Have you ever stumbled into the wrong neighbourhood?

ArtyM

I remember once in the early 80s I had a stopover in Hamburg that gave me a few hours to tour the city.
A local guide said St Pauli was a weird and unusual place so I headed there. Holy S**t that place was scary.

There were junkies everywhere (got offered everything), guys fighting, Hookers, sexshops, people being arrested.
A couple of very dodgy guys approached me and kinda surrounded me as they were talking ****e - they started edging me toward an alley/laneway.
I was dressed as a tourist and had 'easy pickings' written all over me (was also carrying quite a bit of money).
Thankfully a cop car pulls up and the guys back off and leave. Cops politely suggested I get the **** out of there for my own good. I concurred!
The wait for the subway felt like hours - there was a guy on the opposite platform sitting on a bench with a bottle of Vodka and what looked like a fresh stab wound in his abdomen - his sirt was literally turning red.
I was the only white guy.

---

Have you ever wandered into a bad neighbourhood or the wrong part of a town?

Sykk

Dundalk... I don't really want to talk about it, though..

thehairyelbow

I've often stumbled out of one. Never in.

hatrickpatrick

I did work experience in Cauldron Studious. Stayed too long on the bus (forget which bus) and somehow ended up in the middle of Summerhill, near Croker.

The place was almost deserted but I remembered absolute horror stories about it, and a previous experience there when we walked through it on the way back from a transition year tour of croke park and got harassed and threatened at every single street corner. To say I was scared sh!tless is an understatement. I looked around to get my bearings, saw the sign saying "Summerhill" and actually felt the colour drain from my face. Don't think I've ever wanted to get the hell out of a place faster.

Ironically enough, this second encounter there wasn't so bad, there was hardly anyone around

Buscuits

Has happened twice.
Once in Paris, got the metro and ended up in a Afro Euro area, there were scores of police everywhere looking worried and here we 2 white people come along with shopping bags.
Once in London, we stumbled across the May day riots by mistake.
Never thought or knew they were on until got to Trafalger square and riot police ready to charge. Some young dreadlock lad headbutted the pedestrian crossing button on a trafficlight and bust his head open. Once again standing there with shopping bags.

OutlawPete

Yup, many times, but I'm a black belt in Origami.

Herb Powell

Peckerwood

subway

ArtyM wrote: »

I remember once in the early 80s I had a stopover in Hamburg that gave me a few hours to tour the city.
A local guide said St Pauli was a weird and unusual place so I headed there. Holy S**t that place was scary.

There were junkies everywhere (got offered everything), guys fighting, Hookers, sexshops, people being arrested.
A couple of very dodgy guys approached me and kinda surrounded me as they were talking ****e - they started edging me toward an alley/laneway.
I was dressed as a tourist and had 'easy pickings' written all over me (was also carrying quite a bit of money).
Thankfully a copy car pulls up and the guys back off and leave. Cops politely suggested I get the **** out of there for my own good. I concurred!
The wait for the subway felt like hours - there was a guy on the opposite platform sitting on a bench with a bottle of Vodka and what looked like a fresh stab wound in his abdomen - his sirt was literally turning red.
I was the only white guy.

---

Have you ever wandered into a bad neighbourhood or the wrong part of a town?

thanks for the review OP, i'm going on holidays there.

chakotha

Got out at Tottenham tube station on a Saturday night when myself and a few chums were 18. Well dodgy.

blackalicious

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I did work experience in Cauldron Studious. Stayed too long on the bus (forget which bus) and somehow ended up in the middle of Summerhill, near Croker.

The place was almost deserted but I remembered absolute horror stories about it, and a previous experience there when we walked through it on the way back from a transition year tour of croke park and got harassed and threatened at every single street corner. To say I was scared sh!tless is an understatement. I looked around to get my bearings, saw the sign saying "Summerhill" and actually felt the colour drain from my face. Don't think I've ever wanted to get the hell out of a place faster.

Ironically enough, this second encounter there wasn't so bad, there was hardly anyone around

jesus a bit of an over-reaction no? my mate lives in summerhill and ive walked through it at all hours of the day and night for the last 10 years and never saw any hassle

biscuiteater

ArtyM wrote: »

There were junkies everywhere (got offered everything), guys fighting, Hookers, sexshops, people being arrested.


