# World's Ugliest Town **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 1, 1999, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967 "1999-05-01T22:04:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 1999, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/21 "1999-05-05T05:41:00Z")
Good thread. In california, most of the towns in the central valley are shit holes. One place you wouldnt want to live is: Tracy, Los Banos (we jokingly refer to it as “the Bathrooms” because its close to Los Baños. I Many of the small farming communities in Salinas Valley are ugly…no wait…fugly. Like Chualar. Salinas itself has some ugly places, like the crime ridden industrial area of East Salinas. Except, the city is spreading at the edges and has some nice new subdivisions. Some of the ugliest communities are also in Nevada. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 1999, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/22 "1999-05-05T05:45:00Z")
Horror! let me rephrase a few things! : A couple of places you wouldnt want to live :are: Tracy (Big state Jail there, i hear the prisoners radio requests on one of the radio shows i listen to), Los Banos (we jokingly refer to :it as “the Bathrooms” because its close to :“Los Baños”). I Many of the small farming :communities in Salinas Valley are ugly…no :wait…fugly. Like Chualar. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 1999, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/23 "1999-05-05T05:46:00Z")
Horror! let me rephrase a few things! : A couple of places you wouldnt want to live :are: Tracy (Big state Jail there, i hear the prisoners radio requests on one of the radio shows i listen to), Los Banos (we jokingly refer to :it as “the Bathrooms” because its close to :“Los Baños”). Many of the small farming :communities in Salinas Valley are ugly…no :wait…fugly. Like Chualar. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 1999, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/24 "1999-05-05T12:49:00Z")
Bill, What’s wrong with B’ham, AL? The weather’s always nice, it’s clean, the people are friendly, and there are plenty of things to do. If it’s not a big enough city for you Atlanta is just two hours away. I would advise that you stay away from Legion Field and the fairground at night though. * * * “Southerners can never resist a losing cause.” Margaret Mitchell ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 1999, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/25 "1999-05-05T15:19:00Z")
1. East St. Louis, Illinois–they didn’t have trash pickup from 1981 to 1992, led nation in per capita murders for six straight years 2. Gary, Indiana–Indiana is the 14th most polluting state in the nation and 80% of Indiana’s pollution comes from Gary. 3. Detroit, Michigan—Drive down Jefferson from Grosse Pointe to downtown and you will see 50 year old mansions being used as crack/whore houses right next to a strip mall with a neon Blockbuster video sign, gotta love urban planning * * * ‘Shut your pie hole’-Jbird ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 1999, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/26 "1999-05-05T15:42:00Z")
I’ve been to Birmingham and it seemed like a dirty factory town. It is hot and humid, and an unofficial capitol for the “Bubba’ good ol ’ boys of the south”. Nearby Montgomery seemed a lot nicer. New Orleans has one of the highest crime/murder rates in the nation. “Except for the killings, Washington D.C. has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.” ex-Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 1999, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/27 "1999-05-05T22:57:00Z")
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Odessa, Texas yet. The area is flat as a pancake and get this…there are NO TREES in sight…NONE. In the downtown area, most of the buildings are boarded up or for sale and the chief industry seems to be pawn shops. Plus at night, the oil refineries step up production and the air stinks of chlorine. * * * Tim “My hovercraft is full of eels.” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 1999, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/28 "1999-05-06T12:58:00Z")
Odessa sounds awful. Maybe worse than Odessa, Ukraine. I forgot to mention the earthquake threat in Alaska cities and central California valley cities. Imagine an earthquake during an Alaska winter? If you survive that, then you have to avoid getting mauled by a grizzly bear. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 1999, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/29 "1999-05-06T15:47:00Z")
Ugliest town? If any of you Dopers (Straight Dopers? Dopists? Dope-o-philes?) have ever visited Death Valley, you’ve either driven through, or been relatively close to the ugliest town in America. Trona, California Those who’ve been there, know that you can quite literally SMELL this town miles before you actually see it. The big industry for decades was chemical production, and the plant stinks up the entire valley. No grass grows there, that I could see. This may or may not have anything to do with the chemical stench permeating every pore of every living thing in that godforsaken town. The amenities consist of mostly a gas station and a general store/video store, and it apparently used to be a thriving company town, but now it’s a run down, dismal, stinky brown town. I’ve never seen any town that even comes close to being uglier. As a comparison, I’ve been through the slums of Oakland, New York, and Chicago - way prettier than Trona. Those of you who haven’t been there - be satisfied that you’re not missing anything at all. Joe G. Tehachapi, CA * * * \ ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 1999, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/30 "1999-05-06T16:45:00Z")
