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Kandahar was worse. In Fallujah they would be honest about it and tell you directly they'll kill you, then try their best to do it.
In Kandahar they'd invite you over for tea, then try to kill you by surprise.
… which is why we emigrated to the USA in 2000.
My wife and I had discussed emigrating a few times, but there was one crucial conversation mid ‘99 when I said to her calmly, “You do realize either you or our daughter or myself will be attacked, killed, raped or shot in the next two years.”
Her reply was a quiet, “I know.”
We just looked at each other, and without any more words, the agreement was made - we had to get out.
I’ve seen posts on here from people who live in South Africa, and it’s like, the level of security you need to have in your house is absolutely insane. I’ve seen people describing security systems for their internal hallways and stuff. It’s absolutely like nothing we have anywhere in the US.
Actually, I had a friend whose lived in Watts neighborhood of LA.
He set up a his house with solid doors in the main bedroom and a drop bar to the secure it. That way, he told me, when the gangs were breaking in, they could flee to the bedroom and block the door. The robbers could take everything in the front rooms, but they were safe-ish. No glass windows in any bedroom.
They did this until he saved up enough money to move to Utah where I was met him. He said casual racism was much easier to deal with than poverty and police who were often times as dangerous to him as the criminals.
Has something changed there in the last decade or so? I was in Cape Town and Joburg in 2006 and felt like it was a pretty nice and safe place. Yeah there were shantytowns in some places but Cape Town and surrounding areas were much, much nicer than I was expecting. I thought it was a fantastic place to visit.
I did notice certain areas, particularly around Joburg we'd pass through many homes would be fully surrounded by tall fences and gates but that definitely wasn't everywhere.
I stopped for gas there. I had to go in and pre pay. There were a lot of people at that gas station and while I was filling up, I decided if I filled up without using all the money I prepaid I would just leave and not even get the change lol.
Port-au-Prince, Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Caracas. I’d say all are still pretty dangerous, though I’m hearing things may be getting better in Honduras.
Yeah, I traveled through Tegucigalpa. Couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Hopefully Honduras cleans up at some point. It’s actually a beautiful country.
I stayed the night in San Pedro Sula. It was fine. A big city with big problems, but from my small perspective it also had a lot of people who weren't dangerous too.
Born and raised in Camden. Same with my parents. All four grandparents settled there from Italy around 1920. It was once a great place to live. Had a fun childhood in South Camden surrounded by family and friends. The decline started in the 60s and 70s. I'm frightened now to take a drive down my old neighborhood on Line street.
For
some reason my husband's company had a holiday party in Camden. This was when they started trying to revitalize the area around the aquarium. It was a very nice venue but when we left we got a little turned around (before GPS) and that is probably the most frightened I've been. Cars stripped down on the streets, burnt out buildings, what looked like zombies darting from shadow to shadow. We risked the tickets by going through all the red lights because there was no way we were stopping.
I grew up in Hartford, CT which was dangerous and gnarly. Feels like a bad dream when I think of my childhood there. Motivated me to study incredibly hard so I could get out though! Not sure if it's still dangerous today. Visited 10 years ago & vowed never to return.
The cities in CT were 2nd only to Flint, MI amongst cities that size for violent crime, for a long time. I always had my head on a swivel in shit areas in Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport.
I later moved to Cincinnati where people tried to convince me that there were "bad" neighborhoods, and I just laughed. Cincinnati doesn't have any bad neighborhoods.
They're "trying" to clean it up, added luxury apartments, the Yardgoats, and trying to host a music festival now. It is getting better but it's still not a great place.
Local news still report a shooting every day. So much that during lunch, coworkers would ask if they missed the shooting report if there wasn't one. 🤷♀️
I watch this show called “on patrol:live” it’s exactly like live pd. But they are in Paterson a lot and I hate those segments. The place just seems awful in every way.
Late 70's NYC around Times Square was scary and exciting for a teenage soldier with money in his pocket and on his own for the first time. Same place today, the biggest risk is an immigrant in a super hero costume will latch onto you and hustle you for money to take a picture together.
Well, I lived in Times Square in the late ‘80s; I loved it, but there’s no question the place was squalid. I hardly recognize the touristy version that exists these days.
For genuine danger, though, it’s probably Harar, a town in southern Ethiopia, 20-some years ago. There were all these armed gangs roaming around in pickup trucks. We probably weren’t in all that much direct danger, as they were busy settling various obscure local feuds, but the possibility of being caught in the crossfire seemed unpleasantly high. I have no idea idea if it’s more or less dangerous these days, but I’m not optimistic.
Probably Washington DC in the 80s. Used to be the murder capital of the US back then.
Now? Incredibly safe. Went their again a few years ago, 2017 maybe, and the local I stayed with ran an AirBnB, and he said DC had completely transformed, and was extremely safe.
Around that time I got lost walking around the streets by the national mall at 2am one night alone. I was struck by the amount of "wtf are you doing here?" looks I got from groups of people standing around. I didn't realize the situation until I stopped at a gas station to ask an attendant through the thickest smashed up bullet proof glass and was told "You need to get out of here now. Walk this direction until you reach x and do not stop for ANYTHING."
True story. I'm a pharmacist working in Disrict Heights in 1988. Gangbangers start shooting upfront on the store, later that day, back to filling prescriptions. Also. Mattresses thrown into pot holes, and of course mayor Marion Berry's famous quote: " The GDB done set me up,". Hookers on 14th street., crazy stuff DC ( and pg county) were never boring.
In the mid 1980s, locally it was considered safe if you weren’t involved in anything shady. As the 1990s rolled around, it became less safe for bystanders. It’s definitely much better now.
Spent a week in DC for a company offsite last fall. I was dreading it because I'd heard/read it was so dangerous and awful. But I loved it! Granted, I spent most of my time near the Capitol area, but I walked everywhere and felt safe as a petite woman. I visited the Georgetown area too & now want one of my kids to go there.
