A dozen years ago Juarez was about the most depressing place I ever visited and by all accounts those times are now referred to as back in the good old days.
How about Tijuana? By accounts it is very loathsome, especially at present.
Forgot that the question was posed for the Universe, not the US. I think we have a winner. Even if you’re living in an open sewer in Calcutta, you’re still better off than being caught in the crossfire of a bunch of cokeheads with military-grade hardware.
So is Bithlo.
Tijuana is the worst city I’ve personally experienced.
Of the cities mentioned so far, I’d have to say that while they have their problems, I reject the suggestion that either Baltimore or Calcutta is loathsome. In fact, I willingly visit both of them repeatedly and always enjoy myself.
Baltimore has some nice urban neighborhoods, some really good restaurants, and a pretty good local art scene.
Calcutta, on the other hand, is the cultural capital of the world. And I exaggerate only slightly.
Lankhmar.
The Street of the Gods is always entertaining, though.
1 vote for Wasilla, Alaska.
Another vote for Duluth, MN. I drove through it, but was too scared to stop. It looked like some Transformers had a war there.
Duluth, MN actually came to my mind. I have lived there, and if you live there through the whole 10 months of winter, it is pretty loathsome. But if you visit for the one or two nice days a year, and see the beauty that is Lake Superior, it’s a perfectly cromulent city. I think there are probably cities as bad as Duluth, but inland, and I’d let them have the title.
Thanks for reminding me of them! Them and WICB in Ithaca probably are the two stations i’ve listened the most to in my life.
It’s interesting how many Americans think the universe consists solely of the USA.
Probably City de Soleil near Port au Prince in Haiti might be a more perfect example of an ongoing hell on Earth, but occasionally other towns and cities in the local universe (ie. planet Earth) do their level best to become Hells on Earth for at least a few days, usually against specially selectedvictims, such as Masrah Matrouh in sunny old Egypt where, according to this Assyrian International News Agency report.
The events included lots of fun, games and frolics by Egyptian government security forces, so it wasn’t hell for everyone involved:
On balance, on an ongoing basis, City de Soleil would perhaps be a clear winner against most comers. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were many other places on Earth that equal it in hellishness.
I’m sure there are worse places but the worst I’ve personally seen was Independence Missouri.
I agree that the winner is probably to be found outside of the US.
Of all the places I have actually visited, Canberra is probably in with a shout. Perhaps not the most loathsome city in absolute terms, but it’s the sort of place that takes bland, non-entity-ness to a prize-winning level. It is more or less true to say that it only exists as a bloated compromise because two great cities couldn’t decide which should be the capital, and that its only purpose is to provide a home for politicians, administrators and paper-pushers… in other words, all the besuited tax leeches and dregs of society that make modern life so much less pleasant than it could be.
I’m surprised that Napoli has even been mentioned. It has its share of ‘city problems’, sure, but I stayed there and had a great time. Besides street after street of some of the most magnificent architecture you will ever see, it’s also where you go for visits to Pompeii, Herculaneum and the jaw-droppingly gorgeous island of Capri.
East St. Louis brings up fond memories. It wasn’t too long ago that I read that the city council in ESL passed an ordinance that allowed a driver, in coming up to a red light at night, to stop momentarily and then proceed thru the red without waiting for it to turn. Trying to keep down car-jackings.
Then they can’t win - slag off their own cities and they’re inward looking, slag off other countries’ cities and they’re arrogant and superior.
I don’t know…my Mom is a nurse. She told me about the time she had to venture into Camden for a patient. She ended up getting flagged down by police and escorted in and out. This was in the middle of a weekday.
She was also a public health nurse in East St. Louis for a while. Interesting stories, if you like hearing about roaches.
Oh, I’d throw Centralia, IL on the list too. It’s not nearly as bad as East St. Louis or Camden, but then, half of it recently caught fire after a meth lab accident (to hear family members tell it, probably an exaggeration) and by all accounts, the city is probably better off as a result.
Actually, I forgot Colon, in Panama. It beats even Cairo.
True. And I’ve been told by friends who’ve been to Regina the same thing.
I really disliked Winnipeg, but Regina was much, much worse.
For me it comes down to Little Rock, which was awful, and Regina, which was appalling. I’d have to say Regina was worse. Little Rock, while pretty terrible, at least had excellent barbeque. Regina had nothing.
I suppose I have been in worse places, but they were all very small, like Herkimer or Kingsport or what have you. Regina is a city of reasonable size and has no excuse.