4 ms·

Safer than what? Suburbs with nice sidewalks and tree lined streets and friendly neighbors who know each other? Safer than rural areas where everyone knows ever

Safer than what? Suburbs with nice sidewalks and tree lined streets and friendly neighbors who know each other? Safer than rural areas where everyone knows everyone and there’s enough law enforcement to work on a 1:1 basis? I’m sorry but this just seems like an absolute nonsense claim.

lovich 4y ago
To reply to anecdata with anecdata my experiences with suburbs have been a complete lack of sidewalks in favor of cars and neighbors not talking to each other except in the form of HOA violation notices. For the country, where I grew up, everyone did know everyone else, but that was only a benefit if you were friends with the town sheriff. Good luck taking a walk anywhere when the local hooligans would charge at you with their lifted pickups or roll coal right next to you, and the sheriff threateningly asking you if you are starting a problem when you try and file a complaint
tomjakubowski 4y ago
The comment said cities are safer now than they were before, which is true. > Suburbs with nice sidewalks and tree lined streets and friendly neighbors who know each other? Safer than rural areas where everyone knows everyone and there’s enough law enforcement to work on a 1:1 basis? No, no real place can possibly be safer than a fantasy land.
- trashtester 4y ago
  If so, I live in that fantasy land. Except, we never see any on-duty law enforcement, as it is virtually never needed. The neighbours that are police work in the city. I've been living here for 10 years, and I've seen 2 on-duty police cars so far, one was on the first day of school several years ago, when they stopped every car on the way to school/day-care to make sure seats were safe, and one was due to a traffic accident where an electric scooter had hit a car. My third grade daughter has been walking/cycling (depending on weather) the 2km trip to school for over a year, with a friend, but no adults. The benefits are considerable, both socially, physically and emotionally. 4km/day on top of normal playtime and sports is a nice exercise boost. Spending time away from adult supervision strengthens friendships and boosts self confidence and mental stamina. Sometimes I miss the city, but for the freedom of my kids, living where I do is night and day in terms of safety and health compared to where I lived before.
freen 4y ago
Lookup how kids die. Here is a hint: it’s cars.
wolverine876 4y ago
> Safer than rural areas where everyone knows everyone and there’s enough law enforcement to work on a 1:1 basis? I remember talking to one farmer who said he had a gun because, where he's from, the police are only there to clean up. They can't get to a crime scene in time unless they are lucky to be nearby, and have very few resources for investigations or other operations.
dahart 4y ago
The claim by GP was that US cities are safer than they’ve ever been before, which is basically true, at least for recent history. Google it. Stats show violent crimes and pedestrian deaths on a decline for decades. (IIHS says pedestrian death have had a minor recent uptick, but for adults not children, and the 40-year trend is very downward. Crime in general has been declining since the 90s.) No need to express incredulity over an imagined interpretation, just hit the “parent” button.
ryan_lane 4y ago
Have you lived in rural areas? Despite the romanticism portrayed in the media around rural live, it's absolutely not like that. It can take an hour for police to show up when you call them, if they show up at all. Most of the people in your area are probably on, or cooking meth. Crime is just as bad, and often more violent than it is in the city. Sure, people aren't stealing your bikes, but they are stealing parts from your car. They're stealing your air conditioners. They're breaking into places and ripping the wiring out. In general, I worry more about crime when I'm in the country, than when I'm in a city.
- turrican 4y ago
  “Most of the people in your area are probably on, or cooking meth.” Are you saying this tongue-in-cheek?
  - ryan_lane 4y ago
    No. There are some rural towns where every single town member, including the police, firefighters, etc. are addicted to meth. Rural areas are where most meth is cooked because it makes it considerably less likely to be detected. A considerable amount of heroin addicts in the US are also in rural areas. Drug use is rampant in rural areas, but it doesn't get the press that it does in cities, because it doesn't present the same way. You don't have to walk over junkies in rural areas.
    - throwawaylinux 4y ago
      Which are some of these towns? I assume you're not talking about one of those towns with two residents (either way it doesn't mean that any rural area probably has more than half the residents using or making meth which is obviously balderdash, I'm just curious about these alleged towns).
      - ryan_lane 4y ago
        https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/25/656192849/methamphetamine-roils-rural-towns-again-across-the-u-s https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/25/6561928... https://www.kait8.com/2020/02/21/arkansas-leads-us-meth-use-study-finds/ https://www.kait8.com/2020/02/21/arkansas-leads-us-meth-use-...

