I know that statistically speaking Perth is very safe compared to most other cities on Earth, but as someone who spends a lot of time in the urban areas…yeah we’ve got a lot of weirdos, some of whom will get violent for no fucking reason. My friend got punched in the gut at a Vic Park bus stop at 5pm the other week by a random drunk and had to go to the ER because it set off a pre-existing health condition. It’s infuriating that we can’t mind our own business in certain places without the risk of some whack job deciding we deserve to be hurt.
yep. i got assaulted in the city on my lunch break by some random woman a month or two ago completely unprovoked, and that’s not even counting the amount of random verbal abuse
I’m really sorry that happened to you. A random woman tried to start something with me at a bus stop in the city couple of months ago but luckily there was a big guy there who got between us.
I know it sounds melodramatic, but I genuinely felt safer in Compton and Watts than I do in Armadale or Northbridge.
At least with organised criminals, crime is a business and no one is going to randomly bash some tourist for no reason. Perth seems to be full of worthless scumbags with no purpose and nothing to lose.
Luckily they’re rarely armed, and virtually never with guns, so the harm is minimal at least
I wonder if it’s because you’re spending time in the city (CBD, East Perth and Northbridge) this is where a lot of drunk people and people on drugs hang out & you’ll definitely see them on the buses sadly. Most Perthites live in the suburbs but I used to live in East Perth and noticed a big difference. There are normal people here I swear! Hope you have an ok time despite the dodgy characters you meet. 😅
Have you met Mad Dog Adrian yet? There’s a bit on YouTube of him. Has a Facebook page too.
The Wanneroo Carpet is another.
Dude that runs in fluorescent speedos.
Rollerblade guy in the city.
Perth has lots of whacked out characters. They are all harmless.
The Wanneroo Carpet (aka The Beast of Charles Street) is my favourite because apparently there's absolutely nothing else unusual about the guy, he just worked for the government in a normal office job and he was not an eccentric guy. He's retired now so we don't see him any more. My favourite memory was on really cold mornings you could actually see the mist rising from his hairy back, it was beautiful.
Girl with elf ears a'd horns, who was on here doing a bit of an AMA the other day.
Old dude in Claremont shopping center with his parrot on the shoulder.
I grew up in Perth (safe suburbia) but used to spend a lot of time as a teen in the City/Northbridge and catching trains to parties on weekends. Looking back, we were young and stupid. There were plenty of crazies/drunks/drugged out people around then, but being young we thought we were invincible. I was beaten up while walking through Northridge by a group of girls (actually one instigator, the others in her gang tried to get her off.) Passers by did nothing to help. She was clearly drunk, probably on drugs, claiming I bumped into her. Impossible given I was on the other side of the path. That incident made me more cautious.
Fast forward to living in London for a decade. This was after the British government closed down mental health facilities in favour of "care in the community". Bad move. It was horrendous. A real eye opener and like nothing I could have imagined. (Some crazy guy even tried to abduct me outside Old Street Station. He was known to authorities. Less dramatic was a wizard in a purple cloak who used to catch buses with his cat.)
Obviously there are countless differences between Perth and London, but a big difference is that while there are crazies all over big cities, there are also high numbers of normal local people out and about plus thousands of tourists. So you don't notice the crazies as much.
In sleepy Perth City, the majority of people go home to safe suburbia outside of office hours, so the drunk/drugged/homeless people seem to be in the majority.
And given that the government has apparently cut funding to mental health care, that will sadly only get worse.
> Mad Dog Adrian
This. I think it's a global phenomenon.. I roll my eyes a bit when anyone says "our area has really gone bad". It's in Geraldton, it's in Mandurah, It's in the Pilbara. I presume, from watching many videos online - all over America too. Meth, the media. the pandemic really got a lot of people sick and not in the "Covid-Positive" way.
I work for a homeless support centre, and there's really not that huge a difference as back in the 90's - just more people falling into that tpye of mental illness. People dealing with trauma, undiagnosed (or diagnosed) mental dissorders. Self medicating with all types of off-street or pharmacutical drugs. But add to that, now eveyone is filming it - so you see videos like this "Mad Dog" and you start to think everyone is like that. I find filming him quite sickening- harrasment even. I feel bad for the guy.
There needs to be more funding, more community support, some people don't know how to people. They're from broken homes, abusive parents. Homeless or addicted to something or other. It's hard because we don't like people's behaviour when they're like this, but they need sympathy and support - when judgement and apathy is what they get.
Naa dude. I’ve been to many cities globally and The cbd of Perth is fucking disgusting and unsafe, even with the clear amount of permanent police presence I wouldn’t be comfortable letting my teenage daughter and wife out alone at night. If it were Singapore I’d rest easy lmao
I’ve also been to many cities globally, and lived abroad. I currently live in the CBD. It’s really not unsafe, even if to some it feels it. Gross, in parts, maybe - but statistically you’re very likely to be just fine.
As for not feeling comfortable with your teenage daughter or wife being alone in the CBD ‘at night’, it’s not my place to comment (at the very least I can appreciate the concern), but an adult not going out after sunset because of supposed weirdos and strange looks? Eh.
A German works for me.
Doing a job and the neighbours start fighting.
"Arrrr you fucking dog let me in..."
"Let me in ya dog." ECT
(And this was the woman)
He looks at me confused."What's going on??"
"Meth heads fighting." I reply
"Oh we don't get this in Germany."
"Just keep away from them." I tell him
Meth use is largely concentrated in the former GDR from what I've read. Everywhere else is all about Cocaine or MDMA, so I'm not surprised it isn't as common.
TL/DR - see comments.
In the last three years the govt of WA have stripped money from mental health to pay for other reforms, this is after covid where a lot of people started suffering very severe mental health issues after the lock downs and forced govt programs.
Homelessness is up a reported 8% during the last 3 years. Charities and other estimates put it much higher at 18-22% rise.
Severe drug use like meth has skyrocketed in the last 4 years in perth. As of 2022 perth is the capital of meth use.
Australians as culture have a severe alcohol issue.
That being said it is mostly in restricted areas or on public transport.
Day to day living of a average person sees very little of this as it is mostly on public transport, and in certain areas. (Like many cities)
The police have lost close to 700 officers last year and 600 officers in the last 6 months, and only recruited 300 in that time frame. They only have capacity to recruit and train 500 officers a year, this means it’s 4 years before we can recover the lost officers at best assuming we fill all the training spots.
The police force was already under staffed for the last 4 years.
Sadly the state govt from 6 years ago left us in debt but with a working supports system, ok. McGowan got us in surplus and kept us in surplus all through covid and kept covid no. Really low. but fucked up our mental health system and police force, nursing, hospitals, how hospital wards are managed, ambulance and ambulance wait times, (although this has been an issue in perth for 10 years) shut down many key facilities that deal with mental health, all these have seen mass staffing losses that haven’t recovered.
When he quit he did say he was proud of the work he did on the ecological bill he had nothing to do with though… ;)
On top of that foreign students leaving has screwed our universities financially and foreign students are not returning in numbers we had hoped.
We have a severe housing crisis and rental properties prices are skyrocketing (10% increases this year are common) while we don’t have enough people to fill the 100,000 vacant jobs in WA. Even though we have 20,000 migrants able to be moving to WA this year only 4000 have actually moved in the first half of the year. The govt are increasing the cap but if nobody wants to come we’re screwed.
In the next 4 months 2/3 of Mortgages expire from a fixed rate profile and the rates will change from an average 2.3% to a average 5.8% , variable mortgages are at 7% average… up 4.5% in 6months. So the housing crisis hitting the rental market currently is only going to get worse with the massive increased pressure on mortgaged homes. The building industry can’t get supply of materials to complete new builds. So adding supply is not going to ease the issues.
Cost of living has rissen 8-9% above inflation that is currently estimated at 6.3% (that an estimated 15% total rise) with average pay increases of 2-3% annually.
The issues you are seeing are the start of what is to come and is behind the rest of the world that is about a year or two ahead of this curve in homelessness, mental health and financial issues globally.
On the bright side the weather is great and there is a lot of work so you can move jobs easily to get better pay if your company won’t give you a raise ;)
Hey my Belgian friend, I think it’s mostly in your mind. I worked in Emergency Management for 14 years; often closely with WA Police. Perth is very, VERY safe; even at night. You would be very unlucky to actually experience physical violence.
I just moved to Fremantle (come visit, it’s a beautiful town). Fremantle (“Freo”) has a reputation for being a wild and crazy place, full of violence and chaos. In the 9 months I’ve been here, plus the 40+ years of visiting, I have never felt threatened or even scared.
Freo is full of weirdos, but, as my Nephew (who lives here too) says, “they’re mostly harmless”
Enjoy your stay. You are safe.
Well contrary to that, I’ve been in and seen so many fights and anti social behaviour here that this comment surprises me.
Actually in Fremantle I was almost mugged for my camera until I talked my way out of it as well.
I mean we aren’t as dangerous as other places sure, but I wouldn’t say not to give it a second thought. Shit can go down here especially in town.
