People Who Actually Went Through With A Marriage Pact Share Their Experiences
In our imaginations, most of us think of marriage as something full of romance and gushiness. Heart eyes, longing glances, blushes and giggle fits... that's the sort of love we tend to think would lead to a marriage proposal.
But sometimes marriage is something totally different.
In the past it's been a way to cement political ties, or maybe for business or social advancement. Or, sometimes, to fulfill a pact.
A pact? A pact. One Reddit user wanted to explore those kinds of marriages when they asked:
We see it all the time in movies. Many of us have probably half-jokingly made one of those with a friend during our early years. But does anyone actually go through with them?
Shockingly, YES. We want to tell you that all of these stories end in happily ever after, but they don't. We don't really think it matters, though. Even the most romantic relationships don't always make it.
What we found even more interesting was the number of people for whom this kind of arrangement absolutely worked. Take a read.
The Weird Couple
"Weird" couple my wife knew had such a pact and followed through.
Girl was a really introverted, quiet, homely type. Sweetest girl. But she never had a boyfriend as far as I knew. And we saw her off and on for six or seven years.
Then suddenly out of nowhere she invited us to her wedding.
Anyways, it was to a guy we had met a couple of times who was one of her friends who seemed very much like her. My wife teased her that "more must have been going on all that time." But she was straight up about it, and said no, they just decided it was time.
Conversation was something like, "Yeah, you know how people have pacts to get married if neither of them are till they hit ___, well, we just decided it really wasn't going to happen for either of us, and to cut that short."
Basically we were just like, "cool?" and then left it at that.
Anyways, she married him, they looked happy. The speeches were a bit odd, they didn't really talk about love but a lot about how they were marrying their best friend.
They are still together, it's gotta be at least 5 years, and they have a little kid. Last we saw them they looked happy and that's all that matters really.
Eventual Evolution
Kind of. We left our spouses around the same time (not for each other) and decided to share a house. We got to taking one night and decided we each had all the things the other was looking for, plus we got along really well. We were in our mid-thirties by then and sick of the dating scene, so we just laid it out like a business arrangement.
What started off as an "arrangement" eventually evolved into something extremely serious and passionate. We've been together now for almost seven years and married for almost one. We are extremely in love and I have zero regrets.
Pranksters
A friend of mine married a college friend 3 years ago at the age of 33. Their bet was to get married if they were both single at 33 - but the intention was to basically prank their parents by going through with it. They intended to be married for several months and then just casually mention it, and later just get it annulled. So they went to the courthouse with a pair of friends, got married and then she moved into his apartment.
Thing was they'd been friends with benefits for a years when they were both single, and living together was so nice that they just stayed together. They're expecting their first kid in a few months.
Instructions Unclear
GiphyFamily friends had this pact. We were at her 30th and her boyfriend at the time proposed. Her best friend (with whom she had the pact) was gutted. He too had had a ring in his pocket. We know because he showed my dad.
Wait, the dude was gonna propose even though she had a boyfriend at the time? What part of "if we're single" did he not understand?
Happy New Year
My partner and I were close friends for 12 years before we got married. Through many friendships and relationships with other people, including one of us following a former lover across the country and the other being briefly engaged, we stayed "just friends" for a very long time:
On New Year's Eve in 2007-8, at the ripe old age of 23, we drunkenly made a pact to get married to each other if we weren't married by 30. Long story short, we didn't start dating until we both turned 30, but we got married pretty quickly after we started dating. Just celebrated 5 years of marriage, and we have a 2 year-old.
It's unconventional, but so are we, and it's ours.
InkMaster
I did. But we got married 10 years earlier. We met at an Inkmaster finale. We immediately connected. He lived in New York, I, Florida. I went back home and we Kept in touch. Made a promise if by the time we were 35 we'd marry each other. I was 25 at the time. Things intensified so much we truly believed we were meant for each other. I moved to Illinois to take care of my sick grandma. 3 months after meeting he flew there to visit and we got married. After a few more visits he moved there too. 4 years later and we have 2 kids.
Why Wait?
We ended up getting married a lot sooner. He wasn't necessarily waiting around for me but I realized I'd be devastated if he ended up with someone else and no longer had him as a constant friend in my life. Don't let the good ones get away. We've been married 13 years now and never regretted a minute of it.