lovich 4y ago

To reply to anecdata with anecdata my experiences with suburbs have been a complete lack of sidewalks in favor of cars and neighbors not talking to each other except in the form of HOA violation notices. For the country, where I grew up, everyone did know everyone else, but that was only a benefit if you were friends with the town sheriff. Good luck taking a walk anywhere when the local hooligans would charge at you with their lifted pickups or roll coal right next to you, and the sheriff threateningly asking you if you are starting a problem when you try and file a complaint

tomjakubowski 4y ago

The comment said cities are safer now than they were before, which is true. > Suburbs with nice sidewalks and tree lined streets and friendly neighbors who know each other? Safer than rural areas where everyone knows everyone and there’s enough law enforcement to work on a 1:1 basis? No, no real place can possibly be safer than a fantasy land.

trashtester 4y ago
If so, I live in that fantasy land. Except, we never see any on-duty law enforcement, as it is virtually never needed. The neighbours that are police work in the city. I've been living here for 10 years, and I've seen 2 on-duty police cars so far, one was on the first day of school several years ago, when they stopped every car on the way to school/day-care to make sure seats were safe, and one was due to a traffic accident where an electric scooter had hit a car. My third grade daughter has been walking/cycling (depending on weather) the 2km trip to school for over a year, with a friend, but no adults. The benefits are considerable, both socially, physically and emotionally. 4km/day on top of normal playtime and sports is a nice exercise boost. Spending time away from adult supervision strengthens friendships and boosts self confidence and mental stamina. Sometimes I miss the city, but for the freedom of my kids, living where I do is night and day in terms of safety and health compared to where I lived before.

freen 4y ago

Lookup how kids die. Here is a hint: it’s cars.

wolverine876 4y ago

> Safer than rural areas where everyone knows everyone and there’s enough law enforcement to work on a 1:1 basis? I remember talking to one farmer who said he had a gun because, where he's from, the police are only there to clean up. They can't get to a crime scene in time unless they are lucky to be nearby, and have very few resources for investigations or other operations.

dahart 4y ago

The claim by GP was that US cities are safer than they’ve ever been before, which is basically true, at least for recent history. Google it. Stats show violent crimes and pedestrian deaths on a decline for decades. (IIHS says pedestrian death have had a minor recent uptick, but for adults not children, and the 40-year trend is very downward. Crime in general has been declining since the 90s.) No need to express incredulity over an imagined interpretation, just hit the “parent” button.

ryan_lane 4y ago

Have you lived in rural areas? Despite the romanticism portrayed in the media around rural live, it's absolutely not like that. It can take an hour for police to show up when you call them, if they show up at all. Most of the people in your area are probably on, or cooking meth. Crime is just as bad, and often more violent than it is in the city. Sure, people aren't stealing your bikes, but they are stealing parts from your car. They're stealing your air conditioners. They're breaking into places and ripping the wiring out. In general, I worry more about crime when I'm in the country, than when I'm in a city.

turrican 4y ago
“Most of the people in your area are probably on, or cooking meth.” Are you saying this tongue-in-cheek?
- ryan_lane 4y ago
  No. There are some rural towns where every single town member, including the police, firefighters, etc. are addicted to meth. Rural areas are where most meth is cooked because it makes it considerably less likely to be detected. A considerable amount of heroin addicts in the US are also in rural areas. Drug use is rampant in rural areas, but it doesn't get the press that it does in cities, because it doesn't present the same way. You don't have to walk over junkies in rural areas.
  - throwawaylinux 4y ago
    Which are some of these towns? I assume you're not talking about one of those towns with two residents (either way it doesn't mean that any rural area probably has more than half the residents using or making meth which is obviously balderdash, I'm just curious about these alleged towns).
    - ryan_lane 4y ago
      https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/25/656192849/methamphetamine-roils-rural-towns-again-across-the-u-s https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/25/6561928... https://www.kait8.com/2020/02/21/arkansas-leads-us-meth-use-study-finds/ https://www.kait8.com/2020/02/21/arkansas-leads-us-meth-use-...