In a way, you can rate a travel destination by how much you thought about moving there. I call it the “Accommodation Refund to Zillow” scale. I admit, the title needs work, but you get the idea: if you keep wondering whether you’d be reimbursed some of your money for preemptively vacating your booking, the trip probably isn’t going so well. And if you go online to check if you could afford a property in the area, then it’s a completely different experience.
However, tourists and locals often see places from polar opposite perspectives. The former need restaurants, beaches, and a forgiving currency exchange rate, while the latter are more interested in hospitals, schools, and job opportunities. To explore the mismatch further, let’s take a look at a Reddit thread where people have been listing cities, countries, and regions that are beautiful to visit but not to live in.
#1
Maldives.
It’s heaven on earth on the tourist islands.
But its a very poor and restrictive hardcore islamist country. It’s the country with the highest ISIS suporter rate percentage-wise.
Image credits: n6n43h1x
#2
Puerto Rico. I’m Puerto Rican and the people are amazing, the food is amazing, the overall island is beautiful. BUT the economy, the lifestyle issues (no secure electricity or water) and the horrible HORRIBLE job market makes living there not even worth it unless you’re filthy rich… and the filthy rich are ruining the island further.
Image credits: mysteriousmang0
#3
Most of the West Indies and Jamaica fit that description. Lots of tourists with wealth going to the poorest places on earth. Locals on those islands are dirt poor.
I was invited to a village of one of the locals I met in St Lucia one time. He worked as a water taxi driver at one of the resorts and had managed to save enough money to build a house for him, his wife and their newborn. When we arrived at the village, it was like stepping into a National Geographic film. The village had one well in the center, and one public bathroom which was no more than a large outhouse. His new home was a small 2 room building with dirt floors and no doors or windows and no electricity. I had never seen that level of poverty before. I was stunned by the dramatic difference from the wealthy resorts full of amenities that these poor locals work for. The saddest thing was there was very little chance of him or his family to ever escape the impoverished hell they lived in.
Image credits: Weird-Independence79
#4
Greece. The economy is awful, houses are nearly impossible to buy and foreigners are saying it’s an awesome place to live and work but they’re usually influencers with remote or social media jobs, meaning they influence people to come and buy houses, making it impossible for greek people to buy a house themselves bc of pricing. There is quite an unemployment/ low salary problem as well.
Basically the only people that benefit are the influencers that live on an island with a remote job from another country that only live there to boast that they’re in santorini or mykonos and make no effort to learn the language and culture :/.
Image credits: megatronredditorian
#5
Definitely Bali. It’s often marketed as a paradise with its stunning beaches, lush landscapes, and vibrant culture, but living there long-term can be a different story. The traffic is a nightmare, the infrastructure is lacking, and the cost of living is much higher than expected for the local experience. Plus, the expat community can sometimes be cliquey and isolating. It’s a beautiful vacation spot, but not all that great for daily life.
Image credits: wildkinkyblonde
#6
Whenever the question of “if you could live anywhere…” pops up on Reddit, the number one answer is always New Zealand.
But then the top response to New Zealand is always something like “I live here and it’s expensive and the job market sucks”.
neinlights90210:
I live in NZ. The job market is usually ok (outside of these crazy times) unless you have an overly niche area of expertise and want to work in that area. Unemployment is generally pretty similar to other OECD countries.
It is hella expensive. Lots of premium things, like having a whole beach to yourself, are free. Necessities like houses and clothing are insanely priced.
Because NZ punches above its weight in many areas like sports and film, that is what people see, and forget it’s an island in the middle of nowhere.
Image credits: CitizenHuman
#7
Hawaii is a beautiful place and NOT horrible to live in, but if you don’t like mountains or the beach, then it is extremely expensive and many non-rich people have two jobs (mostly a regular job and then Lyft/Uber) to survive there.
But aside from the cost of living, it is in fact pretty paradise like. It’s like reverse Australia … NOTHING is trying to k**l you there (Well, aside from lava on Hawaii itself) it’s so safe that chickens roam free, and you see baby chicks just hanging around not being eaten.
will_write_for_tacos:
According to a friend of mine, it’s Hawaii.
