USA Travel Safety

[Peaches LaTour]

Bears on Russian Streets

We have bears on the streets here in San Francisco too, but they aren't that kind of bear.

Well they won't be Chicago Bears

 

[PRlady]

Who are all these people who won't visit the US because it is so dangerous?

Maybe they're the people coming to Jerusalem because it is holy and peaceful?

Seriously, I lived in DC when it was known as the murder capital of the US, back in the 1980s, and didn't even get mugged. I now live in Jerusalem, where if you read the headlines you'd think that every geopolitical move, like Trump's recognition, means we are living with rioting in the streets.

In both cases, what makes news has little to do with daily life. You don't go to Crack Central in DC in 1989 and you don't go to the Old City here at certain times, and if you're a tourist there will be people to tell you where or when not to go. Past that, life is always a crapshoot and you should live it (reasonably) to the fullest while you can. I'm sure no-one was thinking of Belgium as an unsafe place until the horrific terrorist incidents there.

The only place I've ever been robbed, btw, was in Florence Italy where a guy on a motorbike rode past and grabbed my shoulder bag off my arm. I lost $50 in cash and a day of touring when I had to spend it at the consulate replacing my passport. So it's not that these things don't happen, it's that you can't take the news headlines as expressions of probabilities.

(Also, a lot of the terrible US shootings are not random, they are crazy people with guns shooting up their inlaws or church or school for some sort of revenge. That doesn't mean it's not awful but only that just being a public restaurant is not an indicator of incoming violence.)

 

[gkelly]

When I was 14-15, there was a question of whether I was allowed to take the bus into NYC with my suburban friends, or later to meet my city friends in Manhattan.

Then once when my father was driving me in our quiet suburban town I saw a guy in a ski mask hit an old lady and run away with her purse.

I never personally experienced violent crime in the city. I sometimes saw evidence of it, e.g., cops pursuing someone, and there were occasional pickpockets.

 

[Vagabond]

Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg

To put these numbers into perspective, this area of the city has crime rates higher than some of the most notorious places in the United States, which have similar and comparable populations (50,000 to 99,999). For example, Compton, CA (98,057) has a population almost double the size of this area, but this area had more than double the amount of robberies Compton had (428) in 2012, creating a robbery rate almost 4 times higher than Compton's (436.5). The 2012 homicide rate in Compton (21.4) was also lower than the average homicide rate in this area of Winnipeg through the years 2008-2012. Wilmington, DE (72,088) reported 474 robberies in 2012, creating a rate of 657.5 per 100,000, meaning the robbery rate of this area of Winnipeg is more than 2.5 times higher. The homicide rates are very similar, Wilmington recorded a homicide rate of 36.1 per 100,000 people, which is slightly higher than this area of Winnipeg's average (35.0).

And tells me they have bears on the streets.

I guess I won't be taking my forthcoming midwinter break in Winnipeg. Compton, maybe. It seems safer. Plus, it's warmer down there.

 

[Lizziebeth]

It's winter. The bears are hibernating.

 

[IceAlisa]

It's winter. The bears are hibernating.

Not the Russian bears! Hibernation is for wimpy North Amerikans.

 

[aliceanne]

I wonder if anyone has done a PhD thesis on psychology of internet trolls and if so, I'd like to read it. They are ripe for research.

One country singer compared them to people who piss in the public pool ( he was asked why he stopped doing twitter).

 

[skatingguy]

It's winter. The bears are hibernating.

Not the Russian bears! Hibernation is for wimpy North Amerikans.

If we're getting technical here - bears don't actually hibernate.

http://www.bigcat.org/news/the-truth-about-bears-and-hibernation

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg

And tells me they have bears on the streets.

I guess I won't be taking my forthcoming midwinter break in Winnipeg. Compton, maybe. It seems safer. Plus, it's warmer down there.

......plus it's warmer down there.....

 

[LilJen]

My wife and I like to visit Albuquerque but we don't go without our bullet proof vests because of this problem. I have heard that in cities like Detroit and San Diego, you can't even walk outside of your car because you will be shot within a matter or minutes. That is why we're afraid to go to the U.S. Nationals event next year. May be the weather will be very rainy and high water on the streets will keep the criminals away.

It would be an easier decision to go if Keegan Messing still skated for the U.S. and we would be able to see him live again.

:LOL:

With respect to bears, remember that schoolchildren need guns in schools in case of a bear attack.

 

[Red Hot Chili Keegan]

I'm sorry, but I can't tell if you're serious or joking.

