Top 10 Most Depressing Cities to Live In

This list is not top 10 worst cities to live in, but the top 10 bleakest, most depressing cities to live in. The facilities and services in these cities may not be necessarily bad, or the cities may not necessarily be dirty. Some factors taken into consideration are blandness, pollution, and overall how depressing the landscape of the city is.
The Top Ten
1 Pyongyang, North Korea Pyongyang or P'yŏngyang (평양시) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic Of Korea.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. You can see the brainwashed-ness of its residents very easily, and the notoriously huge Ryugyong Hotel, around the smaller bland buildings, just shows how depressing it is. Most buildings are designed in such a way that there are almost no facilities and features on the inside and a lot of detail is given to the outside.

Pretty miserable because it's run by government propaganda. Freedom and human rights always come first.

Where Satan goes to find that his job has already been done for him.

2 Chisinau, Moldova Chișinău, also known as Kishinev, also referred to as Kishineu, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova.

There are plenty of cities in the former Soviet Union that are depressing. There are even more that are just plain boring. Some of them are really rundown, while others struggle with too many people living in them. Well, Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, has a bit of everything.

It is literally a whole bunch of space, lined by insanely depressing and bland government buildings.

Moldova is pretty poor and depressing in general. It's basically Romania but with Soviet/Russian-Ukrainian influence.

3 Dhaka, Bangladesh Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is a bustling city with a mix of modern and traditional influences. The city's historical sites include Lalbagh Fort and Ahsan Manzil. Dhaka is known for its vibrant markets, like Shankhari Bazar and New Market, offering a variety of goods. The Sadarghat river port... read more

At first sight, industrialization is seen as a way out of poverty for some cities. However, when it is executed quickly and without control, the consequences are dreadful. The capital city of Bangladesh was extremely poor until a few years ago, devastated by wars and natural disasters, like the earthquake which took thousands of lives and destroyed millions of houses. However, Dhaka is now in better condition due to industrialization that has occupied the city, but it is also horribly polluted.

By rate of pollution, Dhaka is probably the most polluted place in the world, and millions of tons of waste are thrown into the rivers, which have become lethal to anyone who accidentally steps in them.

4 Mosul, Iraq

A lot of Iraq seems cool with unique history. Too bad war, politics, sexism, and violence have screwed up the whole country. Oh, and poverty.

Only the old district of this city was damaged in the war. The rest of the city is actually fine and not depressing! In my opinion, other places in Iraq like Basra, Sader City district in Baghdad, and the smaller towns in Iraq are the real depressing places!

5 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Women were only recently given the (very limited) right to drive.

6 Norilsk, Russia

Norilsk was built by a lot of Gulag prisoners. Norilsk is also one of the most polluted cities. This causes a lot of people to become depressed in the city.

This city was one of the biggest Gulag concentration camps in the 1930s and 1940s. The Russian government overcapitalized on the minerals found in this city such that the average evening landscape in Norilsk is similar to the landscape you see in post-apocalyptic doomsday horror movies.

Also, Norilsk inhabitants have an average life expectancy 11 years less than the average Russian life expectancy. Most people living there do so only because they can earn a decent amount of money by working in the Norilsk mines. Moreover, about 2.1% of the world's carbon emissions is released solely by Norilsk. This is surely one of the most depressing cities in the world to live in.

7 Yakutsk, Russia

Yakutsk is like a cold version of hell. Around 210,000 people live in this city, in minus 50 degrees Celsius. The main reason people live here is to work in the Yakutsk Gold mines.

Cold, industrial city in the middle of nowhere. I feel bad for the people who live there, but that's probably all they know.

8 Kabul, Afghanistan
9 Damascus, Syria Damascus is the capital of the Syrian Arab Republic; it is also the country's largest city, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the battle for the city.
10 La Oroya, Peru

It is pretty much a fact that the world's most depressing cities are mining cities. La Oroya is the perfect example.

Imagine every shade of grey and brown you can think of and combine them in nothing but rectangles. Now place it in the middle of even more grey and brown. That is what La Oroya looks like. Due to some very intricate and unique smelting methods that are going on in La Oroya, the city is so polluted that it regularly features on the list of the world's most polluted places. We are talking about pollution that might even put serious Soviet-grade pollution to shame.

The Contenders
11 Aleppo, Syria
12 Sana'a, Yemen
13 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea The capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby is located on the southern coast of the country's mainland. With its proximity to the Coral Sea, the city serves as the primary port for Papua New Guinea. Known for its diverse population comprised of over 800 ethnic groups, Port Moresby is a melting pot... read more

The plague that at the beginning of the 1980s hit the world has left the deepest scar in this city. HIV/AIDS has infected thousands of inhabitants, and every year it infects 115 thousand more. Port Moresby is the first in the world by level of contamination in proportion to the number of inhabitants.

However, this is not the only problem of this city. Although the rate of contamination is high, as the capital city of this poor country, it offers people the greatest hope for life. What an irony. Therefore, thousands and thousands of people have flooded the city. AIDS spreads rapidly along with crime and unemployment.

14 Linfen, China

The inhabitants of the Chinese industrial city of Linfen lead a dreadful life. This city is so covered with dust that it is always dark. The sun cannot get through the thick layer of dust, which creates 50 million tons of carbon a year. However, like in the case of Port Moresby, people live there because they have no other place to find a proper job.

It's like Russia, but in China. China and Russia have a lot in common: awful government, rude people, pollution, poverty.

15 Pripyat, Ukraine

The saddest part is that when nearly all its residents were evacuated, the business going on in the city was just left as it is, untouched. Currently, if you go there and see the schools, you will see dates ending with 1984 on blackboards. Things have just been left exactly like that.

Most residents in this city were forced to evacuate due to a nearby nuclear spillage. This city is filled with bland and depressing buildings, and the pollution levels are insane.

16 London, United Kingdom

Extremely depressing, the weather is always dark, gloomy, and just not pleasant. People here are always in a rush and never calm. The people here are also very rude. Nothing to do in this city.

I lived there for 6 years: depressing, gloomy, expensive, and very rude. I had enough and left.

17 Panama City, Panama
18 Victoria, Seychelles
19 Georgetown, Guyana
20 Nassau, Bahamas
21 Manila, Philippines The capital city of the Philippines, Manila is located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay. It is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with a rich history influenced by various cultures including Spanish, American, and indigenous influences. As a center for commerce, education, and... read more
22 Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand and is located at the southwestern tip of the North Island. Known for its beautiful waterfront, the city is nestled between steep hills and a rugged coastline. As the political center of New Zealand, Wellington houses the country's parliament and various... read more

Isolated from the rest of the world. Narrow-minded and provincial people. Cold, damp, rainy, windy, and grey sky all year around. Nothing to do or see. I have lived in this prison for more than 6 years and I am looking forward to getting out of here!

23 Mogadishu, Somalia
24 Kangbashi, China

Kangbashi was designed to hold people attracted by a coal mining boom in China's interior. The boom didn't take place and far fewer people moved to the area than expected. As a result, an entire city stands nearly empty.

There are playgrounds and apartment buildings, community centers, and hospitals. Museums and government facilities wait for visitors who never arrive. No children go to the schools. No workers wait for buses on the many fully built roads and highways. The buildings, too, are bland and have a mass-produced feel to them.

25 Hong Kong, China Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in East Asia. With over 7.5 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong... read more

It is outright under totalitarian colonial rule by the PRC. No better than living under a military junta.

8Load More
PSearch List