The native population absolutely hates white folk (with good reason) so most of them view you as the bad guy. Food is expensive, and the selection in grocery stores sucks. It’s ultra-touristy and the areas that aren’t are not really friendly and welcoming places. It’s difficult to meet people and make friends. The weather is nice, the views are nice, but if you’re not going there for a couple’s vacation, it’s pretty lonely and boring.
Objective_Analysis_3:
I’m from Kauai and recently went back for a visit. Did a quick grocery shop and for giggles put the exact same products from the same store (safeway) into my local online store (WA state) and it was 45% higher in hawaii – which is why even though I was born and raised there will sadly likely never be able to live there again.
Image credits: ClownfishSoup
#8
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Japan here yet. It usually tends to make these kinds of lists.
I’ve been there 4 times, speak the language, have worked there for almost 3 months, and have plenty of friends (both Japanese and foreigners) there- but even so, I’m not sure I’d want to settle there long term. Japan is definitely great in many ways, but it’s also very much not for everyone. It takes a certain kind of person.
Critical_Ad1515:
Let me also add this. I have family who live in Japan and they do not recommend coming here to live as a woman. Obviously not all men, but a majority of them are horribly misogynistic. The sexism is insane. Many women also have many problems with sexual harassment.
No_Protection_7253:
I love Japan but definitely got annoyed by how fake some of it was and just crazy busy in high pop areas. Plus, the xenophobia can be jarring. Compared to some first world places I actually found it low cost, although I know locals don’t tend to make much. Still, it’s on my short list for possible retirement (I’m okay at the language and learning more every day).
Image credits: Mr_Black90
#9
Big Sur.
Lived there for many years and it’s a beautiful area but brutal to live in. Between the highway constantly falling in the ocean and the fires and the tourists, it can be hell.
psychonaut1938:
Yes! I live near Big Sur and love to visit. But I would never live there. So isolated and prone to road problems. It takes a special kind of person to find happiness there on a permanent basis. I am not that kind of person.
Image credits: Haltercraft
#10
Brazil. From England and used to live there growing up for a time due to my parents’ job assignment. My British school peers were jealous of my move because Brazil is portrayed as a tropical paradise, but when I arrived there it was quite bad.
To be clear, Brazil does have some of the most beautiful and cool nature, wildlife and beaches you’ll ever see. So it is paradise in that respect. Its people are also extraordinarily warm, friendly and with such a chill attitude to life compared to the semi-Victorian vibes I sometimes get in England.
But I’m talking about regular daily urban life in Brazil – it’s just so humid and hot for so much of the year. I felt like I couldn’t breathe the air properly.
Also, there were far too many social and economic problems (d***s, trash everywhere, teenage pregnancy, violence and organised crime, inequality, power cuts, unemployment, low education, bad food quality, dirty water, low public sanitation, smelly waterways, dangerous roads, air pollution).
All of those above things create a very uncomfortable living situation, and even if you’re rich you won’t be able to escape some of these aspects.
Image credits: coffeewalnut05
#11
Vancouver, if you don’t have lots of money. Beautiful city, I’d never want to live anywhere else, but rent and real estate prices are ridiculous. I’m lucky, I bought my house almost 25 years ago, but I don’t think my kids will ever be able to own a place here, at least until they inherit my house.
Image credits: YVRJon
#12
Dubai… horrible, horrible place, trying hard to improve their image.
Kevin-W:
It looks great with all of its attractions and shiny buildings., but it’s so soulless and is basically a rich person’s playground where you’ll barely encounter a local emirati with most of the population being from third countries that are exploited for labor.
Image credits: Mioc_
#13
Every single cruise location on the planet. The living conditions for the locals are horrible and the only “good” areas are saved for the tourists.
I will never cruise. It is the height of consumerist privilege and human trafficking.
F**k that.
Image credits: stubbornbodyproblem
#14
Cancún, paradise if you visit, hell if you live there, expensive cannot even begin to describe the insane prices of some of the services there.