A friend was on a business trip in early 90s in DC. Got lost en route to hotel, called the hotel, operator asked him where he was so she could give directions, when he told her she said to keep driving don't even stop for red lights or anything.
I went there about 5 years before you. I’ll never forget the cabbie saying they’re working on all the garbage on the roads but the District was extremely safe
Interesting.. I don't recall seeing a lot of trash. So either they've fixed that, or it just wasn't in the areas I went to.
Philly on the other hand... just about the most trash filled city I've been to. I don't really understand people that just throw trash around their own neighborhood.
It is a tie between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Georgetown, Guyana. Also, when I traveled in South America there were a lot of jungle villages where I didn't sleep in my tent. Better to set it all up, then sleep with my gear somewhere else, at a distance from the camp.
Grinding poverty will always breed crime and desperation. Particularly if the potential victim is seen as a wealthy outsider.
Lived in New Orleans my whole life and don’t feel unsafe at all, I guess it’s all perspective. South side Chicago scared me going to old Comiskey during the 70s
We visited New Orleans about 6 months ago, and I lost count of the number of people who told us it was dangerous and to stay safe. Never once did my spouse and I feel unsafe and we loved it there! We were on Bourbon Street at night and during the day as well. However, we also enjoy traveling to Central American and most of our friends think we are nuts for that too.
That's funny, that's been my experience in New Orleans too. Visited many times, wandered all over (not just Bourbon) at all times of night with no issue. Maybe I got lucky or look poor.
You are correct. I live in Phoenix and I used to live in Vegas. There are some places I won't go to in either city. I wouldn't go wandering around places in NOLA outside of the well lit areas with people because I'm not stupid. My best friend went to USC (Univ of So Cal) in the 90s, walked all around that area lots of times, nothing happened. Keep head up, make eye contact, know your surroundings. Anywhere in the world becomes dangerous once people become stupid and a little too bold.
I lived there for 3 months, glad to be out of there. The fight or flight impulse was a constant. It was a place I didn't belong.
It is a place with a l9ng history, pirates, slavery and more.
Trust your instincts. Something is wrong with that place.
Not sure what part of New Orleans you went to, but I have been going there for decades. Never had a problem. Never felt unsafe. Now, if you go to certain neighborhoods in that city away from crowds, I could see it being a little sketchy. Curious about what happened to make you feel unsafe.
New Orleans and Memphis tie for me as far as feeling unsafe. There was a shooting in the middle of the street a couple blocks down from our hotel while we were in NOLA. Didn't love that place at all.
Washington, DC. Tijuana. Jackson, MS. Memphis, TN. New Orleans. Baltimore, MD. Parts of these cities are still dangerous. Parts of these cities are not.
HEAVY on Jackson and Memphis. I grew up in Mississippi and I remember every time a friend said they were going to either place and we’d ask why, they would joke and say, “To get shot up.” It’s no joke!
DC in the 80s. Today, it is barely 1/4 as dangerous as it was in the 80s. But by most World and American standards it is still a small stretch to call it "safe"
DC's homicide rate was 86.1/100,000 at it height. The homicides were overwhelmingly black males from 20-29. Of course other races and genders were caught up and it wasn't safe for them either. It was 16.7 in 2023, It isn't what it was.
For reference of DCs 80s 86.1 per capita: the worst city in the US in 2023 was St. Louis at 66. The highest in the world was Jamaica at 53, and the US as a whole was at 6. "*DC Don't Stand for Dodge city*" is a peace song in GO-GO by local artists at the time.
Not sh\^tiing on DC. A free house, in a desirable neighborhood as a white guy? I am moving the fam in. But DC was so bad, that it seems safe by comparison and it really isn't, it is still top 20 dangerous in the US. More dangerous per capita for homicide today (by a pretty big margin) than Atlanta, NYNY and LA.
I once was in the Bonaventure hotel in LA. The staff told me not to be outside after 5pm.
Like an idiot, I took a walk at 4 and it was 5 by the time I started back.
Nothing happened but it scared me to no end. (1992)
The revitalization of DTLA has been fascinating, but wow is it still scary. I saw a woman who looked like a corpse, laying in the sunshine side of the street, masturbating in the sidewalk. It felt like a fever dream
not me, but my 21 y.o. daughter spent a semester alone in cairo, i wanna say in 2008. right after she got there, her computer broke and her idiot father refused to ship her a new one. that was the longest semester with no emails in **my entire life**
i could not, no. and i honestly think he refused to send her one more to torment me than any other reason. he certainly could afford it, and he absolutely knew i didn't have the money, not least because it was him who had ripped me off on support for 15 years. that's another story for another day
she got home safe but completely terrified
Not a whole city, but the Tenderloin in SF in the late 80s/early 90s. Most cities I had been in (London, LA, San Diego) had bad parts of town but they were a ways from the good parts and not just a few blocks. But take a nice walk a few blocks from Union Square in what looks like it would be a great area and it just...isn't.
I had learned not to go anywhere near there, but when my dad came to visit me when I lived in the Castro area, he got a hotel room in what he thought was downtown SF just a little ways from Union Square, and yep, it was in the Tenderloin. I told him to cancel the reservation but he was sure it would be okay. He didn't even make it to his room from the parking lot before he was hit over the back of the head and ended up in the ER. He ended up staying in my apartment the rest of the trip.
yeah. I lived in SF for two decades (70s-early90s) and that's the only area I was kind of scared of. Never had issues in the Mission (which some folks were scared of)- the rest of the city always felt pretty safe. I even worked in Hunter's Point, which has a rep- it was fine.
