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Original poster

To ask for your experiences with Bath/strange atmospheres

543 replies

AliceInBlunderland13 · 18/02/2020 13:11

Semi-regular poster but I’ve name changed for this as the details could be quite outing. Also not really an AIBU but posting for traffic and all that…
There have been two periods in my life when I have lived and/or worked in the city of Bath, Somerset and I’ve experienced problems with my mental health on both occasions. The first was right after I finished by undergraduate degree in London and I moved to Bath to do a Masters at the university. I started in the October and by Christmas I was experiencing terrible panic attacks and depression. I did manage to complete the course but as soon as I finished I ended the tenancy on my flat early and moved back home. I then worked in my home town for a few years, during which time I had no problems with my mental health. Then I decided to do a PhD and took a position again at the uni in Bath. This time I didn’t move there but instead moved to a nearby town and commuted in. Yet again within a couple of months of being there I began experiencing daily panic attacks, terrible anxiety and feelings of dissociation, and depression. I tried to stick it out (had counselling, on meds etc) but I still felt utterly miserable so I recently quit the course and found a new job in another town.
Even after having counselling, I’ve never truly got to the bottom of what triggers these episodes. Logically, it could be stress related as both a Masters and a PhD are obviously a lot of work but then I dealt with the stresses of my undergraduate course just fine, and the job I had between my Masters and PhD was high-stress and I loved it – in fact I used to think I worked best with a bit of pressure.
Then the other day, I was reading an old thread on here (bored while I wait to start my new job Grin ) about places people found creepy. Several people mentioned that they didn’t like Bath or that it had an odd atmosphere – I think one poster described it as ‘melancholy’. Now normally I’m very rational and logical (except when the anxiety takes over Confused ) and wouldn’t give it a second thought, but I couldn’t help wondering if anyone has any experience of feeling anxious/down in a particular place, or if anyone else has felt this ‘atmosphere’ in Bath? I know some will say it’s a load of pish but I guess I’m just interested in other people’s experiences really…

OP posts:
usernameusrnme · 20/05/2020 21:14

colinpantall.blogspot.com/2018/03/dont-talk-about-black-kid-in-bath-who.html

Comments say alot dont they... Bathonians.

usernameusrnme · 20/05/2020 21:13

twitter.com/kikibaby79/status/1086036579829858305

usernameusrnme · 18/05/2020 14:46

The OP and another person in this thread said they had mental breakdowns while in Bath. I wonder how many people levelled the same attitudes at them.

usernameusrnme · 18/05/2020 14:44

I'm great thanks.

But yes, the basic manoeuvre. "He's crazy"

I just get tired of the attitudes while everyone says "lookey lookey how pretty" while they step over hordes of homeless people amongst other seriously messed up things. Should anyone say anything about these things then the clicquey mobs form like voltron and its " oh they're crazy' and point the finger at the one acknowledging problems. So fake, so pretentious, so Bath.

Mucklowe · 18/05/2020 13:28

@usernameusrnme you really have it in for the place! Your posts are making you out to be slightly unhinged. Are you ok?

MulticolourMophead · 18/05/2020 13:16

SleepOhHowIMissYou I was in LA in the mid 1980s, and it was bad then. Once got lost in Inglewood, was a bit scary that night.

usernameusrnme · 18/05/2020 13:15

Ultimately Bath is filled with people who's behaviour and arrogance makes them not seem like being worthy of trust. Monied or not, its more about principles. They do not come across and decent and dependable people. Being in an environment with people who cannot be trusted, however pretty the scenery, isnt worth it.

usernameusrnme · 18/05/2020 12:43

I find it strange how insincere and arrogant people are here. How cliquey they are. The way they behave as though they are so refined or cool when they are just so insular and shallow. How petrified they are of Bristol and London because "theres so may people there!"

How bizarre they are in manners of communication. How puzzled they are when someone speaks to them. How they speak AT people rather than with them. Never met people so clicquey and so fake and so proud of their own frankly disgusting attitudes.

usernameusrnme · 18/05/2020 12:31

Bath is superficial. You cant find less genuine people anywhere else in the country.

Porridgeoat · 17/05/2020 21:11

I find Bath strange too but it’s more to do with the monied and superficial feel of the place making it less attractive

tarasmalatarocks · 17/05/2020 20:58

I live in Bath and I’ve lived in Bristol too. Much prefer Bath, Bristol has one or two attractive bits but a lot of it is a scruffy mess, has tons of houses with damp and it takes forever to get anywhere , and driving- forget it. If you are a weed smoking under 40 with ‘a bit of a job’ then maybe it’s fine , but wasn’t for us - despite my H being from the area. I don’t get the issue in Bath , it’s my favourite place I’ve lived , when people say about not much for under 40s - what exactly are they after? It’s got music venues, great pubs, trendy bars, a couple of clubs , good universities, good sports stuff, nice restaurants - good cinemas including art house- I’m not sure what this random ‘stuff for young people is’ they are looking at , that I am not aware of. It’s not London - it’s a large town effectively of 80,000 people and if you don’t like it, no big deal as lots and lots do .

ohlookthisisjustdaftnow · 17/05/2020 15:59

I feel oddly uneasy whenever I go to Malvern. It's a sinister place. Perhaps it's something to do with the waters, what with them both being a spa town.

SleepOhHowIMissYou · 17/05/2020 15:36

Los Angeles is a shock the first time you go there. It's the Hollywood lie debunked. If you watch American TV you see massive, gorgeously furnished homes as the norm for quite ordinary people. Even Al Bundy in Married with Children who worked in a ladies shoe shop (not as a manager) and was presented as one of life's losers, had a sizeable detached house. The reality is an eye-opener. I have never seen more homeless rough sleepers in my life and the place is filthy, even the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's dangerous too and so easy to walk into an area you really shouldn't be.

