Just visited Newport, couldn’t wait to leave, what’s your get me outta here place?

[TheChristmasElf]

Just have just visited Newport for an appointment, we weren’t there long, toilet stop and cuppa in Asda, half hour appointment in city centre and then got lost on the way out but felt very uneasy the whole time were there. It had quite a menacing feel to it and even on the bare aesthetics of the city seemed quite run down with a lots of old closed pubs, shops etc…

I would actually go as far to say it made me feel quite unwell but I guess that would just be coincidence!!

We actually live rural Devon so not even like I’m not used to the odd lay line of two but I was quite relieved to get back on the road…

Has anyone else felt that about a place before?

@Glittertrauma as an ex Notts girl I agree- I understand lots of other places on here but Nottingham? Don't get that

Mind you we live in Bath which is always mentioned - whereas I think it's gorgeous- maybe it's the hills around it and all the stone architecture ? It is quite big though and done who come as tourists never get beyond the very centre.

Uxbridge. I get a very uneasy feeling, unnerving...that I need to get out of the place and home as soon as possible.

Hay on Wye. Expected to love it as huge reader and love bookshops.

Not one bookshop was open, there was literally no other person that we saw and when we went into a pub to get some lunch and a drink, they refused to serve food and said they didnt do it, despite there being food menus on tables and others eating and the drinks were served in warm glasses. Everyone stopped talking when we walked in and disnt speak the whole time we were there. We left drinks half finished.

We did another lap of the town and saw 1 person walking round. Every single shop was closed. Wasn't a bank holiday either and I honestly questioned whether we were there or not!

It's a village. It's not likely to be a hive of activity outside the festival.

Bath and Bristol are both beautiful imo and Bristol also has a very cool vibe.

"Many deprived and run places can have a good feel to them."

Such as?

In Newport's case I think it really is the deprivation that makes it a sad place.
The landscape is OK, the bridges, the river, etc.

"For me, it wasn’t how ‘run down’ Newport is (most city centres are run down and dirty now, sadly), it was the general vibe. It had quite a menacing and desperate air."

But the menacing and desperate air is related to how run down the place is!

I wasn't expecting a hive of activity though?

Nowhere on any site or their Insta pages does it say that the bookshops, of which there are over two dozen, are only open during festival times. They all have opening times but everyone single shop in the place was closed. Wasn't a Sunday or a bank holiday either.

Even the antique places and newsagents were all closed.

@Nosecan Is that the QAnon, Farage-loving conspiracy nut Mappin? Have seen it suggested he funds a lot of the UK anti-vaxxers on social media.

Yes, that’s him!

I've been to Nottingham and quite liked it, it was a few years ago though but it had a good vibe about it...

I agree about Coventry. It's so depressing.

Also,

Marks and Spencer Food Hall - full of rude people. The difference between there and Aldi is shocking.

@Sherrystrull sorry can't agree with that. I'm an incredibly polite person and am always in M&S food hall !! And the Aldi here is full of rude buggers - that's just where you are.

I don't understand the attraction to Camber Sands either. Especially when Rye is next door and so lovely!

i was lucky enough to go to Camber Sands in 2020
it was just gorgeous
not a soul

Marks and Spencer Food Hall - full of rude people. The difference between there and Aldi is shocking.

What, all of them? 😂

You should probably have a look at a dictionary some time.

"Envy" doesn't mean what you seem to think it does.

'Jealousy' and 'envy' do get over used on MN, though, to be honest. It's as if some people can't think of anything else as a retort when anyone disagrees with their opinion. It comes across as lacking in vocabulary or communication skills in general.

Ironically, I have a first in English lit so I’m
willing to bet my vocabulary is better than yours Sofia

Look, I have no skin in the game. I don’t live there, I’m just bemused that London has been confirmed as the world’s top city in the 2022 Wealth Report, ahead of New York and Paris and you think it’s as shit hole.

You should probably have a look at a dictionary some time.

"Shit hole" doesn't mean what you seem to think it does.

I find that quite surprising. Not the food as such, but I go there at least a couple of times a year, never during festival time, and the book shops are always open normal business hours. It's nothing like as good as it used to be, though, and the price of the toilets is a pisstake (pun intended).

Newport Pagnell immediately made me think “Julie’s Pantry” so I’m guessing it’s that service station it used to be at in the 70s/80s. I haven’t thought about that amazing place for years. Burgers and thick milkshakes before I’d heard of McD’s

Yes, I’m sure that is the case in some ways. However as I said, most city centres are run down now and, for me, they don’t have the same vibe as Newport did when I visited.
It seems to be a personal thing. There are loads of places mentioned on here that I think are lovely. Newport just left me feeling a bit unnerved.

Kennoway. Westerhailes. Cumbernauld.

It's a tie between Stockton and Middlesborough

Portland in Dorset
Weymouth fine but I got the shivers and couldn't wait to leave the island
Couldn't put my finger on why, although I know the Prison and RNAS are there

Personally, I've really enjoyed reading this thread. I like all the different perspectives!

Anyway for me, it's the motorway run through Glasgow (M74/M8). You can't really see anything as you're whizzing through, but there's just something inherently sinister in the air there. I've no idea why, but I always feel very relieved once that bit of the journey is done.

I also find that places (buildings and even some furniture) feel like they absorb un/happiness, this is irrespective of 'wealth'. For example, the area I'm currently temporarily trapped in has a deeply unhappy feeling; I feel decidedly unsettled/constantly on my guard, yet my last place (less affluent - in case anyone wondered) was always bright, cheerful, peaceful...

OP, as a final thought, maybe you should start a thread about 'inspiring/can't wait to go there places!' instead, see if it causes less arguments?

Here's one: the area all around Ullapool/Ardmair. Just the thought of going there puts me at ease.

Headabovetheparakeet, I’m in agreement with you! I come out of an M&S Foodhall anxious and bewildered. From start to finish, especially if I have to use self service.

Have any of the major cities escaped censure? I think Norfolk has got off lightly. Anyone want to take a pop at Norwich?