Image credits: I_love-tacos
#15
They don’t necessarily say “beautiful” and “paradise,” but I think people grossly overestimate how “fun” it is to live in New Orleans.
velvet_blunderground:
If you love eating, drinking, and wearing costumes, that is 100% your town. It’s absolutely stuffed with the best of all of that. But the wages are low, the rent is high, the streets flood all the time, it’s usually either hurricane season, tourist season, or termite season, and the potholes will swallow you whole.
All that said, I moved away and have a vastly improved standard of living… but i still kinda want to move back. When it’s great it’s great.
Image credits: LawfulnessMajor3517
#16
Las Vegas. I won’t say it’s horrible, exactly, but people always told me I was lucky to grow up there and like… yeah, it’s fun to visit, I suppose, but it’s not really that fun to live in. It’s hot, the healthcare is the worst in the country, you don’t get holidays off because you have to cater to other people who visit on *their* holidays (I never got a family Christmas or Thanksgiving growing up thanks to them), there’s nothing to do unless you’re an adult for the most part, etc.
Image credits: stcrIight
#17
The “cheap” parts of Mexico. I’ve known two couples who moved down there had a supposedly great life. Lived in a nice, fully-serviced town surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by hired security, had money for the good hospital, had food sent in from somewhat far away, and had enough money to regularly travel elsewhere. They went three years without ever exploring the area around them, the only locals they talked to were ones hired to work in the town.
I wonder why they didn’t dare go around the area.
Image credits: smellymarmut
#18
Salem MA. Everyone thinks it’s so cool to visit Salem, and it’s a great city sometimes. We have about 45000 residents, but between August and October have about a million visitors. The City officials play up ‘Haunted Happenings’ to the point where they’ve started doing construction just to accommodate the tourists.
Image credits: mallardofmalice
#19
Skye, Scotland.
Overrun with tourists.
Most locals have been priced out of housing so a lot of the island are rich folk from England .
The driving is scary with folk trying to over take camper vans at stupid times.
Camper vans doing about 20mph all round the island.
Image credits: nashile
#20
Rio de Janeiro
Sure, nice beaches, Carnaval, the Christ statue, and such… But it’s also one of the most violent cities in the world and it has extreme social inequality.
Image credits: Major-Invite-9517
#21
The Galápagos Islands. Visitors, tourists see the hotels and the tour guides. They also see fellow tourists. The locals working can make enough money to scrape by, but it’s not a ton.
But get five blocks off the main drag on Isabela or Santa Cruz or San Cristobal and the locals are living terribly. Shantys, terrible housing, no cars, expensive food that mostly has to be shipped in from Ecuador.
Rent a bike and just ride around and where there is tourist stuff, it’s ok. But wow, it can get poor in a hurry.
Image credits: maineblackbear
#22
Cuba. It is beautiful and have been little busts of eutopian success there in the past.
Then you realize you make 15 dollars a month, a kilo of chicken costs 6, and your rations dont come remotely close to bridging the gap.
Then the lights go out for days at a time, and you realize the infrastructure isnt there to assure they don’t go out permanently.
Then when you try to leave the country for somewhere else, you realize you would have to save money for 30 years to make a safe and sound move.
You stew over the fact that tourists are not just above the authoritarian law, but are totally safe from violent crime while you have to worry about both.
Then you turn on the news and you see your people from Miami advocating to further economically wreck Cuba in order for you to cause a revolution – while conveniently forgetting you have no guns.
Then you go to the hospital for a broken arm and whoops, no morphine – have a tylenol with codiene. . . I mean a regular tylenol that was produced in the USSR before the Berlin Wall came down with half the stated dosage – oh and they’ll have to make your cast out of paper mache because they’re out of plaster.
Oh, and when you complain too much about all this, the Cuban equivalent of a Homeowner’s Association president (who has the backing of the police) goes to your place, bangs on your door, and threatens to ruin your life if you don’t shut up.
Image credits: JosephJohnPEEPS
#23
Los Angeles. It’s like if a traffic jam became complex enough to achieve consciousness.
