I used to go to a church in 5th Ward and the bus stop in front of us was a common pick up/drop off spot for prostitutes. We had a lock-in one night and someone stabbed a prostitute, threw her out the car and left her on the sidewalk.
I'd be willing to bet that Southside Chicago is one of the most dangerous places in the world. Gang activity is rampant there.
This... Chicago by far has the worst gang problems. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/24/interactive-map-the-us-shooting-epidemic.html
Waterfront area isn't that bad. And it's better when you get around Camsauken. But yeah, grew up on River Road. I think when you're younger you don't really notice how lousy an area is until you live somewhere else. Might be true at any age, actually.
it's dangerous if you are in a gang or look out of place. One thing about gang deaths is that they happen only to rival gangs or you are caught in the crossfire. You won't be targeted if you are just minding your own business and don't look like someone they want to kill or anything like that. You might get robbed and stuff but you won't get shot for no reason unless you're in the crossfire or they think you're someone else. Now, you'll always have irrational people who will shoot for no reason or cause it's fun but that's pretty rare.
How often? Well, not often, most of us probably not even once. But, gangs are very much localized in certain areas and everybody knows to avoid those areas. However, many unlucky ones do not have that choice and for those gang activities are part of daily life. In that sense, gang activies are very much a serious problem in America.
I'm pretty sure if I have to worry about getting robbed 24/7 when I'm in a certain place, that makes that place dangerous. Unless we just have completely different definitions of dangerous.....either way, I'm staying away.
If you're talking strictly gangs where drive by's happen occasionally and legit hood rats are running around, then there are only a couple of cities in each state where things like that happen. But criminals and shadiness in general coincide with poverty and industrial, inner-city areas, and that applies for every city in the world. Those who left behind on their own for the most part and looked down upon tend to stay there and want to believe in the hype and stereotype that they also need to be rough and shady. But practically every city to some extent have "parts" of the city that are shady, and not necessarily always conspicuously violent. I grew up near downtown Arlington in a poor part of the city. I lived in a semi-project apartment complex right behind the typical convenience store and liquor store with the stereotypical steel-barred doors and windows. Now I left when I was still pretty young, so my memory of that lovely place is kinda blurry, but I still recall some funny/shady hood things, but nothing like shootings or stabbings (but maybe there were, but I was just clueless about them at the time). My childhood's friend's father was a felon and his brother eventually turned to drugs.....so I consider myself fortunate that I atleast had a stable family with real parents who loved me and wanted me away from those types of things.
Go up to KY. You want to see gangs, go to eastern KY where I grew up. Might not be your idea of a gang, but if you aren't from around there, you better watch where you're going. Lot of friendly people but I used to deliver flowers for my grandmother when I was 17 or so and if they see a car pulling in the driveway they don't know, everyone runs for their guns. I used to hold the flowers out the window so they wouldn't shoot.
http://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Houston-Texas/crime/# A great breakdown of crimes by location of the crimes, violent and non-violent, in the greater Houston area. Didn't know where to put this but felt it probably wasn't worthy of it's own thread... this seemed like a decent fit. Should be useful to anyone looking to move into a new area.