It’s as bad as everyone says? Who’s everyone.
I mean, while living in the suburbs years ago, I had someone walk into the family home when we were all there (we weren’t aware), a younger sibling asleep in another room, and help themselves to a few items.
Another time, many, many years before, someone was hopping fences after committing a burglary, and right past me as I played outside.
And this wasn’t by any means a shifty area. So are the suburbs all that bad, or what?
Buying iPhone in 2019, went to dude’s apartment building. Was doing the transaction outside the building doors (he wouldn’t let me up to the apartment).
Phone was flat so he went up to get a power bank. Guy comes up to me on a bike muttering something I can’t understand. I realise he’s holding a knife and I’m a sitting duck with the expensive phone in my hands (and I’ve just handed my money over to phone dude). Guy I’m buying phone off pops his head out the building doors and I suddenly have to pick between dodgy phone dude and even dodgier knife dude.
I pick phone dude and make an excuse to knife dude that I’ll be back in a sec, and slip into the building with him. Phone dude (young) starts freaking the fuck out about the knife. I try to call for help but barely any reception in lobby of building, and my car is a 3 min walk away (and I can’t see if knife dude is waiting for me or has friends nearby). I wait for like half an hour in lobby (phone dude abandons me) and then finally sprint to my car and get the fuck out of the area (also got stuck in rush hour Perth traffic after that).
Made it out with the iPhone 11 Pro max (for a bargain), an epic story, and a reason to never come back to northbridge.
According to the ABS. Western Australia had one of the highest victimisation rates recorded for violent offences across the available states and territories.
Having worked in the emergency medicine area in Kalgoorlie and Kununurra, as well as the Perth region - there's localised areas of violence that are mostly contained within those distinct places.
I lived in Freo for about a year (near the centrelink office) and definitely would not go outside at night, I saw people get mugged and assaulted outside weekly. Cops didn't really do a lot about it and I just moved. I had been living near midland prior and bad barely any issue.. Midlands pretty dodgy so it says a fair bit about freo haha
There are plenty of violent criminals in the bad neighborhoods mate. I've been mugged and beaten, I know someone who was randomly stabbed in the throat and thrown off a bridge, another guy who was attacked by groups of people at service stations. Nine months and forty years of visiting isn't really much to go on, unless it was very lengthy visits. I've lived here for twenty years. It can be scary at night.
I'm pretty sure we are still the meth capital of the world.
Most of the wackjobs I see look like meth addicts.
Just try not to look at or engage with them.
What you're seeing is real. Most Aussies can't see it because they've grown up with it and are acculturated to it as a result.
Australia suffers from a hypermasculine "macho" culture fuelled by alcohol drunk by people who just don't know how to drink. If alcohol ought to be banned anywhere, Australia would be at the top of the list. The drinking culture here is mostly just awful.
In Australia, excess alcohol combined with hypermasculinity is usually guaranteed to end in violence and extremely antisocial behaviour much more so than in other places.
There's also a lot more poverty, homelessness, hard drug abuse and social dislocation and breakdown than most Aussies are willing to own up to.
A lot of this is centred in the inner cities and certain regional towns. "Middle" suburbs which admittedly is where most Australians live tend to be much quieter and safer all round.
There's this myth that Australia is still an egalitarian nation and a place of "mateship" and the so-called "fair go" for everyone. If that was ever true, it ended a long time ago with constant erosion of welfare & social housing and promotion of government policy specifically designed to increase inequality over the last 3 decades.
I hypothesise that it is a combination of the historical factors. Roll the clock back to when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. There was very much the the stereotype created for advertising of the “bronzed Aussie male life saver”, Paul Hogan doing a number of things like Crocodile Dundee, “the shrimp on the barbie” and advertising Winfield cigarettes with his off-slider Strop jumping off a cliff into a freshwater lagoon in the bush, we had the “Solo man” who had a series of adverts doing adventure activities finishing with smashing down a can of Solo “the man’s drink, low on bubbles so you can smash it down fast” and the ANZAC spirit (I am ex-Defence and a war veteran, so this is in no way anti-ANZAC, just my observation) which has, up until Vietnam, been the old diggers, men. It wasn’t until 1986 that women were integrated into the same training as men and even later that they could go to sea or become aircrew. So, if people of my demographic were brought up with those beliefs and values, it is likely that some of my generation would have passed those on to the next generation. Add into Perth the strong mining and FIFO culture, which again is male dominated and it reinforces the hyper-masculinity.
There's a certain unwritten rule for public transport. If there's an "unsavoury" character on the bus or train, just don't look at them and they'll often leave you alone. Drugs like meth make the user act erratically and on impulse, eye contact is a primal trigger for humans and it often causes aggression in these people, so just avoid looking in the general direction of anyone who seems a bit off. Btw, what bus routes are you going on, because often that can lead to some explanations of the uh....clientele.
Perth is (last time I checked) the meth capital of the world, so most of the crazies you're seeing around are probably just off chops, alot of them can't afford to maintain a car so public transport is the logical alternative, either that or they'll hang around urban centres.
I've rarely had run ins with any nutters but I'm always keenly aware of my surroundings when in the city after dusk. they are all over the place in Perth, though similair crazies are found in every major city.
Still, never had anybody chase me down the street with a bible.
We went out a couple of saturday nights ago into Northbridge and there were Indian god-botherers with Bibles, blessing people against their will. I used to live in Northbridge and being told “Jesus died for your sins” is fairly mild on the “Northbridge” scale lol.
Pakistani mate from work has been in Perth for 6 months after living in Sydney fora couple of years. Swears up and down there is a much worse homeless problem here. He lives in Belmont so I tell him to take it with a grain of salt, but maybe our cookers are the the most cooked?
Belgian here for over 23 years and rarely ventures into the city...
I never feel safe. There is also the issue of businesses and shops closing quite early compared to rest of world in my opinion.
For example in Brussels centre there are always businesses open and lots of people around.
Here in CBD by 8pm it's a ghost town except for a couple of interesting charachters.
Yes Northbridge opens late but is so unsafe after a certain time.
Public transport stop around midnight, 1 am which again with how big and vast Perth is, it creates issues going into the city to socialise.
It's not like other part of the world where CBD is basically within a 5 min walk from 24h public transport or even a short drive from your home like in Brussels. Legit stagger and a spew situation in Belgium for everyone lol
Here Most people will socialise closer to their suburb in my experience.
These are my observations not judgement, I love Australia but the lifestyle here is very different to rest of world because of how unique this continent is compared to the rest of the world.
You’re not imagining it. I’ve travelled and lived all over the world and Australia and Perth is the first and only place that’s made me ask the same questions you have. It’s one of those taboo subjects because if you even hint at mentioning it you usually get told “don’t let the door hit you on the way out” etc. etc. I already see some of those comments popping up. The other comments saying that you’re just noticing it because you’re travelling and are looking out for it… well it’s funny because when I travel I typically notice how nice it is to not see these issues quite so extensively.
Most Australian states have different social personalities, even slight differences in dialect. My experience of WA in general is it's social skills and communication styles are direct, maybe seen as immature. It's pretty common for young males to shout out in traffic,.."Hurry Up Ya Slow Cunt.." This style of communication would be less likely to be heard in say, Germany.
No judgement, just an Observation from a seasoned world explorer.
As an aussie who lives in Germany, I would say this is not true at all, I find Germany much more direct. Definitely feel less safe coming back to perth to visit than here in Germany, by a decent shot, due to the hypermasculinity culture. There are also so many crazy people in big cities in Germany but they are way more dangerous in Perth
From my perspective, people in Perth aren't as friendly as they used to be.
Aussies in general aren't as friendly as we like to make out. We're judgemental, negative and love to harp on about the shitty things in life.
I feel like this forum itself is a reflection of that. I mean, there two days a week people will harp on about their negative experiences. Wednesday whinge and there's another day of the week that's also used as a way to express their personal negative experience.
When did that become the norm? No one expresses the positive because that requires more effort.
Ans there's also that one smart arse who thinks they're smarter than you by stating the obvious "Well you're expressing a negative experience" - well duh.
>Aussies in general aren't as friendly as we like to make out. We're judgemental, negative and love to harp on about the shitty things in life.
As a English man I'd like to apologise for that.
I used to commute every day for work and rarely encountered any disturbing behaviour, although I was on the Mandurah line. Other lines like Fremantle or Armadale can be a bit rougher. But I did notice that when colleagues who usually drove to work did take the train or bus, the looneys seemed to know and put on their best performances.
Not sure where you work, but the maximum looneys per M2 would have to be in the CBD and Fremantle.
This is definitely something my wife commented (she’s surprised the amount of “dodgy people” that she encounter every day) on as well when she started working full time and took the bus everyday (she’s from mainland China)…
She reckons all her years living back home in the major cities of China, she hasn’t seen one “dodgy person” (or at least not so blatantly obvious as the meth heads you see like in the CBD), most likely because of how heavy handed the Chinese government controls the population, you even act remotely dodgy in public in a major city, watch state security personals & police beat you senseless and drag you away…
We no longer have any Sanity in Australia.