NameChange84 · 14/05/2020 14:54

@ChristmasFluff OMG! I didn’t leave my hotel room in LA either! Hated the place. Also love Edinburgh and fine in London and Harrogate. Yes it’s that whole area of North Wales coastline I felt uncomfortable in too. How weird!

ChristmasFluff · 14/05/2020 14:17

I've had similar experiences to @NameChange84.

Oban - hate it, very oppressive. Much of North Wales especially the area around Bethesda, and also that North Wales Coast - Caernarvon, Rhyl. Prestatyn - but fine in Conwy.

In Bath I felt unsettled, but I am fine in Glastonbury and Brighton - always found the people in both places very friendly.

San Fransisco - this may be coloured by the fact I went when I was having depression and panic attacks - but I was so excited for my holiday. Yet I felt on edge the whole time, as though something bad was about to happen.

This feeling went away completely when we moved on to San Jose and then other towns down the west coast, and I had a great time - until Los Angeles, when I took to my bed and wouldn't leave the motel room.

I like Malvern, found Harrogate a bit trying, love Edinburgh with a passion, love London, love Stonehenge, can't stand Avebury..... All very random.

Tartan333 · 14/05/2020 09:42

I felt great in Glastonbury and Brighton, really relaxed.

I went to Happisburgh in Norfolk and felt dizzy, panicky and had to leave, such an oppressive, awful atmosphere.

I do seem to feel very different depending on my location though. I live in a big city and feel sick, headachey and despondent when driving through or visiting some areas. I have no idea why.

NameChange84 · 14/05/2020 09:32

Never been to Bath (or Brighton or Glastonbury) but I seem to be quite sensitive to what I can only describe as “atmospheres” both negative and positive. Ie I’ve had houses I needed to get out ASAP of but also places where I feel really at peace and like I “belong” for no real reason.

I’ve got weird vibes from;

Oban - really dark and oppressive feel, couldn’t wait to leave.

Miami - this was due to the fact that it’s seedy and dangerous more than anything woo. But the whole place felt on edge and like something dangerous could happen.

San Francisco did something weird to me. Within 8 hours of getting there I had a huge row with my family and locked myself in the bathroom because I couldn’t stop crying uncontrollably. I was angry (totally unlike me!) and full of self hatred. The most extreme emotions I’ve ever felt. I felt bad on the inside, 100% unlovable. I had always wanted to visit the Golden Gate Bridge but when I got there, despite never having been suicidal before this, I had the overwhelming feeling to throw myself off it. Bloody weird and stopped as soon as we got out of there.

Lincoln - couldn’t wait to leave. Felt really unlike myself. The whole place had a weird vibe. Claustrophobic and I found the people strange.

Quite a few parts of North Wales. Like a sadness and a darkness too. We’d go when I was a child and my parents would have horrific arguments the whole time. I hated Rhyl, Conway Castle etc. My ex lived in Powys which someone mentioned further up and he and his family all ended up with Mental Health problems whilst there. He was fine when he wasn’t living there and always spoke about Powys as somewhere he felt he’d never escape from.

Gaitlinburg, Smokey Mountains. Hated the smokey mountains and didn’t even dare to explore Gaitlinburg in the end we were all so spooked. Just a weird time warpy vibe and feeling like you were being watched the whole time.

Much of the Deep South in the US, though I’m convinced that’s to do with poverty and the legacy of slavery which feels ever present.

Random but Preston. I always feel really depressed when I am there and my job takes me there sometimes so I have to go. I just feel totally off kilter and depressed while I’m in the city itself and would never voluntarily choose to go there.

Always felt a bit unsettled and found it hard to sleep, as did my parents, when visiting family in Norwich.

I’m fine with Buxton, Edinburgh and some of the other places mentioned on here.

usernameusrnme1 · 13/05/2020 19:45

Read the thread. Page 5 in the middle from Local bath mum

"Sorry to be so impassioned, but I do feel unable to speak out locally"

Thats Bath.

usernameusrnme1 · 09/05/2020 16:39

I'd say usernameusrnme has Bath pretty spot on.

Judy Gemstone "Whoever lumped Bristol in with it, how very dare you! Bristol is far superior in every way.

Yes to whoever said about Bath being 'safe' meaning white and Bristol 'edgy' meaning multicultural. Despite, or maybe partly because of its slave trade history, Bristol is one of the most culturally integrated cities in the U.K., everyone rubs along together and it's very friendly"

This is the major difference. Bristol acknowledges its historical role and looks to move past it. Theres been debates and discussions about various things. Bath is the kind of place that would refuse to acknowledge anything ever happened because in Bath because they are only concerned with appearances of being morally excellent and correct, the kind of place where open discussion, thought and analysis on a subject like that wouldn't even be allowed.

Bristol also seems to embrace difference and variation. People talk about Bath's Georgian architecture, but if they looked, Bristol has it too! The difference is Bristol also has OTHER styles and is a place where people seem to just have a much more personality in conversation and thought. Artistically and culturally Bristol has far richer RECENT heritage in art and music too. Absolutely agree that Bristol is more friendly, whenever I go its like a gasp of oxygen from the clicquey, parochial people in Bath. I've had so many great conversations with so many Bristolians from all over their city, all walks of life. In short, they are more open to individual thought. Bath residents only concerns are with fitting in with which ever "clique" they've been roped into.