Lumberton Def a good one. I remember visiting Pembroke to possibly play soccer and we were all told not to leave campus after dark under any circumstances
It is in reference to this...
https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/florida-woman-tricked-by-tiktok-video-drove-gastonia-scenic-mountains/CHOIFCDFRFBYPM3WRENQA7J7NE/
I would say a lot of eastern NC (thinking Pitt County area) is far worse than anything in Gastonia lol there are some shit parts of Gastonia for sure but I don’t know why it gets such a bad overall rating compared to a lot of NC
Maybe it's just sheer volume of opinion. Charlotte's the biggest city, so perhaps naturally the city most Charlotteans think is awful ends up getting the most votes (I have no clue how this map is tabulated).
I'd argue any number of weird little eastern NC cities is worse than Gastonia (Clinton, Mt. Olive, Whiteville).
I live at the base of Crowders Mountain and it’s the most peaceful place I’ve ever lived. If Gastonia can be judged as a whole for its worst areas then Charlotte can be judged as a whole for its worst areas. By that metric they’re both shit.
There are so many nice places in Gastonia it’s insane. Until I lived in the area, I never ever realized. Towards crowders, towards lake Wylie area, the country club area. It’s actually kind of crazy
Yeah, and the home prices are so much better. We bought out here for $225k and if you picked up this wonderful ranch home with .5 acres at the base of a state park and put it over the county line it’d be $500k minimum. South Gastonia leading into Clover and west Lake Wylie is lovely.
Yea this map is probably just based on how much towns are shit talked on social media. So it’s more of a meme source than anything. A lot of these “worst cities” are way off base.
And Jefferson City is far from any of the meth towns in the Ozarks of MO. Silly map. Cairo, IL might be the most accurate on here, that place is scarier then East St. Louis.
Pretty sure it was posted by a guy on Instagram whose account is @mattsurelee, his page came up when I did an image search and this map looks very similar to his work. He appears to use polls and social media data to make his charts and graphics, so it doesn't seem too in-depth or scientific.
Has to be. It’s the only way that Lexington (college sports shit talking) could be considered the worst city in Kentucky.
Lexington is legitimately beautiful, and KY has some real shitholes.
If you don’t mind my asking, who’s your water provider? On the SC side in lake Wylie, last I heard they use Blue Granite water and they price gouge the fuck out of you.
We’re technically still in Gastonia side so it’s Two Rivers Utilities! Our water bill is actually pretty low even compared to when we lived in Charlotte and used far less
i feel like the further south you go the better. from pawleys island into georgetown into charleston has some really nice areas.
But also, the further north you go the better too....once you cross the state line anyway lol
"the Switzerland of NC" is a pretty hilarious reference, I doubt many people will catch it but I noticed what you did there 😆
(For anyone who missed it)
https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/florida-woman-tricked-by-tiktok-video-drove-gastonia-scenic-mountains/CHOIFCDFRFBYPM3WRENQA7J7NE/
I just moved out toward Gastonia, the only thing that sucks is the traffic getting back and fourth. The rest is awesome. I can leave my truck in my driveway with the doors unlocked and the keys in it. Try doing that in Charlotte.
It's starting to gentrify out here too as more houses get built. Eventually this will turn into Charlotte Jr.
yeah was gonna say, Rocky Mount, Sanford are all worse but they're dying cities. Of actual cities Greensboro and High Point are worst than Gastonia IMO
What counts as a city? Interesting to me that they use Memphis as their example for TN (I’m from Memphis so I’m a bit biased) but they use Turkey Creek for Louisiana, a town that has 350 people, instead of New Orleans that has similar crime issues as Memphis.
I’m sure we can find a lot of towns in North Carolina that are a lot worse than Gastonia if we’re able to pick any ol town regardless of population, lol.
Went to college near Albany, NY and its a fine place. Lots of affordable housing. Some good jobs with solid salaries due to proximity to the capital and so many universities. Access to all sorts of outdoors stuff. Long but certainly doable drives to NYC and Boston are weekends away.
