Waiting at the airport the other day I overheard some guy declare loudly that he’d never again set foot in the [great] state of Arizona. I tried to think of any place I felt so strongly about avoiding, but couldn’t come up with much. Oh, there’s a muffler shop in Connecticut that I can’t see myself going back to, but otherwise, the world is still pretty much wide open.
So what door(s) will you never darken again?
It sounds awful, but I hope I never see the San Gabriel valley in southern California again. I was raised there, and it was a hot, smoggy, crappy place. I still have family there, but they’ve given up asking me to visit. I get a headache from the gas fumes whenever I go there, and the neighborhoods have changed so much that I wouldn’t even recognize them. I’m so happy I moved to the bay area of California ten years ago.
Barcelona. Although a beautiful city, with plenty to see, it was too damn seedy and crime-ridden for my liking.
My mom has sworn never to set foot in California ever again (and has kept that promise). Her last 3 trips there were in 1989 to San Francisco, 1992 to LA and Big Bear and 1994 to LA…all of which coincided with major earthquakes. She figures the residents of California will be eternally grateful if she stays away.
The entire state of South Carolina.
It’s a colossal idiot farm; South Carolina is one long, tedious, unfunny Jeff Foxworthy gag that serves as a breeding ground for every available redneck, white trash, swamp dwelling, cousin-fucking, racist, uneducated, toothless stereotype, and even invents several new ones.
I lived there for about 5 years; and that was 4 years, 11 months and 20-odd days too long.
Car Toys. The store. Bastards…
I’d like to say New Jersey. But my company’s corporate HQ is there (the reason I went twice before), and I can’t guarantee they’ll never insist on me coming back.
I can always quit, I guess … 
Eureka, California
Salinas, California (both hold bad memories for me)
The Fry’s at Grant and Alvernon (even though it’s the closest grocery store to my house, those no-customer-service-having scumbag bastards)
Seriously, who knows what the staff is actually doing there anyway?
My old high school. I graduated from there in 2005 and I haven’t stepped foot inside since. Fuck that place.
Dog shit.
Ah hell. Who am I kidding?
My temper is short and my list is long!
I’m workin’ on it, though. I actually went to one of “those places” just last week, but sure didn’t buy anything.
My wife is showing me that life is too important to hold on to negitive shit. But its a struggle…
[ul]
[li]Springfield, Missouri. I went to college there and I have nothing but nightmarish memories. I will do all I can to avoid reading the words Springfield, Missouri in order.[/li][li]Whole Foods. Easily accomplished.[/li][li]Philadelphia International Airport. I won’t transfer through there or fly into there. If I’m going to my Philly-area relatives’ houses, I’ll drive. Never, ever again will I set foot in PHL.[/li][li]Any Assembly of God church. Not for a wedding, not for a funeral. My friends and loved ones who are still A/G will have to just deal, I’m afraid.[/li][li]My old high school. But this one is easy, they tore it down and built ugly apartments on the site.[/li][/ul]
The entire state of Georgia hasn’t been kind to me. I wouldn’t actively avoid it, but I wouldn’t make a destination of it.
blinkblink
They sell groceries at Fry’s? I know they have a large selection of snacks and whatnot near the checkout - but groceries? Nifty!
I love Fry’s - good prices, and awesome themes to their stores. The one near us (Burbank) is Invasion From Mars theme, and I’ve also been to the Alice In Wonderland and Nerdstroms themed ones. (I forget where those were - maybe Nerdstroms was San Jose?)
Only problem is the lack of customer service…
In Arizona there is a chain of grocery stores called “Fry’s Food and Drug Stores” that is completely unaffiliated with the Electronics store you’re thinking of (though did come from the same family originally).
Germany or Switzerland to work.
Any country where I can’t work while charging from Spain.
Cash Converters, a chain of pawn shops. I’ve only ever gone into one of their stores once, and the guy at the counter acted in such a stereotypically “Let’s rip off the mark” manner that it’s a wonder that they actually convince anyone to sell them anything.
Oklahoma.
I spent some time there in the army. I remember one day it snowed, then hit over 100 degrees, then rained like the Second Coming. All in one day. I had to go to traffic court on my last day stationed there to fight a speed trap ticket. (I won) I specifically remember driving away from the courthouse and turning my rear-view mirror away. The joke was the best way to see Oklahoma was in the rear-view mirror, but I was more a believer of “don’t look back”, and didn’t use my mirror again until I crossed the Texas border.
Add to this McClellan AFB in Sacramento, CA. More training, but I never want to go back there again. (It has since been closed.)
Then there’s the bar I used to work / party at. Met a lot of good people there. Lots of good times. We rocked that place for about 7 years. Then the owner sold it and it went totally downhill. A friend of mine told me he went back there about 3 months ago and it was on the verge of bankruptcy. ::sigh:: It’s like the day the music died. Another friend of mine paraphrased the original statement by saying “that place is dead to me.”
Wow. That’s harsh.
Price, Utah. Was arrested there once, almost got attacked by hooligans while minding my own business buying gas, my brakes went out completely. These were all separate instances.
Man, fuck that place.