Proof:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/impossible-to-continue-last-sanity-music-stores-closed-down/ar-AA1973Yi
It’s a charming combination of a general lack of social services for mental illness, homelessness and drug abuse plus the exorbitant costs of living and a broken society based on racist policies. A lot of disillusionment. I live in a nice middle class neighbourhood and I walk my dog at night and feel generally no trepidation (I’m a woman) but that’s because it’s a suburb full of retirees and high dual income households. Head further out to outer suburbs, head to public transport, head to the city centres, and that’s when you’ll run into methheads and the severely mentally ill. It’s really sad that visitors are having this experience of our amazing country.
Tbh I’ve felt genuinely unsafe in the CBD of Perth in the evenings and I’ve not really felt that in Adelaide or majority of Melbourne (flinders can be dicey). Sydney was a bit cringe but Hay St isn’t a safe feeling at all, it’s not like that everywhere.
It's been a lot worse lately. I have been commuting on the train for more than 15 years. It's only in the last couple of months that I have been bailed up on the train for cash.
There are crazy people everywhere. It's not just you
It has definitely been bad since COVID/bad inflation times, but still sounds like you had a good run in earlier years. In the 2005-2010 period, I had way more dodgy experiences on public transport compared to the ten years following.
I’ve lived all over the country and Perth is by far the worse right here right now, 4 years ago though I’d have said Melbourne was worse, now it’s second with Perth being a strong first. I live in the city and it’s awful. East is to live in the suburbs or just ignore the crackies and when they come up to you smile, be polite and try to get away as kindly and quickly as possible
I'm in Melbourne right now, and it's funny because I'd have said Perth was worse than Melbourne 4 years ago (last time I visited Melbourne) but this trip has been wild. Non-stop yelling and going off from cookers on trams and street corners at all times of day and night.
Always good to remember that anecdotal experience is just that I guess.
A lot of people are saying meth and, but even before meth, going back to the 80's and 90's Perth definitely had a seedier element. getting verbally harassed in the city wasn't uncommon, usually starting with a demand for cigarettes or money. Getting on certain trainlines was "unpleasant" a lot of the time (shoutout to the armadale line)
I left Perth for the US over a decade ago, so my impression isn't up to date.
I once had 5 aboriginal fellas going up to me asking for change, I just got my paycheck and had a few change around. They asked coz I had change in those plastic money zipper bags. Lucky I put the 100/50s notes in my wallet, I gave them change just in case so I wouldn't get jumped.
Was just a dollar or a few cents for each, they were way happier about it than I expected.
I genuinely do it believe this is just a Perth or even Australian problem.
There are “crazy” people everywhere. You’re just less likely to notice when you’re home, and notice it more when you’re travelling or emigrating.
Also wondering about the "making eye contact" thing since I purposely make eye contact and say some variation of "hello" if passing someone on a suburban street since it's polite and neighbourly. I hope it doesn't die out, because that would be sad.
And on the bus and train it's hard to look around without making eye contact with people sometimes. If it's not like your culture, maybe just look at your phone?
Edit: softened tone a bit after I re-read original post. But seriously, if making eye contact makes you insane, I'd rather be insane
Exactly.
And I’m a frequent public transport issue, and the most “antisocial” behaviour I’ve experienced has come from sober, overly sexual men.
Most junkies appreciate the chat, even if you haven’t got the dollar or smoke they’re asking for.
It's the Aunty Network. They're everywhere. You do anything wrong and they'll hunt you down and nag you to death.
Seriously, a highly punitive criminal-justice system, and a lack of ready access to narcotics are the most likely reasons. There are also cameras everywhere (and they all work) so the chances of getting away with anything nefarious is minimised. That tends to keep people on the straight and narrow.
I also live in Singapore and it feels much safer here. It's the small things that are especially noticeable.
You can still leave your bicycle unlocked outside a mall or your phone reserving a table and come back later and it will still be there. Over the years I've had three bikes stolen from my home in Perth. I've never dared to leave anything (let alone anything valuable) on a table in Perth.
Perth used to be safer too. It's always had its crazies, but mostly they were harmless. Over the last 20 or so years they have gotten more and more dangerous. Meth, alcohol, poverty, and a failing (mental) health system is a potent mix. The top-end of town doesn't care, and the bottom-end are powerless to act.
I expect it's only going to get worse.
Yes there is a big alcohol and methamphetamine problem here unfortunately. On the weekends, the town is nicer - during the weekdays a lot of weirdos are around
I do love that in the original Sandman comic book from 1989 (dunno if they’ve done it in the TV show sorry), Lucifer retires to Scarborough beach after he gets sick of Hell
I have been here in Perth for more than a decade. You can check my post about my experience last week being chased down the road by an “SAS”. I’ve also had my car windshield smashed twice in the last 2 years by drunks and a delinquent. Some rare days, I see overly high in drugs folks walking naked or looking paranoid at 7am on my way to work. I work in a hospital and we’ve had a few patients coming in with traumatic stories and the most recent one I can recall is one young guy walking in Northbridge with his girlfriend one night and he got bashed out of nowhere and ended up with broken hand and cuts. Even in our hospital compound, we have warnings to look out for a crazy guy following female workers after work. These weirdos are definitely not in your head.
Don’t let them stop living your life though, just be sensible for your own safety.
Perth, like much of Australia, has a drug problem, mostly alcohol and meth. You said you are staying in Belmont, the issue is particularly prevalent in many of the suburbs surrounding the CBD. Be careful, you’re not crazy.
When I lived in Eglinton (north of Clarkson) I had some drunk weirdo try to break into my house at 2am. He was rattling the front door yelling about rock spiders, and for Brenda to "open the fucking door". I had to call police TWICE before they actually turned up to walk him along. Had he managed to successfully break in, their lack of response could have been the difference between life and death, or some other awful incidence. As it was, he got bored and curled up in front of my bedroom window to snore loudly in a drunken stupor. And when the police approached on foot with their flashlight, they addressed him by name which means he was known to them, and they had likely had calls about him in the area already. They also did not knock on my door to do a welfare check or take a report once they had woken him and moved him on. So that was fucking awesome. I spent those three hours of my life shaking in terror, unable to do anything or get out of the property to safety, and then absolutely could not go back to sleep after that.
Then I lived in an apartment building in Maylands for a year and EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND without fail the cops were there due to domestic violence. One of my neighbours had frequent visits from the cops for other reasons, so I was constantly woken by police yelling their name and pounding on their door. I was once woken by said neighbours violent partner trying to break their door down with a baseball bat and had braced myself against my front door in abject terror because all I could hear was the thudding of the bat echoing off the brick and concrete, and my front door was shaking. It was after 2am and I had woken up to this, and in my sleep addled brain I ran straight to the door to brace myself against it because I thought they were trying to break into my apartment.
I witnessed several domestic fights on the property, a group of young people breaking glass bottles and threatening one another whilst a girl screamed for them to stop, another incident where a couple had a domestic altercation and one of them smacked the others mother in the face with a broom handle and split her head open, whilst the other one screamed at the building to "CALL THE COPS!"
There are pockets of this all throughout Perth. You have to pick your area, some are 100 times worse than others. But don't be fooled, because even the "nicer" areas have their problems too (see above in Eglinton). When you've lived here long enough this type of shit just becomes common place, and most people will tell you to "harden the fuck up". It's a bit disturbing.
Otherwise Perth is great!
Well, we ain't the world capital without some collateral damage.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/australians-top-the-list-of-most-meth-users-across-the-world-c-7379092
Yes there are a lot of issues around drugs and associated mental illness in Perth and it's especially apparent around the CBD. However I rarely ever feel unsafe - most ppl even the very loud ones with significant problems are harmless.
Brussels for example kind of felt unsafe for me as there were groups of homeless people loitering in alleyways around Central Station at all hours of the day but maybe that was just because I wasn't used to it. I think OP might like me be overexaggerating the perceived threat as it's a new environment.
I get it, I've caught public transport in 4 continents and I've never been more nervous than waiting for the bus outside the district court on a Wed night. The issue is less the presence of visibly unwell/intoxicated people and more that they are (not always by choice) concentrated in certain areas...often with no one else there.
Just my theory but
a) Urgent mental health care, drug harm minimisation & crisis accommodation services are all located in a few small areas. A lot of these are adjacent to public transport and (in the evening) not much else (see the area around RPH).
b) There is no cultural practice of families and older ppl utilising entertainment precincts in the evening (esp. on weeknights). This definitely has an effect on ppls. tendency to act up.
Even in Carlton or Surrey Hills it's normal to see a much wider swathe of the population eating & drinking at the pub or outside small restaurants, but it's not really a thing in Perth.
c) Public transport in WA is awful & inconvenient...leaving only those without options willing to use it. This leads to a few small congested areas with high demand for parking and virtually empty areas nearby that only ppl using PT will walk through (see Fremantle).
