People Share Their "That Explains A Lot" Realization When They Met Someone's Family

The way your significant other––or friends or acquaintances––interacts with their family can explain a lot about them, for better or worse. When Redditor MrDath asked the online community "What was your "that explains a lot" moment when you met someone's family?" the answers were about as revealing as you'd expect.
"A woman I know speaks very fast..."
A woman I know speaks very fast and in a loud voice, and can go for literally minutes at a time without stopping to let others speak.
I met her father, and he turned out to be the same way.
When they spoke, it was like two machine guns firing constantly at the same time, and never running out of ammo.
"An otherwise charming friend of mine..."
An otherwise charming friend of mine was oddly confrontational, seemingly for no reason.
I met her father for the first time when he was driving us somewhere. From the back seat I watched him subtly, passive aggressively put her down, all the time (he was a lawyer, he did this extremely skillfully). Normally her sudden verbal claps at people seemed out of place, but with him it appeared like an effective defence against his particular form of insulting.
Being confrontational was her defence mechanism whenever she felt insecure.
"She grew up having no idea..."
My ex was controlling, manipulative, and emotionally abusive. I met her parents, her mom was the exact same way and her dad was an absolute pushover. She grew up having no idea how to love someone in a healthy way.
"I thought it was just her particular brand of weirdness."
My wife seems like she gets distracted really easily but it's actually because she can't really differentiate between things that are time sensitive and thing that aren't. For example, if I ask her "could you pass me that spoon", she will go sit down and book the flights for our trip 6 months from now, because 'it needs to get done'. Then two hours later, she'll wonder why I grabbed the spoon myself.
I thought it was just her particular brand of weirdness. But nope, her whole family is like that. Trying to get them out the door is a nightmare because someone has always remembered something that they 'needed to do' (something that could always wait or should have been done hours ago) and by the time that person is back, another one has wandered off to do something else. It's like herding cats.
I should clarify, my wife (and her family) are remarkably organized in other ways. They get everything done that needs to be done, they just do things by order of importance rather than order of time-sensitivity.
"When I finally went to her house I was shocked."
One of my best friends. Met her in middle school. She always wore the same hoodie, two pairs of jeans, one pair of shoes that were busted out and duct taped together. Never judged her for it, I just felt bad figuring her family was super poor.
When I finally went to her house I was shocked. It was huge and in a super nice neighborhood. She had her own computer in her room (back then this was a big deal). I was blown away by all of this, my family was poorish but my shoes weren't duct taped together.
Turns out her mom was addicted to painkillers, and did nothing but sit in a chair reading, drinking wine, and chain
smoking all day every day. Her dad was also an alcoholic who was the head of a huge company in our state, so he was almost always working. I found out her parents simply never noticed she only had like one outfits worth of clothes and barely one pair of shoes. She didn't want to bother them asking for a new pair as her dad was almost always at work, and her mom was never in a good enough state to drive.
Later on in our friendship I straight up told her when I first met her I thought she was super poor and her response was "I am poor. My family has money, that doesn't mean I have money". To this day she's a hard worker and doesn't live off her parents money.
"You can talk to him but..."
Buddy of mine doesn't know how to have a conversation. You can talk to him but he never really listens to what you're saying. The entire time he is just thinking about what he is going to say next.
It's really noticeable in a group of people when the conversation has moved on to a different topic and he keeps going back to what he wants to talk about. Usually about himself.
He also brags about every single thing he does over and over and over.
Once I met his family and heard about his upbringing it all made sense. He's 1 of 5 children and had to fight for every bit of attention he had growing up. He doesn't know how to act any different.
"They are (for lack of better words) trailer park trash..."
My boyfriend is very independent and self reliant and won't accept any help from anyone, including me. It took him 3 months to finally let me buy our dinner, because he never wanted me to pay for his food. During Christmas, I met his family. They are (for lack of better words) trailer park trash, live off the government in any way they can, front teeth rotting and some missing, haven't showered in who knows how long, money grubbers, etc. My boyfriend explained he learned how to be an adult when he was very young to get away from them and he never wants to live his life like they do.
"She was this skinny, fair-featured girl..."
A friend of mine in high school was this peculiar mix of traits. She was this skinny, fair-featured girl who had very artsy tastes in music and things like that, but she was also 1000% ready to throw down with people who gave her shit.
I met her parents, and I swear to God it was like looking at a Venn diagram with my friend in the middle. The only way I can describe it is if Stevie Nicks was married to the boxing trainer from Rocky.
"I used to know a girl..."
I used to know a girl who would literally eat 4 different kinds of foods (pasta with no sauce, sandwich which consisted of bread with cheese or bread with hummus, apples, and one type of cornflakes), and would only drink apple juice, and hot chocolate. One day I was invited to stay over for a family dinner, and that's when I understood WHY she was like that. Apparently her parents are also EXTREMELY picky eaters. Later in life, when we were about 19 years old, she had an epiphany, and she also started eating potatoes.
