Post: #1

Most of us in the United States know that it is a dangerous place. More than some third world countries in the world in the inner cities. But I never heard of a travel warning being authorized about it until today.

http://seattletimes.com/html/travel/2022...usxml.html

Post: #2

Quote:Washington: Northeast and Southeast should be avoided, and Union Station is dangerous at night. “Le quartier Anacostia n’est pas recommandable de jour comme de nuit.” Translation: Don’t go to Anacostia, day or night.

Mostly correct, although H St. corridor is NE, and it is more or less okay.

Post: #3

Lol at "don't go to time square." Please. You think time square is dangerous? The only reason to avoid town square is because it's a cluster fuck. When compared to a place like brazil or Colombia, there aren't many places in America that are truly scary. Maybe Camden and a few areas in other cities, but when you look at Medellin, probably 1/2 the city you wouldn't even want to go to during the day. Even centro can be seedy during the day.

Post: #4

(11-18-2013 05:05 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  Lol at "don't go to time square." Please. You think time square is dangerous? The only reason to avoid town square is because it's a cluster fuck. When compared to a place like brazil or Colombia, there aren't many places in America that are truly scary. Maybe Camden and a few areas in other cities, but when you look at Medellin, probably 1/2 the city you wouldn't even want to go to during the day. Even centro can be seedy during the day.

Yeah Times Square was a seedy place 20 years ago, but not today. But there are some parts of cities in the US that are on par with favelas if not worse. I can sit here an list many off the top of my head.
Compared to Europe (even Easter Europe) where the travel warnings are coming from then yes the US is a dangerous place.

Post: #5

Yeah I can agree with that. I guess the thing that makes it scary in the us too is that the crime is mostly done just for fun or to prove themselves. In the favelas they are barely surviving, that's why they're robbing. In America it's like a sport.

Post: #6

When they put Santa Monica on the list, they lost all credibility right there.

Post: #7

Yeah, this list sucks. I'm willing to bet many parts of Vegas are worse than other places on the list. If you end up accidentally taking the monorail to the end and getting off, you'll find yourself in a pretty seedy area of town.

Post: #8

yeah im just getting wind of vegas being kinda rough...wow

Post: #9

well America is probably one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Where else can a tourist have their head split by a large stone from a homeless guy on 5th ave? But if a homeless guy doesn't do it ..it likely to fall on your head from the old building.

Post: #10

Another thing I notice is you'll get into a fight over pretty much nothing way faster in America than anywhere I've been in the third world. People don't fuck around in the third world. They know if they beat the shit out of someone over something stupid, that person could turn around and pay a little favela kid $100 to shoot you.

Post: #11

Times Square has cops at every corner and intersection. It's pretty safe.

Post: #12

I say time square is safe, and stick by that, but I actually almost got into a fight in time square. I forget what exactly sparked it, I think a dude said something mad rude to me and I snapped back and told him he was a piece of shit.

Post: #13

Compton, East LA, and Diamond Bar aren't on the list but Santa Monica is? It's safe to go into Crip territory and rep the Bloods and see what happens. But don't approach 3rd Street Promenade performers, they'll rape and murder you obviously.

Post: #14

This is what I show to people when they mention the "dangerous" countries I visit...

Post: #15

It's the French, what else could you expect to get anti americanism? Those fucks have to translate every American word into something french, even "lunch" has a french translation.

The thing is, Houston might be dangerous as Ecuador but you must look for trouble in the hoods in houston to get shot to death, you can get shot to death in posh Ecuadorian neighborhoods or anywhere in Ecuador. Ditto for most places.

Some Russian girl was telling me how dangerous my city, Dallas, is because it has some super high crime rate and she mentioned she would never come here. She kept asking if it was really dangerous to the point I got annoyed and said "I don't know, I live an hour away from South Dallas and leave my car and home unlocked without ever being robbed. I would like to see that in your shit hole city".

Post: #16

Buja, pretty certain that map is bullshit.

Post: #17

(11-18-2013 09:57 PM)buja Wrote:  

This is what I show to people when they mention the "dangerous" countries I visit...

Comparing the crime rate of an entire country to a metropolitan city? What does that prove?

Just to provide one example, the City with the highest murder rate in the world is San Pedro Sula in Honduras, which recorded a homicide rate of 169 per 100,000 in 2012. Yet, the map compares the murder rate of all of Honduras (an entire nation) to New Orleans.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-...l-medellin

The simple fact is that almost every nation is safe if you stay away from the obvious inner city danger zones. Let's go to the U.S. -- and visit Detroit!

Post: #18

(11-18-2013 06:22 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  When they put Santa Monica on the list, they lost all credibility right there.

Yes Southern Santa Monica (south of the 10 freeway/east of Lincoln Blvd) is run by two gangs and that section is right next door to Venice Beach. That gives you an idea of that area. Even though its a small section. The Santa Monica most people see (tourist) is right next to the beach or North of the 10 freeway where most of the celebrities live. This coming from a resident of Santa Monica for 4 years. Just moved from there in February.