Woke
Our promise wasn't for when we're 35 but 30. We have been friends for years before we made the joke-promise and have been friends for 11 years (became friends when I was 17 she was 16) Through many friendships and relationships with other people, including one of us almost getting engaged to a former lover, we still remained friends.
When I clocked 20 if I recall correctly, we jokingly promised to get married to each other if we weren't married by 30. Long story short, I'm 28 now and she's 26. we didn't start dating until last year and are supposed to be getting married in June (if corona virus lock down let's us). We went through a lot of maturity and personal changes in our early 20's and it was so admirable watching how she grew and became "woke". Over the course of 5 years watching her grow, I knew she was and still is the ONE. No regrets here.
- Bullzy17
Unhappily Ever After
GiphyMy parents had this kind of pact. Here is their story. Both of them were focusing mostly on their careers and didn't have time for marriage before then. They had been dating on and off for seven years and my mother was afraid of getting too old to marry, so she left her island home and a great job in newspaper marketing for the mainland and they got married. Things went south pretty quickly. Both of them were working up to 20 hours a day, and they didn't see each other much. I suppose the loneliness got to my father, because he slipped into depression and developed a pornography addiction, accused my mother of having an affair, and tried to kill himself. Things got worse when my mother miscarried what would have been my older brother or sister. I only know what little I could gather from hearing them fight after I was born, and I know there's much more to the story than what I know. Along I came a few years later after they had been trying for a child for years, and lo and behold, I have a birth defect and I almost die.
BUT I LIVED!!!
A few surgeries later, I'm relatively healthy and my dad quits his job to look after me. When I grew up enough to not need constant supervision anymore, however, my dad wouldn't get another job. My parents fought over it for years, and it kind of destroyed what was left of their marriage. The only reason they don't fight anymore is because my mother just gave up. Things only got worse as I grew. The house where I grew up now looks like a home out of Hoarders because my mother doesn't have time to clean, as she is the only breadwinner for the family, and my father is too depressed. He's stubborn and has a bad temper, so he acts like it's our problem whenever we're bring it up and refuses to go to therapy. He hardly ever leaves the house and doesn't really have any friends. He's only gotten worse since my grandmother died. I can't say anything more, because I'm too ashamed of the rest. It's quite sad to see two otherwise good people be so horrible to each other and live in such a sad state.
Kids On The Porch
My husband and I did this!
We met at around age ten. I lived in a violent household and he lived in the trailer park near my house. I ran away one night, and he was sitting on the porch shuffling Yugioh cards silently. We both froze when we saw each other. He then asked if I wanted to play because he had an extra deck.
We became quick friends. Whenever the violence got to be too much, I'd run to his house and we'd play. As we got older, we tried dating, but we were fairly innocent and messed it all up. Went back to being friends, but we swore to one another that we'd get married if we were single by age 30.
I joined the military after high school and he decided to go to college. We stayed connected through social media. I got married and had a daughter, he found a girlfriend and had a son. We talked about our kids and how happy we were for each other, and even laughed about our 'silly' agreement.
One day a few years later, after my then husband and I split amicably, he texted me out of the blue. We hadn't talked in months due to being adults now, and things got in the way. The text made me very nervous; it sounded more like a goodbye. His girlfriend had left him, and so much else was going on in his life that he just wanted to thank me for being his friend. I immediately called him and we talked for a long time, once again bringing up that we would never face the future alone because, if we didn't find our 'soulmates', we were going to get married at 30, grow old, and sit on our porch while I made tons of cookies. By the end of it, he was laughing and agreeing, and I felt like he was out of that dark hole.
I moved back to my hometown a few years later. I was 29 and he was 30. I kind of forgot about the plan at this point due to some family members being very sick. We bumped into each other one day with our kids and he also had a guy friend in tow, and it was like we were teens again. We chatted a bit. He apparently hadn't dated much after his his first girlfriend left him. The friend spoke up and said I should totally double date with them, me being the date for my best friend.
He casually mentioned we didn't need to date; he was 30, I was almost 30, and it had dawned on him that his soulmate was standing right in front of him. He refused to let me run away again and wanted to fulfill the contract. I swear my face couldn't have been redder nor could my heart have thumped any faster. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me, and I didn't expect it from him. And, honestly, I don't know why I never realized how much I really loved him also, from the moment we played Yugioh on his porch that fateful night.
Fast forward to now and we are happily married with a beautiful 16 month old son. We still talk about our journey to each other. We still play Yugioh occasionally, and have taught our kids to play too. Life is good.
