Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
Hey pandas! Cities often get hyped up as the 'most livable,' but sometimes the reality doesn’t match the reputation. Which city do you think is the most overrated when it comes to livability, and why?
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
This is my own very subjective opinion, and I know I may get some downvotes. But I think that all cities are overrated. Any place with a population over 20,000 people and you have awful air quality, constant traffic, unaffordable housing, high crime, being forced to live in places where you can hear your neighbors snore, noise, etc. I have lived in both types of scenarios: urban and small town. Living in a city was always full of stress. And it was so expensive that I rarely had the money to be able to enjoy the actual virtues of city life—museums, botanical gardens, plays, etc. Cultural activities were overpriced too. But I find that even in my current tiny town of only 4,000 we have an art center, live music, book groups, community theater. And I was able to buy my house for only 60,000. So, there’s that.
Final score:
7points
Lyone Fein (Submission author) 2 months ago
PS. I live in a small town in the American Midwest.
RELATED:
#2
Toronto, Canada. It's one of the first cities people think about going to. It's expensive and like a Canadian version of New York City. There are a lot of small to mid-sized towns across Canada worth checking out. We have vast national parks and nature conservatories that have more to offer.
Final score:
6points
#3
Dubai. Completely fake, and always an unnerving undercurrent of hostility towards westerners.
Final score:
5points
Mason Harper 2 months ago
I see your point, but experiences in Dubai can really vary depending on where you go and how you engage with the culture. Many visitors find it welcoming, modern, and safe, while others may feel differently. Just like reflecting on deeper meanings in life, resources like https://surahalmulk.org/ remind us to look beyond surface impressions and seek balance and understanding.
#4
I think it's NYC. People come there for a break through in their life but it's full of crime, pollution and expenses. There's a few good places but the image of NYC revolves around the Times Squares, the shops from which NYC residents rarely buy their stuff. :/
Final score:
4points
#5
I'm going to have to say Tokyo. Everyone always talks it up, but any time you need to go anywhere, you're either crammed into a train or stuck in traffic. You have to pay large amounts of money to live in a tiny apartment or pay tons of money to live in a larger place on the outskirts and then shell the money to commute to the office which can be around an hour one way. I get that people love Tokyo and all, but I'd rather live in my little middle of nowhere town where I can get around easily and not have to pay an arm and leg to be, as my drill instructer used to say "nut to butt" with random people daily.
Final score:
3points
#6
Melbourne. The crime that is happening down there is beyond belief, and genuinely terrifying. I have a friend living in St Kilda, a beachside Melbourne suburb, and I worry about him all the time.
Final score:
3points
#7
Seattle. The "Emerald City," has cut down so many trees, it's just a city now -- overpriced, crammed, touristy and boring. I live within driving distance, but I don't bother. I've seen enough cities, I don't need to see one more.
Final score:
3points
#8
Maybe this isn't a USA specific question, but the city I live in the Midwest is not as expensive as other cities but housing prices are WAY too expensive for the majority of us in this city that have lived here longer than 10 years. It's mostly a car required city to get pretty much anywhere. If you do use the public transportation system, it's limited as far as outside of the immediate downtown area.
Final score:
1point
What do you think ?
BrunoVI 2 months ago
Every major city in America that is glamorized is an over-priced hellhole. To all of these people constantly spouting anti-America hatred on BP, I'm just like, "that's the s**t your gods created." Pay eight times as much for rent, get horrible schools (not for lack of money), pay incredible taxes and live like a rat in a cage? Hell no. There are more affordable cities with worse crime (Chicago, Philadelphia, etc.) but I haven't lived in them to know if they're better. But Boston, DC, New York, LA? Hell no.
Crystalwitch60 2 months ago
LONDON !!! your 100 times safer in the Bronx than that awful place , very dangerous !!! I loath towns n cities , back of beyond for me , n I sure as hell ain’t going near London !! or b ham lol where the best thing about Birmingham is THE M5 OUT OF IT !!
dan s 2 months ago
Victoria, BC. It's often rated one of or the most livable city in Canada. I lived there for two years. It is objectively beautiful, like a giant garden, and it has mostly nice weather. The people on the other hand? Nasty, uptight, arrogant, dismissive, cliquish, deeply unfriendly to outsiders, weirdly angry, and terrible crime and homelessness. Did I mention arrogant? Oh my God, I had to leave because the next person who told me how much better BC is than Ontario was gonna get a punch in the mouth. Four times this happened in two years, and had never happened in my life or since. I'm standing at a stop light, the pedestrian light goes green, and as I cross, someone in a car trying to turn left just lost their mind at me. I had the right of way but no matter. One woman tried to run me over. They ridicule everyone. People from the Prairies- rednecks and cowboys. People from up-island? Hillibillies. People from West Vic? Thugs and losers. People from Ontario, especially Toronto? A******s.
dan s 2 months ago
Just to get more in: People in BC in general tend to be very arrogant toward the rest of the country but it's taken to the level of fine art in Victoria. The people love their self-image as cool, and laid-back, but I found them to be angry, tense, uptight, pissy, miserable a******s. I wouldn't live with those people if you paid me.
Load More Replies...
BrunoVI 2 months ago
Every major city in America that is glamorized is an over-priced hellhole. To all of these people constantly spouting anti-America hatred on BP, I'm just like, "that's the s**t your gods created." Pay eight times as much for rent, get horrible schools (not for lack of money), pay incredible taxes and live like a rat in a cage? Hell no. There are more affordable cities with worse crime (Chicago, Philadelphia, etc.) but I haven't lived in them to know if they're better. But Boston, DC, New York, LA? Hell no.
Crystalwitch60 2 months ago
LONDON !!! your 100 times safer in the Bronx than that awful place , very dangerous !!! I loath towns n cities , back of beyond for me , n I sure as hell ain’t going near London !! or b ham lol where the best thing about Birmingham is THE M5 OUT OF IT !!
dan s 2 months ago
Victoria, BC. It's often rated one of or the most livable city in Canada. I lived there for two years. It is objectively beautiful, like a giant garden, and it has mostly nice weather. The people on the other hand? Nasty, uptight, arrogant, dismissive, cliquish, deeply unfriendly to outsiders, weirdly angry, and terrible crime and homelessness. Did I mention arrogant? Oh my God, I had to leave because the next person who told me how much better BC is than Ontario was gonna get a punch in the mouth. Four times this happened in two years, and had never happened in my life or since. I'm standing at a stop light, the pedestrian light goes green, and as I cross, someone in a car trying to turn left just lost their mind at me. I had the right of way but no matter. One woman tried to run me over. They ridicule everyone. People from the Prairies- rednecks and cowboys. People from up-island? Hillibillies. People from West Vic? Thugs and losers. People from Ontario, especially Toronto? A******s.
dan s 2 months ago
Just to get more in: People in BC in general tend to be very arrogant toward the rest of the country but it's taken to the level of fine art in Victoria. The people love their self-image as cool, and laid-back, but I found them to be angry, tense, uptight, pissy, miserable a******s. I wouldn't live with those people if you paid me.
Load More Replies... You May Like 30 Of The Most Irksome Things Annoying People Often Say 170 Personal Questions To Get To Know Someone Beyond Their Favorite Color 46 Times People Thought They Had A Mysterious Medical Issue But Finally Figured It Out
Neilas Šurkus
Eligijus Sinkunas
Indrė Lukošiūtė
Related on Bored Panda
