It's not a disastrous place, just very underdeveloped. It reminds me of anther city divided by a river, a bit to the southeast. I can't help but think that part of the difficulty is that silent war. Defining your world as a marginal improvement on theirs, rather than a thing in itself, or taking a more distant model. The nation to the northeast had less of that threat from the south, and is focused more on the northern models, to better effect. The vibe is sort of underdeveloped small city in NJ. Still evidence about of rougher times. Banks barricaded behind double-door thick glass. Was waiting between the two doors, and caught a whiff what must have been a cleaning chemical. Essence of the visit, so far. But time for improvement.
On the upside, found a decent English-language bookstore (unlike the US, people read here, so in all of these countries, pehaps save one, the bookstores have been ubiquitous). Everything from abroad, though, so no translated locals. Some of the shops in the last country made a point of setting a corner aside for translated locals, and that was always a good place to stop in for a bit.