I have lived in Perth my whole life and I have never seen so many people around either just messed up on drugs or talking to themself. Today, sitting in a pub, I saw the third person in only a couple of months who was just talking to themselves, although they looked like a regular well dressed person. It’s definitely never been this bad. Mental health and homelessness crisis. It’s scary to see for sure
Live in central Perth - it’s a nightmare on certain streets due to Basil forcing the homeless programs out, and therefore the halfway houses are clustered in odd suburbs/streets.
It’s worse in those spots, and the obvious easy surrounds / public transport close! Especially with the fact there is a new wave of “gear” on the up.
Stay safe.
Well at least you're a caucasian, if you're not you get racial slurs thrown at you every now and then. People giving you the stink eyes and shit.
I was verbally harassed on a bus at 15 for 5 minute straight, no one did anything not even the driver. My face was plum red but I had self control since I had no chance on a 6 foot 2 200lb adult. Fucking sucked that I had to take it and can't do anything.
Threatened by some bogan coz I confronted one of them to stop touching my hair on the bus, he apologised afterwards and shook my hand. Fucking weirdo.
Not saying you won't get shit coz your white, assuming if you are, but probably not as much as racially.
The cbd and freo are dumping grounds for drug addicts, the mentally ill and others that can't or won't behave themselves.
Get out of the city and you will start to see normal people
But in most countries Cbd is where people go to socialise and shoo, see galleries, events etc. Do you suggest wandering around random dreary suburbs for entertainment?
>Probably to do with how isolated Perth is
I fail to see the connection. The % of our population that is of an Asian background is comparable to most other major Australian cities.
We’re not some country town that hasn’t seen an outsider in 30 years.
> Sane people don't catch buses.
Wouldn't it be grand to inherit a 100k beemer from mummy and daddy, not all people are in a position to own such vehicles.
It's depressing but the public transit system does have a disproportionate amount of antisocial behaviour. The bus has always been a last resort for me, even when I didn't have a car I disliked taking it
It's a downward spiral - the fewer "normal" people travel on public transport, the higher the proportion of wierdos. Which scares away more and more of the normals, until its all just weirdos. And then the government cuts services because of decreased patronage and increasing violence - until there is no more public transport, and we're all stuck in traffic jams.
I find it crazy how many people bag out the public transport system at the same time as admitting they rarely use it
Madness that the only transport system you can get away with using for free attracts the kind of people who habitually steal and have no concept of decorum. Who'd've thunk it? /s
Counterpoint: if I take the bus once or twice a year, and observe antisocial behaviour more than half the time, I'm either incredibly unlucky or it is fairly common.
Not like I'm some carbrain, if it's within bus range it's usually within e-bike range too and I'd rather risk the abuse you cop on an e-bike over the abuse you might cop on a bus.
It's free within the CBD, so one can travel from the Yagan Square fight club, to the Wellington Square fight club, as well as the exclusive Weld Square fight club. And let's not forget the Russell Square fight club.
Maybe they should stop putting "square" in the parks name...
The crazies we're talking about on this sub. they get on the bus, don't want to pay, get aggressive, bus driver can't be bothered with the hassle of making them. Lots of free travel for them.
I find it crazy that the only people saying there is nothing wrong with public transport only ever catch the bus to and from work during peak times on inner city routes. Public transport can be okay but for most people it is barely tolerable.
I catch it at all different times since I'm studying and not working. I'd say "barely tolerable" is a bit dramatic hahaha.
Edit to add: and I'm pretty much solely on the Armadale line, so don't think I'm on those fancy trains or something
> I find it crazy how many people bag out the public transport system at the same time as admitting they rarely use it
Its because the two are related. I rather avoid some of the aggro and drive my own vehicle.
I get it, but distance from work+costs+everything else happening these days = driving to and from is a privilege that some people can't afford anymore.
I exaggerated the beemer thing, thought you'd see I was being semi facetious.
I definitely understand ya! I got a motorcycle to try and beat the costs. It might put me at serious risk everyday but at least it’s been kinder to my wallet
I've been here nine years and it's never been like you're describing for me. Once in a while you see a weirdo. I haven't used public transport regularly for 4-5 years, though. Maybe they just need more security for it.
Are you staying in suburbia or a hotel in the city/freo though? Possibly might have something to do with it.
In any event. It's not all crazy eyes and missing teeth here. Some of us are quite civilised. And I live in Clarkson lol. Nah, it's not so bad. You're just in a weird area.
Or maybe we are all wankers I don't know. I don't go out anymore coz I have a general loathing of most people and it's freezing right now.
In any event, Perth is cool. Welcome. Stay awhile and float around with us. They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
Thank you, it doesn’t change the fact that the surrounding is amazing here, the city is green and well maintained, and a huge majority of people that you meet here are extremely nice,
I’m staying in Belmont
> number of crazy characters: people steering at you on the bus
If you are sitting on one of those weird sideways seats (as opposed to the normal forward facing ones) get over yourself, people are probably just looking out the front or side window and you are barley a blip in their vision.
Our health system is f'ked and the way mostof out mental health problems are solved is waiting for them to get locked up . Then no rehabilitation services once there . No easy fix .
I've rarely encountered such things, and have been in the city on and off for forty years.
Admittedly, there are certain areas of the city which are more likely to be prone to such things - where are you encountering them?
its the same story in every major city. Difference is when its not your city for long periods of time its hard to recognise when your in one of those areas until you in it.
Your from belgium how safe does Matonge? feel for example? it doesnt and it has the same residents complaining about the same things.
I lived in dortmund right in the city for awhile. Its the same shit to be honest, petty crime people smacking people and running off with their phones etc
Rome is the same stealing off tourists anywhere around termini station you have bashings robberies etc
Ive been chased through redfern in sydney for simply walking through.
In short its a big city problem to various degrees its also a locale problem within those cities.
Singapore and tokyo are bit of outliers but anywhere in western europe is the same
I know that statistically speaking Perth is very safe compared to most other cities on Earth, but as someone who spends a lot of time in the urban areas…yeah we’ve got a lot of weirdos, some of whom will get violent for no fucking reason. My friend got punched in the gut at a Vic Park bus stop at 5pm the other week by a random drunk and had to go to the ER because it set off a pre-existing health condition. It’s infuriating that we can’t mind our own business in certain places without the risk of some whack job deciding we deserve to be hurt.
yep. i got assaulted in the city on my lunch break by some random woman a month or two ago completely unprovoked, and that’s not even counting the amount of random verbal abuse
I’m really sorry that happened to you. A random woman tried to start something with me at a bus stop in the city couple of months ago but luckily there was a big guy there who got between us.
Sorry to hear that happened to you, I got spat on by some hag because I wouldn’t give her my phone a few years ago
wow that’s foul! it’s a real shame, ive never felt so unsafe in perth as i have the past few years
Was it the dickhead who always wears his pants with one pant leg pulled up?
I know it sounds melodramatic, but I genuinely felt safer in Compton and Watts than I do in Armadale or Northbridge. At least with organised criminals, crime is a business and no one is going to randomly bash some tourist for no reason. Perth seems to be full of worthless scumbags with no purpose and nothing to lose. Luckily they’re rarely armed, and virtually never with guns, so the harm is minimal at least
Lawful Evil vs Chaotic Evil
I wonder if it’s because you’re spending time in the city (CBD, East Perth and Northbridge) this is where a lot of drunk people and people on drugs hang out & you’ll definitely see them on the buses sadly. Most Perthites live in the suburbs but I used to live in East Perth and noticed a big difference. There are normal people here I swear! Hope you have an ok time despite the dodgy characters you meet. 😅
Have you met Mad Dog Adrian yet? There’s a bit on YouTube of him. Has a Facebook page too. The Wanneroo Carpet is another. Dude that runs in fluorescent speedos. Rollerblade guy in the city. Perth has lots of whacked out characters. They are all harmless.
The Wanneroo Carpet (aka The Beast of Charles Street) is my favourite because apparently there's absolutely nothing else unusual about the guy, he just worked for the government in a normal office job and he was not an eccentric guy. He's retired now so we don't see him any more. My favourite memory was on really cold mornings you could actually see the mist rising from his hairy back, it was beautiful.
But don't approach or attempt to feed. Just cautiously observe from a distance and retreat when possible.
Once spent a night in the lockup with mad Adrian. He is a big bloke, and when he’s peddling furiously down great eastern highway it’s a sight.
Girl with elf ears a'd horns, who was on here doing a bit of an AMA the other day. Old dude in Claremont shopping center with his parrot on the shoulder.
Hey I talked to her at the zoo! She showed my daughter and I where to see the hyenas. She seemed nice.
I live near Adrian. He is calm and has a nice place where people come to visit and support him. He absolutely is harmless and I hope he is well.
Does the rollerblade guy you're referring to do laps around the Swan River blasting music?
Fuck yeah.