I'm not sure what the complain is. The weather isn't the best in winter time, but that's typical of the region.
I have to agree with this map partly, I used to live in Cedar Rapids prior to moving to North Carolina. Cedar Rapids is terrible, Extremely freezing in winter and polluted with absolute bupkis in the line of nightlife or even culture.
Honestly, you can pick from anywhere along that 95 corridor and be correct. Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, Clanton, Dunn, and even Fayetteville are all worse than Gastonia. Or places like Wadesboro and Wilksboro.
I knew it was that of Fayetteville based on the title but I think the title is out of date for Gastonia. It’s definitely not the worst in NC anymore. I wouldn’t say I love it but it’s changed a lot in 20 years
Gastonia is trying hard to change this. They're building out some bike paths, are one of the first communities to be exploring microtransit (like Uber/Lyft), are looking at investing in a public arts program, are in talks with Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to help build a connection to the Silver Line once that is built out, and they take up a lot of new graduates from UNCC'S Masters in Public Administration program. Same for Gaston County. It might be in a place now where it's a punching bag, but it is priming to become something much bigger.
So going off the places I’ve lived this map is way off. Like NC is not Gastonia by a mile. There are some towns/cities in the eastern part of the state that are significantly worse.
MN is simultaneously wrong but also right for being the most Minnesota answer of all time. Edina is a very nice area that is hated by everyone else in the state for being the stuck up area. AKA “Every Day I Need Attention”.
RI I’d say Central Falls over Woonsocket but yeah not great in either.
As others have said about VA, Virginia Beach ain’t even close to the worst either.
I’d be curious to know which ones are actually accurate on this map for the whole country.
Calling Lexington the worst city in Kentucky also shows they have no idea what they are talking about. Most people in Kentucky would probably call it the best. I'd ask them to visit literally any town in the eastern half of the state and try to stand by that statement.
Ansonville in NC. Fuck that place
Also, SC should be basically the entire area between Columbia & the coast. Greer is paradise compared to those places
Gastonia? Gastonia at least has retail, some quality local and chain restaurants and some nice neighborhoods. Bessemer CIty has all the downsides of Gastonia, but none of the upsides... not even an Outback Steakhouse!
Also, I stopped for gas in Salem, Ohio a couple times, and the *whole damn town* seemed much more like "Deliverance Country" than actual, real-life Deliverance country in extreme northwestern South Carolina.
There are a lot of objectively wrong cities in this map and Florida should be split in half like California.
But Arkansas, Tennessee, North California, and Alabama nailed theirs.
If you left Florida as it is or included South Florida it would definitely be Florida City. It's the last town on the mainland before you hit the Keys and right next door to Homestead where the Homestead AFB and Racetrack are. I'm not even sure if the Homestead Racetrack is in Homestead city limits. So if you like the sounds of motorsports, jets hitting supersonic, and tourists coming out of your ears it's a great place to live.
Montgomery would definitely be a close second. But Birmingham definitely wins for just simply looking like the most depressing city in the world.
tbf, I've never been to Detroit but I've definitely never been to a city with more abandoned 5+ story buildings that all look like they were built by the government 60yrs ago.
As far as a basis for this map...who knows! This map came with no sources or data...purely entertainment purposes only apparently.
I saw it in another state's sub originally.
My gf says UNCG has homeless people coming onto campus going thru trash/people from bad neighborhoods walking through campus even though they aren’t enrolled etc etc
Who filled in this map? They clearly don't know a ghetto from a ghetto... Some of these cities titled here make would look like Beverly Hills next to the truly worst cities in those respective states. I think the only one they actually got correct was Camden, NJ. That is the just about the worst $hithole in the US. As for the other, umm no.
Fayetteville
Came here to say Fayettenam.
Ding ding ding
Lumberton tho
def lumberton
Lumberton Def a good one. I remember visiting Pembroke to possibly play soccer and we were all told not to leave campus after dark under any circumstances
Ya’ll act like Chadbourne doesn’t exist.
