Viral TikTok Slams Upstate New York, Says Albany is ‘Depressing’

Content Creator Slams Upstate New York

A viral TikTok video —viewed nearly 4 million times—shows a man traveling through Upstate New York and making a pitstop in Albany. While the content creator admits he wasn't here very long, he claims he would have stayed longer had he not been in one of America's most "depressing" cities.

A man who calls himself  Greezus on his many social media platforms refers to himself as a traveler who likes to make "real raw reviews" of the various destinations he reaches. To me, Greezus seems like a bit of a hater.

First, he didn't pronounce "Albany" correctly. He said "Al" like it was a man's name.  It happens frequently, but it's a pet peeve of mine when people call it Al-Buh-knee instead of All-Buh-knee.  At the very least, get the name right before you trash us.

Also, my man drove into the city and immediately said he felt a "dark cloud" despite being quite sunny and lovely that day.  He also hammered the empty storefronts and said the streets were empty.  As a resident, I know that Albany has some unsavory parts, but if I'm being honest, he wasn't even in one of them!

"Most Depressing City in America"

Greezus' video is less than 30 seconds long, but he had plenty to say while adding that he was leaving the capital city for Buffalo, hoping for a better experience.  Spoiler alert: he did not.

Here's the transcript from his TikTok.

"Albany might be the most depressing city in America. Even though it was sunny, once I entered, I just felt a dark cloud. The original plan was to come in, get a hotel, and see what Albany has to offer. But after just a few hours, I realized this wasn't a place where anyone was meant to be. Many of the storefronts sit vacant; the streets are empty, and then I realized, I don't even know how I ended up here. I immediately left on my way to Buffalo, hopefully it is better there."

Here's what Greezus had to say about Buffalo.

Albany is No Stranger to Catching Strays

Albany has undoubtedly taken its fair share of potshots over the years; most recently, an ESPN analyst in town covering women's college basketball in March did something similar.

In the final moments of the LSU versus Iowa women's college basketball game on April 1st, ESPN's Rebecca Lobo took a pot-shot at "boring" Albany, the regional host site of the Women's NCAA Tournament.

Lobo's broadcast partner, Ryan Ruocco, told a story about how Caitlin was holed up in her hotel room, focusing on the games, while her family has been hitting her up for area suggestions, things to do, etc.

"Just go find something to do in Albany," Ruocco said, paraphrasing what Clark told her family. She added, "I'm staying in my room...and waiting for the game."

After Ruocco set her up, Lobo, the former UCONN and NY Liberty star knocked it down, ripping Albany, "By the way...Good luck finding something to do in Albany!"