#24
Miami full stop sucks a*s unless you’re rich.
MessiLeagueSoccer:
It’s survivable but as a regular person you pretty much are required to live with roommates, a toxic ex or your parents. I wish it was easier to just leave but not having a real safety net or well off parents makes it so much harder. I want to move to Colorado but COL is almost the same as Miami if not more.
Image credits: dardarBinkz
#25
Cape Breton. Yes, the people are kind and it’s beautiful, but it’s difficult to find a job, and housing opportunities are cr*ppy.
Image credits: Numerous_Fox_2909
#26
Denver. It’s way too expensive and the coolest thing to do is go to the mountains on the weekend, which is even more expensive.
#27
South Lake Tahoe
It’s beautiful, but absolutely overrun with tourists.
A miserable place to live.
YellojD:
South Tahoe born and raised. Came looking for specifically this.
The tourists are bad enough, but it’s been the full decimation of the local community and in favor of becoming a bedroom vacation destination for the Bay Area that really makes it miserable.
Tahoe is my home, but I cannot wait to leave it in my past.
Image credits: KnumbMinding
#28
Azerbaijan. Tourists are loving it.
-the food
-the hospitality
-tourism opportunities
-nature
One thing to bear in mind that people are actively trying to flee the corruption and nepotism infested country that does nothing but propogate nationalism and increase its own s*****e rates.
Image credits: Stunning-Type-3777
#29
Charleston, SC It is a very beautiful city. Very expensive to live closer to ocean and downtown, not many can afford. Limited public transit, infrastructure can’t handle the rapid population explosion that has happened over past 20 years. Commuting 25 miles to work can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on how many accidents there are. Downtown is losing all it’s charm, tearing everything down and building more and more hotels that will run you 500+/night. Local businesses and restaurants can’t afford to stay open, have trouble staffing due to poor wages and long commutes. Slowing becoming more and more corporatized. Some reason, it always makes the #1 city in the country by Conde Naste and other travel magazines. Pay doesn’t match cost of living.
#30
I live on Martha’s Vineyard, “horrible” is a stretch, but it is difficult to enjoy summer with so many tourists.
I could go on and on lol. The housing crisis is brutal here.
#31
Florida. Everyone thinks it’s this crazy beautiful beach paradise that’s perfect to retire at. Turns out it’s just an overpopulated, overdeveloped c**p hole that will continue to develop. The people here love to complain about it and then support the people figure heading all of the development so I can’t say we don’t deserve it at least a little bit. It’s not all bad, definitely has its pluses, but it’s not a paradise.
Economy_Jeweler_7176:
Florida was pretty great 20-30 years ago, but the constant influx of northerners moving from big cities for the “suburban, drivable lifestyle” has resulted in a sprawling mess of identical subdivisions and strip malls connected by 8-lane highways lined with half-dead palm trees and zero walkability.
A lot of the natural lands are either paved over or privatized— and the beaches are either privatized or constantly overcrowded. Living anywhere near the beach is only practical for millionaires, and everyone else is looking at 1-2 hours of traffic just to get to the overcrowded beaches.
The only real solace is the state parks— which DeSantis is actively trying to develop with condominiums and golf courses.
Image credits: TheSlammed2
#32
London.
Whenever I mention I’m from the UK, “OH I’D LOVE TO GO TO LONDON.” I *sigh* think to myself do they know how expensive that s**t hole is for how crazy it is.
You have beautiful sights up and down the country, lovely beaches down Cornwall ways and lovely picturesque forests and mountains in the north and yet “LANDONN”.
#33
Cape Cod. It’s like the goddamned walking dead with all the h****n addicts.
#34
Bahamas… If you are not a tourist, there really isn´t much to do. And everything is waaaaay too expensive!
DanceS**:
I spent 7 days on the eastern side of Exuma Island in the Bahamas. We stayed in a house and not a resort and by the 2nd day I was bored out of my mind. There was nothing to do other than sit on the beach. Beautiful place and very relaxing, but damn – there isn’t anything there!