Post: #19

"Uncle Sam wants you to stay away from these countries"

   

http://theweek.com/article/index/269614/...-countries

"Let's also not forget that the United States can be a very dangerous place itself, and that U.S. foreign policy has helped turn some of these countries into the dangerous places they are now."

Post: #20

(11-19-2013 02:24 AM)Tail Gunner Wrote:  

(11-18-2013 09:57 PM)buja Wrote:  

This is what I show to people when they mention the "dangerous" countries I visit...

Comparing the crime rate of an entire country to a metropolitan city? What does that prove?

Just to provide one example, the City with the highest murder rate in the world is San Pedro Sula in Honduras, which recorded a homicide rate of 169 per 100,000 in 2012. Yet, the map compares the murder rate of all of Honduras (an entire nation) to New Orleans.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-...l-medellin

The simple fact is that almost every nation is safe if you stay away from the obvious inner city danger zones. Let's go to the U.S. -- and visit Detroit!

You also have to take into account that the map is comparing these cities with poor countries. A ridiculously high percentage of murders in those countries are never reported compared to places like USA or Western Europe. Who knows how high those murder rates are in 3rd world countries if you count the unreported murders.

When I was last in Colombia I had a conversation with a guy in the government that talked about how they don't like to report murders because of paperwork and because the government wants to report a low murder rate to help improve tourism.

The point is, in any third world country... the numbers will be misleading.

Post: #21

Some of the foreign advice is actually good for travelers.

Times Square is an extremely well-policed place, but that doesn't mean you can't get pickpocketed or have your things taken when you're not paying attention, and I certainly wouldn't recommend a tourist go to Central Park or Harlem at night.

The Boston info is outdated but those three neighborhoods to avoid were pretty violent back in the 90s. In Fenway, I feel like the worst-case scenario is some drunk bro trying to fight you.

Anacostia in DC is a bad place for touristy foreigners. No two ways about that.

Danger is relative. I used to live in an undeveloped neighborhood in the outskirts of a South American city where it was dangerous to walk around after 8pm because there were no streetlights. It was pitch black after sundown, and at any given moment you might bump into a wild bull or feral dogs, let alone a robber.

Still, you have to be careful in unfamiliar places.

Post: #22

(11-19-2013 02:24 AM)Tail Gunner Wrote:  The simple fact is that almost every nation is safe if you stay away from the obvious inner city danger zones. Let's go to the U.S. -- and visit Detroit!

True.

(10-12-2014 08:30 PM)20Nation Wrote:  You also have to take into account that the map is comparing these cities with poor countries. A ridiculously high percentage of murders in those countries are never reported compared to places like USA or Western Europe. Who knows how high those murder rates are in 3rd world countries if you count the unreported murders.

When I was last in Colombia I had a conversation with a guy in the government that talked about how they don't like to report murders because of paperwork and because the government wants to report a low murder rate to help improve tourism.

The point is, in any third world country... the numbers will be misleading.

Perhaps. However, it does not negate the fact that many passport-less Americans think that the US is the safest place in the world and that any country outside of Western Europe and Japan is "dangerous".

Quote:A ridiculously high percentage of murders in those countries are never reported compared to places like USA or Western Europe.

How high is "ridiculously high"? Source?

Post: #23

(11-18-2013 05:05 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  Lol at "don't go to time square." Please. You think time square is dangerous? The only reason to avoid town square is because it's a cluster fuck.

To be fair, they said "be wary in Times Sq", which to me means be on the lookout for pickpockets and scammers.

Post: #24

The US also says the same things about other countries. They issue travel warnings to every non western country. Basically any country that won't drop to their knees for a blower. Shit...they'll do it to countries that are on their knees just for the hell of it.

Post: #25

The Seattle Times link reminded me of some crazy shit that went down last year.

I was in Seattle for a couple months staying near the University of Washington campus (not to be confused with the Idaho UW campus).

Anyway, I met this guy from Thailand and we would go out and grab drinks and shoot the shit. One night he got pretty fucking hammered and since he had a nagging wife and small child, I told him he could crash on my couch for a few hours before heading home.

He decided to head home but I walked halfway with him and then watched him walk to the front door of his apartment complex. I turned around and went home.

The next day he was posting photos on his FB of bloody knuckles and Google Translate said his caption said "got in fight" in Thai. So I called him and he told me he walked around the building into the alley to smoke a cigarette. As he went to open the alley door, a couple black guys ran up behind him and pressed him into the door.

These motherfuckers weren't after money, they were trying to rape him. So he said, "Hey guy, let go or I punch you!" He Muay Thais one guy while the other one backed away. He then runs across the street, open up the Thai restaurant, takes out a butcher knife and chases them up the street yelling, "I KILL YOU!"

My buddy wasn't even phased. He had to move back to Thailand and I go visit him when I can. He moved to Seattle because of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana but some hobos tried to butthex him.

He never once complained and still want to move back to the US.