To ask for your experiences with Bath/strange atmospheres

[AliceInBlunderland13]

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 ) 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 ) 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…

I'm surprised only one person has mentioned ilkley. Creepy.

This thread is so interesting. I can't believe the similarities in peoples experiences, it cant just be a coincidence. I'm going to look up the radon/laylines stuff.
I felt uncomfortable in Bath and Buxton and it's funny how spa towns keep getting a mention.
I completely get the 'empty' feeling about bath. I'm a lover of big cities I love the hustle and bustle. But despite it being full of people it felt like a shut down sunday. Very odd.

I felt ok in Cheddar Gorge and Glastonbury, I've also been to Betsy co ed a lot and felt ok.
Randomly I always feel really excited when I go to Manchester or London but that's probably more to do with the fact that it's usually a weekend away with fun stuff like the theatre or a gig and they are rare. Ha

Lots of these places have a long history - settled by people for a long time. Combined with that they have maybe a reputation - whether that's tourist town or something else that maybe isn't met by a visitor. So different people are picking up different vibes.
I have never been a fan of Bath, hate Glastonbury and love Cheddar Gorge!
Other places I have struggled with are Fort William, Newquay and Chester. (I think all are supposed to be lovely tourist towns that have disappointed me)

My Son was at Uni in Bath for 3 years and absolutely loved it. We visited frequently, and although I never got any bad vibes as such, there was always a strange odour in all the buildings I ever entered. Not just the student houses (which - lets face it have a pong all of their own!), but in public places, civic buildings, pubs, shops etc. I could only describe it as a 'mineral' smell. Maybe it was the dust that pp have referred to, or the fact its a Spa town. Very odd, but the City itself is beautiful.

I agree with the radon gas theory. Mil lives in a high radon area and radon is responsible for so much more than we know, imo!

@songsofexperience I am pretty sure that radon is a heavy gas and so opening windows etc does nothing, you'd need to have a door open in every room and a fan to blow it out. The only way to reduce radon is to fit a pump which drags it out.

I am from Exeter and love the place
We moved overseas when I was young, coming back to the uk in my late teens I was shocked at how dead certain places felt. Other posters describing it as having the life sucked out of you is spot on. I never experienced this in the Southern Hemisphere which is where my family moved to. I also never, until this thread, realised other people may have experienced this feeling of deadness or suffocation in some parts of the uk. I wasn’t aware of the radon thing before reading this thread, will have to have a look.
Funny I have never been to bath but have always felt against going IYSWIM. Just don’t like the idea of the place.
Stonehenge felt like a flat battery to me at first but after a few hours there I could tune in. The energy is so very slow and old.
Portsmouth creeps me right out, so bleak and depressing.
I think I have been to Glastonbury and liked it? Can’t remember. Was going to go this summer but am outside the uk so that’s off the table for this year...

Bath has that feel because no-one is allowed to add any history to the place. Its controlled by the council and everything has to have a classic historical English feel. It leaves the place feeling stuck in the past.
Its also very small and isn't very private with the locals being quite gossipy people. No housing is built for younger people to afford so more and more old people buy houses to retire to leaving the demographic heavily of the middle aged and up. This means that to have a business you have to cater towards old people and tourists which means business wise the young and innovative set up shop elsewhere.

The younger people here are mostly students and leave so arent as vested in the city as longer term residents. The buildings are heavily protected by planing permissions as is most of the space so its just stuck in the 1790's with a social vibe of being stuck in the 1970's by the 55 plus year olds who can afford it due to inflating property prices plus the discounts they get for being over 55.

This gives the place a very distinctive lack of youthful energy plus resentful residents whos young children cant buy anything in the city they are from. Which makes them more hostile towards anyone who is young and more inclined to block student nights/plans for shops that cater for younger people. etc. Its firmly in the grip of the 55 plus year old baby boomer who are either liberal voters and hate big business and love little cake shops and arts and crafts, or 55 plus year old baby boomers who vote conservative and love big business and also love little cake shops and rugby. This crowd is also snobby to a degree I've not seen anywhere else.

Its beautiful to look at but its just out of touch for anyone who is under 40 and has any type of international outlook.

Never read such a load of old nonsense!

Bath air can be quite stifling. Surrounded by 7 hills the centre can feel quite airless to me. Pollution seems to get stuck there. But that wouldn't explain your issues if you were at the Uni (on top of one of the hills) and living outside the city.

This thread is insane. There are literally hundreds of studies into the effects of post grad study on mental health. All universities acknowledge that it's an issue. There are zero studies into the effects of Bath on mental health...Somerset council don't have a policy on this

I think it’s great - encourage all these loonies who think like this to stay away and leave beautiful Bath emptier for the rest of us to enjoy! I hear Wolverhampton and Taunton are gorgeous you should all visit there instead.

I hate Blackpool with a passion. Every single time I've been, it has rained solidly (even in August- forcasted hot and dry and rained.) I feel like the place leave a grubby coating on me and I can't wait to get away and wash it off.

