Overrated Cities

In my recent perusal of youtube I have come across a video consisting of a list of the most overrated cities. The list comprised of Paris, Rome, Sydney, London, New York, Shanghi, Rio De Janeiro, Barcelona, Athens, and Amsterdam, and explained why each city was ‘overrated’ in it’s own way.

All of these cities are on my list of places that I would like to visit, four of which are places that I would love to visit again. Paris, Rome, London, and Amsterdam are very near and dear to my heart, and I know from personal experience that most of what is claimed in this video does them a great disservice. Not only that, but the mission of said video seems, other than to acquire views, to be to dissuade people from visiting these ten beautiful, culturally significant hubs. I have a massive problem with that, so here are five points which the video claimed to be the source of many of these cities ‘overratedness’, and why they are fundamentally wrong.

#1. Cleanliness

Paris, Rome, and London were all called out on being dirty cities. I can attest that Rome is the worst of them, closely followed by Paris. London isn’t too bad, however the air pollution definitely is. There are even signs on the tube urging people to use bicycles and other, greener means of transport, to help ease this.

Is this a reason not to visit? Maybe if you’re highly asthmatic of have a lot of trouble breathing. Otherwise? Absolutely not. Bring hand sanitizer wherever you go, which I do irregardless of my destination, and be prepared for a bit more of a mess than you’re used to. Rome I will say does need to step up it’s sanitation game but I refuse to say that it’s overrated because of that.

#2. Friendliness

London is apparently the world’s second most unfriendly city and Parisians are known for being curt with people who don’t have perfect French. New York wasn’t mentioned but I’m told from other sources they don’t have the most welcoming demeanor. The major issue I take with these statements is that it implies that an entire city should be friendly to you because you’re a visitor. That’s absurd. Yes it’s nice to visit a friendly place but ultimately the citizens of these cities, as individuals, do not owe you anything. The second issue I take is that I’ve found it to be untrue in the places I’ve visited. Londoners are always willing to help if asked, and are often very proud that they know their city like the back of their hand. The mark of a true Londoner is to know the tube system by heart after all! Parisians being curt with less than perfect French is also understandable, especially when it’s obvious that a lot of visitors don’t make an ounce of effort to learn French, or even carry around a little pocketbook of sentences. Aunt River and I were actually yelled at in Amsterdam, a place not usually known for it’s rudeness. You will encounter unpleasant people everywhere, that should not be a deterrent to travel.

#3. Crowding

It’s a city. If you’re visiting a city you should expect it to be crowded.

#4. Infrastructure

People seem to be disappointed by the architecture of many cities. Rome, London, Rio De Janeiro, and Athens especially. Rome’s modern infrastructure is in ruins, London’s skyline is a mix and match of old buildings and new, Rio De Janeiro and Amsterdam are both accused of having ‘bland’ architecture and Athens, the old bit of Athens mind you, the Acropolis, doesn’t have enough shade. Scaffolding around the Acropolis meant to facilitate the repairs of the ancient city is said to ‘detract from the experience’. Rome should probably do something about it’s infrastructure, it’s necessary to keep its citizens safe, but complaining about a lack of consistency in a skyline, a lack of differentiation in another, and a lack of shade in a city which was built before the time of Christ is astounding to me. These are things that some people might not enjoy, but it’s absurd to me that they would stop someone from visiting a city with so much to offer.

#5. Authenticity

Shanghi is too westernised, Paris has just too many tourists, Athens has too much scaffolding. Barcelona has too many tourist traps.

No … ?

Shanghi is westernised because it is a major port city and had to adapt during periods of colonisation. Paris has tourists because it is a cultural hub of the western world. Athens has scaffolding because they are trying to preserve their history for future generations. Barcelona having too many inauthentic experiences seems to me to be directly correlated to tourists not appreciating or engaging with the authenticity they were offered.

That brings us to the real reason I think cities get labelled as overrated. For all the calls for authenticity, people rarely appreciate truth; these cities are not perfect, they never have been. The people who claim that a city is overrated are the same people who travel for the wrong reasons; to find a magical cure all for whatever ails them, to find greener pastures if not a fantasy land, or because they think that to be well thought of they must travel and do so extravagantly. They will never travel beyond their own disappointment.

Travel because you’re a curious and wondrous person, because you are here for a limited amount of time and with what you have been given you want to explore the world around you. Travel because with every sense and every step you take you want to drink in what is new and different. Travel because any discomfort you suffer is the deeply discounted price for all the memories, knowledge, wonder, and experiences you will gain. Travel because your soul craves the nourishment that is adventure.

In the words of Robyn Young, “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”