Places you dont care to Return

[Heights2Bastrop]

Hey, Mark. You didn't'n ever have an appointment with the famous "Pecos Barber" back in the 70s, did you?

[CDeb]

Louisiana (excluding Lake Charles) - Whats to like?

Really? Lake Charles is the smelliest little hell-hole this side of Baton Rouge. I can't think of a single thing to like about Lake Chuck.

[WesternGulf]

All of Florida, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Atlanta, San Jose, Austin or most large Texas cities (tiring), and Cleveland. Oh yeah and I know I am going to visit again and again because of family but LA is not a must for me either.

Gotta agree with Cancun too. Outside the incredibly blue water bleh. Las Vegas has more culture.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

You are bound to be referring to the intersection of US-491 (formally US-666) and US-64. That can be a depressing sight. There are a lot of poverty strickened Native Americans that are living like Bedouins (that's the only way I know how to put it) all over the area. In the winter there are many selling chunks of coal out of the back of pickups and cars that don't even look road worthy, they are usually covered in black coal dust (smutty), where they have more than likely harvested the coal by hand from the hills, and are just selling it for whatever money they can get. I can see that as very depressing. It's not too bad if you head East to Farmington, but Shiprock is basically the slums for the reservation in the area. But they probably have more liquor stores and pawn shops per capita than Houston. Not a pretty sight.

Pecos, I kinda like that old town, just not a lot there, never really has been. Pretty typical West Texas.

Yeah, I am talking about that intersection. Like you said, Farmington wasn't too bad, and you don't have to go too far east of Farmington for some amazing scenery, but Shiprock itself (and the reservation) was about the most depressing scene I'd ever seen. I enjoy the desert, but that was just desolation. There was NOTHING but dirt there...no vegetation, not a clump of grass, not a single cactus, no mesquite or creosote bush, nothing. Wow.

I've been through Pecos one time, about 8 years ago. You say there's not a lot there. It looked like there was much less there than previously had been there. I think I've read somewhere that Pecos lost 2/3rds of its population during the oil bust of the 80's. I'd say that looked about right...approximately 2/3rds of the buildings there were vacant or abandoned. We couldn't find a grocery store in town, although we passed two or three abandoned groceries. The closest thing we found was a gas station convenience store (good ol' Amigos).

[MidtownCoog]

Destin

[Montrose1100]

My only answer to Montrose for Destin,Fla. is try to go sometime during the last week of February to the last week of March. It may change your perspective.

Been there, done that... Doing drugs & drinking with alot of other teenagers (that look like they just poped out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog) by the spot light on the Hilton Hotel in SanDestin gets old after so many times. The sharks were bad one year.

[Montrose1100]

Really? Lake Charles is the smelliest little hell-hole this side of Baton Rouge. I can't think of a single thing to like about Lake Chuck.

I only like the neighborhood with the canal by the starbucks & Olive Garden

[MidtownCoog]

My beef with Destin is all the white trash. Those locals are nasty.

[dbigtex56]

I think any place can be interesting enough to visit again, with the right attitude and child-like openess.

However, Las Vegas..... never been and never plan to. Just too.........crap culture, but if I were passing through I'd have to check it out a bit.

I have to agree. Unless one is familiar with every acre of a place, there's always the possibility of treasures lurking in unexpected places. I can't think of a single city I wouldn't enjoy exploring further.

That being said, Gary, Indiana doesn't look very promising....

[J.A.S.O.N.]

I have to agree. Unless one is familiar with every acre of a place, there's always the possibility of treasures lurking in unexpected places. I can't think of a single city I wouldn't enjoy exploring further.

That being said, Gary, Indiana doesn't look very promising....

[CDeb]

That being said, Gary, Indiana doesn't look very promising....

I always liked driving into Gary from the Chicago Skyway bridge at night. With all the blast furnaces lit up, it looks like you're descending into Hades.... >

[H-Town Man]

The South Side of Chicago. Went to school there for three years. I like to visit for the memories, but no more than three hours tops.

Shreveport. Vile, soulless place.

Las Vegas. A bigger version of Shreveport.

Newport, RI. Party town for rich jerks after they've played golf.

Northampton, MA. Fanatically liberal. Thought I'd be murdered because I was from Texas. I actually really liked Cambridge, if that gives you an idea.

Brattleboro, VT. Similar to Northampton. Could imagine both of these places seceding from America.

Portland, ME. Over-preserved and gentrified. All the streets are cobblestone, and parking meters last fifteen minutes tops. Had an overheating car that day, so the experience is scarred in my memory.

[ssullivan]

There aren't too many major cities in the US that I wouldn't go back to. Toledo probably is up there on the list, with Detroit. Unfortunately I seem to get sent to both for work a few times a year. Cleveland doesn't seem to be all that exciting, but the only thing I've ever seen there is the airport. Newark is also on that list of places that I don't really care to visit, but because of the airport will still go through there a few times a year.