As The World Is Ending...
My wife and I had this deal when we were 27. But then I just asked her out and we were in a long distance relationship for about 3 months then we ended up breaking up. After about 4 years, we tried again and were in communication until we fell in love again and still in a long distance relationship. This time we were able to work it out. We got married this past January as the world is ending. I guess we made it just in time for our 35th birthdays.
Winner
I had a deal to marry my friend by the time she was 35. She's 33, and married... to me! I won!
- moolord
One thing which has drawn people to live in the United States is the freedom to practice any religion you wish.
While sadly, this hasn't prevented acts of bigotry or violence against certain religions, it has spared people being forced to practice a certain religion, even if they disagree with its values or practices.
One's relationship with religion is very personal, as it only has value if it finds them and gives them the strength and comfort it is intended to.
This rarely happens when it is forced upon others, which often leads to people searching for another religion, or abandoning the practice of religion altogether.
Largely owing to the fact that they found no comfort or solace in it.
"What made you turn your back on religion?"
Logic Over Faith
"What they taught didn’t make any sense."- stupidfock
"The ridiculous concept."
"I didn’t turn my back."
"I just never bought into it."
"There is no part of the concept of creation that doesn’t seem preposterous to me."- pay-this-fool
Learning It Was A Possibility
"I went to a church of England school, which involves singing hymns, prayers etc."
"Pretty standard for primary school age kids."
"I was talking to another girl about religion and she said 'I'm an atheist'."
"I asked her what it was and she explained that she didn't believe in God."
"I was mind blown, I didn't even know that was an option, but it immediately made sense to me in a way Christianity never did."
"My parents never spoke about religion much or went to church, but I went home to tell them my new discovery and they both just laughed and admitted they don't believe in God either."
"I have a few atheist family members too, I learnt my grandmother, now 93, doesn't believe in God, and my Grandad on the other side who passed a few years ago."- CherylTuntIRL
When People Didn't Practice What They Preached...
"People put religion first over being a good human being."- wootmon12
"The hypocritical behavior of deeply religious people."- Taskerst
Ironic?
"Critical thinking."- Apoplexi1
Needed More Concrete Proof
"Lack of evidence supporting the existence of God."- glisteningdinkus
Preaching To Wallets Over Souls...
"The principal topic from the pulpit each week was money."
"Parishioners were relentlessly hounded to increase their pledges."
"On top of that, the church went on a major 'Capital Funds Drive' to redecorate and refurbish the buildings (even though there were many millions in the endowment fund)."
"Somehow, matters of faith were eclipsed by 'The Almighty Dollar'."- Back2Bach
"When my religion had 120 billion dollars in a slush fund, owned 2% of the land in the United States, and made no effort to help the world with those funds."- exmo_fo_sho
"When MFers got ten grand for a robe and a gold ring and a gold cup but gives out soup and bread like they doin a grand thing."
"Churches should be charged 75% taxes."- Outnabout3535325
Too Many Innocent People Punished
"A very religious friend once told me 'It's a shame you don't believe in god, you're a nice person and don't deserve to burn for eternity'."
"I was like...if that actually happens, your God is an a**hole and I wouldn't worship them even if it was proven without a doubt that that god existed."
"I'm open to the idea of a higher power."
"I don't think it's impossible that life was seeded on Earth by higher beings."
"But I'd want to see the evidence before I believed it and I certainly don't think that millionaires who demand money from the poor are the people spreading the word of any kind of savior."- Raephstel
"I grew up as a Christian and even spent a little time working in ministry."
"For years there were some nagging things that just didn’t add up for me."
"I worked for Child Protection Services for years and decided any God that has the power to prevent heinous abuse against his supposed innocent, but doesn’t, is either a sadist I don’t want to worship, or simply non existent."
"If this all started between God and Satan they can leave me the f*ck out of it."
"It’s the bullsh*t manufactured responses from Christians that were the nail on the coffin."- __KWM__
Seeing What Their Future Could Be
"I come from a fairly religious family (some are very, others, not so much, some not at all)."
"I became an atheist at the age of six."
"Why?"
"Simply put, I could see, even then, how badly religion is use to manipulate, control, bully, intimidate, and attack people."
"And I wanted NO part of that."- Dippycat149
"I'm autistic."
"So when I asked a clarifying question ( as I am want to do) at age 6 in Sunday school i was told."
"'Don't ask questions'."
"And that was the end of that."- brumbles2814
No one should be persecuted or belittled for their religion.
