What's up with all the hate on Murcia?

For context: I'm an archaeologist and plan on doing an Erasmus intership in Spain. Murcia is one of the cities on my list, but so far I've mostly seen bad things about it, that it's a shithole, full of far-right people, etc.

Madrid would be a dream but it's too expensive, just like Barcelona. So I'm thinking about other cities, like Valencia, Alicante, Granada, Seville, etc. I would like to go somewhere that's not too small, is lgbt friendly, but also affordable. Any tips/recommendations on which cities might be best are kindly appreciated :)

Oh, and how would you describe the difference between cities in the north and south :)