Cities you'd never return to

bnt · 02-05-2014 09:09PM

fathead82 wrote: »

Pretoria.im there now & its a hole.cant wait to get home.

I haven't been there since 1991, but wasn't too impressed. Thought it was to South Africa as Washington DC is to the USA, and it might have been, with all that implies. What's the Sunnyside area like these days? It was just sad and tacky back then.

Diane Selwyn · 02-05-2014 09:46PM

Seaneh wrote: »

As I already explained... Do keep up.

oops sorry - just reading random posts and casting aspersions all over

Daveysil15 · 02-05-2014 09:56PM

Seaneh wrote: »

Just not for me. I thought there was too much open street crime, prostitution and the place was pretty filthy. But it was the middle of tourist season so I guess that kind of taints it.

Second trip will also be the middle of tourist season but hopefully it leaves a better impression.

Yeah there's a lot of prostitution there alright. I went in April and found it to be over crowded, but I'd have to agree with greentopia, the architecture, vibrancy and nightlife of the place is amazing.

smoking_kills · 02-05-2014 10:05PM

Las vegas; was there for a day, nice to see and at night the lights and all that are amazeballs..but nothing to go back for.

Phoenix; dull and lifeless, and the heat, I nearly came home in a bottle:eek:

Paris; once you see the sights, nothing to go back for either.

Geneva; have friends who live just outside the city, and even they hate the place, just boring and soulless.

London; never liked the place, nothing specific, but just never liked it. I try to avoid it when I can.

Stayed in cavtat just south of Dubrovnik. Food is some of the best I ever had and the locals are so friendly, but pretty boring and quiet. Nice for a few Days away though. Dubrovnik is lovely but nothing to see other than the old city, which you can do in few hours. Again lovely food and people, but no point going back once you have seen it. One of the cleanest places I have ever been, no rubbish anywhere and all the toilets were spotless.

Lake Garda; lovely place, very family orientated, but expensive and the Italians are the rudest people on the planet.

Venice; don't bother, smelly, dirty, overpriced. You couldn't drag me back there.

Milan; took a day trip in, no not a nice place at all, dirty kip, and the drivers are all lunatics

C14N · 03-05-2014 04:59PM

Seaneh wrote: »

Just not for me. I thought there was too much open street crime, prostitution and the place was pretty filthy. But it was the middle of tourist season so I guess that kind of taints it.

I'm not sure how much tourist season affects it but I was there in October for 3 days and didn't see any of that. The fact that it seemed so clean and well-kept was actually part of the reason I liked it so much, it gave the impression of being a very wealthy and prosperous city.

smoking_kills wrote: »

the Italians are the rudest people on the planet.

Perhaps you had a bad experience but I disagree with broadly branding the Italians like this. When I was 14 we stayed near Lake Garda for two weeks in a group of cottage-style houses owned by some Italian nobles nearby and they were very friendly and accommodating to us. Same goes for anyone in restaurants and shops in surrounding towns. It was to the point that even years later, my dad, who frequently goes all over the world for work, keeps wanting to return to Italy over all other places.

ivytwine · 03-05-2014 05:38PM

C14N wrote: »

I'm not sure how much tourist season affects it but I was there in October for 3 days and didn't see any of that. The fact that it seemed so clean and well-kept was actually part of the reason I liked it so much, it gave the impression of being a very wealthy and prosperous city.

I agree with this, in fact I'm shocked by the amount of people saying Barca was dodgy, I thought it was beautiful and very safe and prosperous. I too was there off season though.

Olive8585 · 03-05-2014 05:40PM

Greentopia wrote: »

I was there last Nov. and didn't see any of that and I was in El Raval, but I did avoid the parts the guide books warned to stay away from-especially travelling as a woman on my own. I thought they did a great job cleaning up the place on those ride-on machines late at night in the city centre. More of an effort made than I've seen here!

It gets the thumbs up for me for it's extraordinary culture, architecture, food, street life, vibrancy and night life. Can't wait to go back some time.

To each their own.