Nor should anyone be for their lack thereof.
Do you have any experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
What makes somebody weird?
Has that question ever really been answered?
]We're ALL a little "weird" now and again.
In fact, we've been more conditioned now to embrace the weird.
What is weird, really?
Eccentric. I like that word better.
Some people are just eccentric.
And that can be fun.
Let's embrace the eccentric... as long it's not off-the-wall crazy.
That's a different story.
Redditor CATBVYS wanted to hear about the students we went to school with, who left a lasting impression, so they asked:
"What made the weird kid at your school, the weird kid?"
The weird kids at my schools always kept to themselves.
Now I suppose I'm the weird kid.
Regular or Diet?
coca-cola cola GIFGiphy"Carried around a briefcase with two, two-liter bottles of coke. I don't know if he would finish them every day but he would definitely crack one open in class and drink it."
mytwocents22
Dressed for Success
"He dressed up as a Jedi every day from elementary to the last day of high school and he had a lightsaber and would chase people who bullied him around with it. I'm actually surprised the teachers didn't take it away. He did have some emotional/personality problems as well."
longdongjohnson2005
"Sure, people like to make fun of him due to his peculiar dressing and weird beliefs."
"But did you ever see any Sith at your school?"
"Think about it."
Junior-Gorg
Worms
"Whenever it rained there would be dead worms on the cement… he ate them. Not like 1 or 2 he brought bags with him from home to fill up and eat like f**king gummy worms. Teachers never believed us when we told them so he had to have eaten hundreds over the years in elementary school."
Meow939
"I'm just imagining your teacher's doubtful expression 'He's eating handfuls of worms any time it rains, huh? And brings home whole bags to snack on? Stop making stories about Timmy now, it's unbelievable the things you come up with.'"
HyperSpaceSurfer
Sad Genius
"Turned yellow (literally) because he went on a carrot-only diet, shaved his eyebrows off (no idea why), and blew up his garage trying to make his own nuclear bomb. He died in his 20s after taking too much cough syrup and drinking homemade alcohol."
"I forgot to mention that he thought he had appendicitis and attempted to do surgery on himself, thankfully he only knicked the skin. He was considered a mathematical genius and got full scholarships to several colleges but didn't think any of them could teach him anything."
Cultural_Magician105
The Power
Excited 90S GIFGiphy"The vine where a kid goes 'I have the power of God and anime on my side' and screams like a banshee went to my middle school. He was maybe 4 grades underneath me but his weirdness turned him into one of the most popular kids in his grade."
PerryPimentel
Vine?! Now that takes me back in time. Wow.
Miracles
jesus wink GIFGiphy"He was tall and skinny. Would say the name of a girl in class a few times and then throw his eraser at the ceiling; in the middle of class."
"He did all sorts of weird things. At winter camp, we witnessed him take a large tube down a snow hill, hit a ramp, and while flying into the air, the back of his boot (with his leg still attached) hit him on the TOP of his head. Imagine that flexibility? We still discuss this over 40 years later like we witnessed Jesus walk on water."
Uncle_Bug_Music
Humper
"We had a kid join our fifth-grade class halfway through the year. The entire grade was given a chat about how this kid is different, but we need to be kind."
He spent every recess humping the playground equipment. We were kind to him but also terrified."
"In high school, we had a kid who only wore wolf shirts. He was Australian, so I just convinced everyone that it was a cultural thing. He was nice and didn't deserve to be picked on."
airhornsman
PHEONIX
"Not only was he large (tall and in stature not fat) for his age, like towering over some teachers, he maintained an impeccable straight, shoulder-length haircut that was half neon blue and half neon green that never faded. He also brought his katana to school which how was allowed in the mid-2000s I’ll never understand and had everyone including teachers call him PHOENIX."
oreoloki
This is Me
"Let's see..."
"He wasn't fully potty trained till almost 1st grade, He would randomly flip pencils back and forth in front of his face, he would meltdown if he couldn't get something right the first time, couldn't play sports due to terrible coordination, stuttered like crazy while talking with a very bad lisp, would nearly puke if he ate any unfamiliar food, and daydreamed about Angry Birds during class all day."
"Really weird kid, the reason I know him so well is because he was me. Autism isn't a fun or quirky thing to have to deal with. Most of my major issues were fixed by the time I got to middle school thankfully due to having very supportive teachers, therapists, and parents. Still have sh*t coordination and can't eat normal food though."