Smaller places I've suffered through that I have no desire to go back to include Worland, WY, Rock Springs, WY, Vernal, UT, (those three all in less than two weeks for work some years back), Espa

[Mark F. Barnes]

There aren't too many major cities in the US that I wouldn't go back to. Toledo probably is up there on the list, with Detroit. Unfortunately I seem to get sent to both for work a few times a year. Cleveland doesn't seem to be all that exciting, but the only thing I've ever seen there is the airport. Newark is also on that list of places that I don't really care to visit, but because of the airport will still go through there a few times a year.

Smaller places I've suffered through that I have no desire to go back to include Worland, WY, Rock Springs, WY, Vernal, UT, (those three all in less than two weeks for work some years back), Espa

[bachanon]

springfield, vt.

hartford, ct.

phoenix, az

new york city, ny

lafayette, la

pasadena, tx.

baytown, tx.

la porte, tx.

deer park, tx.

corpus christi, tx.

dallas, tx.

tyler, tx.

beaumont, tx.

san antonio, tx.

flatonia, tx.

huntsville, tx.

texas city, tx.

pearland, tx.

manvel, tx.

[ATLbuyer]

Atlanta is the only city I dislike now. I was born here and there are so many people moving here, it has become a nightmare. I moved south of the city and have another nightmare from a Houston builder.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

Donetsk, Ukraine

Novosibirsk, Russia

These two places have been home for me for the last few weeks. I never wish to go back there again!!!!

[Guest Marty]

Vinton, Louisiana I lost a lot of cash in that town in the early 1990's on Cock Fighting.

[TheNiche]

McAllen

You know, I spent the better part of last week in Cameron County on business. Frankly, I could do without ever going south of Los Olmos Creek ever again.

Trying to do business down there was exceptionally difficult. Reminds me of why I left...and frankly I wouldn't need to be there if there was more transparency in their real estate markets. On the plus side, my client turned out to be a truely lovable character. One of those wealthy, well-educated, landed-gentry types with an ego exceeded only by his charitable nature.

[ChannelTwoNews]

Portland, ME. Over-preserved and gentrified. All the streets are cobblestone, and parking meters last fifteen minutes tops. Had an overheating car that day, so the experience is scarred in my memory.

I live smack, dab in the middle of the Peninsula part of Portland these days. The cobblestone streets are pretty much confined to the Old Port district and a few spots that haven't been paved over that well in the past. Can't say I've ever had the same issue with meters (2hrs pretty much everywhere) but on-street parking is quite nice to find (if and when you can). Not too keen with the attitude toward development and new projects though. Some of the projects from the 80's they had planned here would've been amazing, especially for a city of a pop around 70K.

*End of the Portlander Rant... Might start a Maine/NE thread though*

For my list, however...

Port Arthur- All it seems to be good for is photography of the depressing downtown district, and even that needs a cloudy or rainy day to make it totally appropriate. Oddly enough, the two times I've tried to do said photography I've managed to hear gunshots. Just after NOON. Beaumont actually SHINES in comparison to something for once.

Laredo- I once considered taking a job at a television station there, but when the news department folded those plans were dead. No hate for the US Laredo, it's fairly decent/clean/quiet from my trips... it's just too damned isolated. And it's next to Nuevo Laredo, which isn't helpful.

Wichita, KS- For a city of 350k, it's astoundingly bland and dead even in the middle of the day. It's Kansas though, so maybe that's the norm.

Clarksburg, WV- Although like a number of towns in WV it seems to be tucked into a valley, there was something that just seemed especially depressing about the place. View was pretty much the only thing the place had going for it actually.

Aroostook County, ME- Ugh. A county the size of CT & RI with only 70k people (give or take a few) During the winter it is especially depressing. Exits along I-95 spaced out over 20 miles from each other and once you hit Houlton... you can sneeze into Canada. Presque Isle isn't bad, but it like Laredo is just too damned isolated.

Don't worry, I can probably think of a few more

[lockmat]

I can't think of a place I've been to where I said, "I'll never come back here for any period of time again."

There are places I would not want to live b/c of everyday things I'd have to deal with, but it doesn't mean I still wouldn't like to visit them.

[Vertigo58]

Provided things dont drastically change, where would you never care to go back to?

Oakland, Ca.

Especially around the area near Oakland Airport. Nightmare on Telegraph Street, High St (everyone was high allright) & Macarthur Blvd. Molotav cocktail the local drink.

East Palo Alto, Ca. (not far away) highest muder rate in the Bay area.

Wild eyed pistol wavers who ain't afraid to die.

finally, infamous

South Central LA, area around Florence & Normandy intersection where LA riots started.

Asta la vista baby!

[H-Town Man]

I live smack, dab in the middle of the Peninsula part of Portland these days. The cobblestone streets are pretty much confined to the Old Port district and a few spots that haven't been paved over that well in the past. Can't say I've ever had the same issue with meters (2hrs pretty much everywhere) but on-street parking is quite nice to find (if and when you can). Not too keen with the attitude toward development and new projects though. Some of the projects from the 80's they had planned here would've been amazing, especially for a city of a pop around 70K.

It's the cobblestone streets that have the 15 min. meters. I ate at a good restaurant there on the water... it had a nice upper level. Thought the whole historic area had pretty much lost its soul to money and tourism, similar to Newport, RI.

[TAK]

Wheeling, WV

I win.