Perhaps you're just not that observant? That's not meant to be an insult, but as beautiful as the city is, it is rife with petty crime, prostitution, gangs of Roma, illegal immigrants controlled by mafias (the ones who sell DVDs on sheets on the street...) and it really does have quite a sketchy vibe about it. Some people (my sister, for example) really just don't notice that stuff unless it directly affects them.

BuilderPlumber · 05-05-2014 09:55PM

It is very interesting how different people view different cities. Some very positive about them, some very negative. I think in general, people can find both the positives and negatives in each of the cities mentioned.

Some of the negatives in ALL cities are rundown parts of them, rough housing estates, drugs and all the problems that go with them, rude people in a rush, and (in some cases) drunken violence on their streets. In some cases, the city may be part of a country under a dictatorship and seeing posters of vile dictators that repress and kill leaves a very unpleasant aftertaste in one's mouth after visiting such places. Likewise, seeing people obeying stupid rules imposed by a crazed dictator is hard to bare too. Seeing tension and hatred in Belfast each July, too, is unpleasant.

Positives include nice sites to see, friendly people, seeing new things, nice hotels, nice part of the city, museums, music, other entertainment and culture, etc. As cities go, all the Republic of Ireland ones are generally pleasant, interesting, easy to get around and relatively safe. Of course, there are parts of every one of them best to avoid at certain times of the week and of course there is a darker side in all of them.

I think that Dubai and Lagos are about the only places I could see no positives whatsoever in. Dubai was excessively hot, a hidden repressive element existed, everyone was in a rush and there was no culture at all. It felt like a contrived, overheated, modern, urban clone of New York without New York's charms. Lagos was even worse: a dirty, corrupt hellhole full of the type of scammers we get emails from every day only you have to meet them and be hassled by them all the time from train station, on the train, in the hotel bar, on the streets, etc. Only in your hotel bedroom are you free from them! It was a miracle my money was not stolen too!

BuilderPlumber · 05-05-2014 09:55PM

It is very interesting how different people view different cities. Some very positive about them, some very negative. I think in general, people can find both the positives and negatives in each of the cities mentioned.

Some of the negatives in ALL cities are rundown parts of them, rough housing estates, drugs and all the problems that go with them, rude people in a rush, and (in some cases) drunken violence on their streets. In some cases, the city may be part of a country under a dictatorship and seeing posters of vile dictators that repress and kill leaves a very unpleasant aftertaste in one's mouth after visiting such places. Likewise, seeing people obeying stupid rules imposed by a crazed dictator is hard to bare too. Seeing tension and hatred in Belfast each July, too, is unpleasant.

Positives include nice sites to see, friendly people, seeing new things, nice hotels, nice part of the city, museums, music, other entertainment and culture, etc. As cities go, all the Republic of Ireland ones are generally pleasant, interesting, easy to get around and relatively safe. Of course, there are parts of every one of them best to avoid at certain times of the week and of course there is a darker side in all of them.

I think that Dubai and Lagos are about the only places I could see no positives whatsoever in. Dubai was excessively hot, a hidden repressive element existed, everyone was in a rush and there was no culture at all. It felt like a contrived, overheated, modern, urban clone of New York without New York's charms. Lagos was even worse: a dirty, corrupt hellhole full of the type of scammers we get emails from every day only you have to meet them and be hassled by them all the time from train station, on the train, in the hotel bar, on the streets, etc. Only in your hotel bedroom are you free from them! It was a miracle my money was not stolen too!

Lapin · 05-05-2014 10:13PM

Crystal Palace.

Jamsiek · 06-05-2014 04:53PM

suicide_circus wrote: »

I have found that a holiday in dubai is a pretty good kunt-o-meter. Pretty safe bet that who enjoys that kind of environment is an utter prick.

Bit of a sweeping generalization there don't you think?

