Which city in your country would you never visit?

[Katzpur]

I thought "cheap ho" summed it up pretty well.

Yeah, those work.

 

[Scuba Pete]

New York: Dark, dirty and dangerous.

Los Angelous: Dirty and dangerous.

Salt Lake City: Dirty and weird.

Miami: Little New York.

Philadelphia: My cousin was raped and killed here.

 

[Katzpur]

New York: Dark, dirty and dangerous.

New York is my favorite city in the U.S. I positively LOVE it.

Salt Lake City: Dirty and weird.

Was this intended to be serious, Pete? You probably won't find a cleaner city in America than Salt Lake City. During the winter months, we have some problems with smog, but as for litter or anything of that sort, it is virtually non-existent.

Would you mind explaining what you mean by "weird"? In what way do you mean?

I was involved in Utah tourism for a period of about 11 years. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I heard tourists say, "This place is incredible. It's absolutely beautiful. I had no idea what to expect before I came here, but I sure didn't expect this!"

 

[Katzpur]

A few more. Sorry for the overkill. I'm just really surprised at your perception of Salt Lake City. I remember being on business in L.A. once, and meeting a guy at a conference I was attending. He asked where I was from and I said, "Salt Lake City." "Oh," he said, "the armpit of the earth." Without even thinking, I said, "So you've never been to Salt Lake, huh?" He looked kind of surprised. "Uh... no," he said. "How'd you know?" I answered him by saying, "Easy. Nobody who has ever been to Salt Lake would describe it like you just did." And that's the truth.

 

[Tigress]

Windsor, Ontario.

Seriously folks, don't come here.

It's boring, polluted, increasingly more violent, and the hotspot for Canada-USA trade, which means bad roads and big rigs everywhere you turn. ...Oh yeah...and you get a nice view of...Detroit...

 

[Scuba Pete]

New York is my favorite city in the U.S. I positively LOVE it.

I have never been there and it frightens the crap out of me!

Was this intended to be serious, Pete? You probably won't find a cleaner city in America than Salt Lake City.

Dear Kat,

SLC was the only city I listed that I have been to. It was 1970 and we drove there from Pocatello Idaho. I was wearing a light colored shirt and pants. It was summer and as I got out of the car you could see where the fabric had been folded over. Yeeeeeeeeeech! Then we went to buy some fruit. We were asked what church we went to and we told the clerk. She didn't think she was allowed to sell to any Unitarians.

Fast forward to Christmas 1977 and we flew into SLC on our way to Pocatello (my aunt lived there). It was also incredibly dirty (don't lean against the wall!). On the way through the airport we were accosted by a dozen or more Hare Krshnas wanting "donations". They were pretty beligerent when I didn't give. The return trip found me avoiding the HKs at almost all costs. One followed me into the bathroom demanding why I wouldn't talk with him. I was totally weirded out on SLC.

 

[Katzpur]

I have never been there and it frightens the crap out of me!

Dear Kat,

SLC was the only city I listed that I have been to. It was 1970 and we drove there from Pocatello Idaho. I was wearing a light colored shirt and pants. It was summer and as I got out of the car you could see where the fabric had been folded over. Yeeeeeeeeeech! Then we went to buy some fruit. We were asked what church we went to and we told the clerk. She didn't think she was allowed to sell to any Unitarians.

LOL! Well, all I can say is that I don't think your experience was typical. But it gave me a good laugh anyway.

Fast forward to Christmas 1977 and we flew into SLC on our way to Pocatello (my aunt lived there). It was also incredibly dirty (don't lean against the wall!). On the way through the airport we were accosted by a dozen or more Hare Krshnas wanting "donations". They were pretty beligerent when I didn't give. The return trip found me avoiding the HKs at almost all costs. One followed me into the bathroom demanding why I wouldn't talk with him. I was totally weirded out on SLC.

At least it wasn't the Mormons! At any rate, that experience could have happened at any airport in any city. Come back some time, and I'll make sure you have a better experience.

