What is the worst city in the UK?
Posted by Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 128 comments
There are many nice cities in the UK but in your view what is the worst and what are your reasons for your choice.
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ILikeXiaolongbao@reddit
I know that all places have redeeming qualities.
But anyone that’s spent significant time in Birmingham and Manchester should laugh at the idea that the former is the 2nd city.
Ugly, car-oriented, forgettable, unimportant culturally.
_CheddarRex_@reddit
Birmingham has a population of more than a million people. Manchester has about half that. That's the reason Birmingham is the second city, it's the second most populous city
soton_indies@reddit
Birmingham people don't crow about their city like Mancunians. I've always enjoyed going to both cities and they are proper cities.
Slightinsight@reddit
I am from Birmingham and planning to move to Manchester. It is way way nicer
Commercial-Choice-31@reddit
Lincoln near the train station today was like a zombie apocalypse
DatGuy82772@reddit
I don't believe that.
signol_@reddit
Rochester is the worst at being a city.. lost city status because of someone in the city council forgetting to file some paperwork.
LopsidedLegs@reddit
So a shit Town.
witdim@reddit
I can obviously only judge those that I've been to. By far the worst is Birmingham. It's like some sort of post-apocalyptic hellscape.
soton_indies@reddit
Birmingham is great. The people are ace. I love going there.
Slightinsight@reddit
I am from Birmingham and I agree
DatGuy82772@reddit
Don't get the Brum love at all. It's awful.
TransatlanticMadame@reddit
Middlesbrough. Crime and poverty.
Immorals1@reddit
Coventry is the first that comes to mind.
Very grey and stale, only redeeming features are the cathedrals
Slightinsight@reddit
I hate the massive highway roads in the middle of the city. Who designed that?
DatGuy82772@reddit
There's still some beautiful hidden architecture around Coventry.
Choice-Demand-3884@reddit
Got Herman Goering to thank for that, tbf
PingouinFluffy@reddit
And the post war planners, turned a medieval city into a concrete jungle.
L00ny-T00n@reddit
"Animals are after me..."
Pixie_UK@reddit
Loads of it has been demolished to make way for more apartment buildings in the city centre. It truly is dismal, empty shops, vapes stores, etc.
JChristSocialist@reddit
All cities have their benefits and drawbacks, however London does not want anyone even vaguely poor to live there - so London.
aregularguy3223@reddit
Slough
CunningOctopus@reddit
City?
aregularguy3223@reddit
Bradford then
L00ny-T00n@reddit
There's a lot to choose from, and as Luton is yet to be named a city, the award should go to Peterborough. Nice cathedral but surrounded by urban hell (Except the Ostrich Inn, a bit of an Oasis)
DatGuy82772@reddit
Peterborough has plenty of nice buildings tbh.
ikxbtd123@reddit
I’m surprised nobody has said Doncaster yet
DatGuy82772@reddit
Doncaster is dreadful but Bradford is worse.
squodgenoggler@reddit
Slough
rockdecasba@reddit
Dunfermline, it's barely a city and somewhere you'd only venture to buy a second hand car
Wooden_Mushroom_1756@reddit
I live 10 miles away and haven’t set foot in the place in nearly 30 years.
catjellycat@reddit
Coventry - for lots of reasons beyond its control.
It’s a good place for getting other places tho, I’ll give it that
CeeApostropheD@reddit
Went to Coventry and Wolverhampton in the same day, as a day trip thing from my base in Birmingham. So I can only comment on the city centres here, but based on them, Wolverhampton was much more depressing than Coventry.
catjellycat@reddit
I’ll be honest - I googled if Dudley was a city before I gave my answer!
DatGuy82772@reddit
I think Dudley is better than Wolves. It has a zoo and a castle.
soton_indies@reddit
Good night out in both.
DatGuy82772@reddit
I agree. Wolves is horrible.
rybnickifull@reddit
Having grown up around Reading, it was amazing visiting Cov for the first time. Their ring road is an actual ring for instance!
MurdockMow@reddit
What’s wrong with Reading
-Rhymenocerous-@reddit
Insane amount of car theft for starters
MurdockMow@reddit
Really? I don’t drive so I wouldn’t know
soton_indies@reddit
A lot. The only thing going for it now is the Elizabeth Line.
MurdockMow@reddit
When was the last time you’ve been? I’ve had no complaints about it. Could be better but there’s a lot worse. Bus system is one of the best in the country
DatGuy82772@reddit
Reading is nicer than Cov.
CelDidNothingWrong@reddit
I’m glad that the people of Coventry at least get Nuneaton to look down on
DatGuy82772@reddit
I agree. Nuneaton makes Coventry look good.