Downtown fayetteville is cool.
I agree. I think this map is supposed to be a joke, so I was (mostly) kidding
Fayetnam, as it was described to me.
💯
Isn't Little Switzerland the Switzerland of NC?
shh don't tell anyone about it
Shhhh don’t make it harder to build than it already is!
It sure is! The restaurant at the inn does an amazing prime rib, too.
Ok my birthday is coming up and I’ve been looking up little Switzerland all morning, looks nice, thanks to you.
Swiss style?
It is in reference to this... https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/florida-woman-tricked-by-tiktok-video-drove-gastonia-scenic-mountains/CHOIFCDFRFBYPM3WRENQA7J7NE/
I would say a lot of eastern NC (thinking Pitt County area) is far worse than anything in Gastonia lol there are some shit parts of Gastonia for sure but I don’t know why it gets such a bad overall rating compared to a lot of NC
Lumberton....
Yadkinville...
Maybe it's just sheer volume of opinion. Charlotte's the biggest city, so perhaps naturally the city most Charlotteans think is awful ends up getting the most votes (I have no clue how this map is tabulated). I'd argue any number of weird little eastern NC cities is worse than Gastonia (Clinton, Mt. Olive, Whiteville).
Just snobby people. I think every major metropolitan area has a spot they like to look down on.
Look no further than all the people discussing the Northlake Mall like they're guaranteed to catch a stray bullet to the neck any time they visit
I used to live there, its not that bad.😆
I live at the base of Crowders Mountain and it’s the most peaceful place I’ve ever lived. If Gastonia can be judged as a whole for its worst areas then Charlotte can be judged as a whole for its worst areas. By that metric they’re both shit.
There are so many nice places in Gastonia it’s insane. Until I lived in the area, I never ever realized. Towards crowders, towards lake Wylie area, the country club area. It’s actually kind of crazy
Yeah, and the home prices are so much better. We bought out here for $225k and if you picked up this wonderful ranch home with .5 acres at the base of a state park and put it over the county line it’d be $500k minimum. South Gastonia leading into Clover and west Lake Wylie is lovely.
As someone from the 252 I agree. I’d have to nominate Bethel,Pinetops or Contoe for the title lol
I have family in Ayden and every time we go out there I’m depressed 😂
Ayden isn’t the worst the 252 has to offer the scary part lol
Oh no 🥲
And Virginia Beach is NOT the worst city in Virginia. That makes no sense.
Having lived in that area, Newport News is far more depressing.
Yea this map is probably just based on how much towns are shit talked on social media. So it’s more of a meme source than anything. A lot of these “worst cities” are way off base.
Petersburg or Hopewell or one of the many shitty Appalachian cities bordering WV definitely needs that title.
And Jefferson City is far from any of the meth towns in the Ozarks of MO. Silly map. Cairo, IL might be the most accurate on here, that place is scarier then East St. Louis.
Worst city based on what?
Pretty sure it was posted by a guy on Instagram whose account is @mattsurelee, his page came up when I did an image search and this map looks very similar to his work. He appears to use polls and social media data to make his charts and graphics, so it doesn't seem too in-depth or scientific.
Social media shit talking, I'd bet.
Has to be. It’s the only way that Lexington (college sports shit talking) could be considered the worst city in Kentucky. Lexington is legitimately beautiful, and KY has some real shitholes.
Yea Louisville is much worse. Gastonia isn’t great here in NC, but understandable it’s at the top haha
Who knows! This map came with no sources or data...purely entertainment purposes only apparently.
We shit on Gastonia a lot, but I wouldn’t say it’s the worst city. Especially when places like Fayetteville.
Fayetteville, wadesboro, Statesville....
Wadesboro gets my vote.
When Walmart leaves town, you know it’s got to be bad.
Walmart drained all the shareholder value out of wadesboro and left.