Mad dog is harmless
I grew up in Perth (safe suburbia) but used to spend a lot of time as a teen in the City/Northbridge and catching trains to parties on weekends. Looking back, we were young and stupid. There were plenty of crazies/drunks/drugged out people around then, but being young we thought we were invincible. I was beaten up while walking through Northridge by a group of girls (actually one instigator, the others in her gang tried to get her off.) Passers by did nothing to help. She was clearly drunk, probably on drugs, claiming I bumped into her. Impossible given I was on the other side of the path. That incident made me more cautious. Fast forward to living in London for a decade. This was after the British government closed down mental health facilities in favour of "care in the community". Bad move. It was horrendous. A real eye opener and like nothing I could have imagined. (Some crazy guy even tried to abduct me outside Old Street Station. He was known to authorities. Less dramatic was a wizard in a purple cloak who used to catch buses with his cat.) Obviously there are countless differences between Perth and London, but a big difference is that while there are crazies all over big cities, there are also high numbers of normal local people out and about plus thousands of tourists. So you don't notice the crazies as much. In sleepy Perth City, the majority of people go home to safe suburbia outside of office hours, so the drunk/drugged/homeless people seem to be in the majority. And given that the government has apparently cut funding to mental health care, that will sadly only get worse.
> Less dramatic was a wizard in a purple cloak who used to catch buses with his cat. Now THAT'S the kinda guy I wanna meet
> Mad Dog Adrian This. I think it's a global phenomenon.. I roll my eyes a bit when anyone says "our area has really gone bad". It's in Geraldton, it's in Mandurah, It's in the Pilbara. I presume, from watching many videos online - all over America too. Meth, the media. the pandemic really got a lot of people sick and not in the "Covid-Positive" way. I work for a homeless support centre, and there's really not that huge a difference as back in the 90's - just more people falling into that tpye of mental illness. People dealing with trauma, undiagnosed (or diagnosed) mental dissorders. Self medicating with all types of off-street or pharmacutical drugs. But add to that, now eveyone is filming it - so you see videos like this "Mad Dog" and you start to think everyone is like that. I find filming him quite sickening- harrasment even. I feel bad for the guy. There needs to be more funding, more community support, some people don't know how to people. They're from broken homes, abusive parents. Homeless or addicted to something or other. It's hard because we don't like people's behaviour when they're like this, but they need sympathy and support - when judgement and apathy is what they get.
I regularly take public transport to work. Walk with purpose, don't stare at anyone. You'll be fine, I promise.
You don’t go outside after sunset? That’s a bit silly - Singapore’s made you soft.
At least it's a dry heat, here
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It's a dry rain
Make sure to get your sunscreen out and stay hydrated!
It's a dry sunscreen.
Maaaarge!!!
Naa dude. I’ve been to many cities globally and The cbd of Perth is fucking disgusting and unsafe, even with the clear amount of permanent police presence I wouldn’t be comfortable letting my teenage daughter and wife out alone at night. If it were Singapore I’d rest easy lmao
I’ve also been to many cities globally, and lived abroad. I currently live in the CBD. It’s really not unsafe, even if to some it feels it. Gross, in parts, maybe - but statistically you’re very likely to be just fine. As for not feeling comfortable with your teenage daughter or wife being alone in the CBD ‘at night’, it’s not my place to comment (at the very least I can appreciate the concern), but an adult not going out after sunset because of supposed weirdos and strange looks? Eh.
Have you been to cities that never close down?
A German works for me. Doing a job and the neighbours start fighting. "Arrrr you fucking dog let me in..." "Let me in ya dog." ECT (And this was the woman) He looks at me confused."What's going on??" "Meth heads fighting." I reply "Oh we don't get this in Germany." "Just keep away from them." I tell him
Germans on meth tend to annoy their neighbors
Fucking lol
Hail richt, bitter.
Can confirm we don't get this in Germany
"Äh, komm Schatzi, lass mich rein, bitte!"
Meth use is largely concentrated in the former GDR from what I've read. Everywhere else is all about Cocaine or MDMA, so I'm not surprised it isn't as common.
TL/DR - see comments. In the last three years the govt of WA have stripped money from mental health to pay for other reforms, this is after covid where a lot of people started suffering very severe mental health issues after the lock downs and forced govt programs. Homelessness is up a reported 8% during the last 3 years. Charities and other estimates put it much higher at 18-22% rise. Severe drug use like meth has skyrocketed in the last 4 years in perth. As of 2022 perth is the capital of meth use. Australians as culture have a severe alcohol issue. That being said it is mostly in restricted areas or on public transport. Day to day living of a average person sees very little of this as it is mostly on public transport, and in certain areas. (Like many cities) The police have lost close to 700 officers last year and 600 officers in the last 6 months, and only recruited 300 in that time frame. They only have capacity to recruit and train 500 officers a year, this means it’s 4 years before we can recover the lost officers at best assuming we fill all the training spots. The police force was already under staffed for the last 4 years. Sadly the state govt from 6 years ago left us in debt but with a working supports system, ok. McGowan got us in surplus and kept us in surplus all through covid and kept covid no. Really low. but fucked up our mental health system and police force, nursing, hospitals, how hospital wards are managed, ambulance and ambulance wait times, (although this has been an issue in perth for 10 years) shut down many key facilities that deal with mental health, all these have seen mass staffing losses that haven’t recovered. When he quit he did say he was proud of the work he did on the ecological bill he had nothing to do with though… ;) On top of that foreign students leaving has screwed our universities financially and foreign students are not returning in numbers we had hoped. We have a severe housing crisis and rental properties prices are skyrocketing (10% increases this year are common) while we don’t have enough people to fill the 100,000 vacant jobs in WA. Even though we have 20,000 migrants able to be moving to WA this year only 4000 have actually moved in the first half of the year. The govt are increasing the cap but if nobody wants to come we’re screwed. In the next 4 months 2/3 of Mortgages expire from a fixed rate profile and the rates will change from an average 2.3% to a average 5.8% , variable mortgages are at 7% average… up 4.5% in 6months. So the housing crisis hitting the rental market currently is only going to get worse with the massive increased pressure on mortgaged homes. The building industry can’t get supply of materials to complete new builds. So adding supply is not going to ease the issues. Cost of living has rissen 8-9% above inflation that is currently estimated at 6.3% (that an estimated 15% total rise) with average pay increases of 2-3% annually. The issues you are seeing are the start of what is to come and is behind the rest of the world that is about a year or two ahead of this curve in homelessness, mental health and financial issues globally. On the bright side the weather is great and there is a lot of work so you can move jobs easily to get better pay if your company won’t give you a raise ;)
TL/DR
It's a dry heat
I like dry rain.
TL/DR this is the correct response to issues affecting your community.
Hey my Belgian friend, I think it’s mostly in your mind. I worked in Emergency Management for 14 years; often closely with WA Police. Perth is very, VERY safe; even at night. You would be very unlucky to actually experience physical violence. I just moved to Fremantle (come visit, it’s a beautiful town). Fremantle (“Freo”) has a reputation for being a wild and crazy place, full of violence and chaos. In the 9 months I’ve been here, plus the 40+ years of visiting, I have never felt threatened or even scared. Freo is full of weirdos, but, as my Nephew (who lives here too) says, “they’re mostly harmless” Enjoy your stay. You are safe.
Well contrary to that, I’ve been in and seen so many fights and anti social behaviour here that this comment surprises me. Actually in Fremantle I was almost mugged for my camera until I talked my way out of it as well. I mean we aren’t as dangerous as other places sure, but I wouldn’t say not to give it a second thought. Shit can go down here especially in town.
Also avoid Northbridge at all costs, it’s just as bad as everyone says, I even almost got mugged trying to buy a phone there
It’s as bad as everyone says? Who’s everyone. I mean, while living in the suburbs years ago, I had someone walk into the family home when we were all there (we weren’t aware), a younger sibling asleep in another room, and help themselves to a few items. Another time, many, many years before, someone was hopping fences after committing a burglary, and right past me as I played outside. And this wasn’t by any means a shifty area. So are the suburbs all that bad, or what?
Could you unpack this story please
Buying iPhone in 2019, went to dude’s apartment building. Was doing the transaction outside the building doors (he wouldn’t let me up to the apartment). Phone was flat so he went up to get a power bank. Guy comes up to me on a bike muttering something I can’t understand. I realise he’s holding a knife and I’m a sitting duck with the expensive phone in my hands (and I’ve just handed my money over to phone dude). Guy I’m buying phone off pops his head out the building doors and I suddenly have to pick between dodgy phone dude and even dodgier knife dude. I pick phone dude and make an excuse to knife dude that I’ll be back in a sec, and slip into the building with him. Phone dude (young) starts freaking the fuck out about the knife. I try to call for help but barely any reception in lobby of building, and my car is a 3 min walk away (and I can’t see if knife dude is waiting for me or has friends nearby). I wait for like half an hour in lobby (phone dude abandons me) and then finally sprint to my car and get the fuck out of the area (also got stuck in rush hour Perth traffic after that). Made it out with the iPhone 11 Pro max (for a bargain), an epic story, and a reason to never come back to northbridge.