DatGuy82772@reddit
I actually don't think Cov is all that bad apart from the odd architecture.
Ynoxz@reddit
Lived there for 3 years whilst at uni. I actually didn't mind it really.
I'd go with Bolton. Went there for a job interview back in 2006 and my train had bricks thrown at it.
soton_indies@reddit
😂 Did the job have danger money?
Party_Advantage_3733@reddit
Bolton is a dump, but it's not a city.
Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)
What about warwick
soton_indies@reddit
Yeah Warwick doesn't even have its own university. It's in Coventry.
catjellycat@reddit
It doesn’t meet the perimeters of your own question! It’s not a city!
DatGuy82772@reddit
If you mean actual cities I would say Bradford. If not then I would say Oldham.
Randomfinn@reddit
Love oldham. Not from there, but found the people friendly, it had a nice downtown. Elected Churchill. I think it is less white than a lot of the UK so ppl don’t like that. Bradford I also thought was fine, wasn’t amazing, but again I think a lot of the shit spoken about it is mostly racism.
DatGuy82772@reddit
I don't think it is racism. It genuinely just appeared shit to me.
Excellent-Law-218@reddit
Well they said city didn't they? Then again, they also asked for reasons, and you didn't give any.
DatGuy82772@reddit
Reasons: litter, dereliction, chavs, crime etc.
Diplomatic_Gunboats@reddit
Belfast.
Icy-Belt-8519@reddit
Not many place I've been I really don't like, but Coventry wasn't great!
Educational_Sound188@reddit
Croydon
CelDidNothingWrong@reddit
It used to be one of the roughest parts of South London, and the country in general. Some of the worst gang wars in the 90s and 2000s, and it’s where most of London’s weed is still grown. BUT, the actual city centre has been pretty gentrified, and only West Croydon remains actively dangerous.
Educational_Sound188@reddit
I lived there a year ago. I still stand on my point.
Neat-Suspect-6666@reddit
Luton
MurdockMow@reddit
England
spoo4brains@reddit
The education system failed you badly.
MurdockMow@reddit
Perhaps so mate
ThrowRAkitty13@reddit
Bradford, no explanation needed.
colbysnumberonefan@reddit
Typical racist response.
ThrowRAkitty13@reddit
You're the one brining race into it.
promsuit@reddit
I mean, do you wanna live there? It’s a fucking shit hole and everyone knows why
Party_Advantage_3733@reddit
It's because of the Brats right?
promsuit@reddit
No it’s because of people from the global south turning it into a shite dump
Furicist@reddit
How? It objectively is awful, druggies all over the streets, dangerous, driving standards are awful, rubbish and degeneration everywhere. Big mix of people but it just isn't a nice place to live as far as living standards go.
Then there is the lack of bypass so you have to drive through Bradford if you're trying to move around due to the lack of quality planning, it takes absolutely ages to get anywhere. Bradford as a city seems broken, financially and in general.
I had a flat tyre in Bradford and the cinema nearby was nearly 60 quid to take me, my Mrs and kid in while we waited for the tyre to be changed down the road.
Gangs everywhere, some streets are literally just dirt roads, can't even drive on them due to all the rubbish blocking the way. So many homes seems to just have their front garden as a landfill. It's disgusting.
DatGuy82772@reddit
Is it?
FinanceBloke99@reddit
Depreston
AdministrativeLaugh2@reddit
Went for uni there and it rained probably every single day for at least the first six months. Loved my time there but my god it is a shithole
BillWilberforce@reddit
In Cardiff it seemed to absolutely piss down 1 in 3 days, particularly on a Wednesday morning when most of my lectures were. The sewers couldn't handle it and it was about a half hour walk to the Uni. So about 1 in 5 goes, there would be a colossal puddle in the middle of the road. Some car would go through it at speed and I'd get absolutely drenched.
OGSkywalker97@reddit
I mean it sounds like Depressed Town so
DatGuy82772@reddit
Ehhh, not great but not the worst imo.
Victoriaspalace@reddit
I applied to study at UCLan a good few years ago and lasted 3 months before I packed up and left. Such a depressing little place.
VisibleOtter@reddit
Not sure it’s a city, but Redcar made me want to emigrate before the pubs closed
Icy-Belt-8519@reddit
My friend lived in Redcar, I've never been but she couldn't speak enough shit about it 😂
youaresoincorrect@reddit
I reckon at least 75% of the comments are people posting their own towns/cities or previous towns/cities lived in lmao
I love the British standard that wherever you live is just "a shitehole"
MoleDunker-343@reddit
Almost as if it is indeed a shit hole 😅
Usual-Sound-2962@reddit
I found Bradford to be genuinely grim, there just seemed to be no local pride, rubbish dumped everywhere and at times felt genuinely unsafe.
