When you think of a town you picture streets, homes, and a community, but the world houses some truly out‑of‑the‑ordinary places. In this roundup of 10 world 8217 most unusual towns, we explore settlements that are built for retirees, straddle borders, live under one roof, or even exist only on a military training ground.
10 world 8217 Highlights
10 The Villages
The Villages is a Florida town designed specifically for retirees. Spanning an area larger than Manhattan, it boasts over 100,000 residents—most of whom zip around in golf carts. It even holds a Guinness World Record for the longest golf‑cart parade, with 3,321 carts rolling in unison. Children are not allowed, and the community has its share of scandals: seniors have been caught making out in carts, and men are known to quarrel over women. A black market for Viagra flourishes, with pills selling for about $12 each.
Predictably, the town—where women outnumber men ten to one—has seen a surge in sexually transmitted diseases. In 2006 a gynecologist reported more cases of herpes and HPV here than in Miami. Residents also have a reputation for driving under the influence in their carts, using illegal drugs, and getting into bar fights.
9 Busingen Am Hochrhein
Busingen am Hochrhein is a German town that sits inside Swiss territory. A narrow strip of land, just 700 meters at its thinnest, separates it from the rest of Germany, making it feel more Swiss than German. The town enjoys services from both nations, possessing a Swiss postal code (8238 Busingen) and a German one (78266 Busingen), as well as dual telephone codes: +49 7734 for Germany and +41 52 for Switzerland.
In emergencies, both Swiss and German police can be summoned, though Swiss officers usually arrive first. Residents can work and own property in Switzerland without Swiss citizenship, and Germans living there for over ten years gain a status akin to Swiss citizenship. Its football team, FC Busingen, even competes in the Swiss league. Historically, the town shifted hands: ruled by Austria in the 14th century, later handed to a neighboring German town, and finally claimed by Germany. In 1919, 96 percent of locals voted to join Switzerland, but the German government refused.
8 Whittier
Almost every one of Whittier’s 200‑plus inhabitants lives inside the 14‑story Begich Towers. Built in 1956 as an army barracks, the building now functions as an entire town, housing a police station, post office, store, church, video‑rental shop, playground, and health centre—all under one roof.
The town can be reached only by sea or via a 4‑kilometre (2.6 mi) one‑lane tunnel that opens its gates twice an hour, allowing traffic in or out. The tunnel closes at night and reopens the next day. Before 2001, vehicles could not use the tunnel, and access required a 100‑kilometre (60 mi) train ride that ran only a few times weekly. In summer, Whittier enjoys about 22 hours of daylight, while winter can blanket it with over 6.35 metres (250 in) of snow.
7 Colma
Colma, California, is a town where the dead outnumber the living. With roughly 1,500 residents and more than 1.5 million bodies interred, its history traces back to the 1849 Gold Rush, which sent waves of migrants to nearby San Francisco, bringing disease and death. By the 1880s, the town’s 26 cemeteries were nearly full, prompting owners to open new burial grounds in southern Colma for easier access.
In March 1900, San Francisco banned new burials within the city, deeming the land too valuable for cemeteries. By January 1914, the city ordered the removal of all bodies buried within its limits. Officials claimed the cemeteries spread disease, but many believe the real motive was rising real‑estate costs. Consequently, the bodies were transferred to Colma, which now has over 73 percent of its land dedicated to cemeteries.
6 Monowi
Monowi, Nebraska, was founded by Czech migrants in the state’s northeast corner and today has a single resident: 77‑year‑old Elsie Eller. With a population of just one, Monowi is the smallest incorporated jurisdiction in the United States. Elsie runs the town’s only tavern and library, the latter housing about 5,000 books left by her late husband, Rudy. She also serves as mayor, clerk, treasurer, and council member.
In the 1930s, Monowi’s population hovered around 150. By 2000, it had dwindled to two—Elsie and her husband. After Rudy’s death in 2004, Elsie became the sole inhabitant. She still pays taxes each year to keep the town’s four streetlights and basic services running. Abandoned buildings are slowly reclaimed by grass, while others have collapsed entirely.
5 Ordos
The Chinese city of Ordos, located in Inner Mongolia, has earned the nickname “China’s largest ghost town.” Conceived to house more than a million people, only about 2 percent of the planned capacity ever moved in, leaving vast swathes empty and decaying.
The town’s origins lie in a coal‑rush boom over two decades ago, prompting investors to erect apartments in anticipation of renters. Demand never caught up, and many developers went bust before construction finished. Today, streets are dotted with half‑built houses, and even completed apartments sit largely vacant due to steep prices. In just five years, the price per square foot fell from $1,100 to $470. To attract residents, developers have slashed prices, and fresh graduates are sometimes offered free office space, internet, and utilities.
4 Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen, situated on Spitsbergen in Norway, holds the title of the world’s northernmost city. It features the northernmost church, ATM, museum, post office, airport, and university. Here, dying is prohibited: anyone who becomes ill or near death is airlifted or shipped to mainland Norway before they pass away, and sudden deaths are not buried locally.
This ban exists because bodies buried in the town’s cemetery do not decompose in the extreme cold. Scientists recently recovered tissue from a man who died years ago and discovered remnants of a deadly virus that sparked a 1917 epidemic. Residents are also permitted to carry high‑powered rifles, a necessity given the presence of over 3,000 polar bears. Cats are banned because they threaten the local bird population.
3 Asymmetric Warfare Training Center
The Asymmetric Warfare Training Center (AWTC) in Virginia is an uninhabited mock‑town constructed by the U.S. Army for combat training. The facility includes a school, church, mosque, train station, and a five‑story embassy that likely tops any building in Caroline County. Additional structures comprise a gas station, football field, bank, subway, and bridge.
The school replicates those found in Iraq and Afghanistan, while the subway mirrors Washington, D.C.’s system, even using the same logo on its trains. The entire project cost $90.1 million and is operated by the Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group. A similar simulated town called Yodaville exists in the Arizona desert, built by the Air Force to train pilots for bombing runs in environments resembling Iraqi and Afghan towns.
2 Marloth Park
Marloth Park, adjacent to South Africa’s Kruger National Park, lives side‑by‑side with lions, hippos, and crocodiles. Residents are prohibited from erecting fences around their homes; the only barrier is a modest 1.2‑metre (4‑ft) fence designed primarily to keep humans out of the wildlife reserve, not the animals out.
It’s common to see wild creatures strolling through town: baboons sneak into houses through windows to pilfer food, while giraffes and elephants occasionally block the road. Lion attacks on humans also occur; one notorious incident involved a lion killing and eating a burglar who fled with stolen loot, leaving only his head and a foot. Despite such dangers, many locals want the lions to stay, viewing them as natural crime deterrents.
Cyclists, often black commuters, are frequent targets of lion attacks, highlighting underlying racial tensions in the community. One cyclist escaped an ambush by four lions by abandoning his bike and fleeing on foot. Residents have dubbed nighttime cyclists “meals on wheels.”
1 Hallstatt
The authentic Hallstatt in Austria is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but a Chinese replica of the town now stands in Guangdong province. This copy, costing roughly $940 million, mirrors the original’s streets, church tower, and timber‑framed houses. Sponsored by a Chinese billionaire, the project sparked controversy among the Austrian residents, who were initially unaware of the replication.
When officials from Austria visited the Chinese version, they expressed pride that their town was admired, yet criticized the lack of consultation. They felt the Chinese developers should have approached the owners of the original buildings for permission before reproducing them. The Chinese construction firm, Minmetals, sent crews to Hallstatt to photograph and catalog the architecture before recreating it.