Ok. 1. Anecdotal report: Victor, California (from my mom, who had occasion to drive through it once.) 2. The bus ride from Orly Airport to Villejuif metro, on the outskirts of Paris. It seems disgraceful that such an armpit could exist near the City of Lights. 3. Westmount, Quebec. Oh, it’s attractive, rich, the houses are nice, there are trees. But gawd, such a cultural wasteland… in 1998, during times of horror, crisis and world change, it seemed as though nobody in the whole damned city could talk about anything other than parking aprons, whatever those are. Everybody owns one of those annoying rat-dogs, and the population runs to snotty kids in private-school uniforms, obnoxious angry-anglo yuppies, and patrician blue-haired ladies. I can’t wait to get out of here. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 1999, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/31 "1999-05-07T05:06:00Z")
Catania, Italy! It is just plain physically ugly. The most disgusting Greyhound bus station in America has more aminities than the Catania airport. They say the Mafia owns this city. I can only guess that the Italian Government doesn’t want it! It’s no wonder that Sicilian imigrants found the slums of NYC to be an improvement. It’s especially a shame because just up the coast, on the other side of Mt. Etna are some of the most beautiful towns in the Mediterainian. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 1999, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/32 "1999-05-06T19:04:00Z")
**Sammy44** Aw, the last time an intellectual visited Alanta, he had it burned to the ground. But the biggest problem with the South is that it’s filled with Southerners. But on another note, I’m not so sure it’s fair picking on a small town which only reason to exist is to supply labor to the poison gas mill. The world is littered with places like Largo, Illinois and Flint Michigan. Depressing, angry places best avoided. I’m talking about places that you can actually find on a map that should, perhaps with nuclear force, be removed from the map. And then there are those “other time” places, like most of Florida in the top of the summer when all the tourist are from Georgia. Or Red Lodge, Montana, a pretty little ski town except I was there in August with no snow and the only people in town were old tired hookers and bone thin drunks. Kinda spooky. And the strange land of Murdo, South Dakota during the biker summer months and all those Grannies with wrinkled tattoos and their saging breasts in leather halters. Really spooky. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 1999, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/33 "1999-05-08T19:32:00Z")
As a true desciple of that greatest of musical groups, I have to remind you all of the line from the EAGLES “Take It Easy” “…Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see…” That’s the place folks!!! It makes the slums of Marsailles, France look like the height of civilization. The Eagles always were ones for astute observation and tounge-in-cheek humor … never so keenly as here. Check it out if you have the courage and enough Prozac! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 1999, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/34 "1999-05-09T20:01:00Z")
This is a little off-topic, but I don’t know of anywhere else to post it. I’m talking about the eeriest town that was ever belched up from the bowels of hell, Todd, NC. It’s nestled somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mnts near Boone. A half hour from the nearest paved road, I visited this town just before dusk one fateful evening when I was driving aimlessly checking out the scenery. After driving through evil-looking forests and over mountain streams, I suddenly came to a deserted general store that looked at least 100 years old. There were old houses, a post office, and an ancient looking church in the center of town. There were a few streetlights around, and probably a hundred cars parked here and there, but not a soul to be seen. The parking lot of the church was filled with cars, but inside it was nothing but darkness. I walked into the deserted post office and saw a bundle of newspapers laying in a rack. The dates on the papers were from six months before. I kinda felt like I was inside a Stephen King novel. Since the sun was rapidly decsending below the trees, I got the hell out of there. The devil has a name and that name is Todd. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 1999, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/35 "1999-05-09T20:01:00Z")
This is a little off-topic, but I don’t know of anywhere else to post it. I’m talking about the eeriest town that was ever belched up from the bowels of hell, Todd, NC. It’s nestled somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mnts near Boone. A half hour from the nearest paved road, I visited this town just before dusk one fateful evening when I was driving aimlessly checking out the scenery. After driving through evil-looking forests and over mountain streams, I suddenly came to a deserted general store that looked at least 100 years old. There were old houses, a post office, and an ancient looking church in the center of town. There were a few streetlights around, and probably a hundred cars parked here and there, but not a soul to be seen. The parking lot of the church was filled with cars, but inside it was nothing but darkness. I walked into the deserted post office and saw a bundle of newspapers laying in a rack. The dates on the papers were from six months before. I kinda felt like I was inside a Stephen King novel. Since the sun was rapidly decsending below the trees, I got the hell out of there. The devil has a name and that name is Todd. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 1999, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/36 "1999-05-10T23:09:00Z")