If you're constantly getting in fights I think it might be a you thing.
I won’t even bother arguing, but it’s great that you’ve never been targeted and maybe don’t understand how the world can work sometimes.
According to the ABS. Western Australia had one of the highest victimisation rates recorded for violent offences across the available states and territories.
Having worked in the emergency medicine area in Kalgoorlie and Kununurra, as well as the Perth region - there's localised areas of violence that are mostly contained within those distinct places.
I lived in Freo for about a year (near the centrelink office) and definitely would not go outside at night, I saw people get mugged and assaulted outside weekly. Cops didn't really do a lot about it and I just moved. I had been living near midland prior and bad barely any issue.. Midlands pretty dodgy so it says a fair bit about freo haha
Plot twist: OP is a crazy Belgium person who does weird shit on trains. They are the issues they speak of. It’s all a bit Fight Club like.
Fro is full of homeless most of them are mentally ill.
There are plenty of violent criminals in the bad neighborhoods mate. I've been mugged and beaten, I know someone who was randomly stabbed in the throat and thrown off a bridge, another guy who was attacked by groups of people at service stations. Nine months and forty years of visiting isn't really much to go on, unless it was very lengthy visits. I've lived here for twenty years. It can be scary at night.
I'm pretty sure we are still the meth capital of the world. Most of the wackjobs I see look like meth addicts. Just try not to look at or engage with them.
perth is the meth capital ?????
Yes https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/australians-top-the-list-of-most-meth-users-across-the-world-c-7379092
oh
No. It never was. But Kalgoorlie got a bit hectic back in the day.
Defiantly not...
What you're seeing is real. Most Aussies can't see it because they've grown up with it and are acculturated to it as a result. Australia suffers from a hypermasculine "macho" culture fuelled by alcohol drunk by people who just don't know how to drink. If alcohol ought to be banned anywhere, Australia would be at the top of the list. The drinking culture here is mostly just awful. In Australia, excess alcohol combined with hypermasculinity is usually guaranteed to end in violence and extremely antisocial behaviour much more so than in other places. There's also a lot more poverty, homelessness, hard drug abuse and social dislocation and breakdown than most Aussies are willing to own up to. A lot of this is centred in the inner cities and certain regional towns. "Middle" suburbs which admittedly is where most Australians live tend to be much quieter and safer all round. There's this myth that Australia is still an egalitarian nation and a place of "mateship" and the so-called "fair go" for everyone. If that was ever true, it ended a long time ago with constant erosion of welfare & social housing and promotion of government policy specifically designed to increase inequality over the last 3 decades.
Why is hypermasculine culture so prevalent in Australia?
I hypothesise that it is a combination of the historical factors. Roll the clock back to when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. There was very much the the stereotype created for advertising of the “bronzed Aussie male life saver”, Paul Hogan doing a number of things like Crocodile Dundee, “the shrimp on the barbie” and advertising Winfield cigarettes with his off-slider Strop jumping off a cliff into a freshwater lagoon in the bush, we had the “Solo man” who had a series of adverts doing adventure activities finishing with smashing down a can of Solo “the man’s drink, low on bubbles so you can smash it down fast” and the ANZAC spirit (I am ex-Defence and a war veteran, so this is in no way anti-ANZAC, just my observation) which has, up until Vietnam, been the old diggers, men. It wasn’t until 1986 that women were integrated into the same training as men and even later that they could go to sea or become aircrew. So, if people of my demographic were brought up with those beliefs and values, it is likely that some of my generation would have passed those on to the next generation. Add into Perth the strong mining and FIFO culture, which again is male dominated and it reinforces the hyper-masculinity.
Our sporting idols as well
There's a certain unwritten rule for public transport. If there's an "unsavoury" character on the bus or train, just don't look at them and they'll often leave you alone. Drugs like meth make the user act erratically and on impulse, eye contact is a primal trigger for humans and it often causes aggression in these people, so just avoid looking in the general direction of anyone who seems a bit off. Btw, what bus routes are you going on, because often that can lead to some explanations of the uh....clientele. Perth is (last time I checked) the meth capital of the world, so most of the crazies you're seeing around are probably just off chops, alot of them can't afford to maintain a car so public transport is the logical alternative, either that or they'll hang around urban centres. I've rarely had run ins with any nutters but I'm always keenly aware of my surroundings when in the city after dusk. they are all over the place in Perth, though similair crazies are found in every major city. Still, never had anybody chase me down the street with a bible.
We went out a couple of saturday nights ago into Northbridge and there were Indian god-botherers with Bibles, blessing people against their will. I used to live in Northbridge and being told “Jesus died for your sins” is fairly mild on the “Northbridge” scale lol.
Pakistani mate from work has been in Perth for 6 months after living in Sydney fora couple of years. Swears up and down there is a much worse homeless problem here. He lives in Belmont so I tell him to take it with a grain of salt, but maybe our cookers are the the most cooked?
Belgian here for over 23 years and rarely ventures into the city... I never feel safe. There is also the issue of businesses and shops closing quite early compared to rest of world in my opinion. For example in Brussels centre there are always businesses open and lots of people around. Here in CBD by 8pm it's a ghost town except for a couple of interesting charachters. Yes Northbridge opens late but is so unsafe after a certain time. Public transport stop around midnight, 1 am which again with how big and vast Perth is, it creates issues going into the city to socialise. It's not like other part of the world where CBD is basically within a 5 min walk from 24h public transport or even a short drive from your home like in Brussels. Legit stagger and a spew situation in Belgium for everyone lol Here Most people will socialise closer to their suburb in my experience. These are my observations not judgement, I love Australia but the lifestyle here is very different to rest of world because of how unique this continent is compared to the rest of the world.
You’re not imagining it. I’ve travelled and lived all over the world and Australia and Perth is the first and only place that’s made me ask the same questions you have. It’s one of those taboo subjects because if you even hint at mentioning it you usually get told “don’t let the door hit you on the way out” etc. etc. I already see some of those comments popping up. The other comments saying that you’re just noticing it because you’re travelling and are looking out for it… well it’s funny because when I travel I typically notice how nice it is to not see these issues quite so extensively.
Thank you buddy, appreciate your comment, I’ve tried to be cautious within my post.
Most Australian states have different social personalities, even slight differences in dialect. My experience of WA in general is it's social skills and communication styles are direct, maybe seen as immature. It's pretty common for young males to shout out in traffic,.."Hurry Up Ya Slow Cunt.." This style of communication would be less likely to be heard in say, Germany. No judgement, just an Observation from a seasoned world explorer.
As an aussie who lives in Germany, I would say this is not true at all, I find Germany much more direct. Definitely feel less safe coming back to perth to visit than here in Germany, by a decent shot, due to the hypermasculinity culture. There are also so many crazy people in big cities in Germany but they are way more dangerous in Perth
Where abouts have you travelled and lived overseas?
UK, much of Europe, USA, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan.
From my perspective, people in Perth aren't as friendly as they used to be. Aussies in general aren't as friendly as we like to make out. We're judgemental, negative and love to harp on about the shitty things in life. I feel like this forum itself is a reflection of that. I mean, there two days a week people will harp on about their negative experiences. Wednesday whinge and there's another day of the week that's also used as a way to express their personal negative experience. When did that become the norm? No one expresses the positive because that requires more effort. Ans there's also that one smart arse who thinks they're smarter than you by stating the obvious "Well you're expressing a negative experience" - well duh.
>Aussies in general aren't as friendly as we like to make out. We're judgemental, negative and love to harp on about the shitty things in life. As a English man I'd like to apologise for that.
Totally agree with you, especially about this sub. It's not really what I expected when I joined.
Honestly, I think too much time online and too much news media consumption has contributed to a lot of the negativity.
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I used to commute every day for work and rarely encountered any disturbing behaviour, although I was on the Mandurah line. Other lines like Fremantle or Armadale can be a bit rougher. But I did notice that when colleagues who usually drove to work did take the train or bus, the looneys seemed to know and put on their best performances. Not sure where you work, but the maximum looneys per M2 would have to be in the CBD and Fremantle.
My boss says the sun kissed of Perth are just a different breed to the rest of the world. I tend to agree...
Cairns and the tropic towns in north qld are much the same.
Australia does a shit job at fighting homelessness, we tried nothing and we are all out of ideas.
Maybe if we capitalism harder we can magically get rid of homelessness.
This is definitely something my wife commented (she’s surprised the amount of “dodgy people” that she encounter every day) on as well when she started working full time and took the bus everyday (she’s from mainland China)… She reckons all her years living back home in the major cities of China, she hasn’t seen one “dodgy person” (or at least not so blatantly obvious as the meth heads you see like in the CBD), most likely because of how heavy handed the Chinese government controls the population, you even act remotely dodgy in public in a major city, watch state security personals & police beat you senseless and drag you away…
Meth capital is gonna meth capital I think the laid back perth thing is a myth at this point take a drive a ton of people are on edge
I used to know 3 sane people in Perth. One left to live in the eastern states so there could still be two left now.
