Wednesday Worsts.....State/Country

CDGator

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What state or country have you visited that you would consider the worst?
It can be for personal reasons such as a bad experience.
(Don't include the current political and covid policies as a reason)
 
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Back Alley Gator

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San Fran/California. I was sent out there for my job in the late 90s. It was god awful even back then. Downtown stank of bum piss and fish. You couldn't go a block without getting panhandled (a personal peeve of mine). Everything cost twice or three times as much as it should. And the people were so damn arrogant about it all.

The best part about that entire wasteland of a state was the airport because it got me the hell out. Manhattan was a close second with Chicago and Philly being 3rd and 4th.
 

Nalt

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I'd have to say Arkansas because of I40 from Memphis to Little Rock has to be the worst paved road in all of the world. A plowed field is probably smoother to drive on...
 

Gator By Marriage

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My second choice would be Beirut. To be fair, they were just coming out of a civil war.

Kingston would be close behind Beirut. Since they didn't have the "coming out of a war" excuse I may have to move it into second place.

But number 1, and waaaaaaayyyyy out in front would be Gaza City. It had absolutely zero redeeming features. Even the normally beautiful Med looked gross and disgusting there. It's my understanding things have improved quite a bit (it's been almost 25 years), but the photos I've seen tell me it still has a ways to go.
 

CDGator

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I’ll have to take your word for it on these war torn countries. Place I’ll never see in person.
 

Detroitgator

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My second choice would be Beirut. To be fair, they were just coming out of a civil war.

Kingston would be close behind Beirut. Since they didn't have the "coming out of a war" excuse I may have to move it into second place.

But number 1, and waaaaaaayyyyy out in front would be Gaza City. It had absolutely zero redeeming features. Even the normally beautiful Med looked gross and disgusting there. It's my understanding things have improved quite a bit (it's been almost 25 years), but the photos I've seen tell me it still has a ways to go.
I know a lot of expats that started living in/basing out of Beirut again when we went into Afghanistan and Iraq... then Israel put a monkey wrench in things when they bombed the runway at the airport in '06. :lol: And yeah, Gaza is an absolute toilet. As for Kingston, this is the best line ever heard, "Don't let it fool you. Jamaica is just Haiti with better beaches." :lol:
 

Gator By Marriage

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I know a lot of expats that started living in/basing out of Beirut again when we went into Afghanistan and Iraq... then Israel put a monkey wrench in things when they bombed the runway at the airport in '06. :lol:
On the occasions that I went there, we were prohibited from flying into the airport as it is in West Beirut and thus was controlled by Hezbollah; who for some reason or another were considered "hostile." Speaking of the Israelis, in those days - the early to mid 90's - they thought it was great sport to do sonic booms over Beirut. While they always got your attention, the first one I heard was particularly enjoyable.

Topographically speaking, Beirut is gorgeous. The amount of land with a view of the Med is staggering. At one time it was known as the "Paris of the Middle East." On the other hand, rare was the building I saw that did not have at least some war damage. Every trip off compound was planned in advance with (lightly) armored vehicles and body guards. Traffic laws and signs were treated as suggestions.
 

Detroitgator

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On the occasions that I went there, we were prohibited from flying into the airport as it is in West Beirut and thus was controlled by Hezbollah; who for some reason or another were considered "hostile." Speaking of the Israelis, in those days - the early to mid 90's - they thought it was great sport to do sonic booms over Beirut. While they always got your attention, the first one I heard was particularly enjoyable.

Topographically speaking, Beirut is gorgeous. The amount of land with a view of the Med is staggering. At one time it was known as the "Paris of the Middle East." On the other hand, rare was the building I saw that did not have at least some war damage. Every trip off compound was planned in advance with (lightly) armored vehicles and body guards. Traffic laws and signs were treated as suggestions.
fukkin embassy people... :lol:
 

Gator By Marriage

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fukkin embassy people... :lol:
Tell me about it. They also said "no" when we wanted to go with the Syrians into the Bekaa Valley. Of course that was more about politics than our personal safety - I always got the feeling that the thought of us getting hurt was more of an annoyance to them than anything else.
 

Nalt

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In January 2020 I went south of Tampa for a quick trip down and back. Going through Tallahassee we stopped for some food. I couldn't help but notice the horrible smell. So that place would have to make my list of cities that I don't like.
 

soflagator

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State would probably be the obvious(georgia), though I thought Alabama and Mississippi were pretty dreadful when we'd drive through them.

I'm not as well traveled internationally as most of you. But while I've never seen the Cabo/Pacific side, I'm going to say Mexico is terrible. Playa de Carmen and even Cancun are dreadful. The worst of all, though is the Freeport area of the Bahamas. Still not sure why anyone would ever leave SoFla to go to there. It's Jupiter/Juno but with a poverty twist. You can get the same experience going 4 exits south to Riviera Beach. Nassau is better but also extremely overrated, imo.
 

Gator By Marriage

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State would probably be the obvious(georgia), though I thought Alabama and Mississippi were pretty dreadful when we'd drive through them.

I'm not as well traveled internationally as most of you. But while I've never seen the Cabo/Pacific side, I'm going to say Mexico is terrible. Playa de Carmen and even Cancun are dreadful. The worst of all, though is the Freeport area of the Bahamas. Still not sure why anyone would ever leave SoFla to go to there. It's Jupiter/Juno but with a poverty twist. You can get the same experience going 4 exits south to Riviera Beach. Nassau is better but also extremely overrated, imo.
Nassau is a dump too for the most part. The real s***-holes in Mexico are any of the towns along the US border. Filth, disease, poverty and despair, topped with an insane amount of indiscriminate killing. Hard to say which is the worst; pretty much depends on the day. I have to go to El Paso in April; when I get back, I'll happily give you the latest on Cuidad Juarez if there's any interest. (FTR - I will not be crossing over for a visit!)
 

B52G8rAC

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So, there is no country better than the USofA, period. Lots of places that qualify as ani of the world but the worst would be Iran. Not because it is so third worldly, many African countries are worse. No, the Persians have had access to knowledge and moral teaching (mainly Jewish captives) for over 2000 years and still chose to act like a boy buggering, child raping, girl abducting, Jew hating satan inspired criminal is a moral prophet. And then use his writings to justify their barbarism and hate for God and His Messiah. They should know better. As for states, I have been stationed in a few and visited most all of them. I have to say New Mexico and Louisiana both compete in all categories for bottom of the barrel. However, I would chose to live in either one rather than California or Massachusetts.
 

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