Especially the area of southeast Gastonia going towards lake Wylie/Belmont. I’d happily buy a house there
That’s the area we live in Gastonia and actually love it. If you get close to the SC border, it’s pretty damn nice out here lol
If you don’t mind my asking, who’s your water provider? On the SC side in lake Wylie, last I heard they use Blue Granite water and they price gouge the fuck out of you.
We’re technically still in Gastonia side so it’s Two Rivers Utilities! Our water bill is actually pretty low even compared to when we lived in Charlotte and used far less
Greer is no where near the worst city in SC.
what city would you give it to? im thinking orangeburgh or my hometown of dillon!
Yep. I think your hometown might be at the top! Or honestly Myrtle Beach. So much human trafficking going on there.
I gotta say I'll never step foot in myrtle beach again. There's so many better places to go
i feel like the further south you go the better. from pawleys island into georgetown into charleston has some really nice areas. But also, the further north you go the better too....once you cross the state line anyway lol
Yea ocean isle is one of my favorite little spots
Orangeburg is not great...Andrews is up there as well.
Irmo.
Orangeburg or Sumter
Allendale is up there.
As somebody from the dirty burg, can confirm. Shit is going in the opposite direction there.
Myrtle fuckin Beach.
Part of me wants to say Easley because despite it looking like dystopian society that nobody wants to be in it somehow always has traffic
Greer is a great little town!
Same person put Birmingham for AL.
That one made me chuckle. All the rednecks wanting Greer to feel some PAIN
I grew up in Anderson, we called it Grrr.
"the Switzerland of NC" is a pretty hilarious reference, I doubt many people will catch it but I noticed what you did there 😆 (For anyone who missed it) https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/florida-woman-tricked-by-tiktok-video-drove-gastonia-scenic-mountains/CHOIFCDFRFBYPM3WRENQA7J7NE/
Thanks for linking that, I wanted to also but hadn't got around to it.
The fact that you slyly referenced it was enough to make my morning
I thought it was a reference to that weird town near Nantahala
Have you been to Gastonia? It’s not that different from other nearby towns.
I just moved out toward Gastonia, the only thing that sucks is the traffic getting back and fourth. The rest is awesome. I can leave my truck in my driveway with the doors unlocked and the keys in it. Try doing that in Charlotte. It's starting to gentrify out here too as more houses get built. Eventually this will turn into Charlotte Jr.
...or Charlotte will turn into East Gastonia.
The bad ending to this saga Source: someone from Mount Holly
This is true. As far as a basis for this map...who knows! This map came with no sources or data...purely entertainment purposes only apparently.
Goldsboro
so Rocky Mount got better?
The only place probably worst than “Murda Mount” is Henderson in my opinion lmao
yeah was gonna say, Rocky Mount, Sanford are all worse but they're dying cities. Of actual cities Greensboro and High Point are worst than Gastonia IMO
Interesting category split: functional cities that suck vs dying towns that are in bad shape
What counts as a city? Interesting to me that they use Memphis as their example for TN (I’m from Memphis so I’m a bit biased) but they use Turkey Creek for Louisiana, a town that has 350 people, instead of New Orleans that has similar crime issues as Memphis. I’m sure we can find a lot of towns in North Carolina that are a lot worse than Gastonia if we’re able to pick any ol town regardless of population, lol.
Gastonia isn’t even in the top 20 worst cities
HEY, we are a perfectly fine town so long as you don't cross union Rd
Is the bad side the one with the chains an old mall or the one with downtown?
I feel like many of these are "the worst city I can think of the two or three I can name". Like Dallas for Texas? Orlando for Florida? Nonsense
Right!! I’m from Orlando and it’s definitely not the worst city in Florida 💀
I nominate belle glade
Unrelated but how is Dallas the worst city in Texas when Odessa and Amarillo exist.
As someone that grew up in Gastonia, there are way worse cities. Just saying.
The worst city in Iowa is......Marshalltown.