Jamsiek · 06-05-2014 04:55PM

Pat Custard wrote: »

Naples.
Málágá
Holyhead
Limerick
St. Petersburg
Anywhere in Australia
Cairo

Why St Petersburg? I heard it was a lovely city

irishgrover · 06-05-2014 05:01PM

dan1895 wrote: »

The falls are amazing but other than that Niagra in Canada. The only way of the describing it is as the illegitimate love child of Las Vegas and Bray.

thats funny, I've been describing it for years as a bad mixture of Ballybunnion and Knock

beauty101 · 06-05-2014 05:06PM

Milan, I thought it was a s**thole. Also Charlotte in North Carolina...nothing in it

seachto7 · 06-05-2014 05:28PM

smoking_kills wrote: »

Paris; once you see the sights, nothing to go back for either. What do you want in life other than the sights?

Lake Garda; lovely place, very family orientated, but expensive and the Italians are the rudest people on the planet. Do you speak Italian? If not, how could you possibly have an accurate opinion on them? If so, why do you say so?

hmmm

Lucifer MorningStar · 06-05-2014 06:06PM

Paris

Daveysil15 · 06-05-2014 06:47PM

Who in their right mind would want to go to Lagos?

fricatus · 06-05-2014 06:51PM

Daveysil15 wrote: »

Who in their right mind would want to go to Lagos?

They may have been going on business, or else they may have decided to see for themselves what life is like in the largest city in west Africa.

Personally, I wouldn't be spending my holiday money to go there, but if I got the chance, I still wouldn't pass it up. It would be an experience if nothing else.

aaaaaaaahhhhhh · 06-05-2014 06:57PM

Phoenix, Arizona - kip of a place

ronjo · 06-05-2014 07:08PM

Maribor, Slovenia.

The most boring place on the planet.

Wacker The Attacker · 06-05-2014 07:10PM

Glasgow is the urban equivalent of a steaming pile of horse shyte

Duck's hoop · 06-05-2014 07:19PM

Olive8585 wrote: »

Perhaps you're just not that observant? That's not meant to be an insult, but as beautiful as the city is, it is rife with petty crime, prostitution, gangs of Roma, illegal immigrants controlled by mafias (the ones who sell DVDs on sheets on the street...) and it really does have quite a sketchy vibe about it. Some people (my sister, for example) really just don't notice that stuff unless it directly affects them.

So it's basically the same as any number of cities the world over. Only way more beautiful, diverse, better craic, with fabulous weather and a great big beach.

Wacker The Attacker · 06-05-2014 07:22PM

Lapin wrote: »

Crystal Palace.

My old man is a west brom fan.

A few years back we had a family wedding in London and WBA were playing in selhurst park a few days before hand.

The jacks was broke and they ran out of beer. The floor were covered in piss by full time

Olive8585 · 06-05-2014 07:34PM

Duck's hoop wrote: »

So it's basically the same as any number of cities the world over. Only way more beautiful, diverse, better craic, with fabulous weather and a great big beach.

I haven't been to many other places where the above mentioned things were that much in your face. Most people I know who have been to Barcelona have been affected by one or more of them. Kind of ruins your holiday when you get violently mugged and end up with a broken cheekbone, can't fly home because your passport was stolen or worse. Yes, nowhere is safe, but I've been to few other first world cities with as sketchy a vibe as Barcelona. I don't think the craic is that great either, it's way overpriced and the locals are stuck up. If I ever somehow ended up there again, I'd be on the first bus down to Valencia.

ArnoldJRimmer · 06-05-2014 07:49PM

Olive8585 wrote: »

I haven't been to many other places where the above mentioned things were that much in your face. Most people I know who have been to Barcelona have been affected by one or more of them. Kind of ruins your holiday when you get violently mugged and end up with a broken cheekbone, can't fly home because your passport was stolen or worse. Yes, nowhere is safe, but I've been to few other first world cities with as sketchy a vibe as Barcelona. I don't think the craic is that great either, it's way overpriced and the locals are stuck up. If I ever somehow ended up there again, I'd be on the first bus down to Valencia.