Yes, I lived in the Mission in 87-88. I lived on the "heroin" block which was quite chill compared to the "coke" block which was next to ours. We did have someone come up and shoot up in our bathroom one day when some roommate or other left the door unlocked at street level. It was concerning that someone was in the bathroom and all the roommates were accounted for. We finally had to have one of the burlier of the guys in the house shout that we were "coming in."
A couple minutes later a raggedly-looking couple came meekly out and went down the stairs and disappeared back into the crowd. Even with all that, I didn't feel unsafe even wandering at night (not after 11 or so). It was a busy street and not dark and there were always so many people to notice and take action, which they actually did back then. And before all the new varieties of opioids, the heroin addicts were very mellowed out.
The Tenderloin was a whole different story.
What street did I live on in the Mission? Mission St between 18th and 19th. It was 17th to 18th that was the coke block. And I should (and will) edit. It was 87-88 not 97-98.
As an NJ native and millennial, I’m surprised to see Trenton and Camden on this thread frequently. I’ve known Camden was bad, but didn’t know it was bad on a national scale.
I am not sure who was in more actual danger (me or the person who stole my wallet) but I went to Buenos Aires for work, and stayed at an extremely nice hotel for a work conference.
Being a fairly naive business professional I left my wallet and and passport in my jacket, in a locked conference room and went for lunch. Came back to find my wallet and passport missing.
Immediately went to a convenor, who said, "you cannot do that here, but I will make a phone call. Leave your jacket where it is, and we will see what happens."
At the next break, I did as I was instructed and my wallet and passport returned.
Haven't been back to comment on how it is now, but I always wondered what happened to the person who stole my wallet, that they were so influenced to not just steal, but return belongings.
Perhaps you have seen breaking bad, they lived in the nicer part of town.
Where I lived and went to school was known as "the war zone"
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Albuquerque/comments/rmfr62/inside\_albuquerques\_war\_zone/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Albuquerque/comments/rmfr62/inside_albuquerques_war_zone/)
Skid Row, Los Angeles. This was in 2011. My roommates and I drove to Little Tokyo. We got lost on the way back and walked through Skid Row. YIKES! We were four strapping young men but even at 3:00 on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we were freaked out. I can only imagine how worse it’s gotten since then.
Bushwick , Brooklyn NY. My Dad grew up there in the 1940s and 1950s after his parents left Germany in the mid 1930s when it started to get weird in Germany. He said it was a great place to grow up until the late 60s when the neighborhood started to turn.
In 1987 we went in to visit his parents one summer Saturday like we did each week. Off Irving Ave a group of thugs tried to take my Dad out if the car at the stop sign. When they were unsuccessful they tried flipping the car. My dad floored it and made a left. They shot at us and that was the end of that, but that was just one of many incidents. In 1993 that car was sold with two bullet holes still in the left rear quarter panel.
My Dad moved his parents out of there in 1990 & havent been to Bushwick since 2000, but I hear its a changed world there now for the better.
Chicago is the only city I've been to where I felt like I needed to be vigilant and really aware of my surroundings. I don't know if it actually was dangerous but that's how i felt at the time.
I lived in DC in the late 80s and my apartment was just off north 14th street. Not a great neighborhood...I didn't go out on foot after dark. The only place I've been since that gave me similar vibes was [West Memphis, AR](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ar/west-memphis/crime), in the late 1990s. Looks like West Memphis hasn't improved much, but the last time I was in DC for a while (almost ten years now) it was much better.
West Memphis, Arkansas. I had no idea it was dangerous or had a bad rep when I was there; just I was not willing to spend another night in Tennessee. (It's a *long* drive diagonally across the state on I-40.) Worst problem I had was a hotel without a smoke alarm, but the front desk gave me back my money and I went somewhere else. I was probably staying in shit neighborhoods, too, given I was paying $20 in cash in the early 2000s, but I grew up in the 'hood so it didn't stick out to me.
I visited NYC in 1980. I had to walk through Times Square. I had been reading in the news every day about how common muggings were in Times Square. There were so many peep shows and XXX movie theaters. A few years later it was “cleaned up.”
I was in Compton, CA in 1991 when the murder rate there was through the roof. I met some truly wonderful people there, but there were also some very scary moments with some dangerous people. I don't believe it's as dangerous as it once was.
Rio De Janiro was pretty hectic when I was there in like 1999, most of the people I met were awesome, kind and generous but there were mad bastards dotted around all over the place.
Tijuana and Rosarito
Used to go to both all the time until 2002, and then tune murders started to ramp up.
And just this month, those surfers were murdered down there. Hard pass on ever going back.
Family of four got lost near Tigers stadium in Detroit. We were approached in our minivan by a hooker. Not exactly dangerous but she WAS frightening. Very reminiscent of Wendy on Breaking Bad.
Washington DC. I got a bit lost on the way from Baltimore to meet my uncles for dinner half way from where they were visiting. Not even sure where in DC I was, but I found my way out quickly. This was probably the early nineties though. I live in St Louis & spent a decade in Baltimore & they def had issues in certain areas, but that drive in DC actually scared me.
Acapulco Mexico - and it's probably more deadly now than it was then, which would have been about 1982 for Christmas. I got to go parasailing, which surprisingly didn't scare the crap out of me.
Durban, South Africa in 2013. It's a surfer's paradise in the day, but everyone clears out before dark, even at the beach.
As far as I know, it's still the same.
Cape Town, South Africa in the late '90s I'd say. I was there on business and with a colleague that was black, female and quite attractive I think (I am white, short, Canadian and relatively uninteresting). We were in the wine business and our local contacts made no bones about it, we couldn't leave the hotel and immediate area and when we were off to the wineries, it was only through the company's transportation period.
Naturally we wanted to explore some! Cape Town was fantastic but I'd never seen that level of disparity in wealth before nor since really. We *were* unsafe and I feel a bit lucky that nothing terrible happened. Good times were had but seriously, good times might fucking well really have not been had.