TheNobleOne06
Potato
Good Vibes Dancing GIF by Rosanna PansinoGiphy"He made up a thing where if you said potato to him he would do a silly dance. Halfway through high school, I guess he decided he didn’t like it anymore. But then people would just come up to him and yell potato at him over and over while he just tried to ignore them. I felt bad for him."
ApprehensiveLuck2325
Life Lesson #369...
Be nice to everybody. That's all a person my need sometimes.
In the golden age of entertainment, there are hundreds and thousands of amazing movies to choose from, with more coming out all the time.
But there always seem to be some that become popular with the masses for no particular reason...
Redditor shirorentz23 asked:
"What's the worst movie that everyone seems to love?"
'Fast and Furious'
"The 'Fast and Furious' movies."
- TruthYeller54
"I remember one time someone told me they went to space in one of the movies as a funny joke, but then I learned it wasn't a joke."
- zzzzz94
The Greatest Showman
"I will admit 'The Greatest Showman' soundtrack slaps, but I thought it was a mediocre movie. And that's being pretty generous."
- shirorentz23
"Agreed. Why bother making a movie 'based on' the life of someone pretty horrid in real life only to then completely rewrite his story?"
"It should have been an original story about Zac Efron and Zendaya’s characters, with some nods to PT Barnum for historical context and Easter eggs."
"Plus the 'main' song isn’t even the best one."
- Jonbob24
"Someone described it as a movie that PT Barnum would have written about himself, and that made it more palatable for me. It's kind of like how '300' is being told by a Spartian who exaggerates."
- The_Perfect_Fart
'Sharknado'
"'Sharknado.'"
"But we love it BECAUSE it’s a bad movie."
- Mini_Maniac10
DC Films in General
"DC movies, they just seem so bland. I just can't follow it at all."
- Efficient_Stress2181
"With a few exceptions (most of which are Batman movies), DC has this ongoing issue where most of their live-action adaptions are s**t and you're better off with the animated movies."
- CyptidProductions
"I'll never understand the diehard DC / Snyder zealots."
"I love DC comics and DC characters. I even like some Snyder movies ('Dawn of the Dead,' '300,' and I'll even defend 'Watchmen')."
"But his DC movies are so, so bad. How people violently defend them makes me feel like I'm from an alternate universe."
- BeeCJohnson
Poor Dwayne
"Anything starring the Rock."
- Life_Entrepreneur_18
"I swear, I think the only two movies I actually enjoyed him in was 'The Rundown' and 'Walking Tall.'"
- duhcisive
'The Notebook'
"'The Notebook.'"
- StephanieSin
"It does a terrible job at portraying romance or relationships. Bad decisions were made and it wasn't even an emotional movie. The actors were great, though."
- trippy_goth_biscuit
'The Blind Side'
"'The Blind Side.' It’s just a lifetime movie with a budget."
- Seer78877
"Not to mention the guy it’s about hated the movie."
- traws06
Marvel Movies, Too
"I just don’t get what’s so great about the Marvel movies. Every one I’ve seen was a formulaic CGI s**tfest with a bland and predictable plot and boring jokes."
- gyokuro8882
No Will, Either
"Most Will Ferrel movies. I don't hate Will Ferrel, I just don't find the humor in most of his films that funny."
- the_human_dirigible
"90% of the time he plays a manchild."
"The other 10% are 'The Other Guys,' 'Megamind,' and 'The Lego Movie.'"
- eddmario
'Avatar'
"'Avatar.'"
- BatonVerte
"Seriously, I’m on this train with you. I never understood the hype. I didn’t watch it when it came out only to watch it years later and have none of it be memorable at all."
- Germangunman
"The first 'Avatar' movie is truly uninspiring and formulaic to the point that before watching it in anticipation of the second, I could not come up with a single quote from the movie despite having seen it obsessively when it first came out."
- dentastic
'Pretty Woman'
"'Pretty Woman'... A young sex worker falling in love with an old man's (money), and the film portrays it as a romantic love affair..."
- roseotte
'Transformers'
"The 'Transformers' movies are hot-a** garbage."
- shyjuan
"The first one was great because the technology was very new, and it took itself seriously."
"It then went off a cliff very quickly."
- Garfie489
'Twilight'
"'Twilight.'"
- Ali8ly
"Even fans of 'Twilight' know it’s bad. I think it’s sort of a guilty pleasure even for fans of the books."