My poor sister had a nightmare of a time in Halifax- stayed in an old pub for a work thing and was convinced that something was watching her all night. She came out the next morning and found her car had been vandalised and then one of the course leaders became really ill. She said as soon as she left, the feeling started to lift. It was a few years ago and she's never been back.

@PlomBear

Train stations (and airports and such) are liminal spaces. If you google, there's loads about them and why they feel so weird.

www.betterhelp.com/advice/general/understanding-how-liminal-space-is-different-from-other-places/

Wow, very interesting about radon gas! The radon map shows that the small village Betws y Coed mentioned by another poster is on a hotspot of radon gas.

Never been to Bath, Hastings, Buxton etc. Recall not liking Glastonbury or Stonehenge as much as I thought I would.

Loved Cornwall, Brighton and Cambridge immediately. Norfolk is fine generally but I do get a negative vibe in Cromer, especially the big old creepy hotel near the pier.

The place that I couldn’t wait to leave was Lancaster! On paper I should like it but it just felt bad. The castle/prison was worst but the whole place felt like death.

I also dislike Leeds, it feels bleak and cold and soulless. Love Manchester though!

Something about Edinburgh puts me off from going there, no idea why.

Omg that map!!! Everywhere I’ve lived until currently is about 5 miles away from an area of yellow/orange highlight! 😂 explains a lot! How strange. Derbyshire was the most hated (by me) of previous areas funnily enough.

Always had a feeling I wouldn’t like Wales ( no idea why, but still never been); Cornwall holidays as a child never felt relaxing I always looked forward to escaping & going home; as pp mentioned the drive through SW Scotland to the m6 completely agree that’s creepy. I went to Bath as a child but can’t remember how I felt. Felt really uncomfortable in Dover couldn’t wait to leave and was only there for one night.

Off to read more about radon now!

Quite a lot of these places are heavily touristed. I know Oban and Edinburgh very well and I think it's fair to say that, over the years a lot of the decisions made have been to the advantage of tourism but the disadvantage of the folk who actually live there. I think that's what gives them the dead feeling - the usual evolution of towns and cities has been diverted into something unreal.

Exactly. Theres a lot of transient people so no-one really adds anything long term. The locals seem to be very resentful of this, the tourists and the students and then become more cliquey amongst themselves. What Bath could really use is more 30 something, 40 something professionals who have ideas and also spend money in shops, restaurants and nightlife, putting more money into the city so Bath wouldn't have to rely so heavily on tourism and student accommodation.. The style is far too concerned with being "in keeping" with a certain look than delivering a liveable environment that caters to 21st century. Theres a sense of being trapped in an ideal from generations from 200 years ago.
People like to look at all the Georgian architecture but one wonders how much resistance they may have been met with when they initially created their plans.

I lived in Bath for around 3 years and had a breakdown/got clinical depression. First time I visited it I hated it and said I could never live there then I ended up having to live there about a year later. A year in and I got quite mentally ill and eventually left. This was about 20 odd years ago. It always felt fake and surface-y to me. Pretty but not genuine.

I visited this year and all I noticed was how white everyone is and how old. And wealthy.

Fake and surfacey is correct. Many of buildings have a Georgian facade to "keep up" with the crescent look and the other Georgian buildings. Unfortunately this fake surface also extends to the people who live there and proclaim it as the best place to exist in the country. Very parochial and seem to think they know best about everything though when pressed reveal that they dont know as much as they thought they did as they are so village minded and out of touch as to have no idea as to the outside world or just feel they are superior to places which are modern.
Jane Austin knew how fake Bath was and was also depressed during her time there and didnt produce any of her works while living there. The character in her play who says "who can tire of Bath" is meant to be an idiot which is why she likes the place. Then what happens? They create a Jane Austen museum as though the city inspired her creativity when in actual fact her books were written to make fun of the place.

Yes exactly. I found people really uneducated and small minded. Apologies to any Bath residents not everyone but generally. I never really made friends. I always felt like I had nothing to hang on to there. It was slippery if that makes sense. It's beautiful. I also hated the fact that social housing was outside the centre and hidden behind a wall! Twerton.

@CatherineOfAragonsPomegranate - Plymouth! I was surprised it hadn’t been mentioned on here. A heavy place.

I think what makes it so weird socially is the the conversations seem to be so transactional. "Are you useful to me possibly? If so lets talk" If not people will just stare at you as though they have been startled and scuttle off.

They also pretend they are very diverse and open minded but its kind of like James Blunt pretending he's in Gorrilaz. Nothing wrong with James Blunt or Gorrilaz but other than being musicians, but they arent the same. It is very white and again nothing wrong with that but it isn't diverse so why pretend to be? Its just more pretending more acting that isn't true. Its almost like the people that keep pretending its liberal and open minded secretly wish they live in Clifton, but dont want to be in Bristol because they're a little bit scared of wandering outside of Clifton into St Pauls.