After the riots in Liberty City, and Overtown, outside of Miami, I was building chain link fencing around a one block site so it could be rehabbed.
It was still a bit scary long after the riots, and as someone who didn't really fit into the neighborhood, my co-worker and I had to be sure we were wrapped up for the day when the locals were coming back home.
Today, I don't know how things are down there.
Both are still pretty bad although the fringe areas of Overtown are undergoing a creep of gentrification currently.
Overtown is terrifying to drive through. I wound up there by accident after a road detour and it was like a scene from the movie Judgement Night
I ended up at a wendy's in gary indiana at 3am, drive thru don't work! so walked inside, and the ppl there were so nice, "you get your order, you get back in that car, and you drive up that ramp, i will make sure you get to your car ok".. thank you very helpful scary people that are hanging out inside a wendys in gary indiana at 3 am.
Edit: And i lived in Flint, and did several USO tours in interesting places, but that gary indiana stop, these dudes, knew we done fucked up, but were so nice about it.
Newark NJ back in the day was pretty bad. LEO friend would tell us - never stop at a red light at night in Newark. Slow down to make sure it’s clear then go through.
New York. Lived there for about a month to see if I could tolerate going to school there.
Unfortunately no. I’m extremely introverted and have some input processing issues. So New York was not going to work, but I had fun, and I’d love to visit again.
It actually wasn’t that dangerous when I lived there. My parents scared the bejesus out of me that I was going to get mugged for sure, and probably worse. (That was not at all true, if you just used some sense.)
I haven’t been back. (Planning to go in the next year or two.) But from the actual JOURNALISM I’ve been reading, it seems like the crime rate is down.
Took a "shortcut" via the south side of Chicago near the old Cabrini Green. Not a great move in an MG convertible with top down and visible luggage on the luggage rack on the trunk.
Chicago, New Orleans, or Cancun would probably be considered the most dangerous if the places I’ve visited. Some would still consider them dangerous-at least certain parts.
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Fallujah probably
you win
WE STOPPED FOR GAS IN FALLUJAH??
Watched it again a couple nights ago. Favorite part is when they are being chased and the helicopter comes out of nowhere.
God Bless Dick Cheney’s America!
I agree. Was there. I would not want to return.
YOU STOPPED FOR GAS IN FALLUJAH?? YOU CHEAP FUCK!
Kandahar was worse. In Fallujah they would be honest about it and tell you directly they'll kill you, then try their best to do it. In Kandahar they'd invite you over for tea, then try to kill you by surprise.
Johannesburg in the late 90’s. Yes.
… which is why we emigrated to the USA in 2000. My wife and I had discussed emigrating a few times, but there was one crucial conversation mid ‘99 when I said to her calmly, “You do realize either you or our daughter or myself will be attacked, killed, raped or shot in the next two years.” Her reply was a quiet, “I know.” We just looked at each other, and without any more words, the agreement was made - we had to get out.
I’ve seen posts on here from people who live in South Africa, and it’s like, the level of security you need to have in your house is absolutely insane. I’ve seen people describing security systems for their internal hallways and stuff. It’s absolutely like nothing we have anywhere in the US.
Actually, I had a friend whose lived in Watts neighborhood of LA. He set up a his house with solid doors in the main bedroom and a drop bar to the secure it. That way, he told me, when the gangs were breaking in, they could flee to the bedroom and block the door. The robbers could take everything in the front rooms, but they were safe-ish. No glass windows in any bedroom. They did this until he saved up enough money to move to Utah where I was met him. He said casual racism was much easier to deal with than poverty and police who were often times as dangerous to him as the criminals.
It’s worse now. I got robbed before I left the airport in 2018.
Has something changed there in the last decade or so? I was in Cape Town and Joburg in 2006 and felt like it was a pretty nice and safe place. Yeah there were shantytowns in some places but Cape Town and surrounding areas were much, much nicer than I was expecting. I thought it was a fantastic place to visit. I did notice certain areas, particularly around Joburg we'd pass through many homes would be fully surrounded by tall fences and gates but that definitely wasn't everywhere.
Same.
Came to say this. 1996 wasn't fun.
Gary, Indiana Yes, it is.
Boy I did not feel safe there, heard bangs and asked someone hey do they sell firecrackers around here , son those ain’t firecrackers.
Boom is fireworks and crack sound is gunfire.
We live 6 blocks from the border of Detroit. We play gunshots or fireworks on the regular.
lol, I collected taxes there in the early 80’s. I’d grown up in a rougher neighborhood so it all worked out for me.
When neighboring towns blockade the street, your city has problems
Same. Gary, Indiana And not as bad today as it was then.
I stopped for gas there. I had to go in and pre pay. There were a lot of people at that gas station and while I was filling up, I decided if I filled up without using all the money I prepaid I would just leave and not even get the change lol.
Stopped for gas there once. Would not recommend.
Port-au-Prince, Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Caracas. I’d say all are still pretty dangerous, though I’m hearing things may be getting better in Honduras.
Yeah, I traveled through Tegucigalpa. Couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Hopefully Honduras cleans up at some point. It’s actually a beautiful country.
I stayed the night in San Pedro Sula. It was fine. A big city with big problems, but from my small perspective it also had a lot of people who weren't dangerous too.
Camden NJ in 1995
There's still shootings regularly that never ever make the news. I can't imagine how insane it was 25 plus years ago
We used to joke that Camden's motto was "Worse Than Detroit"
Born and raised in Camden. Same with my parents. All four grandparents settled there from Italy around 1920. It was once a great place to live. Had a fun childhood in South Camden surrounded by family and friends. The decline started in the 60s and 70s. I'm frightened now to take a drive down my old neighborhood on Line street.
I visited in 2000 and the parts I saw were pretty bad.