- hampig
"It’s very much like a soap opera. You don’t want to watch one, you never intend to, but if the TV is left on the channel and you catch TWO SECONDS of an episode, suddenly it’s two hours later and you’re wondering if that person’s twin will wake up from a coma."
- LadyBirdGerhl
'Unbreakable'
"'Unbreakable.'"
"When Samuel L. Jackson says, 'They called me… Mister Glaaaaassssss,' I laughed so godd**n hard. It was ridiculous."
- KieshaK
'The Polar Express'
"'The Polar Express'!"
- dontmindmeimjust1cat
"God, I can't stand that movie. It's boring and the animation is creepy."
- just-doing-a-job
Though there's a lot to choose from in the entertainment world, it's obvious that there are bound to be some films that simply go wrong.
But this is also a reminder that everyone likes different things, and what might be popular for one will be a flop for the next.
For anyone seeking an adventure or way to grow themselves as a person, traveling and learning about other cultures is a great tool.
But there are some places that really are not worth traveling to, and it's better to save money for other destinations.
Redditor SaggyT*tsSusan asked:
"Reddit, what is the worst city that you have ever been to (worldwide)?"
Johannesburg
"I've never been more terrified than when traveling into Johannesburg, South Africa. Our business partner drove us into town and she started removing her earrings, wedding band, etc."
"I asked her why and she said that the bandits would cut jewelry off of you if they stopped your car, so it's better to put it in the glove box."
"Our client was a major bank; to enter, you had to stand in a tiny plexiglass airlock where the guards (with machine guns) could inspect you before letting you inside. Once in, it was just like any other business anywhere, cubicle farms and conference rooms."
- gecampbell
N'Djamena
"N'Djamena, Chad. Where the human spirit goes to die."
- redditslim
"I watch this travel YouTuber who's been to tons of bad and impoverished places in the world, but he always manages to find something interesting and positive about the place. He went to South Sudan when they were in the middle of a civil War and still made a cool video hanging out with tribal leaders."
"He had absolutely nothing nice to nice to say about N'Djamena."
- CleanNDopeAsMethSoap
Cairo
"It’s gotta be either Cairo, Egypt, or Cairo, Illinois."
- HutSutRawlson
"I drive through Cairo, IL., several times a month going from MO to TN. I've always referred to it as a Scooby-Doo ghost town. It feels as though another building has fallen down every few trips."
- Clyne
Port-au-Prince
"Port-au-Prince, Haiti. If you know, you know."
"I'll put it this way: I spent time in Afghanistan and it was nicer than Haiti by a long shot."
- UJMRider1961
"I have only passed through Port-au-Prince and it was ... sad. And a bit scary. We were there as part of a company relief effort after a hurricane that hit the island."
"We entered Labadee from a cruise ship (yes, I understand the optics of that but the passage was donated by a cruise line). Mostly we were there to hand out supplies and kept largely to the port areas."
"There's a hardness and desperation there that I have never experienced before. There were some military types around and though they were doing their best to put on their best show, I saw some brutality that I never expected so close to the US."
- frank-sarno
Haiti In General
"It's crazy that only two percent of Haiti's land is still forested. Farming cash crops during colonialism and then timber exports to pay off their 'debt' to France after the revolution."
- Occams_l2azor
"I will never forget, I was in the car which was heading towards the border. We drove through the green forest/jungle on the Dominican side, and then I started to spot the yellow hills. Just plain yellow because of deforestation."
"And the driver just said, 'Yes, here it is green, there it's yellow.' What also shocked me was how much the Dominicans hated the Haitians."
- Nightotter3
"You can easily see the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic from outer space."
- Tom__mm
Pork Moresby
"Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. I went there once to consult on building construction, and I wouldn't go there again even if they pay me the CEO's salary. I may not live to enjoy those salaries."
- flyden1
Sinhaloukville
"Sinhaloukville, Cambodia."
"I’ve been to third-world cities before, and this place wasn’t the dirtiest or most dangerous. What it was, was horribly creepy."
"The place is filled with ‘compounds’ containing Chinese-owned casinos. What I saw was like a building site, with new compounds being built everywhere (the shiny newness of these places contrasted with the general grubbiness outside of them). The place is really two cities in one: the hidden parts owned by the casinos, and the rest."
"I knew nothing about the city. I was only there because it was the port for ferries going to the islands off the coast of Cambodia (the one I went to was lovely). However, these places gave me the creeps, even though I knew nothing about them. I just put that down to hating casinos."