 

[Booko]

Windsor, Ontario.

Seriously folks, don't come here.

It's boring, polluted, increasingly more violent, and the hotspot for Canada-USA trade, which means bad roads and big rigs everywhere you turn. ...Oh yeah...and you get a nice view of...Detroit...

With the Ren Cen, which for a while at least looked like Detroit was flipping the bird at Canada.

I used to go over to University Mall all the time for groceries, because you couldn't get Peak Freen's Digestive Biscuits here. :drool:

Customs would ask me why I was coming over and I'd say "shopping." And they'd ask me how long I intended to stay and I'd say, "Oh, about 20 minutes if the line isn't too long." They got to know me after a couple of years of that. Of course, driving a TR4 made me a little noticable too.

 

[Booko]

I have never been there and it frightens the crap out of me!

That would explain why you don't like NYC.

It's a great town with so much to do.

Don't pay attention to what Hollywood makes of it. You know that has to be nonsense.

Although I will say, the city definitely improved under Mayor Giuliani. He deserves credit for that.

Fast forward to Christmas 1977 and we flew into SLC on our way to Pocatello (my aunt lived there). It was also incredibly dirty (don't lean against the wall!). On the way through the airport we were accosted by a dozen or more Hare Krshnas wanting "donations". They were pretty beligerent when I didn't give.

That has nothing to do with SLC, NetDoc. My brother had the same thing happen to him in LAX, hm...pretty much the same year. He came home from Lompoc for a visit and presented me with a "free" copy of the Bhagavad-Gita.

My brother is really very easy going, but no one should assume that means he's easily intimidated.

The return trip found me avoiding the HKs at almost all costs. One followed me into the bathroom demanding why I wouldn't talk with him. I was totally weirded out on SLC.

If the Mormon missionaries had followed you into the john, then you'd have a complaint. :sarcastic

Detroit airport never had a problem like that with Hare Krishnas. Hm...I wonder why....

dum de dum de dum..... *whistles*

Speaking of which, Detroit is another city that gets a bad rap...always from people who've never actually been there.

 

[jonny]

Salt Lake City: Dirty and weird.

Dirty only when the inversion hits. They've cleaned the place up quite a bit thanks to the Olympics. The only city that I've been in that is cleaner is Portland, OR.

Weird. Yes.

As for cities I don't want to visit, pretty much everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains except for maybe D.C., Florida, and New York. Boston could be cool also. I just don't see anything interesting on the "East Side" of the country.

 

[PureX]

Windsor, Ontario.

Seriously folks, don't come here.

It's boring, polluted, increasingly more violent, and the hotspot for Canada-USA trade, which means bad roads and big rigs everywhere you turn. ...Oh yeah...and you get a nice view of...Detroit...

A lot of Canadian towns suck. Thunder Bay, Ontario has such a poetic name, but when you go there it's just an awful place. It's a dirty, ugly, factory town. Even Toronto is visually boring. I only saw Montreal from the water, but it looked pretty boring too, like Toronto, but bigger. And I saw Quebec City from the water, too, but it looked beautiful. It was a friday night and the river was full of diner boats and the bridge had lots of cars going back and forth and the whole place was buzzing with lights and people.

I also sailed up the Detroit River in the evening and I have to say that from the river, at least, Detroit is beautiful. It's lots prettier than Windsor, on the Canadian side of the river. Canada needs some serious architects, and some city planners, really bad.

On the other hand, I've been to Detroit several times, not on the river, and didn't see much to recommend it.

 

[Valjean]

Two words: concealed handgun.

(12 gauge with scope, laser site, and flashlight)

What conceivable function could a scope have on a sawed-off, stockless shotgun?