Have you ever wandered into a bad neighbourhood or the wrong part of a town?

it sounds like where i grew up, my daughter took me to harrods once and i felt out of place, that for me was the wrong neighbourhood

and how can anyone not like dundalk i love dundalk, feel so at home there

orourkeda

OutlawPete wrote: »

Yup, many times, but I'm a black belt in Origami.

I have a brown belt after orgasm

jimthemental

Was in Limerick one day last year and had to park in around Garryowen somewhere to walk to Specsavers. Took a wrong turn anyway in my Leinster jersey. That was the first time I was genuinely intimidated in Limerick and I had been there for the previous 4 years. Nothing happened but I could just tell by looking around that it was a serious kip, dirty looks from other pedestrians aside.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Yes, and the neighbourhood surrendered to me

The King of Moo

I heard this American tourist in Bunratty once...

Oops..wrong thread..

cruiser178

Yep remember it like yesterday(21 yrs ago) broad water farm,at night, in london,good god we were lucky to get out of that.
Picture high rise flats everywhere,no street lighting the only light i can remember was that coming from the flats above,gangs of knife weilding mother fcukers.
The broad water farm roits were still very very fresh on everyones minds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadwater_Farm and for those who are intrested,pc blakelock who was killed in the roits http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=20276

iamwhoiam

We took the metro in Paris to a flea market on the outskirts of the city .No idea now where it was . I was so excited as I love local markets and all they have to offer . We got out of the metro and my husband clutched his wallet and my hand .We walked to the market , really looking forward to it and OMG it was so intimadating , rough and loud and people fighting and we felt so out of place .
We turned on our heels and escaped and back to safety again .,Oddly enough I found quite a bit of Paris to be rough , away from the main tourist areas and main streets it was not what I expected at all .

stovelid

I feel like I'm in the Buttery in Trinity in the 80s on the first day back after everybody has "gone travelling".

Sean Quagmire

Liverpool has the worst place I have ended up in. I shudder every time I think of it. An entire four days of being on edge is a weird feeling, their was a genuine threat every time you walked anywhere and thats not being paranoid!

I have also ended up in the Afro-neighborhood in Paris. Felt like a was walking through yonkers.

AntiRip

Myself and the OH were going up to the Bronx zoo one day and got off at the wrong stop. I knew straight away by the look of the subway station that we weren't in a good place at all.

As the station was empty (another bad sign) we decided to head down to the street to see exactly where we were.

When we went down an elderly black couple crossed the street and told us to get back up to the station quickly as we were in the wrong place. We did without question and went back to Manhattan. We never did visit the zoo

There are many scary places in New York

maglite

West Philadelphia,


at this point I feel like I should include lyrics, but it is quite an intimidating place.

yupyup7up

jimthemental wrote: »

Was in Limerick one day last year and had to park in around Garryowen somewhere to walk to Specsavers. Took a wrong turn anyway in my Leinster jersey. That was the first time I was genuinely intimidated in Limerick and I had been there for the previous 4 years. Nothing happened but I could just tell by looking around that it was a serious kip, dirty looks from other pedestrians aside.

Garryowen is ****hole. You could get your car bricked but any time ive driven through iev had no hassle. Leinster jerseys generally wouldnt ever go down well in Limerick full stop!!!

Sean Quagmire wrote: »

Liverpool has the worst place I have ended up in. I shudder every time I think of it. An entire four days of being on edge is a weird feeling, their was a genuine threat every time you walked anywhere and thats not being paranoid!

I have also ended up in the Afro-neighborhood in Paris. Felt like a was walking through yonkers.

Liverpool? Really? I've been there twice and it's great! Everyone was sound over there!

Being from Limerick I'm not really bothered with dodgy neighbourhoods...
The worst I've seen are Weston and d'Island, Limerick, (Southill and moyross aren't near these 2!), Devanny Gardens in Dublin looks like a kip and the red light district(no sure which one) in Paris. looks like rape central... Weston is definitely the worst place I've ever been.

yupyup7up

maglite wrote: »

West Philadelphia,


at this point I feel like I should include lyrics, but it is quite an intimidating place.

was thinking about saying the same but decided against it

jimthemental

yupyup7up wrote: »

The worst I've seen are Weston and d'Island, Limerick, (Southill and moyross aren't near these 2!),

Oh I know that, but any time I was in any of them I wasn't alone, wasn't there accidentally and wasn't wearing a leinster jersey.

