Cities you'd never return to

21-04-2014 11:05AM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

De fella is doing an interview and exam for a job in Barcelona tomorrow so there's a small chance I could be moving there. Bring it on, says I!

I'll come visit!

have a look round Sitges

Huzzah! · 21-04-2014 11:40AM

Vientiane, Laos. Maybe because it poured with rain the entire time I was there, but I hated the place and couldn't wait to get out. It was dirty, I didn't enjoy the food, etc. Some of the other South-East Asian cities that have been mentioned here - Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Hanoi- I quite liked.

dj jarvis · 21-04-2014 11:49AM

Red Pepper wrote: »

The Dubliners have stopped giving a ****e about their own city many years ago given the sorry state it has become.

have they ? i never got that email , i must start not giving a **** straight away !!!!

or on the other hand , you have not got a clue what you are ****ing on about m and totally ignore you pointless post .

so all these surveys that put Dublin as friendlier , safer , and in the top ten city s to live work and visit in the world are all bull**** becasue of your sweeping generalizations .

man - Dublin has its issues , but im really starting to believe that the AH Dublin haters have never actually left Ireland a, and Dublin is there only brush with a city , because if they HAD actually visited other European city's , they would be keeping there ill informed mouths shut - like for example , Hamburg , Frankfurt , Paris , London , Manchester , Belfast , Rotterdam , ghent ect ect ect , these places CAN be truly horribly - Dublin is like a quaint village com paired to most of these

but - some just gonna hate , in future maybe you Dublin haters can post what hole you were dragged up in , and we can all make a collective criticism of that ?

you think Dublin city has a junkie problem ??? go to ANY major German city , go to the main train station of that city , and sit back and enjoy the zombie show - but as i said , apparently Dublin is the only city with zombies :rolleyes:

Youzername · 21-04-2014 11:54AM

lufties wrote: »

San Fran is like that too.

New York.... Hated it tbh.

Generally I find I much prefer European and even Asian cities.

Could be a personal/cultural thing tho...?

osarusan · 21-04-2014 11:56AM

dj jarvis wrote: »

you think Dublin city has a junkie problem ??? go to ANY major German city , go to the main train station of that city , and sit back and enjoy the zombie show - but as i said , apparently Dublin is the only city with zombies :rolleyes:

Who on here said that Dublin is the only city with a junkie problem? Nobody.

But too often the rebuttal to a criticism of Dublin is 'sure it's the same everywhere'.

But that isn't always a defence. If somebody is pointing out that Dublin is worse than somewhere else, then ok, but you can't counter legitimate criticism of Dublin (or anywhere) by just arguing that other places are just as bad.

nxbyveromdwjpg · 21-04-2014 12:01PM

Darwin

Place is crazy

Spring Onion · 21-04-2014 12:03PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

you think Dublin city has a junkie problem ??? go to ANY major German city , go to the main train station of that city , and sit back and enjoy the zombie show - but as i said , apparently Dublin is the only city with zombies :rolleyes:

Really? I lived in Leipzig for 9 months. It has a huge train station, "the world's largest railway station measured by floor area...handles 120,000 passengers per day". There are no problems around the station. In fact it is also a large shopping centre so people flock there even when not travelling. No zombies.

Maybe it wasn't always like that, maybe they "fixed" the problem. I do not know.

Question, what is Dublin doing to fix it's "zombie" problem?

jonnny68 · 21-04-2014 12:05PM

Milan , nice enough city, etc but I wasn't over endeared by the locals and I didn't find the food nowhere near as good as some say it is, and a serious bunch of posers, even granny's in their 80's caked in make up and walking around with Dior handbag with Prada shoes.

The Cool · 21-04-2014 12:09PM

Valladolid, Spain. Lived there on my Erasmus year. Was only delighted to leave the place and can safely say I'll never return. Somehow being a city of around 400,000 people it feels like one of those crappy small towns that have no atmosphere and nothing to do. My parents and younger siblings had planned to come visit me for a holiday, I told them not to bother - not a thing to do with kids, not a lot in the way of eating out, etc. Everything is dated, it looks like the city had its boom in the 70s and nothing happened to it since and it's not geared towards visitors at all.

theKillerBite · 21-04-2014 12:11PM

Manchester - no nightlife, really disappointing place

Mongfinder General · 21-04-2014 12:16PM

theKillerBite wrote: »

Manchester - no nightlife, really disappointing place

What? You mean you didn't visit the gay village?

