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Top 10
01. Melbourne =TIE Bottom 10:
01. Pyongyang
02. Demascus
03. Philadelphia
04. Saint Louis
05. Beijing
06. Lagos
07. Cairo
08. Calcutta
09. Karachi
10. Dhaka
Reason:
Dhaka-Karachi-Calcutta-Cairo-Lagos for third world conditions. Excessively unsanitary environments. Several aspects of complete dysfunction and disarray.
Demascus and Pyongyang: Extreme poverty and third world conditions. Military state or terrorist haven. Crippling to completely dysfunctional environment. Oppressive regulations and laws.
Beijing: Pollution, congestion, traffic, gridlock, excessively pricey environment for what you actually get out of it. The congestion and traffic, infrastructural strains from what I can tell get worse by the day. The pollution is awful too.
Philadelphia and Saint Louis: I don't like it.
I have been to Philly, Saint Louis, Beijing, and Cairo. To lump Beijing with the other three is a joke. Not on the same level at all. It is like comparing New York to Detroit.
I have only been to 17 countries, which in the grand scheme of things is not very well traveled at all.
It all depends on which countries (in/outside your own continent?) you've visited, how much time you spend there and how many different area's you've seen of those countries.
I say a person traveling in 17 countries visiting multiple provinces for a 1 month period each time is more well traveled than a person traveling in 34 countries visiting just 1 city for 2 weeks each time.
Visited a few more places so I can do a top 8 list now
1. Lima - Ugly and dirty, and also the most amazing place I have ever been in my life. Crazy nightlife, great culture, mindblowing cuisine, beautiful girls, dancing, pisco, parks, plazas, history, insane city in general
2. New York - The skyline that will never leave your mind, world class cuisine, and as the song says "the streets will make you feel brand new" and it's true, walking on the street in NYC feels like being in a different world. It's an amazing place to be
3. Buenos Aires - What Lima is to cuisine, Buenos Aires is to architecture. I did a half-assed last second trip not knowing much in BA and still had a blast, felt like I easily walked 100 kilometres there. Feels like the entire city is a museum and if you love architecture like me, Buenos Aires has to be on your bucket list!
4. Boston - Amazing city that feels much bigger than its population would indicate. Some of the best architecture in the world, a mix of American and European buildings. New England charm with an international flavor
5. Valparaiso - The Pearl of the Pacific, a stunning city with equal parts charm and grittiness. A paradise for street art. Great nightlife too
6. Santiago - Actually an underrated city, the Downtown area is just stunning with beautiful French as well as modern architecture, great drinks, beautiful parks and museums. I wouldn't travel across continents just to come here, but if you're in the Southern Cone this place is worth a few days
7. Dublin - Really cool city with beautiful architecture and great shopping! Clean and organized and a nice place to relax
8. Viña del Mar - Valparaiso's rich but less exciting neighbor lol, very safe and modern, beautiful beach too!
I have been to Philly, Saint Louis, Beijing, and Cairo. To lump Beijing with the other three is a joke. Not on the same level at all. It is like comparing New York to Detroit.
LOVED
Chicago (The view of the Skyline from Buckingham Fountain is unimaginable. I also loved the food and how unpretentious everyone was. Chicagoans are very humble people for living in such a grand city)
Hong Kong(The rainbow neon lights every is sensory overload. The food I didn't enjoy - I hate spicy and food with lots of bones - but the city is very lively and thriving)
Lima (Loved the people. Everyone was so nice. Timed it nicely too since there were lots of festivals going on it seemed)
Madrid(My home away from home. My father's from Spain and it felt like I'd lived there my whole life. I love tapas culture, the nightlife and the beautiful snow-capped mountains in the distance. Madrid has the freshest air ever in the Winter. I think that's a weird thing that's stuck with me).
New York (I love the mix of grit and high culture. Places like the Flatiron District of Tribeca which blend the two are amazing.)
Paris (a feeling you won't find anywhere else. A truly unique city)
Washington (I live here for a reason. Where else can you eat massive cupcakes, dance salsa in front of the National Mall before watching the sunset over neo-classical monoliths and then top it off with Happy Hour beers and Ethiopian food? Not to mention everyone is very wealthy, intelligent and the men are nerdy and handsome at the same time <3)
OKAY
Berlin (I liked it, but I doubt I'd go back. The Pergamon's Ishtar Gate is stunning though!)