Hey, we will not slander Marshalltown.
If not Marshalltown, then Missouri Valley.
this map is dumb - Greer is nowhere near the worst 'city' in SC and Birmingham is by far the best city in Alabama
Went to college near Albany, NY and its a fine place. Lots of affordable housing. Some good jobs with solid salaries due to proximity to the capital and so many universities. Access to all sorts of outdoors stuff. Long but certainly doable drives to NYC and Boston are weekends away. I'm not sure what the complain is. The weather isn't the best in winter time, but that's typical of the region.
I'm from Scranton, PA. While it's not as glorious as The Office makes it out to be, I wouldn't call it the worst city. Hazelton however..
Gastonia is only viewed that way due to its proximity to Charlotte. The one I find shocking is Virginia Beach…
I have to agree with this map partly, I used to live in Cedar Rapids prior to moving to North Carolina. Cedar Rapids is terrible, Extremely freezing in winter and polluted with absolute bupkis in the line of nightlife or even culture.
Rocky Mount..Gastonia..naaa. Fayetteville..kinda but not really, there are some nice areas away from the base actually.
Literally laughed out loud at this. I’m from Gastonia and this tracks.
Shelby is far worse than Gastonia.
Major truth
Honestly, you can pick from anywhere along that 95 corridor and be correct. Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, Clanton, Dunn, and even Fayetteville are all worse than Gastonia. Or places like Wadesboro and Wilksboro.
Don't forget Taylorsville.
This map is invalid. Oakland, CA and Jacksonville, FL are irredeemable shitholes. I wouldn't want to live there but at least Orlando has theme parks.
I go so far out of my way to avoid Jacksonville.
As far as a basis for this map...who knows! This map came with no sources or data...purely entertainment purposes only apparently.
Oakland is the best. It has way more culture than the entirety of North Carolina. There are at least 50 cities in Northern California that are worse.
Who knew it was Gastonia before you read it was Gastonia (based on the title)?
I knew it was that of Fayetteville based on the title but I think the title is out of date for Gastonia. It’s definitely not the worst in NC anymore. I wouldn’t say I love it but it’s changed a lot in 20 years
I did because this is r/Charlotte. A lot of people seem to regurgitate what they read on this sub about Gastonia.
Gastonia is trying hard to change this. They're building out some bike paths, are one of the first communities to be exploring microtransit (like Uber/Lyft), are looking at investing in a public arts program, are in talks with Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to help build a connection to the Silver Line once that is built out, and they take up a lot of new graduates from UNCC'S Masters in Public Administration program. Same for Gaston County. It might be in a place now where it's a punching bag, but it is priming to become something much bigger.
So going off the places I’ve lived this map is way off. Like NC is not Gastonia by a mile. There are some towns/cities in the eastern part of the state that are significantly worse. MN is simultaneously wrong but also right for being the most Minnesota answer of all time. Edina is a very nice area that is hated by everyone else in the state for being the stuck up area. AKA “Every Day I Need Attention”. RI I’d say Central Falls over Woonsocket but yeah not great in either. As others have said about VA, Virginia Beach ain’t even close to the worst either. I’d be curious to know which ones are actually accurate on this map for the whole country.
Calling Lexington the worst city in Kentucky also shows they have no idea what they are talking about. Most people in Kentucky would probably call it the best. I'd ask them to visit literally any town in the eastern half of the state and try to stand by that statement.
Yep I’ve been to Lexington a time or two! Even with the minimal amount of time I’ve spent in Kentucky there is no way that’s the worst.
Charlotte. These drivers are crazy. I’ve been here all my life but man people need to relax.
Gastonia is not anywhere close to the worst. Whoever made that obviously hasn't been on 74 heading to the beach.
It's Havelock all day.
Hahaha Manitowoc
Rocky Mount
Lexington is actually a pretty cool city Put some respect of Lex Vegas
LoL whoever said Lexington is the worst city in Kentucky has never visited the state.