Olive8585 · 21-04-2014 12:28PM

The Cool wrote: »

Valladolid, Spain. Lived there on my Erasmus year. Was only delighted to leave the place and can safely say I'll never return. Somehow being a city of around 400,000 people it feels like one of those crappy small towns that have no atmosphere and nothing to do. My parents and younger siblings had planned to come visit me for a holiday, I told them not to bother - not a thing to do with kids, not a lot in the way of eating out, etc. Everything is dated, it looks like the city had its boom in the 70s and nothing happened to it since and it's not geared towards visitors at all.

Yes, Valladolid is truly awful. Why on earth would you ever go there on Erasmus when you have Madrid, Salamanca, Granada, Seville, etc?

roro1990 · 21-04-2014 12:44PM

Huzzah! wrote: »

Vientiane, Laos. Maybe because it poured with rain the entire time I was there, but I hated the place and couldn't wait to get out. It was dirty, I didn't enjoy the food, etc. Some of the other South-East Asian cities that have been mentioned here - Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Hanoi- I quite liked.

Yeah Vientiane is a kip. Luang Prabang is very nice though. Agreed on BKK & Phnom Penh, great places.

therealme · 21-04-2014 12:51PM

Prague. Always wanted to go, got there and had a guy attempt to rob my bag, had another guy offer us drugs (we said a firm NO) so he waited outside the pub we went into until we came out and tried again. Left the "hotel" we had prepaid for - more like a dodgy b&b and spent a fortune on a proper hotel. Food wasn't great, saw the sights in half a day. Will NEVER be caught in the place again.

I am pie · 21-04-2014 01:02PM

Can't standa Brussels, chips are not a delicacy, at this stage the chocolate and beer is availabe internationally. City has 0 charm and appeal. Constantly miserable place.

Munich was a disappointment for me, as was Hamburg. Hamburg is either completely dull or an unrepetantly seedy sh1thole. Munich was rebuilt without much charm after WW2, didn't fund much to enjoy. Berlin is the only place I have been in Germany that I enjoyed, much prefer Austria. Zurich is pretty dull and horribly expensive. I imagine it's a fine place to live, but it's not much of a tourist draw.

rossie1977 · 21-04-2014 01:14PM

been to alot of places mentioned here and can honestly say i enjoyed them all.

find it hard to believe people didn't like barcelona, madrid, lisbon, munich, new york, san francisco, prague etc...guess some people are really hard to please.

Olive8585 · 21-04-2014 01:20PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

been to alot of places mentioned here and can honestly say i enjoyed them all.

find it hard to believe people didn't like barcelona, madrid, lisbon, munich, new york, san francisco, prague etc...guess some people are really hard to please.

Or maybe they're not all exactly like you.

therealme · 21-04-2014 01:36PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

been to alot of places mentioned here and can honestly say i enjoyed them all.

find it hard to believe people didn't like barcelona, madrid, lisbon, munich, new york, san francisco, prague etc...guess some people are really hard to please.

I don't think I am hard to please (see my post re Prague). I don't expect to be harassed or attempted mugging and don't think it is too much not to expect. Am well traveled and have had no experiences remotely similar to it elsewhere.

nxbyveromdwjpg · 21-04-2014 01:47PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

been to alot of places mentioned here and can honestly say i enjoyed them all.

find it hard to believe people didn't like barcelona, madrid, lisbon, munich, new york, san francisco, prague etc...guess some people are really hard to please.

No nightlife in Manchester stood out for me

I am pie · 21-04-2014 01:55PM

nm wrote: »

No nightlife in Manchester stood out for me

Yeah, that was fairly difficult to understand. Massive university, lots of stuff going on in terms of rock/indie music, dance music and whatever else, lots of Irish, Carribbean and latterly central Europeans immigrants, great place to eat, drink and be merry. Stinking miserable weather though, and the locals can be somewhat chippy, but a great weekend can be had in Manchester.

theKillerBite · 21-04-2014 01:58PM

I am pie wrote: »

Yeah, that was fairly difficult to understand. Massive university, lots of stuff going on in terms of rock/indie music, dance music and whatever else, lots of Irish, Carribbean and latterly central Europeans immigrants, great place to eat, drink and be merry. Stinking miserable weather though, and the locals can be somewhat chippy, but a great weekend can be had in Manchester.