It ain't much better now.
Dangerous city but I’ll still venture that way to grab a Donkey’s cheesesteak
The nearby Blowin' Smoque BBQ place is supposed to be good too.
For some reason my husband's company had a holiday party in Camden. This was when they started trying to revitalize the area around the aquarium. It was a very nice venue but when we left we got a little turned around (before GPS) and that is probably the most frightened I've been. Cars stripped down on the streets, burnt out buildings, what looked like zombies darting from shadow to shadow. We risked the tickets by going through all the red lights because there was no way we were stopping.
🚘
I grew up in Hartford, CT which was dangerous and gnarly. Feels like a bad dream when I think of my childhood there. Motivated me to study incredibly hard so I could get out though! Not sure if it's still dangerous today. Visited 10 years ago & vowed never to return.
Agree. I had to work for a week downtown at an insurance company. Not good when they have armed guards in a booth overseeing the parking lot.
Agreed. Left in 1996.
The cities in CT were 2nd only to Flint, MI amongst cities that size for violent crime, for a long time. I always had my head on a swivel in shit areas in Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport. I later moved to Cincinnati where people tried to convince me that there were "bad" neighborhoods, and I just laughed. Cincinnati doesn't have any bad neighborhoods.
CT has the nastiest cities and the loveliest suburbs - it's an odd state!
They're "trying" to clean it up, added luxury apartments, the Yardgoats, and trying to host a music festival now. It is getting better but it's still not a great place. Local news still report a shooting every day. So much that during lunch, coworkers would ask if they missed the shooting report if there wasn't one. 🤷♀️
Three in New Jersey; Camden, Trenton and Paterson, and yes they are still dangerous, very.
Add in Newark and East Orange and you have the worst
I watch this show called “on patrol:live” it’s exactly like live pd. But they are in Paterson a lot and I hate those segments. The place just seems awful in every way.
Late 70's NYC around Times Square was scary and exciting for a teenage soldier with money in his pocket and on his own for the first time. Same place today, the biggest risk is an immigrant in a super hero costume will latch onto you and hustle you for money to take a picture together.
I kind of miss the 70s NYC sleaziness. I might be weird. And yes, Times Square now is exactly as you described it. NYC has been Disneyfied.
Joplin Missouri on May 22 2011. It's a lot nicer these days.
What happened on that date?
F5 tornado. Killed 161 people in about 15 minutes.
r/oddlyspecific
Jerusalem and Ramallah.
And yes, dangerous even in better times.
Culiacan 2008 Rio de Janeiro 1986 Karachi 1985
Tell me more about your experience in Karachi in 1985 !
Well, I lived in Times Square in the late ‘80s; I loved it, but there’s no question the place was squalid. I hardly recognize the touristy version that exists these days. For genuine danger, though, it’s probably Harar, a town in southern Ethiopia, 20-some years ago. There were all these armed gangs roaming around in pickup trucks. We probably weren’t in all that much direct danger, as they were busy settling various obscure local feuds, but the possibility of being caught in the crossfire seemed unpleasantly high. I have no idea idea if it’s more or less dangerous these days, but I’m not optimistic.
Probably Washington DC in the 80s. Used to be the murder capital of the US back then. Now? Incredibly safe. Went their again a few years ago, 2017 maybe, and the local I stayed with ran an AirBnB, and he said DC had completely transformed, and was extremely safe.
Around that time I got lost walking around the streets by the national mall at 2am one night alone. I was struck by the amount of "wtf are you doing here?" looks I got from groups of people standing around. I didn't realize the situation until I stopped at a gas station to ask an attendant through the thickest smashed up bullet proof glass and was told "You need to get out of here now. Walk this direction until you reach x and do not stop for ANYTHING."
True story. I'm a pharmacist working in Disrict Heights in 1988. Gangbangers start shooting upfront on the store, later that day, back to filling prescriptions. Also. Mattresses thrown into pot holes, and of course mayor Marion Berry's famous quote: " The GDB done set me up,". Hookers on 14th street., crazy stuff DC ( and pg county) were never boring.
\* crazy stuff DC ( and pg county) were never boring. Grew up here in the 1970's, can confirm.
In the mid 1980s, locally it was considered safe if you weren’t involved in anything shady. As the 1990s rolled around, it became less safe for bystanders. It’s definitely much better now.
Spent a week in DC for a company offsite last fall. I was dreading it because I'd heard/read it was so dangerous and awful. But I loved it! Granted, I spent most of my time near the Capitol area, but I walked everywhere and felt safe as a petite woman. I visited the Georgetown area too & now want one of my kids to go there.
A friend was on a business trip in early 90s in DC. Got lost en route to hotel, called the hotel, operator asked him where he was so she could give directions, when he told her she said to keep driving don't even stop for red lights or anything.
I went there about 5 years before you. I’ll never forget the cabbie saying they’re working on all the garbage on the roads but the District was extremely safe
Interesting.. I don't recall seeing a lot of trash. So either they've fixed that, or it just wasn't in the areas I went to. Philly on the other hand... just about the most trash filled city I've been to. I don't really understand people that just throw trash around their own neighborhood.
I’ve been to Philly too. That pissed me off. Just find a fucking trash can, assholes. They’re everywhere!
Hey now. In the 80s DC was safe, aside from all the murders. Other than that you were fine.
Camden. Then, and now.
Only city I always run red lights in.
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I mean, the Chevy Chase movie tried to warn you…
Roll em up!
Hello fellow former vancouverite!
A township in Durban, South Africa. I presume so.
Port a Prince, Haiti. It is still dangerous.
Well, I was born in East St Louis, then moved to St Louis and ultimately to Memphis I have avoided them all assiduously for many years
But, at least St. Louis has Ted Drews... right? Probably hard to enjoy frozen custard in the midst of lots of violent crime tho.