Buenos Aires (beautiful city, but shockingly little to do. Spent five days there and by Day 4 I was already killing time by ferrying to Uruguay)
Istanbul(I enjoyed it a lot but by Day 4 I was getting bored already. The Basilica Cistern is out of this world, however. The call between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque is soo cool! The weapons collection in Topkapi is unreal and the Bazaar, though tacky, is fun. The last day I took the ferry to the Asian side and loved that a lot. Did a cruise up past the main bridge and back. The Dolmabahce Palace and the Maiden's Tower are gorgeous up close.)
London (I think I played it too safe and stuck to the tourist spots. Seemed very kitschy, especially places like Tower of London and the Tower Bridge full of tacky 'dungeons'. I want to go back to neighborhood hop and see the real London)
Miami (I liked it a lot, but Miami Beach is where it's at. The City of Miami itself is quite a dud. Hopefully that changes in future years.)
Vienna (One of the most beautiful in the world but the people aren't very nice. I slipped on dry ice and broke my camera in Vienna. There were a good dozen people around me and nobody even cared enough to check if I was okay. Love the history and architecture, not so much the city).
MEH
Amsterdam(Meh. Not my thing. Much preferred Hamburg)
Brussels(Worst city I've ever visited. It's filthy! Outside of the Grand Place (which is gorgeous, the city is very tacky and gross. The Palace of Justice is full of **** receptacles. There is a street near the Royal Palace full of fancy Gucci, Bvlgari, Prada, etc. There are dumpsters in front of the stores! There are gas stations next to fancy malls. The zoning is terrible! And don't get me started on the transport. You can't pay with Euro bill. You need coins so I spent my first day hauling luggage trying to find a kebab shop that had change to provide. Once I got change, the ticket machine ate it! The train station is full of broken lockers so you can't store anything. Oh and on my last day, there was a transit strike so I had to stay an extra four days miserable in the city. No trains to Antwerp, Bruges or Ghent as I'd initially hoped.)
Budapest (I had bad weather but I didn't find it striking at all. I do want to go back outside of late December though. Maybe I picked a bad time)
Rome (Was expecting to feel more 'umph'. I don't know. Didn't impress me as much as Paris)
Shanghai (Architecture was great, but the city felt a little dull and kitchy)
Tel Aviv (Trendy, sure, but it's also really dirty, gross, full of rude taximen, highways and lacks attractions. I was shocked at how bad the beachfront is. There are decaying 60s-style motels there. Just really bad zoning all around. Did not leave a positive impression.)
WANT TO SEE
Las Vegas
Melbourne
Montreal
Rio de Janeiro
San Francisco
Tokyo/Kyoto
NO DESIRE TO SEE
Cairo
Caracas
Dallas
Jakarta
Johannesburg
Kuala Lumpur
Manchester
Moscow
Sao Paulo
South Asian Cities
Sydney
Toronto
Warsaw
Los Angeles - World-class megalopolis and all it entails
San Francisco and the Bay Area - An odd local population, but a lot of splendors
Vancouver, British Columbia - It's all great, except the weather
Albuquerque/Santa Fe region, New Mexico - I simply love it
Amsterdam/Randstad region - This region has a similar population as, and kind of feels like, the SF Bay Area in the U.S. Cool cities, too.
Berlin - You MUST visit once in your life!
New York - Capital of the world
Prague - Great architecture
Vienna - Great architecture
Budapest - Charming and well-preserved
BONUS: Heerenveen, Netherlands - a charming, small Frysian town that is surprisingly lively, and full of locals that made me feel very comfortable and welcome
Bottom 10 (no particular order)
Indianapolis - Dull for its size
San Diego (seriously!) - Drastically overrated
Tijuana - Can be fun, but mostly it's a high-crime dump
Atlanta - A seriously underwhelming and very high-crime central city for a city of its stature
Dayton, Ohio - Depressing
Zwolle, Netherlands - Depressing, though at least the people are reasonably friendly as I remember them
Assen, Netherlands - Depressing and simply dull
Dessau, Germany - Not a terrible place necessarily, but it just feels stuck in the 1980s
Washington, DC - Leave the Capital Mall and Northwest Quadrant and the city goes to crap quickly! (It is still improved from the 1980s and 1990s, however.)
Jacksonville, North Carolina - Even Camp Lejeune, the local Marine Corps base, is nicer than the town
Santorini
Positano
Grindelwald
Hallstatt
Venice
Monaco
Marrakech
Sydney
Kyoto
Bora bora
OVERATED
Vancouver
Munich
Milan
Tokyo
Seoul
Auckland
Athens
Brussels
London
Berlin
Very well traveled....agree except for Vancouver.
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