We spent a few nights there. We asked loads of locals/taxi men where to go, they mostly hadn't a clue and basically sent us around a load of bars that were pretty much deserted/or closed. We were staying out by the Uni, but the city centre was like a ghost town too. IDK it makes you appreciate Dublin, you can go out any night of the year here and can always guarantee a pretty good night.

Actually we bumped into a few Irish girls and they were the only ones having the craic in Manchester.

ricero · 21-04-2014 02:16PM

eindhoven very very boring

losthorizon · 21-04-2014 02:16PM

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Aachen in Germany would be the worst for me. Used to have to spend the odd Sunday in it for work years ago, you think places in Ireland are bleak on a Sunday?

Honorary mention for Maastricht as well, although I'm not sure it counts as a city.

Been to Aachen a few times. I think its a great place. As are most German cities.

And I cant believe someone mentioned Budapest - its stunning and people are very friendly. Hungary in general is quiet a friendly country.

My favourite nation and country would be France and it has some fantastic cities but strangely it has one city that I dont like - Clermond-Ferrand. Although it has simply stunning countryside around it.

Besides that - Dublin a kip and boring as hell.

The Cool · 21-04-2014 02:25PM

Olive8585 wrote: »

Yes, Valladolid is truly awful. Why on earth would you ever go there on Erasmus when you have Madrid, Salamanca, Granada, Seville, etc?

Not willingly! Didn't have a choice in the matter really. It wasn't my top choice. Visited classmates in Salamanca, Madrid and Cadiz and all of those places were fantastic.

ben.schlomo · 21-04-2014 02:28PM

Casablanca, loud, dirty sh1thole.

fricatus · 21-04-2014 02:30PM

darkdubh wrote: »

Instead for the entire stretch of the street was assailed by the sound of those horrible squeaky whistle things which were being sold by Pakistani guys.

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

They're irritating beyond belief. Centre of Madrid is full of fellas blowing them too. Who in their right mind buys them?

Maybe the same people who buy those glowing insect things they throw up high into the air? Not my type of thing...

There are plenty of places I wouldn't return to, but that's just because it's a big world and life is short. I lived in Birmingham for a couple of years and couldn't get out quickly enough; however I'm sort of fascinated to see if it's as awful as I remember it, and to see how it's changed.

A place I had huge expectations about and was very dissapointed with was Bologna. Loads of people said it was great (and in fairness it was beautiful), however I arrived there on my own on a Sunday afternoon and all I remember was crusties trying to talk to me and people across the street whistling and shouting stuff over at me (I speak Italian but not well enough to understand stuff like that out of context). By the time evening came, I just ate near my hotel and then stayed in for the evening.

The next day though, everything was open and the place appeared to be bustling and full of normal people. Unfortunately I had to leave, but it seemed like a place transformed. I'm dying to go back now...

pauldla · 21-04-2014 02:34PM

Vienna. It meant nothing to me.

Barely There · 21-04-2014 02:37PM

Florence.

Totally over-rated, unless you're happy spending hours queuing up to trudge around expensive art galleries that is.

dj jarvis · 21-04-2014 02:53PM

osarusan wrote: »

Who on here said that Dublin is the only city with a junkie problem? Nobody.

But too often the rebuttal to a criticism of Dublin is 'sure it's the same everywhere'.

But that isn't always a defence. If somebody is pointing out that Dublin is worse than somewhere else, then ok, but you can't counter legitimate criticism of Dublin (or anywhere) by just arguing that other places are just as bad.

no , other poster were trying to say it WAS THE WORST they have ever been to for junkies , and i pointed out that other places are worse , a lot worse , but they pick on Dublin becasue they tend to be sad sad Dublin haters for some stupid reason , and junkies looks to be the default position , but ignoring the fact that the thread is worst citys they have visited , so Dublin is the worst city they have visited , well by the sounds of it , its the ONLY city they have been to , becasue if they have traveled , they would know better.

as a Dub ill be the first to admit it has issues , but feck me , nothing compared to MOST other European and American city's i have visited ,
so why the constant **** about Dublin from some on AH

is just sad really

rossie1977 · 21-04-2014 02:54PM

Olive8585 wrote: »

Or maybe they're not all exactly like you.

millions of people visit those cities every year and have a great time so its not just me....

if you can't enjoy worldclass cities like san francisco and barcelona then travel really isn't for you.

then again this is boards.ie where complaining about everything and everyone is part of the course.

Cities you'd never return to

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