Ian Ferrero
We all have a bucket list of places we would love to visit at some point in our lives. While those places probably center towards places like Hawaii, Italy, or maybe France, there are smaller towns around the world that are pretty strange. When travelers met in an online forum, they discussed odd towns they’d visited worldwide. Will any of these end up on your list?
1. Oamaru, New Zealand
Oamaru is a small town located on the southeastern tip of New Zealand. It is most known for its penguin colony and limestone structures. A forum participant who traveled there stated, “One of the weirdest (in a positive way) towns I’ve ever visited was Oamaru in New Zealand. When I arrived, I was expecting a very normal, small and quiet town but found something very different! Most of the buildings were extremely elegant and very European-looking; the people were some of the most unique, friendly, and artistic ones I’ve ever met. It’s full of art galleries and magic-related shops. Moreover, there’s also a steampunk museum where people collect what would be considered ‘trash’ and turn it into art!”
2. Norilsk, Russia
Located on the Arctic Circle, this town is located in the northern part of Russia. Even though travel here is not very common due to its cold weather, people still venture here. Norilsk is unique because it is ranked in the top 10 most polluted places on Earth due to the harmful metals in its air. This is caused by Russia being home to the world’s largest heavy metal smelting complex.
3. Youngstown, Ohio
A traveler passed through Youngstown while on a road trip. He reported it was a normal-looking town on the outside, but little by little, he began to see some nicer-looking houses and gas stations. “But then, as I kept walking, I noticed some things,” he explains. “I walked by a house that looked like it was burned. The whole house was charred but wasn’t demolished for some reason. I kept walking. Occasionally, there would be a beat-up house along the nice-looking houses in between.” The traveler states that the houses around look very creepy and even haunted.
4. Centralia, Pennsylvania
Centralia is a small town in the middle of Pennsylvania. One individual says, “Almost all of the houses have been torn down, so if it weren’t for my GPS, I wouldn’t have even known that I was in Centralia. The town has been abandoned for so long, and vegetation has taken over so much that Centralia looks like a part of the highway now.” This town is abandoned due to coal mine fires that started in the 1960s and have continued to burn. Adding to the strange factor, there is a creepy church at the top of a large hill; when the traveler was at the church, a mysterious car appeared behind their vehicle and spied on them the rest of the time.
5. Luxora, Arkansas
This broken-down town in Arkansas is reportedly filled with unique people. One forum participant visited and said, “We saw some weird anomalies there, and I immediately noted that this was the weirdest place I’d ever been in America. Precisely every third house was burned to the ground on one street… a clerk looked like a zombie. Most of the cities on this list have odd scenery. Luxora had more than that, with a very weird vibe amongst the people.”
6. Springdale, Nevada
With one paved road and a couple of buildings throughout, the closest gas station may be miles away from you. Another individual had to say, “No modern pictures even exist on the Internet, so looking at it from Google Street View will have to do. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. To truly feel the oddity of the town’s survival, you have to travel between Las Vegas and Reno to understand the nothingness that surrounds Springdale during a drive through the desert.”
7. Schurz, Nevada
A very tiny place with almost no business at all, this town is located on the eastern side of Nevada, bordering California. One person claims it feels like a complete ghost town. This individual stated, “After sunset, it’s completely silent and deserted. But someone’s paying a lot for significant street lighting in this tiny town in the middle of the desert.” There is minimal movement during the day, so it gets even creepier at night.
8. Huslia, Alaska
Huslia is a small, remote town that almost nobody, even within Alaska, knows about. Someone who had visited states, “I’ve probably statistically eliminated Huslia as being the least known town now. Oops. With fewer than 400 people, it’s among only 149 incorporated towns in Alaska. A few hundred homes lie in this city founded in the 1960s, with only a few roads leading nowhere. It isn’t connected to Alaska’s road system, so you can’t drive to Huslia. You can only fly since every road dead ends.” With an estimate of less than 70,000 total people knowing about this location, this is a very odd place indeed.
9. Rapidan, Virginia
“This tiny Southern community is frozen in time, and not in a charming way, but more like a weird apocalyptic movie set kind of way. I immediately added it to my travel log as one of the weirdest places through which I’ve driven in America,” a forum participant stated. Rapidan is located in northern Virginia, with a population of about 1,400. AÂ Civil War battlefield nearby adds to the strangeness visitors report.
10. Coober Pedy, Australia
This Australian town is primarily known for its opal gemstones and is the world’s capital for this gem. While living in an opal-filled place seems fun, about 3,500 inhabitants have to live underground due to how hot it is, with temperatures reaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
11. Longyearbyen, Norway
Longyearbyen is the northernmost city in the world, which means the temperatures in this town are also very frigid. It is an extraordinary place; the sun sets for the last time on October 25th and will not rise again for another four months. If you want to see the Northern Lights, it’s an excellent place to visit — if you can brave the cold and don’t mind not seeing the sun.
12. Chugwater, Wyoming
With almost nothing to do here, this tiny town lies in the southeastern corner of Wyoming. Its population is about 178 people and only covers about 3 square miles. Chugwater is not known for anything except lousy weather and destructive tornados.
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This article was initially published and syndicated by The Cents of Money.