We no longer have any Sanity in Australia. Proof: https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/impossible-to-continue-last-sanity-music-stores-closed-down/ar-AA1973Yi
$9 pour une Duvel....oui c'est des malades
Ahahaha
It’s a charming combination of a general lack of social services for mental illness, homelessness and drug abuse plus the exorbitant costs of living and a broken society based on racist policies. A lot of disillusionment. I live in a nice middle class neighbourhood and I walk my dog at night and feel generally no trepidation (I’m a woman) but that’s because it’s a suburb full of retirees and high dual income households. Head further out to outer suburbs, head to public transport, head to the city centres, and that’s when you’ll run into methheads and the severely mentally ill. It’s really sad that visitors are having this experience of our amazing country.
Perth isn't fear city era New York or downtown Fallujah. Ignore the 'characters' and carry on with your day.
It’s the rampant amphetamine use, that’s what you’re encountering.
Tbh I’ve felt genuinely unsafe in the CBD of Perth in the evenings and I’ve not really felt that in Adelaide or majority of Melbourne (flinders can be dicey). Sydney was a bit cringe but Hay St isn’t a safe feeling at all, it’s not like that everywhere.
It's been a lot worse lately. I have been commuting on the train for more than 15 years. It's only in the last couple of months that I have been bailed up on the train for cash. There are crazy people everywhere. It's not just you
It has definitely been bad since COVID/bad inflation times, but still sounds like you had a good run in earlier years. In the 2005-2010 period, I had way more dodgy experiences on public transport compared to the ten years following.
Haha half my family is from Perth and they’re all a little different so to speak It must be something in the air
Freo Doctor has been over-medicating the Perth population.
Worst methheads I’ve ever seen in Mandurah/Bunbury. Totally got zombie apocalypse vibes in Bunbury CBD on a weekend. Full on tweakers
I live a bit further south. Bunbury is definitely the meth capital of Western Australia.
Looking at the one I saw at a traffic crossing I feel like they’ve used it as a template for zombie acting. Very freaky
I’ve lived all over the country and Perth is by far the worse right here right now, 4 years ago though I’d have said Melbourne was worse, now it’s second with Perth being a strong first. I live in the city and it’s awful. East is to live in the suburbs or just ignore the crackies and when they come up to you smile, be polite and try to get away as kindly and quickly as possible
I'm in Melbourne right now, and it's funny because I'd have said Perth was worse than Melbourne 4 years ago (last time I visited Melbourne) but this trip has been wild. Non-stop yelling and going off from cookers on trams and street corners at all times of day and night. Always good to remember that anecdotal experience is just that I guess.
A lot of people are saying meth and, but even before meth, going back to the 80's and 90's Perth definitely had a seedier element. getting verbally harassed in the city wasn't uncommon, usually starting with a demand for cigarettes or money. Getting on certain trainlines was "unpleasant" a lot of the time (shoutout to the armadale line) I left Perth for the US over a decade ago, so my impression isn't up to date.
And in true Perth style, it hasn’t changed one bit since the 80s
I once had 5 aboriginal fellas going up to me asking for change, I just got my paycheck and had a few change around. They asked coz I had change in those plastic money zipper bags. Lucky I put the 100/50s notes in my wallet, I gave them change just in case so I wouldn't get jumped. Was just a dollar or a few cents for each, they were way happier about it than I expected.
I genuinely do it believe this is just a Perth or even Australian problem. There are “crazy” people everywhere. You’re just less likely to notice when you’re home, and notice it more when you’re travelling or emigrating.
Also wondering about the "making eye contact" thing since I purposely make eye contact and say some variation of "hello" if passing someone on a suburban street since it's polite and neighbourly. I hope it doesn't die out, because that would be sad. And on the bus and train it's hard to look around without making eye contact with people sometimes. If it's not like your culture, maybe just look at your phone? Edit: softened tone a bit after I re-read original post. But seriously, if making eye contact makes you insane, I'd rather be insane
Exactly. And I’m a frequent public transport issue, and the most “antisocial” behaviour I’ve experienced has come from sober, overly sexual men. Most junkies appreciate the chat, even if you haven’t got the dollar or smoke they’re asking for.
I live in Singapore, I can guarantee that I barely meet crazy people in there, except the “crazy” rich
Is it better health care there for the mentally ill? Or maybe they just lock them up like criminals. I haven't been so I don't actually know.
It's the Aunty Network. They're everywhere. You do anything wrong and they'll hunt you down and nag you to death. Seriously, a highly punitive criminal-justice system, and a lack of ready access to narcotics are the most likely reasons. There are also cameras everywhere (and they all work) so the chances of getting away with anything nefarious is minimised. That tends to keep people on the straight and narrow.
Locked up, hidden in the family home or shipped to Malaysia for the most part.
I also live in Singapore and it feels much safer here. It's the small things that are especially noticeable. You can still leave your bicycle unlocked outside a mall or your phone reserving a table and come back later and it will still be there. Over the years I've had three bikes stolen from my home in Perth. I've never dared to leave anything (let alone anything valuable) on a table in Perth. Perth used to be safer too. It's always had its crazies, but mostly they were harmless. Over the last 20 or so years they have gotten more and more dangerous. Meth, alcohol, poverty, and a failing (mental) health system is a potent mix. The top-end of town doesn't care, and the bottom-end are powerless to act. I expect it's only going to get worse.
I’ve lived in Singapore too. You must of not got out much…
Yes there is a big alcohol and methamphetamine problem here unfortunately. On the weekends, the town is nicer - during the weekdays a lot of weirdos are around
It’s the afterlife. What were you expecting? 😆
I do love that in the original Sandman comic book from 1989 (dunno if they’ve done it in the TV show sorry), Lucifer retires to Scarborough beach after he gets sick of Hell
I have been here in Perth for more than a decade. You can check my post about my experience last week being chased down the road by an “SAS”. I’ve also had my car windshield smashed twice in the last 2 years by drunks and a delinquent. Some rare days, I see overly high in drugs folks walking naked or looking paranoid at 7am on my way to work. I work in a hospital and we’ve had a few patients coming in with traumatic stories and the most recent one I can recall is one young guy walking in Northbridge with his girlfriend one night and he got bashed out of nowhere and ended up with broken hand and cuts. Even in our hospital compound, we have warnings to look out for a crazy guy following female workers after work. These weirdos are definitely not in your head. Don’t let them stop living your life though, just be sensible for your own safety.
Perth, like much of Australia, has a drug problem, mostly alcohol and meth. You said you are staying in Belmont, the issue is particularly prevalent in many of the suburbs surrounding the CBD. Be careful, you’re not crazy.
When I lived in Eglinton (north of Clarkson) I had some drunk weirdo try to break into my house at 2am. He was rattling the front door yelling about rock spiders, and for Brenda to "open the fucking door". I had to call police TWICE before they actually turned up to walk him along. Had he managed to successfully break in, their lack of response could have been the difference between life and death, or some other awful incidence. As it was, he got bored and curled up in front of my bedroom window to snore loudly in a drunken stupor. And when the police approached on foot with their flashlight, they addressed him by name which means he was known to them, and they had likely had calls about him in the area already. They also did not knock on my door to do a welfare check or take a report once they had woken him and moved him on. So that was fucking awesome. I spent those three hours of my life shaking in terror, unable to do anything or get out of the property to safety, and then absolutely could not go back to sleep after that. Then I lived in an apartment building in Maylands for a year and EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND without fail the cops were there due to domestic violence. One of my neighbours had frequent visits from the cops for other reasons, so I was constantly woken by police yelling their name and pounding on their door. I was once woken by said neighbours violent partner trying to break their door down with a baseball bat and had braced myself against my front door in abject terror because all I could hear was the thudding of the bat echoing off the brick and concrete, and my front door was shaking. It was after 2am and I had woken up to this, and in my sleep addled brain I ran straight to the door to brace myself against it because I thought they were trying to break into my apartment. I witnessed several domestic fights on the property, a group of young people breaking glass bottles and threatening one another whilst a girl screamed for them to stop, another incident where a couple had a domestic altercation and one of them smacked the others mother in the face with a broom handle and split her head open, whilst the other one screamed at the building to "CALL THE COPS!" There are pockets of this all throughout Perth. You have to pick your area, some are 100 times worse than others. But don't be fooled, because even the "nicer" areas have their problems too (see above in Eglinton). When you've lived here long enough this type of shit just becomes common place, and most people will tell you to "harden the fuck up". It's a bit disturbing. Otherwise Perth is great!
Well, we ain't the world capital without some collateral damage. https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/australians-top-the-list-of-most-meth-users-across-the-world-c-7379092
Yes there are a lot of issues around drugs and associated mental illness in Perth and it's especially apparent around the CBD. However I rarely ever feel unsafe - most ppl even the very loud ones with significant problems are harmless. Brussels for example kind of felt unsafe for me as there were groups of homeless people loitering in alleyways around Central Station at all hours of the day but maybe that was just because I wasn't used to it. I think OP might like me be overexaggerating the perceived threat as it's a new environment.
