Must-visit awful U.S. cities

Because after you've visited Lumberton, you might as well hit Myrtle too. Or maybe for the Coastal Carolina cheerleaders.

 

I tell you ... you grow up with those Carolina beaches and then you move to Texas ... you begin to understand.

 

I think that small cities in flat areas of the Great Plains are the worse. Rock Springs, Wyoming has already been mentioned. My father, who was a traveling salesman, came back from a trip to Rock Springs and said if hell was that bad he needed to stop being an agnostic and start believing.

The small population and lack of ethnic diversity limit attractive dining options. The lack of physical features is another drawback. I don't like flat and treeless. And the further you north you go the worse the winter weather gets.

 

I'm grew up in the rural Great Plains. One thing I'd say it's not lacking is great food. I live in the Shenandoah Valley now, and come to appreciate the different kind of beauty in the countrysides. Flat and treeless can get old after a few hundred miles of driving. But, man, watching the sun set over endless acres of ripe wheat is an unmatched sight.

 

Williston, ND. Looked like "Hell on Wheels,"
and is still struggling after many oil companie and vendors picked up shop.

Haven't been to Steubenville. Have to imagine that makes a top list.

 

Dafuq? They have an Applebee's AND 2 McDonald's.

 

Amarillo is kind of a cool town. You gotta check out Cadillac Ranch.
Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas
A bunch of us have thought about going down there to do the steak challenge. I don't think I could do it either, but it would be worth $100 to try.
If steak isn't your deal, then you have to go to Sharky's Burrito Company. Right around the corner from the old Ambassador Hotel.

 

Been to the Cadillac Ranch a couple of times. Once was in early March (on way to Colo. for skiing) and the wind, out of due North ... about froze to death walking back to the car.

If you do the Big Texan, make sure you use their free limo service. Great fun.

 

In my limited experience, the Bootheel seems to combine the very worst elements of the Midwest and Deep South.

 

I grew up near Wichita and I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, I'd say Wichita belongs on this list. It's an inexplicably large city with almost nothing to do or see. You can usually get a pretty good steak there (not sure where nowadays, since I haven't been there in ages), but that's about it.

 

Also worth avoiding in Nola: the interstate system. Twenty shootings the last 17 months.

Man wounded, bullet shatters another driver's window in I-10 shooting