Anonymous wrote:For me, it would have to be a tie between Utica, New York, and Torrington, CT -- with the NY side of Niagara Falls being hot on both of their heels.
You?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Cumberland, MD - both of my parents grew up there. It was a beautiful little town once, but it became depressed once railroads became less vital to the economy. It is so sad to visit now - I believe it may be ranked the poorest town in MD - lots of drugs and all boarded up. I sometimes wonder if it will ever have a renaissance like Ashevillle - such a pretty location and charming old buildings. I hope it revitalizes one day.
I posted earlier, and I can't believe I forgot Cumberland. Utterly depressing, I don't even like driving through it, just really bad vibes. And you're right, it wasn't always that way, I drove through a lot as a kid and it was very pretty.
Anonymous wrote:Dillon, SC
Anonymous wrote:Gary, Indiana
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Denver. So boring and ugly
Really?! I’m from CO so I’ll admit I have a soft spot for Denver but, while it may not be the best city I’ve ever visited, I can’t see it being truly the most depressing town someone has ever visited.
A friend had to spend several months there for work, and she said it was dirty. I was surprised because I think of CO as progressive and environmentally sound. I guess I was wrong.
Portland? Seattle? LA? San Francisco? These are all "progressive" places that I also found to be incredibly dirty. I found Dallas and Charlotte to be extremely clean.
I live in Seattle and can confirm that Denver is dirty in the same way Seattle is. Not necessarily depressing to me, but definitely dirty in a way that doesn’t seem to bother people, which makes it especially unnerving.
Anonymous wrote:Waynesboro, NC. How can you take rolling hills and beautiful mountain lakes and come up with that?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For me, it would have to be a tie between Utica, New York, and Torrington, CT -- with the NY side of Niagara Falls being hot on both of their heels.
You?
I read this thread specifically, because I knew I would know somewhere someone was hating on. Didn't need to look too far (although I did look through the whole thread) - Torrington, CT.
I have been visiting Torrington all my life. My grandparents lived there and then my mother took over their house. In fact I was just there over the weekend! I love being in Torrington. It's a quiet town. Everything is much cheaper than where I live. There's so much to do. It's close to hiking, skiing. We go to Hartford to watch sports. Short drive up to the Berkshires. We go to the town pool. It's a small town of working people. It used to be very white. Now there are all different kinds of races and ethnicities living in town. We consider ourselves lucky to have Torrington as a free getaway. And my kids loved KidsPlay downtown when they were younger.
Having grown up in another New England post-industrial city, I'm used to the snobbery of those who consider these places "rundown". This country's anti-urban policies have left these once vibrant towns to fend for themselves. The real estate and construction lobbies push cheap new suburban construction over rehabilitation of urban areas. Our culture values the car over public transportation and walkability. Increasing concentrations of poverty intensify a vicious cycle of disinvestment.
Personally what I find depressing is suburban sprawl which we have in CT even though we have an aging and declining population. There's nothing more depressing to me than an empty suburban strip mall, but you can find those anywhere.
I am the OP Torrington poster. It's not that it's rundown - it's that it is in the middle of nowhere, the very definition of "you can't get there from here." The housing stock is shabby and cheaply built throughout much of town. There's a huge alcohol and drug issue. The Berkshires -- the part closest to Torrington -- have a lonesome, haunted feel. It just has a sad, left-behind vibe, but more than that, geographically it's just in an unfortunate corner IMO.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Denver. So boring and ugly
Really?! I’m from CO so I’ll admit I have a soft spot for Denver but, while it may not be the best city I’ve ever visited, I can’t see it being truly the most depressing town someone has ever visited.
A friend had to spend several months there for work, and she said it was dirty. I was surprised because I think of CO as progressive and environmentally sound. I guess I was wrong.
Portland? Seattle? LA? San Francisco? These are all "progressive" places that I also found to be incredibly dirty. I found Dallas and Charlotte to be extremely clean.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The only place more depressing and third world IME is Cairo, Illinois. Lots of racism too.
Charleston, SC
I couldn't get over the racism there. Plus everything was grimy and dirty. Beautiful old buildings in rotten decay. I don't get how people like it there. I felt like the historical racism made the air thick.... and I'm white.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For me, it would have to be a tie between Utica, New York, and Torrington, CT -- with the NY side of Niagara Falls being hot on both of their heels.
You?
I read this thread specifically, because I knew I would know somewhere someone was hating on. Didn't need to look too far (although I did look through the whole thread) - Torrington, CT.
I have been visiting Torrington all my life. My grandparents lived there and then my mother took over their house. In fact I was just there over the weekend! I love being in Torrington. It's a quiet town. Everything is much cheaper than where I live. There's so much to do. It's close to hiking, skiing. We go to Hartford to watch sports. Short drive up to the Berkshires. We go to the town pool. It's a small town of working people. It used to be very white. Now there are all different kinds of races and ethnicities living in town. We consider ourselves lucky to have Torrington as a free getaway. And my kids loved KidsPlay downtown when they were younger.
Having grown up in another New England post-industrial city, I'm used to the snobbery of those who consider these places "rundown". This country's anti-urban policies have left these once vibrant towns to fend for themselves. The real estate and construction lobbies push cheap new suburban construction over rehabilitation of urban areas. Our culture values the car over public transportation and walkability. Increasing concentrations of poverty intensify a vicious cycle of disinvestment.
Personally what I find depressing is suburban sprawl which we have in CT even though we have an aging and declining population. There's nothing more depressing to me than an empty suburban strip mall, but you can find those anywhere.