 

[Tigress]

A lot of Canadian towns suck. Thunder Bay, Ontario has such a poetic name, but when you go there it's just an awful place. It's a dirty, ugly, factory town. Even Toronto is visually boring. I only saw Montreal from the water, but it looked pretty boring too, like Toronto, but bigger. And I saw Quebec City from the water, too, but it looked beautiful. It was a friday night and the river was full of diner boats and the bridge had lots of cars going back and forth and the whole place was buzzing with lights and people.

I also sailed up the Detroit River in the evening and I have to say that from the river, at least, Detroit is beautiful. It's lots prettier than Windsor, on the Canadian side of the river. Canada needs some serious architects, and some city planners, really bad.

On the other hand, I've been to Detroit several times, not on the river, and didn't see much to recommend it.

Well, I wouldn't go that far. lol Southern Ontario is Canada's auto capital, and busiest border, as I mentioned, so that's one reason it looks dingy--too many factories and whatnot. But the Cleary International Centre can be seen from the Detroit river, and it's quite beautiful.

 

[Yugo]

I never really answered this question seriously!

In the Former Yugoslavia I would never visit, or feel uncomfortable visiting the following areas:

Croatia - Knin, Vukovar, Dubrovnik, Karlovac etc. Cities that were hard hit during the war, I would think they are not every welcoming to Serbs today.

Even if I have been to Croatia countless times (mainly in Istra, Zagreb area, and Slavonia), I still do not feel even 50% comfortable visiting the country as a whole.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Only Zenica and her surroundings, for the same reasons as in Croatia

I felt completely normal visiting Mostar, Tesanj, Jelah, Travnik and other predominantly Muslim and Catholic towns - don't know why they have such bad reputation for Serbs..

Serbia - The entire province of Kosovo for obvious reasons..

I am pretty comfortable with visiting Sandzak one day..

Slovenia, Montenegro and Macedonia - No problems there, I especially love the Slovenians!

 

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

East St. Louis, easily the scariest place I have ever been. Tho I hear Detroit is pretty rough, tho I haven't personally visited, and Camden, New Jersey is supposed to be about the worst place in America. I live in a suburb of Dallas, and I can say the South part of Dallas and the South part of Ft. Worth are pretty tough places to find yourself, but nothing like East St. Louis. (shivers at the memory)

B.

 

[robtex]

Vider, Tx! *shudder* Small town, but the most racist town there is in my opinion. Huge portion of it is kkk.

I will admit that when I first moved up to Omaha (Houston, Texas girl), we were driving from the airport and I kept seeing one church after another. The moment I saw a Bible outlet center I was ready to run for the hills! This place is not worth even visiting and yet I'm stuck living here for another year.

How funny I didnt' realize you from Houston. I am from Katy. Actually the KKK is strong in that entire region of Tx including Vider. Oddly though the hispanic population is huge in that town. I know about a 1/2 dozen austin residents from Vider and gang violence is really high in that town. That isn't typical for small Tx town.

I went to Van Horn once with my brother, which is about 2 hours east of El Paso and the locals and double digit iq deputies followed us as we drove through the town. We parked once to take a restroom break and two cars pulled up facing us with men in their 30's talking and pointing at our car. A deputy drove past us and did a u-turn to follow us but never pulled us over.

In Orange Texas the KKK kicked out a black kid that went to my high school and his friend. One of the locals (who was likely also kkk) came up and told them to leave before things got ugly. Unfortunatly in small hick towns like that the KKK is also the judges and the police.

Alot of the boarder towns are really friendly to whites. No danger of violence but just sorta distant from anyone who isn't of mexican descent. The panhandle of Texas is one giant church with heavy influence from Calvinism. That and it is flat and empty.

Waco, which I do visit from time to time has hundreds of churches very few bars, no adult places and only a couple of dance places which are low key. It is a beautiful part of texas but the people are just so snooty and eliteist. Bunch of bible thumpers who feel you are either one of them or you are not. Can't stand interacting with the people that live there. It has a slum that is huge for the size of a small town and nobody outside of the inhabitants of that slum go there. It just has this unwelcoming atmosphere to it unless you feel puritanism is coming back in style. Ironically the architecture of the downtown and the surround drive is beautiful.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

East St. Louis, easily the scariest place I have ever been. Tho I hear Detroit is pretty rough, tho I haven't personally visited, and Camden, New Jersey is supposed to be about the worst place in America. I live in a suburb of Dallas, and I can say the South part of Dallas and the South part of Ft. Worth are pretty tough places to find yourself, but nothing like East St. Louis. (shivers at the memory)

B.