#35
Charleston, SC. Used to be a sleepier style coastal city but has become wildly popular for transplants. Unfortunately the infrastructure hasn’t (and in a lot of instances can’t) keep up. If you have to commute for work it is a wretched existence.
#36
Manhattan Beach, California. It’s gorgeous. It’s full of cute houses and shops. There’s a pier with a charming aquarium at the end. You’ve probably seen the pier in commercials or movies. It’s in Los Angeles so you get all of the sunny days and beautiful beaches.
The people that live there are gazillionaires and they do not want normal people living in their town. Visiting and spending money? Sure. Going to school with their children and living near them? No way. They’re horrid. All of the beauty in the world cannot make up for their behavior.
#37
San diego is often considered the nicest city in the US, but growing up there was pretty s****y, because everyone who didn’t have loaded parents figured out pretty early on that they would either do the homeless van life deal or figure out how to move away, because there is not much industry there and hardly any apartment complexes, just an endless sea of incredibly unaffordable SFHs. i feel like a third of my highschool class ended up being transient d**g addicts, a third moved away to cheaper areas, and a third were able to stick around by inheriting real estate.
i was lucky enough to move to france, where i could afford a nice cheap apartment on a meager wage, and the metro area was 100x cleaner, the traffic was 100x better, the people were 100x nicer, and the food was 100x better
also cloudless 75f degree weather year round gets f*****g old. little bit of rain does the soul good.
#38
Traverse City Michigan
It has some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve even been to, good hiking and boating, great local agriculture, a bustling downtown, smallish town vibe.
The housing is bought up by rich retirees as second homes, locals have to live far out of town, very little housing for low wage working class. Traffic is insane in the summer with little infrastructure to support it. Very seasonal economy and long winters.
it seems like such a beautiful and nice place to live.
#39
Scottish Highlands. Beautiful scenery, yes, but in way of parity with the rest of Scotland, VEEEERY far behind, and are always at the back of the Governments mind.
Over 200k people living in an area the size of Belgium, yet we have less than 1000 hospital beds.
Rail link hasn’t been drastically upgraded since the 1980s. Main roads in and out are in dire need of dualling, but the governments dragging their feet on that as well. Resulting in a multi-hour trek to the nearest “civilisation”
Housing is near enough non existant, with everything either being sniped by people wanting a holiday home or airbnbers, and anything that does make it through isn’t remotely affordable.
Basically a dump for miscreants, junkies, and paedos from Glasgow and Edinburgh because, again, government cheaping out, can’t be bothered building facilities down there, so dumps them in the villages up here.
As I said, its lovely at the surface level, but as you go further down you start thinking that even deepest, darkest Zimbabwe would probably get treated better by its own government.
#40
Utah. I’m a local but the cost of living is now super difficult due to wages vs housing. Skiing is no longer a a fun hobby due to parking restrictions and cost. National parks are clogged and traffic just gets worse around the state. I don’t plan on staying when I have kids.
#41
I’d say Paris purely because of the Japanese “Paris syndrome” or whatever the name is for it where Japanese tourists expect Paris to be this flawless amazing city and then get physically sick from how it doesn’t meet expectations.
Image credits: Rayn_F
#42
As someone who goes back and forth from Tokyo to Houston every other year because family… This should be obvious, but living in Tokyo is VERY DIFFERENT than what’s portrayed online.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not the worst, but there are a lot of cultural things to overcome along with a lot (and I mean A LOT) of paperwork because of how bureaucratic Japan is.
#43
Lake Havasu City Az
People love to vacation there, big spring break, summer fun town.
It sucks to live in. It’s blisteringly hot in the summer, and when you live there you generally aren’t on the lake all day unless you’re retired. trying to run a restaurant in town is ridiculous because you have a bunch of out of towners who don’t know where to go, or you have the local snowbirds that want discounts on everything.
There is nothing to do if you’re under 21, so everyone that grows up there either has a DUI, D**g Habbit or a Baby by the time they turn 21.
