5 ms·

I like Europe but you're exaggerating...I got robbed in Amsterdam and could have been stabbed to death in Frankfurt. London felt dicey in certain spots too (tu

by pookha 4y ago

I like Europe but you're exaggerating...I got robbed in Amsterdam and could have been stabbed to death in Frankfurt. London felt dicey in certain spots too (turns out it has 95\1000 rate which is 20% higher than the average in the UK)...To anybody traveling through Europe you've got to be aware of your surroundings because it's not always super safe and there can high risk of crime in tourist areas.

toyg 4y ago
Lol yeah. The reality is that any metropolis will have dodgy areas. Tokyo is super-safe, but even there you don't really want to look funny at a yakuza bouncer in Ueno at 3am. The question really is whether SF has more dodgy areas than average, and I guess the answer is yes. I've been a couple of times, and it was a long time ago, but some very central areas felt a bit too unsafe even during the day.
- ghaff 4y ago
  Part of the thing with SF is that it's somewhat unusual in that a business traveler attending an event at the Moscone is at more or less ground zero for some of the seedier parts of town: the Tenderloin, Civic Center, generally W/SW of the Moscone. (This probably used to be somewhat true of the Javits in NYC but that whole area of the city has generally gentrified with the Hudson Yards project being the latest big change.)
Erem 4y ago
I also came terrifyingly close to becoming a stab victim in Frankfurt. Those blocks around the train station are as hard as any place I've been.
- pookha 4y ago
  You nailed it. That Irish pub across from the Frankfurt train station isn't a super-safe establishment.
- adamsmith143 4y ago
  Anon goes into daylight. "This German guy looked directly at me, he was probably about to stab me." "Europe is so dangerous omg."
  - pookha 4y ago
    Here's what happened...A crazy guy started screaming at me randomly and made a move to stab me with a knife but got handled by other bar patrons. (it seemed like some knew him). That sort of shit happens in Europe like it happens anywhere else in the world. What I should have done is research where not to go but I was 20 years old.
  - HEmanZ 4y ago
    Shit happens in every city in the world. I was assaulted by a raving lunatic with a metal pipe while I was shopping… at a Christmas market in Oslo, Norway, probably one of the safest cities in the world. Had I not been aware or mobile enough to get out of the way of his swings at me, I could have been killed (he was a pretty big guy). I still think Oslo is incredibly safe, but shit happens anywhere
  - Erem 4y ago
    You could have just asked for the story rather than make one up. A homeless guy on a street full of druggies near Frankfurt hbh asked for a euro and I said no I can't help you. He walked directly to a spot nearby where he kept a knife, and brandishing the knife, he paced towards me. I put my back to the wall of a nearby building and watched as he approached. About 10 meters from me his friend intervened and talked him down. He walked away instead of assaulting me.
Gareth321 4y ago
You might be the most unlucky person on Earth. European cities are almost universally safer than American cities. To which cities are you comparing Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and London?
- pookha 4y ago
  DC metro area has a 28 per 1K crime rate. The london area has a 95 per 1K crime rate... Amsterdam has a 33 per 1K crime rate. Frankfurt has a crime index of 44 (which is higher than anywhere else in Germany). Saying that Europe is super safe compared to the US isn't really accurate or nuanced enough. I'd agree with homicides but most of those involve gangs fighting over turf and not random victims.

by pookha 4y ago

toyg 4y ago

Lol yeah. The reality is that any metropolis will have dodgy areas. Tokyo is super-safe, but even there you don't really want to look funny at a yakuza bouncer in Ueno at 3am. The question really is whether SF has more dodgy areas than average, and I guess the answer is yes. I've been a couple of times, and it was a long time ago, but some very central areas felt a bit too unsafe even during the day.

ghaff 4y ago
Part of the thing with SF is that it's somewhat unusual in that a business traveler attending an event at the Moscone is at more or less ground zero for some of the seedier parts of town: the Tenderloin, Civic Center, generally W/SW of the Moscone. (This probably used to be somewhat true of the Javits in NYC but that whole area of the city has generally gentrified with the Hudson Yards project being the latest big change.)

Erem 4y ago

I also came terrifyingly close to becoming a stab victim in Frankfurt. Those blocks around the train station are as hard as any place I've been.

pookha 4y ago
You nailed it. That Irish pub across from the Frankfurt train station isn't a super-safe establishment.
adamsmith143 4y ago
Anon goes into daylight. "This German guy looked directly at me, he was probably about to stab me." "Europe is so dangerous omg."
- pookha 4y ago
  Here's what happened...A crazy guy started screaming at me randomly and made a move to stab me with a knife but got handled by other bar patrons. (it seemed like some knew him). That sort of shit happens in Europe like it happens anywhere else in the world. What I should have done is research where not to go but I was 20 years old.
- HEmanZ 4y ago
  Shit happens in every city in the world. I was assaulted by a raving lunatic with a metal pipe while I was shopping… at a Christmas market in Oslo, Norway, probably one of the safest cities in the world. Had I not been aware or mobile enough to get out of the way of his swings at me, I could have been killed (he was a pretty big guy). I still think Oslo is incredibly safe, but shit happens anywhere
- Erem 4y ago
  You could have just asked for the story rather than make one up. A homeless guy on a street full of druggies near Frankfurt hbh asked for a euro and I said no I can't help you. He walked directly to a spot nearby where he kept a knife, and brandishing the knife, he paced towards me. I put my back to the wall of a nearby building and watched as he approached. About 10 meters from me his friend intervened and talked him down. He walked away instead of assaulting me.

Gareth321 4y ago

You might be the most unlucky person on Earth. European cities are almost universally safer than American cities. To which cities are you comparing Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and London?

pookha 4y ago
DC metro area has a 28 per 1K crime rate. The london area has a 95 per 1K crime rate... Amsterdam has a 33 per 1K crime rate. Frankfurt has a crime index of 44 (which is higher than anywhere else in Germany). Saying that Europe is super safe compared to the US isn't really accurate or nuanced enough. I'd agree with homicides but most of those involve gangs fighting over turf and not random victims.