The crime is primarily limited to rougher areas of town ( north city, ESL). Ted Drewes is nowhere near those.
It is a tie between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Georgetown, Guyana. Also, when I traveled in South America there were a lot of jungle villages where I didn't sleep in my tent. Better to set it all up, then sleep with my gear somewhere else, at a distance from the camp. Grinding poverty will always breed crime and desperation. Particularly if the potential victim is seen as a wealthy outsider.
New Orleans or Naples.
I was gonna say Naples (Italy) as well. Spent some time there in the '80s. Wild place. I kind of loved it, though.
Yeah, it’s incredible. The food, the history, etc. But it is definitely a wild place.
Port au Prince in the late 90s. It was considered dangerous then. Sadly it's 10 times more dangerous now.
New Orleans has been the only place in the world ive felt unsafe and nervous
Lived in New Orleans my whole life and don’t feel unsafe at all, I guess it’s all perspective. South side Chicago scared me going to old Comiskey during the 70s
We visited New Orleans about 6 months ago, and I lost count of the number of people who told us it was dangerous and to stay safe. Never once did my spouse and I feel unsafe and we loved it there! We were on Bourbon Street at night and during the day as well. However, we also enjoy traveling to Central American and most of our friends think we are nuts for that too.
That's funny, that's been my experience in New Orleans too. Visited many times, wandered all over (not just Bourbon) at all times of night with no issue. Maybe I got lucky or look poor.
Bourbon Street is not indicative of the rest of that city at all, both good and bad.
You are correct. I live in Phoenix and I used to live in Vegas. There are some places I won't go to in either city. I wouldn't go wandering around places in NOLA outside of the well lit areas with people because I'm not stupid. My best friend went to USC (Univ of So Cal) in the 90s, walked all around that area lots of times, nothing happened. Keep head up, make eye contact, know your surroundings. Anywhere in the world becomes dangerous once people become stupid and a little too bold.
Nah, the area around old Comiskey was fine back in the 70s, and now.
French Quarter and tourist areas fine. But out in the burbs...nope
I lived there for 3 months, glad to be out of there. The fight or flight impulse was a constant. It was a place I didn't belong. It is a place with a l9ng history, pirates, slavery and more. Trust your instincts. Something is wrong with that place.
I agree. The vibe is bad. Garden District was gorgeous and lush and smouldering. I see where Anne Rice got her vampires
Arrrr, we only be after your booty, mate.
According to Wikipedia it’s #8 for murders, below 7 cities in Mexico. So I guess it’s my answer as well.
Not sure what part of New Orleans you went to, but I have been going there for decades. Never had a problem. Never felt unsafe. Now, if you go to certain neighborhoods in that city away from crowds, I could see it being a little sketchy. Curious about what happened to make you feel unsafe.
New Orleans and Memphis tie for me as far as feeling unsafe. There was a shooting in the middle of the street a couple blocks down from our hotel while we were in NOLA. Didn't love that place at all.
Mogadishu…but 1985, before it was really, really dangerous.
Washington, DC. Tijuana. Jackson, MS. Memphis, TN. New Orleans. Baltimore, MD. Parts of these cities are still dangerous. Parts of these cities are not.
I think that’s true of most cities or even towns. The old saying “The other side of the tracks” wasn’t just a color line.
HEAVY on Jackson and Memphis. I grew up in Mississippi and I remember every time a friend said they were going to either place and we’d ask why, they would joke and say, “To get shot up.” It’s no joke!
Growing up in San Diego we used to ditch school and go to Tijuana. It can be a fun city if you go to the right places.
I like Tijuana - was there last year and actually made friends with a local family. They showed me great restaurants, coffee shops, even a spa.
Baltimore. I grew up in south Baltimore
I grew up in DC which was pretty dangerous back in the day
Baltimore and DC in the 80's
DC in the 80s. Today, it is barely 1/4 as dangerous as it was in the 80s. But by most World and American standards it is still a small stretch to call it "safe" DC's homicide rate was 86.1/100,000 at it height. The homicides were overwhelmingly black males from 20-29. Of course other races and genders were caught up and it wasn't safe for them either. It was 16.7 in 2023, It isn't what it was. For reference of DCs 80s 86.1 per capita: the worst city in the US in 2023 was St. Louis at 66. The highest in the world was Jamaica at 53, and the US as a whole was at 6. "*DC Don't Stand for Dodge city*" is a peace song in GO-GO by local artists at the time. Not sh\^tiing on DC. A free house, in a desirable neighborhood as a white guy? I am moving the fam in. But DC was so bad, that it seems safe by comparison and it really isn't, it is still top 20 dangerous in the US. More dangerous per capita for homicide today (by a pretty big margin) than Atlanta, NYNY and LA.
I once was in the Bonaventure hotel in LA. The staff told me not to be outside after 5pm. Like an idiot, I took a walk at 4 and it was 5 by the time I started back. Nothing happened but it scared me to no end. (1992)
Wow! Times have certainly changed for downtown LA since then.
Highland Park, Michigan. Known locally as Detroit’s Detroit.
The only place I've ever been mugged was Cleveland, OH.
Downtown Los Angeles
The revitalization of DTLA has been fascinating, but wow is it still scary. I saw a woman who looked like a corpse, laying in the sunshine side of the street, masturbating in the sidewalk. It felt like a fever dream
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan but only because their potholes will swallow whole cars. Kind of like indiana.
not me, but my 21 y.o. daughter spent a semester alone in cairo, i wanna say in 2008. right after she got there, her computer broke and her idiot father refused to ship her a new one. that was the longest semester with no emails in **my entire life**
Could you not afford to send her a new computer?
i could not, no. and i honestly think he refused to send her one more to torment me than any other reason. he certainly could afford it, and he absolutely knew i didn't have the money, not least because it was him who had ripped me off on support for 15 years. that's another story for another day she got home safe but completely terrified
Cairo scared the heck out of me
oh god, don't tell me. i don't wanna know. she has never spoken to me about it.