"Only later did I learn that these places were centers of slavery and extortion rackets, run mostly by mainland Chinese gangsters. They entice people from elsewhere (many from China itself, Thailand, or Vietnam) with promises of good jobs, but once there they are enslaved and forced to work in various kinds of online rackets. If they complain or try to escape, they risk all sorts of nasty punishments."
"The local authorities are basically in the pay of the scammers… basically, China itself cracked down on criminal gangs engaged in such scams, so many of them moved here. The locals don’t like it, but are powerless to prevent it; these 'compounds' essentially rule themselves, and their owners have enough cash to be immune from consequences."
- Malthus1
Doula
"Doula, Cameroon. The whole place seems ready to implode at any time."
- Tonysaiz
"Mossy, rainy, muddy. A town built on the edge of mangrove swamps by the colonial French. Seems likely to return to the swamps in a few more decades."
- thirdworldfever
Rio de Janeiro
"Controversially, Rio de Janeiro. I was there for four days, got robbed IN MY HOTEL, robbed on the street, got eaten by bed bugs, a few friends got robbed on the beach by the police, another robbed in the street at knifepoint, and a guy in the hotel got kidnapped in a car at gunpoint and then kicked out of the car as it was still driving."
"We got caught in a riot between police and football fans and got pinned against a wall while the police shot rubber bullets at us, and I nearly got beaten up by local girls who took offense at their men trying to dance with me."
"As somewhere that is apparently famous for its nightlife, we couldn’t find a decent bar/club anywhere on three out of the four nights."
"For balance, I really enjoyed the lapa street party and football game, but it genuinely felt like the shadiest place I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to San Pedro Sula, previously known as the murder capital of the world)."
"In case anyone thinks I’m just a rubbish traveler, the stuff in the hotel was locked in a locker, so it was the staff that robbed me. On the street, I made sure my money was stashed in my bra so they only got a few quid, and we didn’t go anywhere dodgy, stuck to the tourist stuff, and traveled safely."
- StrategyKing4024
Ashgabat
"Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. So much money wasted on empty white marble building. So much poverty."
- kinda_alone
Baghdad
"Baghdad. The sad thing was you could tell that it used to be nice. I flew in by helicopter and saw that a lot of houses had swimming pools. They didn't use them for swimming anymore though, they filled them with their household garbage."
- blanchasaur
Manila
"Manila (capital of the Philippines)."
"A third of the population lives below the poverty level... and that's the Manila poverty level, which is pretty f**king poor. It's enough to give you nightmares if you leave the rich parts."
"You can insulate yourself from the rest of the city, by staying in the fancy parts, like the Makati, but you can't escape the air pollution or the trash."
"There was a storm last time I was there. Cubic miles of trash had washed out of the city, into the river, and into Manila Bay. Along the fancy hotels path at the edge of the bay, there were waves washing up against the wall... but the trash was floating a foot thick on the surface, and so the waves were TRASH WAVES."
"Well, maybe there are historic Asian things? Nope, sorry, the city was bombed to rubble and the end of World War 2. All that's left are the foundations of the Intramuros, which are interesting, but not worth the walk through the slums."
"Ugh."
- reggie_fink-noddle
Dubai
"Dubai."
"When I got back, a friend who had lived there for a few years asked me what I thought."
"I said, 'Well, I'll be honest, it lacked soul to me, it was depressing and materialistic and soulless to me. It genuinely made me a worse person somehow. But I'm a tourist, you lived there, surely you experienced the real Dubai.'"
"He said, 'No, you summed it up.'"
- bqzs
Las Vegas
"Las Vegas. Soul-less and empty."
"No one is actually FROM LV. Everyone moved there for the promise of service jobs, but most of them have crashed and burned. Most people who work there live in gated communities as far from the city as possible."
"If you go there as a tourist or for a convention, it seems all shiny and bright. Restaurants and casinos are all glittery."
"But if you step off the strip, it’s a s**tty, gritty mess. Lots of poverty and drugs. S**tty motels where the semi-homeless live. Terrible bleak-looking houses. The fake soul-less of Jacksonville with the poverty of Detroit."
- wilburstiltskin
Though traveling can be amazing, there are some places that simply do not live up to the hype.
These Redditors may be able to cross these places off as locations they've visited, but it seems there isn't much else positive they can say about the experience.