You Always Hate the Place You Live Quiz

Answer: Port Moresby

Established in 1873, and named after Sir Fairfax Moresby, an admiral of the English Royal Navy, Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, is the largest city in the South Pacific outside of Australia and New Zealand. It is located on the Gulf of Papua, in the country's southwestern part. Though in recent times Port Moresby has experienced an economic boom of sorts, which has led to extensive building and redevelopment activity over much of the city, its daunting reputation remains unaltered. When the city hosted the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in November 2018, there were concerns about security, due to widespread violent crime by "raskol" gangs. Carjackings, robberies and rapes are common occurrences, and visitors are actively discouraged from going out after dark. Not surprisingly, Port Moresby is often listed among the world's most dangerous or least livable cities.

The other options are all capitals of South Pacific island nations: New Zealand (Wellington), Fiji (Suva), and Samoa (Apia)

Answer: overpopulation

Almost 20 million people live in the Greater Dhaka area, located in central Bangladesh and bounded by no less than four rivers. Established in the early 17th century under Mughal rule, Dhaka became Bangladesh's national capital in 1972, after the country declared its independence from Pakistan.

At present, it is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, struggling to cope with the constant influx of people from the rural areas of the country. With a staggering density of over 23,000 people per km², it is not surprising that the pace of life in Dhaka is extremely frenetic, and the widening gap between the well-off and the poor increasingly hard to ignore. Traffic congestion (among the worst in the world) and air and water pollution have a negative impact on the overall quality of life; to make matters worse, the city's natural environment is being destroyed to make way for new buildings. Due to Dhaka's geographical location, flooding is also a major concern.

Answer: Ganges

Formerly known as Benares, Varanasi lies on the banks of the Ganges, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of India's oldest cities, associated with both the Hindu god Shiva (its founder, according to tradition) and Gautama Buddha, who is believed to have founded Buddhism there. Though not as large as some other cities in the Indian subcontinent, Varanasi has very high population density, which puts a lot of pressure on the city's infrastructure, especially as regards sanitation and the treatment of sewage. Pollution of the Ganges has become a matter of serious concern in recent years, as the waters of the river - a symbol of the city itself, and a source of drinking water for much of the population - are contaminated with everything from human ashes from the city's famous cremation ghats (steps leading to the river, such as the one shown in the photo) to industrial chemicals and pesticides. This situation, coupled with extremely poor air quality, ensures that Varanasi is regularly listed as one of the world's most polluted cities.

While the Godavari and the Indus are also major rivers of India, the Irrawaddy flows through Myanmar.

Answer: Red Hero

Founded in 1639 as a moveable monastery, and known in the past under different names (including Urga and Khuree), Ulaanbaatar got its present name in 1924, when it became the capital of the Mongolian People's Republic under the influence of Soviet Russia. Surrounded by forested mountains, and located very far from any coast, the city has a very particular climate, characterized by extremes that can range from -42 ºC (-44 ºF) in winter to 39 °C (102.2 °F), though very hot summer temperatures are unusual; the average annual temperature is a very chilly −0.4 °C (31.3 °F). This cold climate impacts the everyday life of Ulaanbaatar's population: the air pollution caused by the widespread use of stoves for heating, as well as the use of coal as fuel for power plants, is made worse by the absence of wind due to the city's sheltered location. In some parts of the city, building is made difficult by the frozen soil (permafrost), so that many people live in the traditional, tent-like dwellings known as yurts or gers.

The three incorrect choices are translations of the names of three other world capitals: Beijing is "Northern Capital", Buenos Aires "Fair Winds", and Canberra "Meeting Place".

Answer: Iran

The capital of the Khuzestan province, in southwestern Iran, Ahvaz is a very old city, built in the early years of the Sassanid Empire (3rd century AD), which is now home to over one million people. The Karun, Iran's only navigable river (shown in this striking nighttime photo), splits the city in two districts, one mainly residential, the other administrative and industrial. Due to its location in the south of the country, not far from the Persian Gulf and the border with Iraq, Ahvaz has a hot desert climate, characterized by scorching summer temperatures; the average high for the month of July is 45 °C (113 °F), but temperatures well in excess of that have been recorded. As if this was not bad enough, Ahvaz also struggles with very serious air pollution issues, mostly due to the by-products of the oil industry, exacerbated by the frequent dust and sand storms occurring in the summer season. However, the situation has improved somewhat since 2011, when Ahvaz was ranked by the World Health Organization as the world's most polluted city.

Saudi Arabia is the Middle East's largest country, followed by Iran. Syria, Israel and Kuwait are all considerably smaller.