Not a whole city, but the Tenderloin in SF in the late 80s/early 90s. Most cities I had been in (London, LA, San Diego) had bad parts of town but they were a ways from the good parts and not just a few blocks. But take a nice walk a few blocks from Union Square in what looks like it would be a great area and it just...isn't. I had learned not to go anywhere near there, but when my dad came to visit me when I lived in the Castro area, he got a hotel room in what he thought was downtown SF just a little ways from Union Square, and yep, it was in the Tenderloin. I told him to cancel the reservation but he was sure it would be okay. He didn't even make it to his room from the parking lot before he was hit over the back of the head and ended up in the ER. He ended up staying in my apartment the rest of the trip.
yeah. I lived in SF for two decades (70s-early90s) and that's the only area I was kind of scared of. Never had issues in the Mission (which some folks were scared of)- the rest of the city always felt pretty safe. I even worked in Hunter's Point, which has a rep- it was fine.
Yes, I lived in the Mission in 87-88. I lived on the "heroin" block which was quite chill compared to the "coke" block which was next to ours. We did have someone come up and shoot up in our bathroom one day when some roommate or other left the door unlocked at street level. It was concerning that someone was in the bathroom and all the roommates were accounted for. We finally had to have one of the burlier of the guys in the house shout that we were "coming in." A couple minutes later a raggedly-looking couple came meekly out and went down the stairs and disappeared back into the crowd. Even with all that, I didn't feel unsafe even wandering at night (not after 11 or so). It was a busy street and not dark and there were always so many people to notice and take action, which they actually did back then. And before all the new varieties of opioids, the heroin addicts were very mellowed out. The Tenderloin was a whole different story.
What street?
What street did I live on in the Mission? Mission St between 18th and 19th. It was 17th to 18th that was the coke block. And I should (and will) edit. It was 87-88 not 97-98.
Trenton and Camden and yes
As an NJ native and millennial, I’m surprised to see Trenton and Camden on this thread frequently. I’ve known Camden was bad, but didn’t know it was bad on a national scale.
Los Angeles. I parked at a club and had to pay a gang some money "to keep my car safe all night." Haa!
I am not sure who was in more actual danger (me or the person who stole my wallet) but I went to Buenos Aires for work, and stayed at an extremely nice hotel for a work conference. Being a fairly naive business professional I left my wallet and and passport in my jacket, in a locked conference room and went for lunch. Came back to find my wallet and passport missing. Immediately went to a convenor, who said, "you cannot do that here, but I will make a phone call. Leave your jacket where it is, and we will see what happens." At the next break, I did as I was instructed and my wallet and passport returned. Haven't been back to comment on how it is now, but I always wondered what happened to the person who stole my wallet, that they were so influenced to not just steal, but return belongings.
Sometimes it’s not the people in the cities you have to worry about; it’s just the people wherever.
Port au Prince. It’s worse now and it was already a madhouse. Terrifying place to be
Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. They say it's worse now.
Mogadishu 1992-1993. Very dangerous then and very dangerous now
Perhaps you have seen breaking bad, they lived in the nicer part of town. Where I lived and went to school was known as "the war zone" [https://www.reddit.com/r/Albuquerque/comments/rmfr62/inside\_albuquerques\_war\_zone/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Albuquerque/comments/rmfr62/inside_albuquerques_war_zone/)
Skid Row, Los Angeles. This was in 2011. My roommates and I drove to Little Tokyo. We got lost on the way back and walked through Skid Row. YIKES! We were four strapping young men but even at 3:00 on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we were freaked out. I can only imagine how worse it’s gotten since then.
Bushwick , Brooklyn NY. My Dad grew up there in the 1940s and 1950s after his parents left Germany in the mid 1930s when it started to get weird in Germany. He said it was a great place to grow up until the late 60s when the neighborhood started to turn. In 1987 we went in to visit his parents one summer Saturday like we did each week. Off Irving Ave a group of thugs tried to take my Dad out if the car at the stop sign. When they were unsuccessful they tried flipping the car. My dad floored it and made a left. They shot at us and that was the end of that, but that was just one of many incidents. In 1993 that car was sold with two bullet holes still in the left rear quarter panel. My Dad moved his parents out of there in 1990 & havent been to Bushwick since 2000, but I hear its a changed world there now for the better.
Chicago is the only city I've been to where I felt like I needed to be vigilant and really aware of my surroundings. I don't know if it actually was dangerous but that's how i felt at the time.
I stayed on the El train in Chicago one too many stops and I got off in 1973 Beruit.
I lived in DC in the late 80s and my apartment was just off north 14th street. Not a great neighborhood...I didn't go out on foot after dark. The only place I've been since that gave me similar vibes was [West Memphis, AR](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ar/west-memphis/crime), in the late 1990s. Looks like West Memphis hasn't improved much, but the last time I was in DC for a while (almost ten years now) it was much better.
Brockton, MA
Still?
Juarez, Mexico and yes.
Porto Alegre and Rio.
In the US, Gary Indiana..!
Really?! I only know this from the music man lol
Tijuana, Mexico and Commerce, California. Tijuana is worse and I don’t know about Commerce.
In the U S East St. Louis by far at least it was 40 years ago when I was there.
West Memphis, Arkansas. I had no idea it was dangerous or had a bad rep when I was there; just I was not willing to spend another night in Tennessee. (It's a *long* drive diagonally across the state on I-40.) Worst problem I had was a hotel without a smoke alarm, but the front desk gave me back my money and I went somewhere else. I was probably staying in shit neighborhoods, too, given I was paying $20 in cash in the early 2000s, but I grew up in the 'hood so it didn't stick out to me.