Couldn't agree more. Apart from being pick-pocketed, which was a serious pain, I did not find the locals very welcoming at all in Barcelona. Valencia is a pleasant little city, and much better value for money too

I am pie · 06-05-2014 07:55PM

Olive8585 wrote: »

I haven't been to many other places where the above mentioned things were that much in your face. Most people I know who have been to Barcelona have been affected by one or more of them. Kind of ruins your holiday when you get violently mugged and end up with a broken cheekbone, can't fly home because your passport was stolen or worse. Yes, nowhere is safe, but I've been to few other first world cities with as sketchy a vibe as Barcelona. I don't think the craic is that great either, it's way overpriced and the locals are stuck up. If I ever somehow ended up there again, I'd be on the first bus down to Valencia.

Been to Barcelona a good few times, and while it wouldn't be my first choice of city to return to I can't say I ever felt like I was in much danger.

I wouldn't wander round many cities carrying my passport with me, you'd have to hope most people have more sense than that?

I think sometimes there is a particular type of Irish abroad that do themselves no favours by drinking their way through a long weekend, staggering around looking for pubs which conform to the drink-focused pubs they get at home, complaining that they are bored when they cant find em.

In most european cities you'll find these particular specimens ignoring museums & not trying the local food and not listening to local music whilst seeking out fried breakfasts and dirty pints of stout you wouldn't touch with a barge pole a home.

Seaneh · 06-05-2014 07:59PM

I am pie wrote: »

Been to Barcelona a good few times, and while it wouldn't be my first choice of city to return to I can't say I ever felt like I was in much danger.

I wouldn't wander round many cities carrying my passport with me, you'd have to hope most people have more sense than that?

I think sometimes there is a particular type of Irish abroad that do themselves no favours by drinking their way through a long weekend, staggering around looking for pubs which conform to the drink-focused pubs they get at home, complaining that they are bored when they cant find em.

In most european cities you'll find these particular specimens ignoring museums & not trying the local food and not listening to local music whilst seeking out fried breakfasts and dirty pints of stout you wouldn't touch with a barge pole a home.

So anyone who doesn't like what you like is probably an uncultured lager lout who's just looking for a pissup in an Irish bar?

That's more than a little self righteous.

Daveysil15 · 06-05-2014 08:02PM

I am pie wrote: »

Been to Barcelona a good few times, and while it wouldn't be my first choice of city to return to I can't say I ever felt like I was in much danger.

Same here, although I've recently been to Malaga and I found it a lot more pleasant in many ways. It's not as in your face as Barcelona and the people seem to be more welcoming too. Plus its a lot cheaper.

Olive8585 · 06-05-2014 08:06PM

I am pie wrote: »

Been to Barcelona a good few times, and while it wouldn't be my first choice of city to return to I can't say I ever felt like I was in much danger.

I wouldn't wander round many cities carrying my passport with me, you'd have to hope most people have more sense than that?

Be thankful you weren't stopped by the police, then, because it's ILLEGAL not to carry your passport in Spain.

I think sometimes there is a particular type of Irish abroad that do themselves no favours by drinking their way through a long weekend, staggering around looking for pubs which conform to the drink-focused pubs they get at home, complaining that they are bored when they cant find em.

In most european cities you'll find these particular specimens ignoring museums & not trying the local food and not listening to local music whilst seeking out fried breakfasts and dirty pints of stout you wouldn't touch with a barge pole a home.

None of the people I know who had bad experiences in Barcelona are anything like that.

I am pie · 06-05-2014 08:07PM

Seaneh wrote: »

So anyone who doesn't like what you like is probably an uncultured lager lout who's just looking for a pissup in an Irish bar?

That's more than a little self righteous.

I didn't say any of that, but nice try putting words in my mouth so you could have a pop. You've knocked together a nice boozy strawman based on nothing I've said, bit precious, but sure that's your own perogative.

The words uncultured never featured in my post, neither did pissup.

If you think it's self righteous to say that perhaps when travelling to other cities around Europe it is worth investing time in enjoying the culinary and cultural offerings native to that place, then I'm lost for words.

I think it's a shame to travel and head to an Irish bar, why not stay at home and enjoy..err, Irish bars. Certainly get drunk whilst visiting somewher, try and do it in a local bar perhaps? Maybe with some local food and wine though? Maybe even with a bit of local music in the back ground. Revolutionary.

Cities you'd never return to

Comments