My husband and I (hi honey!!) never joke about safety. We also closely watch the weather forecast before we travel. For instance, we cancelled our trip to Boston for the world championships because we saw all the forecasts of rain and were worried that there would be torrential downpours and that our boots wouldn't be thick enough or high enough to deal with all the rain. My husband was very sad to miss the chance to see his favorite skater Anastasia Galustyan live, but it may have been for the best since she didn't skate very well in the free skate. Also we heard that we couldn't bring water into the arena and you could only get small glasses from the arena staff and we wouldn't have wanted to be ill from dehydration. I think we made the right decision to play it safe.

 

[Winnipeg]

Ask a silly question, even in fun, and get....

Sorry to have offended the jeffisjeff perfect judger of all posts. Your last name isn't Trump is it?

 

[MacMadame]

I think we should update Godwin's Law to include accusing people of being/supporting Trump when we don't like what they posted.

 

[jeffisjeff]

Sorry to have offended the jeffisjeff perfect judger of all posts. Your last name isn't Trump is it?

Yes.

 

[Aussie Willy]

First thing you do when you go to any US city is to ask where the worst part of downtown is. Then if you are like me you somehow inadvertently end up in them. I could have written a book on the subject when I went to US and Canada back in 1998. On my trip a couple of years ago I did much better not finding them except in San Francisco.

 

[Vagabond]

The risk of being struck by a wayward bullet in San Francisco is not in neighborhoods in or adjacent to downtown. It's in outlying neighborhoods such as Hunter's Point and the Bayview, which practically no tourists would ever visit. It's the same story in other large U.S. cities.

This is not to say that there isn't crime in areas like the Tenderloin, which is right by a very touristy part of downtown San Francisco. There is. But the chances of being pickpocketed in San Franisco or Chicago, for example, are lower than in European cities like Barcelona, Rome, Paris, and Prague.

Advance research and sensible precautions are always a good idea wherever one goes.

 

[manhn]

First thing you do when you go to any US city is to ask where the worst part of downtown is. Then if you are like me you somehow inadvertently end up in them. I could have written a book on the subject when I went to US and Canada back in 1998. On my trip a couple of years ago I did much better not finding them except in San Francisco.

I have inadvertantly taken my parents to places like Trenton New Jersey; North Charleston, South Carolina; and Chester, Pennsylvania. I was getting anxious while trying to find Wynwood Walls in Miami, but I am shocked I didn't run into any dangerous parts there.

 

[Winnipeg]

Yes.

Perfect

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Yes.

Yes.[/QUOTE

jeffisjeff Trump.

 

[Japanfan]

My wife and I like to visit Albuquerque but we don't go without our bullet proof vests because of this problem. I have heard that in cities like Detroit and San Diego, you can't even walk outside of your car because you will be shot within a matter or minutes.

I don't know about Detroit, but have been to San Diego several times and never felt in danger of being shot, or been advised that we were in danger. Our hotel was on a strip called Hotel Circle, which is nothing but hotels/motels and restaurants, and we were totally comfortable walking down the street. And totally comfortable wherever we went - and one trip, we took public transit.

There are bad areas in most cities, and they should be avoided. We got lost once in a big American city at night and found ourselves in a bad area. It was very scary. But the same could have happened in pretty much any city anywhere in the world.

That is why we're afraid to go to the U.S. Nationals event next year. May be the weather will be very rainy and high water on the streets will keep the criminals away.

I'm sure that the event will be held in a safe part of the city and that competitors and attendees will be advised as to parts of the city to avoid.

I say go and enjoy!

 

[WildRose]

I have inadvertantly taken my parents to places like Trenton New Jersey; North Charleston, South Carolina; and Chester, Pennsylvania. I was getting anxious while trying to find Wynwood Walls in Miami, but I am shocked I didn't run into any dangerous parts there.

Years ago I got lost driving around in downtown Detroit on a Sunday afternoon. To us it looked like something out of a science fiction movie - empty buildings, not a person in sight. Down right Creepy. Of course being a law abiding girl from Alberta I still keep stopping at all the lights. Hours later when we finally found our way back across the border and told people what happened they were amazed we’d made it out alive.

 

[purple skates]

Years ago I got lost driving around in downtown Detroit on a Sunday afternoon. To us it looked like something out of a science fiction movie - empty buildings, not a person in sight. Down right Creepy. Of course being a law abiding girl from Alberta I still keep stopping at all the lights. Hours later when we finally found our way back across the border and told people what happened they were amazed we’d made it out alive.

Years ago, that was (unfortunately) an accurate description of Detroit. It is much changed now. There’s still lots of challenges, but Detroit is definitely improving.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

If you are so frightened by travel in the U.S., then just stay home, wherever that may be.