Ever see the movie Independence Day? Remember the scene where a jillion and one mobile homes and RV’s and junkers are crusing thru the desert to the last surviving air base at Area 51 or what ever the super secret site in Nevada is? * * * Actually that scene was shot in the salt flats of Utah just east of the nevada border. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 1999, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/37 "1999-05-11T02:32:00Z")
[[I’ve been to Birmingham and it seemed like a dirty factory town. It is hot and humid, and an unofficial capitol for the “Bubba’ good ol ’ boys of the south”.]]Fearless Leader Look over there, dry ice factory … [[Nearby Montgomery seemed a lot nicer.]] That’s because of the Angel … ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 1999, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/38 "1999-05-12T03:57:00Z")
I forgot to mention: 1. Gatlinburg, Tennessee (at least I think it’s in Tennessee. It might be in North Carolina. Who cares. It’s tourist trap hell) 2. Beaumont, Texas. Ever hear the old Aggie joke? This Aggie has his girlfriend up in his apartment and things are getting real hot and heavy and she says, “Oh, baby, do it to me down there where it’s hot and nasty and dirty and smelly.” So he drove her to Beaumont and checked into a motel. 1. Orlando. Who would want to live in Orlando who didn’t have to? 2. Great Bend, Kansas. If a tornado hit it, no one would care. (Except for the poor souls who live there). 3. Berkeley, California. Maybe I’m showing my conservative bias here… ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 1999, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/39 "1999-05-17T22:47:00Z")
1. Houston, Texas. That has got to be the most unpleasant major metropolitan area in the whole USA. I will personally kiss the ass of anyone who can say one positive thing about Houston without my successful contradiction. Being from Houston, I would disagree. Unlike Pensacola, Fla. It is a thriving city with a revitalized downtown area with lots of stuff to do. But I respect your opinion, unless you are from Dallas. If so you are just getting caught up in the “which city is better” argument. They both are more like each other than not. THe best thing about Houston is the people. Easygoing, friendly, fun, and not as caught up in the social status game as most other big cities. Its cheaper to live there than Los Angeles, NYC, or Atlanta. The nightlife is good, and there are lots of skaters who like to skate to numerous bars and icehouses. Also, when you are in tall buildings, you see mostly trees. Never mind that they are probably not native to the region. MY CHOICE FOR WORST CITY: And maybe this is what you really saw-PASADENA, TX. (a suburb SE of Houston) All of you will love driving down 225 and seeing all the oil refineries and storage wells for miles and miles, and oh that fragrant smell. My dad worked at the Shell plant (okay that’s Deer Park, another smelly Houston suburb). Remember Urban Cowbow? Think Pasadena, this is not Houston. I believe the air has a corrosive efect on everything because the houses, although quaint, seem to have chipped and faded paint on them. Same with the cars plus rust. Me, I live in Southwest Houston, which is prettier and has cooler nightlife (my opinion) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 1999, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967/40 "1999-05-17T22:53:00Z")
1. Houston, Texas. That has got to be the most unpleasant major metropolitan area in the whole USA. I will personally kiss the ass of anyone who can say one positive thing about Houston without my successful contradiction. Being from Houston, I would disagree. Unlike Pensacola, Fla. It is a thriving city with a revitalized downtown area with lots of stuff to do. But I respect your opinion, unless you are from Dallas. If so you are just getting caught up in the “which city is better” argument. They both are more like each other than not. THe best thing about Houston is the people. Easygoing, friendly, fun, and not as caught up in the social status game as most other big cities. Its cheaper to live there than Los Angeles, NYC, or Atlanta. The nightlife is good, and there are lots of skaters who like to skate to numerous bars and icehouses. Also, when you are in tall buildings, you see mostly trees. Never mind that they are probably not native to the region. MY CHOICE FOR WORST CITY: And maybe this is what you really saw-PASADENA, TX. (a suburb SE of Houston) All of you will love driving down 225 and seeing all the oil refineries and storage wells for miles and miles, and oh that fragrant smell. My dad worked at the Shell plant (okay that’s Deer Park, another smelly Houston suburb). Remember Urban Cowbow? Think Pasadena, this is not Houston. I believe the air has a corrosive efect on everything because the houses, although quaint, seem to have chipped and faded paint on them. Same with the cars plus rust. Me, I live in Southwest Houston, which is prettier and has cooler nightlife (my opinion) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-town/967.md?page=3)