CrazyRabbit

Driving up north in a convoy of cars carrying Airsofters in full military clothing, we took a wrong turn and ended up in an estate covered in Union Jacks, and loyalist graffiti.

Think about it...several Irish-reg cars, with what appears to be soldiers sitting in them & carrrying rifle bags...in the middle of a staunchly loyalist estate. We didn't stop....feck the traffic lights!!!

Sean Quagmire

Sean Quagmire wrote: »

Liverpool has the worst place I have ended up in. I shudder every time I think of it. An entire four days of being on edge is a weird feeling, their was a genuine threat every time you walked anywhere and thats not being paranoid!

I have also ended up in the Afro-neighborhood in Paris. Felt like a was walking through yonkers.

Really? Was there at four times for weekends away, 3 times my ole lad who is 60 odd was with me. No problem anytime and we always get lost wandering around at night. Locals are salt of the Earth in my view, couldn't fault the place. Was it the city yor are on about?

hatrickpatrick

blackalicious wrote: »

jesus a bit of an over-reaction no? my mate lives in summerhill and ive walked through it at all hours of the day and night for the last 10 years and never saw any hassle

We possibly got it on a bad day. The trip was during school hours so most of the abuse we got was from drunken wasters who were clearly skipping school in the first place.

SeaFields

This only happened a few weeks ago.


Was up in Dublin with herself for a few days as she was graduating. On the sunday we wanted to go to Croke park to see the museum there. Got direction from where we were staying - just follow the canal and you cant go wrong.

Off we strolled on a sunny afternoon. There was a lovely walk a long the canal, a very well kept park and we could see croker in the distance. This nice stretch of canal ended and it became dreary and downbeat looking. But as we told follow the canal this is what we did. The girlfriend got very freaked out, said she had a terrible feeling about the place and wanted to get out of there. We hurried and got out of there and on to croker. Went home by a different route.

Then, shortly afterwards, on the telly was a documentary "killers: sisters". Yep, it was the spot where the scissor sister dumped that fella they had murdered and cut up into little pieces! Weird!

Riskymove

once...Belfast..before current times......wrong turn in my D Reg Car......Union Jacks, King Billy Murals, rough looking locals....


....a prompt U-turn and breaking of speed limit ensued until back on main road

arybvtcw0eolkf

AntiRip wrote: »

Myself and the OH were going up to the Bronx zoo one day and got off at the wrong stop. I knew straight away by the look of the subway station that we weren't in a good place at all.

As the station was empty (another bad sign) we decided to head down to the street to see exactly where we were.

When we went down an elderly black couple crossed the street and told us to get back up to the station quickly as we were in the wrong place. We did without question and went back to Manhattan. We never did visit the zoo

There are many scary places in New York

Something similar happened to me in the same area the first time I visited NYC.

I was taking photos of everything in NYC, and had a feeling I was probably off the beaten track.. Then a white lad pulled over and said "Buddy, get in the car your lost"..

He dropped me down to central park and told me that a big white Irish tourist with a big camera had a life expectancy of about 15 minutes up there!.

I was in Birkenhead, I think its outside of Liverpool (got a subway - I was lost).

Two big f*cks with Afro hair syles tried to mug me, gace one a swift kick up into the bollox and I took to my heels, it was an awful looking kip.

Latchy

Sean Quagmire wrote: »

Liverpool has the worst place I have ended up in. I shudder every time I think of it. An entire four days of being on edge is a weird feeling, their was a genuine threat every time you walked anywhere and thats not being paranoid!

Jasus ,over sensitive is not the word ...where you walking around for in Liverpool for 4 days ... Walton jail ? :rolleyes:

You could walk around parts of any city like Manchester ,Birmingham ,London , Dublin ,Limerick and Liverpool and feel intimidated but to say anywhere you walked there was a genuine threat is not only exaggeration but ...well pretty stupid thing to say .

I spent a whole day at Liverpool FC last week doing the stadium tour and the people I met along the way that day were nothing but friendly, hospitable .The city is as friendly to vist as any and a joy to shop around in .


In my case it was getting lost in a neighborhood in Amsterdam because every neighborhood over there looks the fooking same