Barry_Umenema@reddit
I haven't been to many of them, because, generally speaking, cities are shit holes.
I have been to Leeds though... holy shit
I've been to Winchester. That was actually really nice.
W51976@reddit
Probably Grimsby.
DatGuy82772@reddit
Not a city though.
soton_indies@reddit
Winchester. It's more of a suburb of London than a City.
DatGuy82772@reddit
Eh?
miscfiles@reddit
Winchester is certainly an unusual choice for worst city.
HuntingTheWren@reddit
Funnily enough, someone wrote a book called Shit Towns about 20 years ago which featured Winchester at number 1. I think the author had been thumped by a squaddie on a night out in Winchester.
It’s actually a marvellous place to live. Not perfect but it’s got so much going for it. Location is great for nature - green or blue - schools are good, it’s got culture, history, decent pubs, it’s well connected by road and rail, there’s a uni… Less positively, it suffers from a total overwhelm of chain shops and restaurants plus the use of space is poor (the old shopping centre and the even older bus station, notably) plus the house prices are fucking stupid. But on balance it’s a great little city.
soton_indies@reddit
It's only a city because it has a Cathedral. It's not on the official list of importsnt cities as judged by local authorities.
miscfiles@reddit
It's not big, but it's certainly got history. Reading is jealous of Winchester's city status.
stampmanf12020@reddit
?
turbo_triforce@reddit
Access to the South Downs, good walks, history, a beautiful river through it.
Absolutely not.
Extension_Pickle_581@reddit
Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. A throughly depressing and deprived place. I had to work there a few times a couple of years ago. No more thank goodness. Apart from a really good record store, The Musical Box, there is nothing else to recommend the place.
DatGuy82772@reddit
But it's not a city.
SometimesMonkeysDie@reddit
Colchester.
DatGuy82772@reddit
How?
Proud_Durian6956@reddit
Leicester
DatGuy82772@reddit
Leicester isn't great but it's historic and interesting at least.
MoleWhackSupreme@reddit
How can Leicester be the answer when Bradford exists
AloneChance0@reddit
Stoke on Trent is mundane and depressing, only good thing about it, is that it's close to Alton Towers
DatGuy82772@reddit
I agree. Stoke is horrible. And if you wanna go to Alton Towers Uttoxeter is a closer place to live anyway.
Moving4Motion@reddit
Bradford, Birmingham & Coventry.
arethainparis@reddit
Dunfermline. Crock of shite
Do_You_Want_Lunch@reddit
Utterly ashamed no one has said Birmingham yet. Repulsive place
soton_indies@reddit
Wells in Somerset has got to be another candidate. Equivalent to Winchester. Both full of money but nothing else.
crumpetsandchai@reddit
Rhyl
Excellent-Law-218@reddit
Rhyl isnt a city, dumbo.
idontlikemondays321@reddit
As someone who has been to about 70/76, it’s Stoke so far
Bbew_Mot@reddit
St. David's. Maybe it's not such a bad place but it is emblematic of how meaningless and arbitrary the word 'city' is in this country. We should be like Japan and declare every settlement of more than 50,000 people a city.
vientianna@reddit
Boston
Not a city, but truly the only place in the UK I’ve felt uneasy
humblepaul@reddit
Worst in what way? Nightlife? Crime? Food options? Housing costs? Farmers Markets? Availability of charcoal sourdough?
refundpackage@reddit
Yes
Top_Mix_6519@reddit
Bangor, Northern Ireland
Go visit and tell me how that absolute hovel is a city
Ceejayncl@reddit
It’s not so bad to be fair. I agree with the sentiment that it shouldn’t be a city though.
imck1911@reddit
Newry is much worse. Bangor has a nice beach at least.
MustyGooNerd@reddit
Newport, should be flattened and given to Cardiff for more affordable housing
witdim@reddit
Let's get rid of Cathays while we're at it though.
RumJackson@reddit
Loads of shitholes tbh.
Bradford is properly grim. I’ve only had limited time in Blackpool but that’s quite a depressing place. Lived in Leicester about 10 years ago, it was a bit shit then and it’s only gone downhill since.
yellowsapphire88@reddit
Stoke-on-Trent - monkey dust capital of the world!
MoAsad1@reddit
London
Mysterious_County154@reddit
Northampton
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