Chennai: Most Hated Indian City?

Oracle

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Uh oh, based on feedback, Chennai has made it to Lonely Planet's world-wide list of 9 Cities You Really Hate.

So, what has poor ole Chennai done to deserve this dubious honor? Lonely Planet describes it as lacking Mumbai's prosperity, Delhi's history or Bangalore's buzz. Even the movie stars are "not that hot." And Lonely Planet don't want you to think that they are being generous!

I can't comment too much, because I've only briefly visited Chennai once. However, I have expat friends there, and they're convinced they would much rather live elsewhere in India -- such as in Mumbai!

What do you think? Is Chennai charming or not? Is it your most hated Indian city? Why?

Source

Cities - so misunderstood (update)

Wow - the original version of this article, entitled 'Cities You Really Hate' and published on 9 October, certainly ruffled a few feathers! We published a list of cities that our travel community had discussed as disappointing. Little did we know how misunderstood our humble list would be.

In recent weeks, the media portrayed our list as being 'Lonely Planet's list of the world's worst cities' or 'The worst cities to live in' or 'The most terrible places on earth'. None of this was close to the truth.

Our article was never meant to be an authoritative list of the 'world's worst cities', nor was it a poll on 'horrible places to live'. That's why war-torn areas, for example, don't appear: they're pretty unlikely to be high in traveller expectations.

The article is simply a broader reflection of community members' suggestions based on an earlier list of 'Your least favourite cities'. Via comments on this original article, the Thorn Tree, our Facebook page and numerous emails, travellers sent in suggestions for cities they thought should make the list instead. We took these suggestions, ranked them based on number and description, and replayed the feedback as a list.

While we may not agree with everything we receive, we do value community feedback and believe that it's important to give travellers' opinions a strong voice.

With that said, we want make it crystal clear that the opinions below do not reflect the 'official' Lonely Planet opinion of the cities. Given all the interest, we'll be featuring interviews and articles by Lonely Planet authors talking about their firsthand experiences with the cities mentioned in the next several weeks. Stay tuned.

And, for the record, here's the list that caused the misunderstanding in the first place.

Your 9 least favourite cities

Detroit, USA - Because of the crime, pollution and crumbling infrastructure.

Accra, Ghana - Ugly, chaotic, sprawling and completely indifferent to its waterfront location.

Seoul, South Korea - According to one traveller comment, 'It's an appallingly repetitive sprawl of freeways and Soviet-style concrete apartment buildings, horribly polluted, with no heart or spirit to it. So oppressively bland that the populace is driven to alcoholism.'

Los Angeles, USA - A highly contentious pick, placed here because of its 'uncontrolled sprawl, pollution, appalling traffic and ugly freeways', according to one traveller.

Wolverhampton, England - So bad that we don't even have it on this site! Check out post 35 on this thread. Update: a lot of you have pointed out that this review is flippant, and you're right. We should have mentioned that many travellers had colourful anecdotes regarding Wolverhampton, most of which revolved around the industrial nature of the landscape and a generally gloomy aesthetic. In contrast, Tom Hall (our UK travel editor) has mentioned that he thinks Wolverhampton is 'a nice place'.

San Salvador, El Salvador - Widely put forth by travellers as the grubbiest of the Central American capitals.

Chennai, India - On our website, we describe it as lacking Mumbai's prosperity, Delhi's history or Bengaluru's buzz. Even the movie stars are 'not that hot.' We go on to describe some of its charms, but most travellers find it disappointing.

Arusha, Tanzania - A gateway to natural wonder that has more than its share of rust. One traveller urges others to 'Get out as quickly [to the surrounding region] as you can.'

Chetumal, Mexico - Combining mass tourism and outlying decay, Chetumal just doesn't charm you.

Source

:rotflmao:
 
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Mr.Ryu

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Our article was never meant to be an authoritative list of the 'world's worst cities'
 

KS

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^^^ Facts dont matter...:lol:
 

trackwhack

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The weather pretty much does Chennai in. And if you are an outsider, the people make sure you dont feel welcome for too long. So I am not surprised by the survey results.
 

Apollyon

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^^^ Facts dont matter...:lol:
While we may not agree with everything we receive, we do value community feedback and believe that it's important to give travellers' opinions a strong voice.

you cant refute this story as it's certainly based on feedback from travelers ... :)

Chennai, India - On our website, we describe it as lacking Mumbai's prosperity, Delhi's history or Bengaluru's buzz. Even the movie stars are 'not that hot.' We go on to describe some of its charms, but most travellers find it disappointing.
:rotflmao::rotfl:
 

Oracle

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The weather pretty much does Chennai in. And if you are an outsider, the people make sure you dont feel welcome for too long. So I am not surprised by the survey results.
Quoted for future reference.
 

KS

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While we may not agree with everything we receive, we do value community feedback and believe that it's important to give travellers' opinions a strong voice.

you cant refute this story as it's certainly based on feedback from travelers ... :)
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

For me, a city that does not serve parotta and chicken korma would be the worst to live....perhaps they took this survey amongst people who are die hard fans of aloo-paratha which is not easily availble in chennai...:lol:



Coimbatore is probably the exact opposite. Outsiders are treated very well and receive the same respect that a local does.
That's true.

Moreover the climate is absolute plus.
 
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Oracle

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It's my personal view Oracle, others may have different experiences. Coimbatore is probably the exact opposite. Outsiders are treated very well and receive the same respect that a local does.
I know. That's a feeling which is mutual to both of us I guess, when we speak about personal views. :)
 

Mr.Ryu

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It's my personal view Oracle, others may have different experiences. Coimbatore is probably the exact opposite. Outsiders are treated very well and receive the same respect that a local does.
Bro I am in Coimbatore ru ?
 

Godless-Kafir

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It's my personal view Oracle, others may have different experiences. Coimbatore is probably the exact opposite. Outsiders are treated very well and receive the same respect that a local does.
CBE is far more livable these days, took a long walk and not one drop of sweet because the climate was cool at 25 to 24 degs in the evening. Also the traffic is some what bearable and there are all the amenities like Malls and Restaurants to now. So why go to chennai, its just a hot as hell parking lot where traffic never moves.
 

Tronic

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This makes me want to visit Chennai. :D (To see if the people could actually be worse than Delhi-ites :p)
 

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