We live in west Belleville, IL which is around 4-5 miles away from East St. Louis. I've also driven through the city several times in the last year to get to the I-64 exchange more quickly, so I guess I got some street cred.



I understand your sentiments because ESL is an extremely depressed area. Everywhere you look, there are houses and establishments that are falling apart, rotting, and look like they should have condemned the entire area 30 years ago. Many houses have bars on the windows and doors, too, for protection.


ESL is so notorious that it's been mentioned in a Simpsons episode where Springfield is listed as #299 of "America's 300 Most Beloved Cities"...........and ESL held the #300 spot.



It's been very sad watching demise after demise hit the city in the form of corrupt elected officials and gang warfare. Why it's sad is because the town has such a rich history during the industrial boom. The downfall began after the railroad strike around 1900 and the race riots of 1917 (which, by the way, Josephine Baker witnessed and was able to survive). Since Katherine Dunham (R.I.P. :flower: ) was from the city, and has huge ties to the area, SIU-Edwardsville has a branch located there. I've driven there to take classes with her dance troupe, and it was more than shocking to walk to my car in the light of day while seeing a young boy who looked around 10 walking around with a baseball bat slamming away on stop signs.



The advice has always been: 1) Lock your doors, 2) Mind your own business, 3) Don't draw attention to yourself, and 4) Be efficient........get in and get out.



They're trying, though. They've had a riverboat called Casino Queen that has brought actual revenue into the city for the last dozen years or so, which is a first. Jackie-Joyner Kersee has also frequently come back to help fund city centers building and/or rehabilitation projects.



Compton, LA and areas of the Bronx in NY get more press because of their locality, but recently my beloved hometown of St. Louis, MO was recognized as "The Most Dangerous City in America." Of course, this was only within city limits. South City is where the ghetto really lies in St. Louis.



And that area isn't nearly as bad as East St. Louis. So, I was curious MdmSzdWhtGuy..........you know........about your experience. Think Ice Cube would be impressed?



Peace,
Mystic

 

[robtex]

Tho I hear Detroit is pretty rough, tho I haven't personally visited,

B.

I love detroit!! Been there a few times. But it is high on the violent crime list, makes the top ten murder capitals of the US annually (but than so does Houston and Dallas) and the people are not friendly in the soutern style we are accustomed to. Detroit is alot like Houston in terms of cultural diversity but if they see you are an outsider they tend to be indifferent to your existance. I could never make a convesation with anyone in that city in the 5 or so times that I visited. Martial art schools out the wazo in that city which is interesting since that part of the country isn't big on marital arts like say Cali or Texas is.

 

[Moni_Gail]

Robtex, have you ever been to Friendswood? Now that's a snobby elitist town! My husband and I both grew up there.

 

[Ozzie]

There are several cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina that I would never visit for a variety of reasons.

I would literally fear for my life in Lukavica (Orthodox Christian), Pale (Orthodox Christian), and Siroki Brijeg (Roman Catholic).

I would be unwilling to visit and support, in any way, that city's local economy in Prijedor (Orthodox Christian, Muslim suburbs), Bijeljina (Orthodox Christian), and West Mostar (Roman Catholic).

I would feel uncomfortable, meaning I would expect to be physically intimidated for whatever reason, in Zenica (Muslim), Buzim (Muslim), Velika Kladusa (Muslim), and some parts of Bihac (Muslim).

And in your country?

None. There are aboriginals that will not set foot in a town where a massacre occurred in the past (my mother lives in one). I have to say these are strange places.