Trashiest Metropolitan Area in The Us You Have Visited?

[FaninAma]

My own experience has been San Francisco. We saw rats in China Town the size of schnauzers, trash in the middle of freeways, the most poorly ran mass transit system we have ever ridden and the trashiest, most foul-mouthed locals we have met in our travels. Sure the scenery outside the city was nice and the area around Silicon Valley was cleaner but the city of SF was suprisingly trashy. I can't even imagine what Oakland is like.

[KantoSooner]

Oakland? Not as bad as Memphis is an uninformative answer...but also true. New Orleans gives most a run for their money. I think Katrina actually proved a net cleansing.
And then there's Nashville.

[rock on sooner]

Rolled through Birmingham, Alabama a few years ago...the closed
down steel factories and surroundings were pretty bad....

The smell in Nawlins is the worst part there...imo..

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

My own experience has been San Francisco. We saw rats in China Town the size of schnauzers, trash in the middle of freeways, the most poorly ran mass transit system we have ever ridden and the trashiest, most foul-mouthed locals we have met in our travels. Sure the scenery outside the city was nice and the area around Silicon Valley was cleaner but the city of SF was suprisingly trashy. I can't even imagine what Oakland is like.but, them folks are smart. They vote in Nasty Nancy every time.

[jkjsooner]

I imagine Detroit might win this one but I've never been there.

Buffalo didn't impress me.

I think the deal about the rats is a little overcritical. Most major metropolitan cities have rats. When you get a lot of people packed in a tight area, you're asking for problems with rats. We had some huge ones in the alley behind our place when we lived in DC. After a while you just learned to live with the fact that rats were going to run right in front of you. I'll take a rat over being approached in the alley by homeless guys asking for money. Having someone approach you in an alley with a story about how they just got out of prison and they're "trying" to do good just isn't cool.

One time I was going to the store after getting a call from my wife (who was on a business trip) that her mom suddenly passed away. Some homeless guy approached me. I was about to give him a couple of dollars when he said it wasn't enough and asked if I could get more out at an ATM. Usually that would intimidate me but I was so ticked off I lit into the guy.

[KantoSooner]

The smell in Nawlins is the worst part there...imo..

Let me preface this by saying that I love New Orleans. I really do. That said, my family was sitting eating beignets and drinking coffee at Cafe DuMonde one morning when we were hit by a waft that was truly world class. My mom got a thoughtful look on her face and sat there a moment. Finally, she said, I remember when I smelled that before; it was in Jankara Market (the main open market) in Lagos, Nigeria. Now, take into account that Lagos, in those days, was a city of 4 million with no sewage system save ditches by the sides of the road and that garbage was mostly left to rot where it dropped. And New Orleans had somehow produced a similar stench.
THAT'S World Class.

[okie52]

Oakland? Not as bad as Memphis is an uninformative answer...but also true. New Orleans gives most a run for their money. I think Katrina actually proved a net cleansing.
And then there's Nashville.

I've been to Nashville a number of times...I guess I missed the trash because I thought it was a great city.

[diverdog]

Saw this in the Oklahoman:

Ten most redneck cities.

Care to guess where Tulsa and OKC landed?

Read on:

http://www.movoto.com/blog/top-ten/10-most-redneck-cities/

[KABOOKIE]

Same here with San Fran. Ok minus china town. The city is real nice today.


Now north DC and Los Angeles early nineties? Holy **** stains on America.

[okie52]

Atlanta and KC are more redneck than OKC? I challenge that.

Sacramento is redneck? The state capital of loonville?

[OU68]

Lived in New Orleans for a couple of years - you never forget that smell...

[okiewaker]

New Orleans for me. Place is disgusting.

[Jacie]

Walking around D.C. at night I was kind of put off by the rats scurrying around the govenrment buildings (go ahead and make jokes about politicians and government workers but I am referring to the four legged variety).

Stinkiest town I have ever been to and it was so unique I was never quite able to identify it but it was in Cornwall, a city in Canada just across the border from Massena, NY.

[yermom]

some of the criteria overlap with, um, "urban" demographics, thus KCMO and Hotlanta

i'm not sure they should score as high as they do as "redneck" cities

[OU_Sooners75]

Austin

[C&CDean]

No offense Steve, but San Francisco is one of the nicest urban areas in the country. By far. You want trashy/stinky? New Orleans (as many have mentioned), Newark, NJ, Jersey City, NJ, some parts of NYC, some parts of Dallas, Miami, Houston, St. Louis, KC, Chicago, some parts of DC, and the city I'm in right now, Lafayette, LA. I am currently surrounded by I guess...a ghetto?

San Fran is one of my favorites to visit. As are several of the others on my list. I guess my point is that all metro areas pretty much stink, but some have enough to offer to counteract the stench.

[FaninAma]

Dean, I guess the expectations were a tad high. Saw Fisherman's Wharf and the seafood we had there sucked. Saw the Presidio.....meh. Visited Ghiradelli Square. Rode all the cable cars. The Golden Gate Bridge was cool to see once. The mass transit system was subpar and much more expensive and less well ran than San Diego's

One of the big attractions is Alcatraz.....really? Maybe McAlester should be on the list of cool places to see.


I guess the worst thing was having to listen to foul mouthed locals on every bus and train we got onto. That was probably the clincher. We have never had to put up with that crap in any other city we've visited.

[SoonerInFortSmith]

Don't ride the red line in Chicago. That's all I've got to say about that.

[olevetonahill]

Dean, I guess the expectations were a tad high. Saw Fisherman's Wharf and the seafood we had there sucked. Saw the Presidio.....meh. Visited Ghiradelli Square. Rode all the cable cars. The Golden Gate Bridge was cool to see once. The mass transit system was subpar and much more expensive and less well ran than San Diego's

One of the big attractions is Alcatraz.....really? Maybe McAlester should be on the list of cool places to see.


I guess the worst thing was having to listen to foul mouthed locals on every bus and train we got onto. That was probably the clincher. We have never had to put up with that crap in any other city we've visited.

Hell Bro Ya shoulda hit the Haight Ashbury district back in the 60s, It was "Groovy"

[SCOUT]

Cleveland. What do I win?