ADVERTISEMENT

Least favorite city you've spent at least three days in

My thoughts on Minneapolis are similar to yours. I've only been there once but I was impressed with it. There is a ton to see and do there. I wouldn't be able to handle the winters. As you mentioned, the city is extremely clean. Funny thing is, we hit Fargo, ND on the same trip and it too was extremely clean. Not a whole lot going on there but an interesting place.

I haven't heard much bad about the nonRustBelt Midwest (Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois outside of the Chicago area, Indiana, the Dakotas). And I've heard nothing but bad about about the actual Rustbelt cities our past four presidents let die. At some point I'll make a trip to the Midwest, but I've still got some better areas to explore. I haven't visited Vermont and want to better explore French Canada and I've spent little time in Oregon and that place is fantastic. And foremost...I've got to make it to the Big Island. I've yet to make it to that part of Hawaii and it looks fantastic.

So I've got at least three more trips before I would even consider a Midwest visit.
 
Detroit gets the top spot, although there are some nice surrounding areas.
I thought I'd be unique with Birmingham, but apparently some others have been there as well.
For #3, I'll offer up Stockton, CA. My main memory is following directions to my work site while the morning news on the radio was discussing the drive-by shootings over the past weekend. Every street they mentioned was also on the route of my directions.

Toledo, OH would certainly make the list, but I've only driven by.
 
Honestly, w/a few exceptions, the whole South is pretty much a poverty-stricken hellhole. Don't kill the messenger.
 
Williamson WV. Town of less than 8,000 with absolutely nothing to do there. It would take 30 min to walk around the entire town that only had one restaurant, a lunch counter, to eat at. And it was such a mess you didn't want to eat there. It was an entire month of hell
 
7SRS4Ov.gif
 
Pretty much any city can be a hell hole or a great dinner.

My picks would be Miami and Jax.
 

I liked Phoenix quite a bit although Flagstaff blows it away imo for the best city in Arizona and it's no Sedona either. But, I REALLY enjoyed the Navajo restaurants like Sacred Hogan and Fry Bread House and a lot of the really great Mexican places there. The resort I stayed at in the North of town was fantastic and dirt cheap (I think it was the Desert Ridge Resort). And the city didn't look that bad when I drove through it.
 
I didn't say Detroit, because I wasn't there for the full 3 days stipulated. I was there for about a day and a half. We drove past plenty of streets on which is seemed every house/building was abandoned, grafitti'd, and partially destroyed.

The low point for me was that we went to the casino (the Motor City Casino) the night that we were there - figuring casinos are fun. The people that were there gambling were not having fun. It appeared that everyone there was gambling for bill money. Everyone was really quiet and somber, and it really depressed us. We ended up leaving without gambling, just because we were feeling so guilty for being there wanting to have fun around all these other people that really NEEDED to win.
 
What about Minneapolis did you not like?

We flew into Minneapolis with the idea of spending few days.

Day 1 we walked through town, as we like to do in new cities, and it was very sketchy. We spoke to a cop and he said that not even his family comes to downtown Minneapolis.

We looked for an area with good bars and restaurants and pretty much struck out. We spoke to the concierge at the hotel and he wasn't much help directing us to a central restaurant/bar district. I expected to find stuff to do downtown near the river and they don't have much riverfront development.

Day 2 we did go to Mall of America and it was just a big, old mall. Nothing really fantastic it at all considering I've heard about it for years. Were going to go to a Twins game but the weather was rainy.

Day 3 my wife got her picture with the Mary Tyler Moore statue and hit the road. Went to Iowa, Chicago, Wisconsin and had a much better trip.
 
Last edited:
Providence, RI.

I haven't actually stayed in Newark, but I've driven there, and flown in and out of there a lot and Newark is one of my least favorite places.
 
I spent a month in Detroit one time for work. It was a horrible place.

I was there for the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving one November. Cold dreary rain, every day. I think the sun came out once during that time (more than 20 days) for about an hour.

Roads were pothole ridden, the whole place appeared as if it were black-and-white. No leaves on the trees. Then I was scheduled to fly out the day before Thanksgiving. A huge snow storm hit and I was stuck for the night.

I thought, no wonder people commit suicide during the winter months up north. It was a horrible dreary place.
 
We flew into Minneapolis with the idea of spending few days.

Day 1 we walked through town, as we like to do in new cities, and it was very sketchy. We spoke to a cop and he said that not even his family comes to downtown Minneapolis.

We looked for an area with good bars and restaurants and pretty much struck out. We spoke to the concierge at the hotel and he wasn't much help directing us to a central restaurant/bar district. I expected to find stuff to do downtown near the river and they don't have much riverfront development.

Day 2 we did go to Mall of America and it was just a big, old mall. Nothing really fantastic it at all considering I've heard about it for years. Were going to go to a Twins game but the weather was rainy.

Day 3 my wife got her picture with the Mary Tyler Moore statue and hit the road. Went to Iowa, Chicago, Wisconsin and had a much better trip.

Trying to imagine what sheltered place you live in to make you think downtown Minneapolis is "very sketchy." Honestly, I can't think of a large city (certainly none in Florida) that feels less dangerous than Minneapolis.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT