Amherst, NY is about an hour from me. It's a nice little old-school town. The type I'd love to live in (If costs weren't so friggin' expensive). I didn't know it qualified as a city though...
Safe places tend to be safe because the municipalities take measures to keep undesireable elements out. You can't get much of a cosmopolitan place where the environment is so controlled. You have to wonder if you're missing out on the world when you're behind your walls.
When I searched for cities of 500,000 or more, sure enough, there was my old hometown of Memphis at #4. Not surprised. It was right below Baltimore, and I've heard some nasty things about Baltimore. I always laughed at people who complained about the "bad neighborhoods" in Houston and especially Austin. As for New Orleans... no, it didn't seem too safe. Of course, a lot of the people who made it unsafe are still dispersed in other cities... like Houston. (no offense to the evacuees who aren't like that, but I'm sure some are)
ever catch "The Wire" on HBO or "Homicide". They're both based in B-More Murderland, the creator of both is from there. Apparently, people from Baltimore say the "The Wire" is very realistic.
I am confused. I don't see this particular ranking group anywhere on that page. In the overall category, for example, Atlanta is # 3 most dangerous, not St Louis.
Dallas is moving up in the Most Dangerous List pretty fast. 5 years in Houston, I have never seen someone pull out a gun. Yet 1 year in Dallas, I have already been in 2 shootings.
Which part of Houston are you in? I used to stay in Dallas and loved it. When I go to the North side of Houston, I'm always packin heat. I even got mugged once in NW Houston, and I shot out the back window of the getaway car.
hmmm, so cosmopolitan houston has a less controlled environment than provincial new york, gotcha. that explains everything, thanks for the enlightenment.
I thought Houston was moderately safe too, until after game 3 of the NLCS this year. A buddy and I were sitting in traffic outside the stadium, when this bald white guy comes up to a Hispanic guy in his SUV and starts tapping hard on the window. Words are exchanged...then the bald white guy leaves. A minute later, the Hispanic guy goes back to chase him...then comes running back to his car. This was all happening in the next lane, about 10 yards from us. Next thing we knew, the Hispanic guy whips out a gun and points it at him. At that point Houston was nowhere near a safe city in my mind...the good news is a huge cop came around the corner about 20 seconds later and decked the guy. Had it not been for increased security due to the game though, I'm not sure what would have happened.
st. louis....really? i'm surprised, i know the ghettos are tough, but they are everywhere. camden, not surprised, my mom is in her 50's and she wasn't allowed to go to camden when she was a kid....it's been bad for awhile. i'm surprised that newark,nj isn't in there in the top 10 somewhere, that place is almost as bad as camden.
Though a mere 55,000 people, Port Arthur, Texas is a frightening fun place on a Saturday nite, but pales in comparison to the more dangerous Orange Texas Seiously I worked near Camden (on the Delaware river?)on a job in the early '80's for Mobil. Our firm had equipment stolen from a guarded warehouse on a regular basis. A large crane was stolen there. A red-headed prostitute was a witness to the thieves exit. A truly scary place, but not as bad as Newark. Elizabeth was worse still. I never worked in Philadelphia PA, but I've heard it is really crime ridden. In Paulsboro I got the nickname "Big Hoochie" - what a cool nickname though I do not really understand it. Crime and Danger.
South Dallas and Oak Cliff area are hell on earth. I have been to 5th Ward, and it can't even be compare to the projects here in Dallas. You should consider yourself lucky if the worst thing you have been through was just getting mugged.
Houston doesn't have ghettos. If you think Houston has bad neighborhoods try visiting St. Louis, Memphis, Camden, Washington DC, Gary, Detroit or New Orleans. Scratch New Orleans, no one lives there anymore.
[ I never worked in Philadelphia PA, but I've heard it is really crime ridden. noway man. philly is preety nice. atleast where i live, in the downtown area. if u go to north or west philly then its a different story.
MOST DANGEROUS: 1 Camden, NJ 2 Detroit, MI 3 St. Louis, MO 4 Flint, MI 5 Richmond, VA Looks like my schedule for January...
houston has ghettos....let's not get too carried away. and how strange is it that springfield,mass, home of the basketball hall of fame is #18 in the nation.