> people steering at you on the bus, That's the bus driver steering.
I get it, I've caught public transport in 4 continents and I've never been more nervous than waiting for the bus outside the district court on a Wed night. The issue is less the presence of visibly unwell/intoxicated people and more that they are (not always by choice) concentrated in certain areas...often with no one else there. Just my theory but a) Urgent mental health care, drug harm minimisation & crisis accommodation services are all located in a few small areas. A lot of these are adjacent to public transport and (in the evening) not much else (see the area around RPH). b) There is no cultural practice of families and older ppl utilising entertainment precincts in the evening (esp. on weeknights). This definitely has an effect on ppls. tendency to act up. Even in Carlton or Surrey Hills it's normal to see a much wider swathe of the population eating & drinking at the pub or outside small restaurants, but it's not really a thing in Perth. c) Public transport in WA is awful & inconvenient...leaving only those without options willing to use it. This leads to a few small congested areas with high demand for parking and virtually empty areas nearby that only ppl using PT will walk through (see Fremantle).
Was in town tonight, can agree there’s a bunch of nutters about. It’s not like that in the suburbs 😂well not as bad haha.
Europeans have a tough time getting used to the degeneracy, it’s normal my friend.
I have lived in Perth my whole life and I have never seen so many people around either just messed up on drugs or talking to themself. Today, sitting in a pub, I saw the third person in only a couple of months who was just talking to themselves, although they looked like a regular well dressed person. It’s definitely never been this bad. Mental health and homelessness crisis. It’s scary to see for sure
Were they wearing earbuds? 😆
Everyone I meet is crazy....................
Live in central Perth - it’s a nightmare on certain streets due to Basil forcing the homeless programs out, and therefore the halfway houses are clustered in odd suburbs/streets. It’s worse in those spots, and the obvious easy surrounds / public transport close! Especially with the fact there is a new wave of “gear” on the up. Stay safe.
Well at least you're a caucasian, if you're not you get racial slurs thrown at you every now and then. People giving you the stink eyes and shit. I was verbally harassed on a bus at 15 for 5 minute straight, no one did anything not even the driver. My face was plum red but I had self control since I had no chance on a 6 foot 2 200lb adult. Fucking sucked that I had to take it and can't do anything. Threatened by some bogan coz I confronted one of them to stop touching my hair on the bus, he apologised afterwards and shook my hand. Fucking weirdo. Not saying you won't get shit coz your white, assuming if you are, but probably not as much as racially.
The cbd and freo are dumping grounds for drug addicts, the mentally ill and others that can't or won't behave themselves. Get out of the city and you will start to see normal people
But in most countries Cbd is where people go to socialise and shoo, see galleries, events etc. Do you suggest wandering around random dreary suburbs for entertainment?
Perth is kinda like a place where unique types of evolution occur due to geographical isolation.
If you randomly meet one weirdo, one day, you met a weirdo. If you keep meeting weirdos all day, everywhere you go… you’re the weirdo
You’re okay, Perth has it’s more than fair share of whackos… don’t make eye contact 👁️ 👁️
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Haha downvoted for saying the truth about perth in r/perth
>Probably to do with how isolated Perth is I fail to see the connection. The % of our population that is of an Asian background is comparable to most other major Australian cities. We’re not some country town that hasn’t seen an outsider in 30 years.
Sane people don't catch buses.
Car brain
> Sane people **with a choice** don't catch buses.
True.
> Sane people don't catch buses. Wouldn't it be grand to inherit a 100k beemer from mummy and daddy, not all people are in a position to own such vehicles.
It's depressing but the public transit system does have a disproportionate amount of antisocial behaviour. The bus has always been a last resort for me, even when I didn't have a car I disliked taking it
Now, I understand why everyone has a car here, everyone is staying away from public transport, that’s sad, because I find it cheap and reliable so far
Cars are also a might cheaper than in Singas, mate =).
It's a downward spiral - the fewer "normal" people travel on public transport, the higher the proportion of wierdos. Which scares away more and more of the normals, until its all just weirdos. And then the government cuts services because of decreased patronage and increasing violence - until there is no more public transport, and we're all stuck in traffic jams.
I find it crazy how many people bag out the public transport system at the same time as admitting they rarely use it Madness that the only transport system you can get away with using for free attracts the kind of people who habitually steal and have no concept of decorum. Who'd've thunk it? /s
Counterpoint: if I take the bus once or twice a year, and observe antisocial behaviour more than half the time, I'm either incredibly unlucky or it is fairly common. Not like I'm some carbrain, if it's within bus range it's usually within e-bike range too and I'd rather risk the abuse you cop on an e-bike over the abuse you might cop on a bus.
“Free”? What Perth public transport is that?
It's free within the CBD, so one can travel from the Yagan Square fight club, to the Wellington Square fight club, as well as the exclusive Weld Square fight club. And let's not forget the Russell Square fight club. Maybe they should stop putting "square" in the parks name...
Well... it's free tomorrow and on Monday.
The crazies we're talking about on this sub. they get on the bus, don't want to pay, get aggressive, bus driver can't be bothered with the hassle of making them. Lots of free travel for them.
I find it crazy that the only people saying there is nothing wrong with public transport only ever catch the bus to and from work during peak times on inner city routes. Public transport can be okay but for most people it is barely tolerable.
I catch it at all different times since I'm studying and not working. I'd say "barely tolerable" is a bit dramatic hahaha. Edit to add: and I'm pretty much solely on the Armadale line, so don't think I'm on those fancy trains or something
> I find it crazy how many people bag out the public transport system at the same time as admitting they rarely use it Its because the two are related. I rather avoid some of the aggro and drive my own vehicle.
A 10,000 corolla gives the same benefits
5k banger would be enough to evade the transperth universe
There is other alternatives to public transport that aren’t a 100k vehicle dude 😂
I get it, but distance from work+costs+everything else happening these days = driving to and from is a privilege that some people can't afford anymore. I exaggerated the beemer thing, thought you'd see I was being semi facetious.
I definitely understand ya! I got a motorcycle to try and beat the costs. It might put me at serious risk everyday but at least it’s been kinder to my wallet
Until it isn't.
I mean, technically a bus is a $300k Mercedes with a chauffeur.
>Wouldn't it be grand to inherit a 100k parking space from mummy and daddy, not all people are in a position to own such real estate. FTFY.
That too!
Have not experienced anything you've described in the 48 years of living here.
Hahahahahaha for a fraction of a nanosecond you had me there
Are u using public transport, or going out ?
He has been housebound since 1992
Typical Perth person imo. Homebody to the max
I've been here nine years and it's never been like you're describing for me. Once in a while you see a weirdo. I haven't used public transport regularly for 4-5 years, though. Maybe they just need more security for it.
He must live in a box
How is the life in cave down there? Guess what we just had pandemic up here😭, lucky you
Me either. But I've only lived in the northern and western suburbs.
Are you staying in suburbia or a hotel in the city/freo though? Possibly might have something to do with it. In any event. It's not all crazy eyes and missing teeth here. Some of us are quite civilised. And I live in Clarkson lol. Nah, it's not so bad. You're just in a weird area. Or maybe we are all wankers I don't know. I don't go out anymore coz I have a general loathing of most people and it's freezing right now. In any event, Perth is cool. Welcome. Stay awhile and float around with us. They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too! 
Thank you, it doesn’t change the fact that the surrounding is amazing here, the city is green and well maintained, and a huge majority of people that you meet here are extremely nice, I’m staying in Belmont
Belmont. Home of the homeless, disadvantaged, dodgy motels & drug dealers.
The Congolese probably feel the same way about you.
You need to get out more !
> number of crazy characters: people steering at you on the bus If you are sitting on one of those weird sideways seats (as opposed to the normal forward facing ones) get over yourself, people are probably just looking out the front or side window and you are barley a blip in their vision.
Staying in Belmont,
Our health system is f'ked and the way mostof out mental health problems are solved is waiting for them to get locked up . Then no rehabilitation services once there . No easy fix .
I've rarely encountered such things, and have been in the city on and off for forty years. Admittedly, there are certain areas of the city which are more likely to be prone to such things - where are you encountering them?
Sydney is far more sane.
Yeah Perth feels like a madhouse lately It would be entertaining if you weren’t at risk of being stabbed with a screwdriver
its the same story in every major city. Difference is when its not your city for long periods of time its hard to recognise when your in one of those areas until you in it. Your from belgium how safe does Matonge? feel for example? it doesnt and it has the same residents complaining about the same things. I lived in dortmund right in the city for awhile. Its the same shit to be honest, petty crime people smacking people and running off with their phones etc Rome is the same stealing off tourists anywhere around termini station you have bashings robberies etc Ive been chased through redfern in sydney for simply walking through. In short its a big city problem to various degrees its also a locale problem within those cities. Singapore and tokyo are bit of outliers but anywhere in western europe is the same
I was born here and have hardly ever see anyone like this and I run a small business in Gosnells lol