# What is the worst town/city in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931 "2016-07-14T22:30:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hbk4894](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e68b1a/32.png) [@Hbk4894](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbk4894)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/1 "2016-07-14T22:30:50Z")
Rochdale England ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/2 "2016-07-14T22:57:27Z")
1. Houston, Texas. 2. New Orleans, Louisiana. 3. Las Vegas, Nevada (Many employees working there greedy for tips and rude. [Not all]) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/3 "2016-07-14T23:07:45Z")
None of those places are remotely close. Based on my experience, [Lagos,](https://www.dokfest-muenchen.de/media/images/DOK.blog/LAGOS_5.jpg) [Nigeria.](http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/120403033543-lagos-traffic-jam-2-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg) [Kinshasha,](http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2014/08/25/welcome-to-the-billion-man-slum/jcr:content/image.img.2000.jpg/1408985063457.cached.jpg) Democratic Republic of the Congo, is probably worse. At the moment I think that [Mosul,](http://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/2016/02/15/isis-bank-mosul-iraq.png) Iraq, is not a very jolly place. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/4 "2016-07-14T23:13:06Z")
I hear that [Centralia, Pennsylvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia_mine_fire) is a rather unpleasant place to live these days. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/5 "2016-07-14T23:20:38Z")
Innsmouth, Massachusetts. Derry, Maine. I suspect you’ll get a lot of IMHOs. Which means it’s in the right forum. There’s some cities that I didn’t like and would never live in, but then they float some people’s boats. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/6 "2016-07-14T23:23:11Z")
Raqqa, Syria Fukushima, Japan Chongjin, North Korea Mosul, Iraq ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/7 "2016-07-14T23:40:44Z")
I recall reading that Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea is the murder capital of the world, is this still true? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/8 "2016-07-14T23:47:32Z")
East St. Louis, Illinois ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/9 "2016-07-14T23:57:45Z")
It’s now a former town, but of the places that I’ve visited, it would be hard to beat [Hashima](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashima_Island) or Gunkanjima (“Battleship Island”), near Nagasaki, Japan. The island has been uninhabited for more than 40 years, but at its height it was one of the most densely populated areas in the world – built around an underwater coal mine that closed in 1974. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/10 "2016-07-14T23:57:52Z")
Khartoum Kinshasa ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/11 "2016-07-15T00:17:21Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I recall reading that Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea is the murder capital of the world, is this still true? Caracas, Venezuela at least last year. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/12 "2016-07-15T00:23:57Z")
Mogadishu ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/13 "2016-07-15T00:25:38Z")
I can definitively says it’s a toss-up between Plano, Texas and Poipet, Cambodia. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/14 "2016-07-15T01:52:53Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I recall reading that Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea is the murder capital of the world, is this still true? I’m going there next month. I’ll report back. We’re warned not to leave our hotel without an escort. But I believe Caracas has taken the lead recently, as has been said. I was in Caracas in 2000 but it wasn’t nearly as bad then. [Pripyat,](http://s3.amazonaws.com/ftk-s3/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/21191529/Town-Centre-pripyat.jpg) Ukraine, the nearest town to Chernobyl, is pretty depressing. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/15 "2016-07-15T02:13:08Z")
In order to be realistic and credible, submissions ought to not include cities that are temporarily terrible, on account of events that have nothing to do with the nature of the city or its inhabitants. Such as ongoing wars or natural disasters. Of some of those mentioned, I was in Poipet a couple months ago, there is nothing wrong with the town as such, although it suffers from the ills of being a border town, a category in which it is at least average… I was in Lagos at a time when it was probably worse than it is now, and I liked it more than I I had expected to. It was actually relatively friendly and inviting. Khartoum was quite nice, but has probably declined quite a bit. I’d put Cairo on my list of worst cities, with maybe Dhaka next, and Guatemala City. I’ve never been to Port Moresby, and I’d be reluctant to go there. Next month I have to go to Manila, which I am not looking forward to. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/16 "2016-07-15T03:36:36Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I’d put Cairo on my list of worst cities, with maybe Dhaka next, and Guatemala City. I’ve never been to Port Moresby, and I’d be reluctant to go there. Next month I have to go to Manila, which I am not looking forward to. Guat City is pretty bad, but at least it has a [nice setting.](http://www.visitcapitalcity.com/imagens/city/Guatemala/Vulcanos-Guatemala-City.jpg) Tegucigalpa IMO is worse. I didn’t find the downtown parts of Manila that bad, though getting around is certainly a hassle. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/17 "2016-07-15T03:43:15Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > In order to be realistic and credible, submissions ought to not include cities that are temporarily terrible, on account of events that have nothing to do with the nature of the city or its inhabitants. Such as ongoing wars or natural disasters. > > Of some of those mentioned, I was in Poipet a couple months ago, there is nothing wrong with the town as such, although it suffers from the ills of being a border town, a category in which it is at least average… > > I was in Lagos at a time when it was probably worse than it is now, and I liked it more than I I had expected to. It was actually relatively friendly and inviting. Khartoum was quite nice, but has probably declined quite a bit. > > I’d put Cairo on my list of worst cities, with maybe Dhaka next, and Guatemala City. I’ve never been to Port Moresby, and I’d be reluctant to go there. Next month I have to go to Manila, which I am not looking forward to. Both Cairo and Guatemala City have changed a lot, I guess. I was in GC back in 1976, providing relief after the earthquake, and thought it was pretty decent, despite the damage. Things were cheap, people were friendly, food was good and the women were pretty. I spent about five months in Cairo in 1986, and while there were problems, it wasn’t the worst place I’ve been to. You could still travel without being in fear for your life, but the poverty was appalling, like with most African cities. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/18 "2016-07-15T03:43:17Z")
In the late 1970s, my high school’s show choir went to Caracas. Can’t imagine American kids voluntarily going there now, especially not for something like that. The worst place I’ve personally lived, at the time I lived there, was Sioux City, Iowa in the late 1990s. You would think that a city of 100,000 that has 3 colleges would have SOMETHING to do? Nope. Never visited the Third World, so I have no insight there. I did do rotations in the Four Corners region on a Native American reservation, and I never felt like I was in any kind of danger while I was there, although I was told to stay off the highways late at night. Several years later (mid 1990s), gangs moved into that area and basically took over, and by many accounts are still there. ☹ I was very saddened to find out about that. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/19 "2016-07-15T07:51:27Z")
> [@Hbk4894](#): > > Rochdale England Not even the worst in England. Coventry is so bad that there’s the saying being “Sent to Coventry”. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931/20 "2016-07-15T13:43:03Z")
I’ve been to quite a few African capitals, and I can’t really say there were any that I’d be inclined to put on a list of worst cities in the world. But it was 40 years ago, and things may have changed for the worse in some and not others. A few were quite likable, Dakar was lovely, and I mentioned Lagos and Khartoum above. Bamako and Dar es Salaam and Douala were also nice. In those days, Nairobi had the reputation of being the most dangerous. If I had to choose the place in Africa I disliked the most, I’d probably say Gaborone, where I got bad vibes… Lusaka stood out as being just dull and colorless and boring. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-town-city-in-the-world/759931.md?page=2)