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Elbasan, Albania
Population:
100,120
Worst Feature:
Corruption and Pollution
Best Feature:
They have a soccer team
Notice a bit of a pattern here? Many of our “Worst places to Live” are
plagued by urban decay, civil war, violence, or pollution.
How about a city
that has all of the above? Welcome to Elbasan, Albania.
The Elbasan area not
only has all of the problems of the ongoing wars between Albania and Kosovo,
the mob influences and gang violence that seem to accompany every “emerging
democracy” in the world – but it also has a toxic legacy left over from
communist era industrial facilities built by the Chinese, many of which are
still operating today.
On a recent trip though the area a European traveler
had this to say: “the buildings are crumbling and the streets are dismal.
All of the young people have left and there is literally nothing of interest
there or anything to do – and there is nowhere to get a decent cup of
coffee.”
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