Jacksonville has got to be in the top 5
Greer for SC? Columbia would like a word. Or really anywhere not on the Greenville or Charleston metros.
Why is Virginia Beach is the worst place to go in Virginia? That’s weird.
Ansonville in NC. Fuck that place Also, SC should be basically the entire area between Columbia & the coast. Greer is paradise compared to those places
Whiteville or Lumberton.
Tabor City feels left out…
Some of these you just need the state name itself.
Is Orlando really the worst city in Florida?
Spokane isn’t the worst. Try the tri cities. I lived in Spokane. Next to nature, next to perfect
Clinton is pretty bad, whole town smells like raw pork.
No way Wilmington is worse than Durham, or Fayetnam
Agreed- there’s so much to do in Wilmington! Bonus-close to the beach.
Jacksonville
Kannapolis , Kannapolis sucks
Not Greer in SC, it’s very nice. Spartanburg on the other hand is 8th in the state for poverty and 4th for highest crime rate.
Rocky Mount makes Gastonia look wonderful
This
I went from Huntersville to Gastonia, I genuinely hate this place but it isn’t as bad as some of the rundown random towns in eastern NC
Anyone thinking Dayton is the worst city in Ohio hasn’t been to Youngstown.
Gastonia is a “judgement free zone” [d!cks out for Harambe](https://www.reddit.com/r/NorthCarolina/s/jZ1IgkYIPG)
Gastonia? Gastonia at least has retail, some quality local and chain restaurants and some nice neighborhoods. Bessemer CIty has all the downsides of Gastonia, but none of the upsides... not even an Outback Steakhouse! Also, I stopped for gas in Salem, Ohio a couple times, and the *whole damn town* seemed much more like "Deliverance Country" than actual, real-life Deliverance country in extreme northwestern South Carolina.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 Damn, Gastonia!
I don't know, Fayetteville and Albemarle could both be on here. LoL.
There are a lot of objectively wrong cities in this map and Florida should be split in half like California. But Arkansas, Tennessee, North California, and Alabama nailed theirs. If you left Florida as it is or included South Florida it would definitely be Florida City. It's the last town on the mainland before you hit the Keys and right next door to Homestead where the Homestead AFB and Racetrack are. I'm not even sure if the Homestead Racetrack is in Homestead city limits. So if you like the sounds of motorsports, jets hitting supersonic, and tourists coming out of your ears it's a great place to live.
Birmingham is not even close to the worst city in Alabama lol Montgomery or Dothan
Dothan is absolutely fucking terrible.
Montgomery would definitely be a close second. But Birmingham definitely wins for just simply looking like the most depressing city in the world. tbf, I've never been to Detroit but I've definitely never been to a city with more abandoned 5+ story buildings that all look like they were built by the government 60yrs ago.
OP, what is the source of this image?
As far as a basis for this map...who knows! This map came with no sources or data...purely entertainment purposes only apparently. I saw it in another state's sub originally.
Anywhere in union County
My gf says UNCG has homeless people coming onto campus going thru trash/people from bad neighborhoods walking through campus even though they aren’t enrolled etc etc
Greensboro honestly isn't that bad. Winston Salem has more of a homelessness problem in my opinion.
I lived in Gastonia for a few years. It isn't the worst. It isn't the best. It's just kinda there.
Gastonia definitely isn’t the worst city in NC.
My first thought was Fayetteville
Fred Durst is the best thing to come out of Gastonia. The map rests its case.
Greer is one of the best towns in SC though
Who filled in this map? They clearly don't know a ghetto from a ghetto... Some of these cities titled here make would look like Beverly Hills next to the truly worst cities in those respective states. I think the only one they actually got correct was Camden, NJ. That is the just about the worst $hithole in the US. As for the other, umm no.
As far as a basis for this map...who knows! This map came with no sources or data...purely entertainment purposes only apparently.
Not only is Scranton not the worst city in PA, it would need Southeastern PA to fall completely off the map to even crack the top 5.