"Her apartment was meticulous..."
I dated a girl that was very particular about everything being clean and orderly. Her apartment was meticulous - every detail "just so."
When she introduced me to her parents, I saw where it came from. I couldn't find a speck of dust or anything out of order - it was "clinically pristine," just like her place.
"I was dating a guy..."
I was dating a guy who was very reserved and he hated talking about sex, he wouldn't even laugh at sexual jokes... When I first met his parents, the dad opened the door, saw his son's beard and said « nice flavor savor » while winking at me. They were very nice, but the whole time we were there, it was innuendo after innuendo. I was with their son for awhile and they toned it down after I said it made me a uncomfortable, but I definitely understood why my bf hated talking about anything to do with sex.
"...we thought he was just crazy..."
Have a friend who is very kind but very anxious to make sure what he says is heard as it is intended, will repeat himself many times, apologize again and again for nothing... we thought he was just crazy until we were in the same room as he was having a phone conversation with his father. Apparently his dad required everything said to him to be repeated about four times. It had just become a habit.
"At dinner I grab the cocktail sauce..."
Went to sister in law's parents' house for a "dinner party" before they got married. Sister in law is...a bit tough to please to say the least. Get to the house and instantly realize she grew up filthy rich. Everything in the house was way too nice, smooth jazz playing lightly in the background, entire night has been scheduled out (mingling and appetizers in the den, dinner with the special crystal glassware, games and coffee in the living room, etc)
At dinner I grab the cocktail sauce and put a spoonful onto one of the many unnecessary plates to compliment the pre portioned 2 shrimp I was given on a stupid bed of lettuce. Instantly her mother stands up, grabs my plate forcefully, stomps off to the kitchen and washes my plate off. She comes back and says "wrong plate". I feel very bad for my brother.
"I have a friend that always interrupts people."
I have a friend that always interrupts people. Weird thing is, I'm pretty sure he doesn't even notice that he does it. Anyway, I met his dad one day, and although the guy is really cool, he never stopped talking. So interrupting is probably the only way my friend got a word in while growing up.
"My boyfriend has no concept of time..."
My boyfriend has no concept of time whatsoever. If I tell him we need to leave by 4 pm he will start his hour of showering and getting ready at 3:45. Went to his parents to ride together to a wedding one day and it all clicked for me why he is like this. We needed to leave in 20 mins and his mom was still in her pajamas not showered or anything. Happens all the time, parties, dinner reservations, holidays, you name it. They just don't care about time. Irritates the hell outta me.
"Always leaving cans everywhere..."
My current roommate is just a messy damn dude. Always leaving cans everywhere whenever he drinks and not picking them up, kitchen is always a disaster, can never remember to take shoes off in the house, and has near zero control of his volume, always yelling at the top of his lungs at 10pm on a Wednesday whenever his show makes a funny joke. His gf has been getting him a lot more hospitable making him chew with his mouth closed and follow other basic manners (he's 23). I always thought "god your poor mother must have her hands full 24/7" until I went to pick his dog up from his mom's house, who now has all her kids moved out. Jesus Christ if my house looks like that when I am 50 years old I want you to take me out back and put a bullet in my head.
"I have this roommate..."
I have this roommate who is one of these only children who was just coddled his whole life so naturally he can barely function on his own.
We are doing most of our food and other consumables separately (there are 3 people living here). It is however normal to just share TP as well as whatever small things my roommates might need.
Early on after he moved in, he blew through some consumable items of mine quite quickly and didn't seem to be buying his own. I brought this issue up with him and thought it was resolved until his mother came to our appt in a passive agressive rage, telling me that I'm a bad person and just chewing me out. Roommates personality made a lot more sense after seeing his mother.
"My husband is a super loud talker..."
My husband is a super loud talker and my family is quiet because my dad would tear us apart for being "too loud" (he worked for the railroad so sleep happened whenever) also our games had to be very quiet and we were like mice. So I was so annoyed and anxious at my husband for being so loud all the time.
I met his family. THEY ARE ALL SO LOUD!!!! Like I thought they were arguing and fighting, nope just having a discussion like everyone was half deaf. I have no clue why they are this way, they just kinda are. I'm used to it now and now I'm kinda loud too.
"He's still late a lot..."
I had a friend who was always late to EVERYTHING. School, band rehearsals, hangouts, you name it, he was always late, anywhere between 10 mins to an hour.
One day I hung out at his house as we were about to go to a basketball game, and I met his mother. Before he left the house, she would give him an ever increasing list of chores (did you make your bed? Vaccuum the lounge? Dust the cat?) and then insist he eat a sandwich (all of it down to the last crumb) THEN list all the chores he would have to do when he got home and/or tell him off for not doing a good job the first time...
He's still late a lot, but now it's his own fault, not his mother's!
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?
"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
"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
"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
"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.