Highlights
- Riverrun: Site of many wars with weak leaders. Not an inspiring place to live, but at least the weather is tolerable.
- The Eyrie: Isolated and mountainous, with difficult land and upended leadership. A desolate place with little life.
- Harrenhal: Filled with bad luck and mostly ruined. Uncaring lords and constant warfare make it an undesirable place to live.
The world of Westeros and Game of Thrones is filled with death, dragons, and terrors beyond imagination. The many characters of the great houses that rule over the various kingdoms within Westeros are bad enough without considering the many other places people can live in that world, some of which are even worse.
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A brutal version of a traditional fantasy world, Game of Thrones' Westeros and the lands beyond its borders make for a long list of places that wouldn’t be particularly fun to live in, but some of them are far worse than others. Even disregarding the war that takes place throughout the series, it’s a harsh world for most ordinary people just trying to have a life.
8 Riverrun
Site Of Many Wars
- Cons: Weak Leaders, Popular Battle Spot
One of the more temperate and lesser-seen kingdoms within Westeros throughout Game of Thrones was this area that divided the southern lands, like King’s Landing and Casterly Rock, from the North. Unfortunately, the Riverlands have historically ended up being the site of much warfare between other kingdoms, and Riverrun is stuck with ruling this kingdom.
With all the battles going on, not to mention the Tully and Frey families never seem to have particularly strong leaders nowadays, Riverrun isn’t a particularly inspiring place to live. On the bright side, the weather probably isn’t too bad, even in winter the cold won’t be nearly as penetrating as in the North.
7 The Eyrie
Isolated And Mountainous
- Cons: Difficult Land, Isolation, Upended Leadership
The Eyrie is another castle and region that hasn’t been seen much throughout Game of Thrones, though it is surprisingly beautiful. When this region did appear, it was shown as cold and sad, a place without much life following the death of Jon Arryn. That man seemed to be just and fair as a ruler, but unfortunately, his wife Lysa was prone to fits of madness and was easily manipulated, while their son Robyn was sickly and weak-willed.
This led to the true downfall of the Eyrie. The unforgiving nature of the place, built in such a place, so it would be impregnable to attack, makes it extremely hard to live in. The discomforts of the hugely mountainous area, it being the smallest of the great family seats in Westeros, all in addition to the poor leadership, left the Eyrie a desolate place throughout most of Game of Thrones.
6 Harrenhal
Filled With Ill Omens
- Cons: Bad Luck, Mostly Ruined
Despite being one of the largest castles in Westeros, Harrenhal isn’t nearly as coveted as fans might expect. This is because, quite simply, there’s so much bad luck attached to this area in the heart of the Riverlands. Seeing many leaders throughout Game of Thrones, Harrenhal doesn’t seem to keep families around for too long.
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Built by Harren The Black as a monument to his greatness, this castle is said to have blood mixed in with the mortar. A ruined castle and a mixture of uncaring lords have seen this region become one of the least desirable in Westeros, not to mention the fact that the Riverlands see so much combat, that there is very little peace to be found even for innocent villagers.
5 The Iron Islands
An Unforgiving Lifestyle
- Cons: Remote, Poor
This string of islands off the coast of Westeros is home to the Ironborn. Named partly for the abundance of iron ore found in their lands, and partly for their unyielding nature, this area is ruled over by House Greyjoy. Unfortunately, the area is a brutal place to live, not in the least because of the tumultuous leadership seen throughout the show.
The people living in the Iron Islands are hardy, work is difficult to find, crops hard to grow, most of the men must work on boats, which is a rough life, and they are considered some of the cruelest people in Westeros, their dislike of most other people speaking volumes and being showcased throughout Game of Thrones.
4 The North
Frigid & Harsh
- Cons: Freezing Temperatures, Remoteness
The North is a huge area of Westeros, shown to be a difficult place for King’s Landing to rule or control directly many times in Game of Thrones. The various hardy families of the North feel like a very different set of people from the Southerners, and families like the Starks are shown to have completely different codes of honor from other great families.
The North is frigid, looking cold even in summer, the castles seem far apart and remote from each other, and it is difficult to grow crops in these areas. The entire kingdom, the largest of the nine major regions of Westeros, is considered the poorest and has a surprisingly small population for its size. Northerners make for hardy people and excellent warriors, but life there is brutal and unforgiving.
3 King’s Landing
Constant Turmoil
- Cons: Capital of War, Poor Leadership
It seems like living in the capital of Westeros would have advantages, but few are seen throughout Game of Thrones. This is due to the Lannisters never making particularly good rulers for these people, driving the entire city further into poverty through the tyrannical rule of Joffrey, and somehow making things even worse under Cersei.
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But historically, rulers like the Baratheons and Targaryens haven’t made for much better kings or rulers of King’s Landing. Flea Bottom is a huge poor area in the city where many ordinary people live, and the number of battles fought in and around King’s Landing throughout the series shows why living there would be terrible. Not to mention, both Daenerys and Cersei destroyed large portions of the city.
2 Slaver’s Bay
Filled With Misery
- Cons: Slavery, Wealth Gap
Slaver’s Bay is rightly named, although Daenerys would later rename it to the Bay of Dragons after abolishing the horrific practice. Also known by many as the “Gulf of Grief”, this region includes several major cities, all notable for being hubs of the international slave trade which flourished for centuries.
When Daenerys arrived, it seemed as if there was a very small upper class and a huge lower class, in addition to the many people who were trapped as slaves for life. Living in Slaver’s Bay as a regular person, most people would likely either be extremely poor and miserable or would end up as slaves. Not to mention the Red Waste and the lands of the Dothraki are on either side, leaving very little escape from this region.
1 Beyond The Wall
The Deadliest Life
- Cons: White Walkers, Freezing Cold
Whether it be summer or winter, the area beyond the wall always appeared to be a freezing wasteland. Shown on many occasions, particularly from the point of view of Jon Snow, the huge region north of the wall at the edge of Westeros contained white walkers, Wildlings that were ready to kill outsiders, and all manner of other terrors.
Nobody living beyond the relative safety of Westeros seemed to have an easy life. The Wildlings were distrustful and brutal, their everyday lives containing plenty of death, while the ever-present dangers of cold and sinister beings like white walkers left everyone living out there at constant risk. Westeros may lead to hard lives for many people, but none of it can compare to the brutality of attempting to survive beyond the wall, seen in some of the best episodes of the show.