Answer: Ebola

Named after US President James Monroe, Monrovia was founded in 1822 by emancipated American slaves. Located on the Atlantic Coast, Monrovia is a port city whose economy depends almost exclusively on the harbour's activity. Unfortunately, the city - which is the capital of a country rich in natural resources - suffered the effects of two bloody civil wars: in 2003 it was besieged for almost a month, and its infrastructure was destroyed. Monrovia's living standards have consequently plummeted. Sanitation is a particularly urgent problem, with large swaths of the population (especially those living in slums such as West Point) not having access to clean toilets - with consequences that can be easily imagined. Contaminated water is one of the chief causes of the city's high child mortality. Inefficient garbage collection also provides a breeding ground for all sorts of diseases in a tropical climate. The 2014 Ebola epidemic affected Monrovia and the whole of Liberia even more than other parts of West Africa, as the country's health system was weakened by years of civil war.

The three incorrect answers are diseases caused by bacteria, not viruses.

Answer: Nairobi

Founded in 1899, Nairobi replaced the coastal city of Mombasa as the capital of Kenya in 1907. In slightly more than a century, it has grown into a metropolis where almost seven million people live. Because of its high elevation (1,795 m/5,889 ft) and closeness to the Equator, it enjoys a pleasant, temperate climate all year round. Its nickname of "green city in the sun" comes from the lush vegetation of its many parks; another, much less flattering sobriquet is "Nai-robbery", which points to some of the issues that Nairobi shares with other large urban areas in developing countries. Economic inequality is rampant, with all its attendant problems, such as high rates of violent crime (though the situation has improved somewhat in recent years) and various diseases (HIV-AIDS being a particular cause for concern). The Kenyan government has been trying to clear the Kibera slum and rehouse its inhabitants, but the process has been delayed many times. Nairobi has also been the target of several terror attacks, such as the one that killed 67 people at the Westgate Mall in 2013.

Asmara (the capital of Eritrea) and Maputo (the capital of Mozambique) are also found in East Africa; Lagos, Nigeria's former capital, is located in West Africa.

Answer: Colombia

One of South America's oldest colonial cities, Buenaventura was founded by the Spanish in 1540. Located in Colombia's Valle del Cauca, it is a major seaport on the Pacific Ocean, from which raw materials are shipped to nearby regions. With an annual average of over 6,000 mm (236.2 in) of rain, Buenaventura is one of the world's wettest cities: as shown in the photo, many of its neighbourhoods consist of shacks built on stilts, poorly maintained because of the moisture in the air. However, the weather is not the city's biggest concern. As a major hub for the cocaine trade, Buenaventura has been torn apart by gang wars, with devastating effects for its population. Though this dire state of affairs, which reached a peak in the years between 2008 and 2010, is said to have marginally improved, Buenaventura is still plagued by violence. In July 2019, the local bishop performed a mass exorcism, sprinkling the whole city with holy water from a helicopter in order to drive evil away.

Venezuela and Suriname both have coasts on the Atlantic Ocean; Ecuador on the Pacific Ocean.

Answer: the Amazon rainforest

The capital of the Loreto region, and the gateway to the Peruvian Amazon, Iquitos was probably founded in the mid-18th century as a Jesuit mission. Like its sister city Manaus in Brazil, Iquitos flourished during the rubber boom of the early 20th century; the rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald, who inspired Werner Herzog's 1982 movie "Fitzcarraldo", lived there for some time.

The city is located on the left bank of the Amazon, and bounded by two other rivers, the Nanay and the Itaya. Waterways are the city's lifeblood, as shown in the photo depicting the floating market in the district of Belén. Surrounded by water and dense tropical rainforest, Iquitos is the largest city in the world that is not accessible by road, and can only be reached by river or air; as a consequence, the cost of living is noticeably higher than in the rest of Peru.

In spite of these limitations, it is a fascinating place with a rich cultural life, though it does have its challenges. Besides the pollution due to the accumulation of garbage, the city's most serious problem is noise pollution caused by the thousands of three-wheeled autorickshaws that provide taxi service in Iquitos' bustling streets.

Answer: Baltimore

Established as an independent city in 1729, Baltimore is the largest city in the US state of Maryland, and the second-largest seaport in the Mid-Atlantic (after New York City). With its many monuments and places of historical interest, its rich cultural life and picturesque neighbourhoods, it has been aptly nicknamed "Charm City". Sadly - as the viewers of the popular TV show "The Wire" know - Baltimore also has a very dark side. For many years, its homicide rate has been one of the highest in the whole of the US, which has led to its being ranked amongst the world's most dangerous cities; the use of hard drugs such as heroin is another leading cause of premature death. Some high-poverty neighbourhoods are no-go zones, and one of the most visible effects of this difficult situation is the staggering number of vacant houses (around 16,000 as of 2019). Traveling by train from Washington DC to New York, one can see whole streets of deserted rowhouses, like ghost towns at the heart of one of the country's oldest cities. The photo shows a panoramic view of the Inner Harbor area, where the famous National Aquarium is located.

The three incorrect choices are also major ports in the US. Mobile and Houston are on the Gulf of Mexico, while Long Beach is in California.