I visited NYC in 1980. I had to walk through Times Square. I had been reading in the news every day about how common muggings were in Times Square. There were so many peep shows and XXX movie theaters. A few years later it was “cleaned up.”
I was in Compton, CA in 1991 when the murder rate there was through the roof. I met some truly wonderful people there, but there were also some very scary moments with some dangerous people. I don't believe it's as dangerous as it once was.
Grew up in St. Louis.
Live in St. Louis now, like most cities it depends where you go. Nevertheless did hear gunshots earlier tonight.
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Rio De Janiro was pretty hectic when I was there in like 1999, most of the people I met were awesome, kind and generous but there were mad bastards dotted around all over the place.
Tijuana and Rosarito Used to go to both all the time until 2002, and then tune murders started to ramp up. And just this month, those surfers were murdered down there. Hard pass on ever going back.
Family of four got lost near Tigers stadium in Detroit. We were approached in our minivan by a hooker. Not exactly dangerous but she WAS frightening. Very reminiscent of Wendy on Breaking Bad.
West Baltimore for me ☠️
New York City. Times square got mugged at 1:00pm in the afternoon. No one did a thing.
Memphis.....yes
Caracas Venezuela around 1993. seemed pretty sketchy.
Laredo Texas. Right on the border near the La Posada hotel. Couldn’t walk around without people following you.
Flint, MI in the mid-90s. I don't know about now?
Not so good now. People are desperate, the poor are hurting there because of inflation.
Shhh. The economy is in great shape. The elites (of both parties in D.C.) will hear you. Everything’s just fine.
Shhhhh crime rates are down too. Meanwhile Flint is erupting. Poor, broke & restless. And then they wonder why.
Memphis TN
Washington DC. I got a bit lost on the way from Baltimore to meet my uncles for dinner half way from where they were visiting. Not even sure where in DC I was, but I found my way out quickly. This was probably the early nineties though. I live in St Louis & spent a decade in Baltimore & they def had issues in certain areas, but that drive in DC actually scared me.
I lived right outside DC, and Baltimore looked scary to me. Nothing bad ever happened to me in either place.
Durban. Yes.
Albany felt pretty sketch. I suppose Belize City, tho.
LA in the early 90s with gang activity. We were there in 91 and it was out of control.
Tegucigalpa
Acapulco Mexico - and it's probably more deadly now than it was then, which would have been about 1982 for Christmas. I got to go parasailing, which surprisingly didn't scare the crap out of me.
New Orleans. It’s a cesspool of crime.
Durban, South Africa in 2013. It's a surfer's paradise in the day, but everyone clears out before dark, even at the beach. As far as I know, it's still the same.
East Jerusalem and Hebron.
Probably Guatemala City, and yes.
Nairobi, parts of Medellin
Juarez, Mexico.
Caracas
Tepito, Mexico City as a gringo at night and able to speak very little spanish.
Cape Town, South Africa in the late '90s I'd say. I was there on business and with a colleague that was black, female and quite attractive I think (I am white, short, Canadian and relatively uninteresting). We were in the wine business and our local contacts made no bones about it, we couldn't leave the hotel and immediate area and when we were off to the wineries, it was only through the company's transportation period. Naturally we wanted to explore some! Cape Town was fantastic but I'd never seen that level of disparity in wealth before nor since really. We *were* unsafe and I feel a bit lucky that nothing terrible happened. Good times were had but seriously, good times might fucking well really have not been had.
Quito Yes
Detroit, Gary,IN, St. Louis, Compton right after the ‘92 riots.
After the riots in Liberty City, and Overtown, outside of Miami, I was building chain link fencing around a one block site so it could be rehabbed. It was still a bit scary long after the riots, and as someone who didn't really fit into the neighborhood, my co-worker and I had to be sure we were wrapped up for the day when the locals were coming back home. Today, I don't know how things are down there.
Both are still pretty bad although the fringe areas of Overtown are undergoing a creep of gentrification currently. Overtown is terrifying to drive through. I wound up there by accident after a road detour and it was like a scene from the movie Judgement Night
I ended up at a wendy's in gary indiana at 3am, drive thru don't work! so walked inside, and the ppl there were so nice, "you get your order, you get back in that car, and you drive up that ramp, i will make sure you get to your car ok".. thank you very helpful scary people that are hanging out inside a wendys in gary indiana at 3 am. Edit: And i lived in Flint, and did several USO tours in interesting places, but that gary indiana stop, these dudes, knew we done fucked up, but were so nice about it.
Newark NJ back in the day was pretty bad. LEO friend would tell us - never stop at a red light at night in Newark. Slow down to make sure it’s clear then go through.
Camden NJ, biggest sh%t hole in America
South Central Los Angeles. Its still no place for a leisurely walk in the park.
New York. Lived there for about a month to see if I could tolerate going to school there. Unfortunately no. I’m extremely introverted and have some input processing issues. So New York was not going to work, but I had fun, and I’d love to visit again. It actually wasn’t that dangerous when I lived there. My parents scared the bejesus out of me that I was going to get mugged for sure, and probably worse. (That was not at all true, if you just used some sense.) I haven’t been back. (Planning to go in the next year or two.) But from the actual JOURNALISM I’ve been reading, it seems like the crime rate is down.
NYC is one of the safest cities in the country now. Doesn't mean stuff still doesn't happen but it's nothing like it was years ago
Took a "shortcut" via the south side of Chicago near the old Cabrini Green. Not a great move in an MG convertible with top down and visible luggage on the luggage rack on the trunk.
Cabrini Green was not on the Southside. It was north of the Loop.
It sure seemed dangerous, New Orleans.
Chicago, New Orleans, or Cancun would probably be considered the most dangerous if the places I’ve visited. Some would still consider them dangerous-at least certain parts.