrid either...). Also, it helps that the Madrid tourist sites are scattered across the larger central area which helps decentralise the tourism a bit and gets people to see more of the city.

On the laid back thing, it's a strange one. Madrid is a much bigger city, but I agree it does feel more laid back. I think this is because the roads are wider to accomodate more cars, whereas Barcelona is much more densely populated with many more narrow streets so it often feels busy.

Personally I like them both, but to live in Barcelona would be my only choice.

[AndyInVA]

Skopje - absolute total shit hole

[Dim Glas]

I dont much like Edinburgh, its doesn't have any of the things that make Glasgow great

I was very unimpressed with Edinburgh, but it was a very quick visit, so didn’t have a whole lot to go on. Problem is, I’m just not in a rush to go back being as I was so unimpressed with what I did see     

[Crosby Nick]

I was very unimpressed with Edinburgh, but it was a very quick visit, so didn’t have a whole lot to go on. Problem is, I’m just not in a rush to go back being as I was so unimpressed with what I did see     

Where abouts did you stay/see? Always enjoyed a trip to Edinburgh. Very walkable and loads of interesting things to see around the centre.

[NarutoReds]

Sheffield - too many hills
London - overrated, over priced and over populated

Sheffield - because it's too many hills? I saw a lot of hills in Austria and they make the place look pretty, mate...

I love hills.

[Nobby Reserve]

Agree fully with Blackpool. On a weekend night, it's as close to my idea of hell as I could realistically get to. Spent a New Year's Eve there once. I hate NYE's generally, but that was one of the worst and most depressing.

I'll throw in Stoke. Had to check it's an actual city, and it is. Fuck knows why. It's the most depressing place I've ever seen. I've told the story before, but had a nasty incident there when I was about 19/20, that almost had me and my mates carved up by a group of about two dozen knuckle-draggers. Whilst we (apart from the driver) were on LSD. Ended with a police escort out of the place.

Almost as grim is Bradford.

[Henry Gale]

Visited Kyiv for a few days about 5 years ago. The place itself is fine but the people not so much. I've never experienced racism like that before. I had people blatantly saying racial slurs whilst walking down the street and the amount of people who kept trying to touch my daughters hair was mind blowing, It's a miracle I got out of that shit hole without been arrested.

I remember when Russia invaded and watched on the news the uproar about how they wasn't letting Africans leave and the mrs looked at me and said I'm not surprised at all.

[paulrazor]

Yeah I was in Blackpool last year for a few hours and that was enough

My Wifes parents go for a few days every year, lord knows how they do it

[bradders1011]

Bristol is a great city in the daytime, but on a weekend night there's a horrible mix of their insufferable hipster population, chavvies from the surrounding shitholes and Hooray Henry types from the posh bits and the county.

[Crosby Nick]

Bristol is a great city in the daytime, but on a weekend night there's a horrible mix of their insufferable hipster population, chavvies from the surrounding shitholes and Hooray Henry types from the posh bits and the county.

That’s the same with most bigger cities isn’t it? I went to uni there, literally in a different millennium now (fuck!) and it was always a bit moody on a Saturday night with the locals out. Was back there last year on a Saturday. That King St bit was absolutely rammed, didn’t either bother with it. Presumably there’s nicer bits to still go out in if you steer clear of the waterfront/city centre bits?

[RedSince86]

I was in London in summer and caught up with a old friend, and she went for 10 night trip to Naples, Capri and Sicily, she was absolute scathing at how dirty and grotty Naples was.

The tv show Gomorrah doesn't promote Naples as a great holiday destination though.

[rob1966]

Blackpool is an absolute shithole in the centre, the outskirts by the airport look really nice though.

I did my Class 2 HGV training out of Preston in 2006, the test was at Kirkham, so did lessons in Blackpool, Sunday morning pissed up hens and stags wandering around looking like shit and locals looking like the dog has shit in their Breakfast, awful depressing place. Missus always liked it, so 2 years later, when the eldest was about 4 weeks old, we had a day out there as it was her Birthday - I didn't want to go, but the day was OK, right until the baby needed changing. Goes in a toilet with baby changing facilities, there's a fucking sharps bin in there and junkies blood on the floor .  Her and her mate took the kids to Blackpool last year, said she'll never go back.

Went up to Teesport on Saturday, there are two ways to get there, I went in on the A66, you go along a flyover through the town centre, looked grim and filthy. CAme back out on the A174 and its all fields and trees and looks lovely, I'll use that way in future.

[Nobby Reserve]

I was in London in summer and caught up with a old friend, and she went for 10 night trip to Naples, Capri and Sicily, she was absolute scathing at how dirty and grotty Naples was.

The tv show Gomorrah doesn't promote Naples as a great holiday destination though.

It was a stop on our cruise a few years ago. The only 'official' excursion we booked was to Pompeii.

I thought Pompeii was in better nick than Naples.

[Kenny's Jacket]

I'll throw in Stoke. Had to check it's an actual city, and it is.

This made me chuckle, whats the name of their Footy team again?

Just kidding Nobby 

[rob1966]

This made me chuckle, whats the name of their Footy team again?

Just kidding Nobby 

That got me thinking about my mates club, St Albans City. I'd always thought of St Albans as a town, its gor a smaller population than Southport, not long ago it was smaller than Kirkby - weird to think its a City

[Kenny's Jacket]

That got me thinking about my mates club, St Albans City. I'd always thought of St Albans as a town, its gor a smaller population than Southport, not long ago it was smaller than Kirkby - weird to think its a City

One of my Uni mates comes from Welwyn Garden City which is near St Albans
We would sometimes go there for a pint, Cant believe thats a City, some nice Historic pubs though

Ironically the afore mention Welwyn Garden City is a town

[paulrazor]

Bristol is a great city in the daytime, but on a weekend night there's a horrible mix of their insufferable hipster population, chavvies from the surrounding shitholes and Hooray Henry types from the posh bits and the county.

I was in Bristol on a stag last year and loved it, we all did.