#44
Kent in the UK – “garden of England” as it’s known with lots of castles, coastline, and fields. In reality, it’s dangerous, full of chavs ready to hand out d***s and/or stab you, crackheads and druggies roaming the dead high streets, and lots of places are so run down.
Image credits: Appropriate_Sink723
#45
Seattle was the most disgusting POS city I’ve ever lived in. You can’t do anything without being accosted by homeless people, can’t get a package delivered because it will get stolen, can’t drive down the street without seeeing rows and rows of tent communities.
#46
Norway and Sweden. Not horrible to live in, but they’re hardly the paradise they are portrayed as. Most people who say they want to live there know nothing about them.
Tangerine319:
Came here to comment this. The Nordic countries consistently rank high as the “happiest countries” but it makes no sense.
They have some of the highest cancer rates in the world, and big problems with alcoholism and s**cide. The cities, especially in Sweden suffer from crime and gang violence. They are so dark in the winter that it’s no wonder everyone is depressed.
#47
The Oregon Coast comes to mind. It’s spectacularly beautiful. I can’t visit without absolutely losing myself in the beauty, but it is always damp, things are expensive, tourists get annoying, and any good hospital is going to be a long drive. The southern coast (the best part) is incredibly remote. I have family who live in Brookings, and if the highway gets closed from fires or mud slides, it can take 6 hours or more to get to a decent sized town inland. It’s also mostly retirees living there, so it’s pretty boring for young people.
#48
Ibiza.
Yeah, hippie-cool, having a sundowner watching the waves, s**y mood and relaxed people – my a*s!
Ibiza is f*****g cold and super-humid six months per year, nothing is in stock, everything costs a fortune, doctors and medical attention are hard to come by, all Europeans are transients, Ibizencos won’t talk to you.
#49
New Mexico is beautiful but not a great place to live.
lolzzzmoon:
Lol used to live there. We used to call it the Land of Disenchantment.
Extremely beautiful & cool & I had a lot of adventures there. But lots of substance abuse & poverty & crime & just harsh attitudes.
Albuquerque is the only city where I experienced 2 hit & runs in 1 day. My car got hit overnight by someone, and then I witnessed a car get hit next to me & the guy who caused the accident took off. I pursued the driver suspect but lost him bc he got off on an exit during lots of traffic.
#50
Amalfi Coast. Beautiful for a week or two. Hell if you’re actually commuting and doing normal life activities.
#51
Any caribbean island.
Once you get away from the resort/tourist area, they are mostly all hell-holes.
coffeepizzawine50:
Before you move to any Caribbean island check the crime statistics. You can have a wonderful week vacation in a place that is beautiful. But if you live there the level of theft and violence can wear you down.
Image credits: lewskuntz
#52
Lake Tahoe It is amazingly beautiful. It’s just all the people form the Bay area have made everything so expensive you can hardly afford to live there anymore. And Traffic is a f*****g nightmare from April to October/ November.
Oh and the regulations are crazy. You can’t even cut down a tree on your property with out the approval of the Local Planning authority.
#53
The Dominican Republic. Almost all of it outside the resorts and capital is a third world country.
#54
Singapore. So smalll, nothing much to do. Only 1 small district has semblance of rural. Once you lived here you’d been to same place many times there’s bit much surprises. People here are competitive and keep comparing each other and so materialistic.
#55
The SF Bay Area. It’s expensive as absolute hell and the value you get for your dollar just isn’t there. It congested almost 100% of the time, Public Transit is on life support, and many of the destinations that made the area interesting have moved on.
As an aside, the nonsense that the far right will put on about SF and the surrounding area is c**p. All of it. But as a resident, I am tired of paying a premium for what amounts to very little.
#56
Mexico city!
The only liveable places are like 5 neighborhoods whete only the rich and the gentrifiers can afford.
All those post you see on Instagram they never leave 4 streets and 1 park, outside that theres so much pollution, its dangerous, so much noise, and it’s so annoying when you have to be more than 90 minutes a day stuck in traffic.
#57
Fiji is one of the most impoverished places I’ve ever seen in person.