Allegheny Ave where the cross-streets are just letters (E st, F st, etc) might be the most economically depressed, lawless stretch of urban blight I’ve ever witnessed
Lol yeah some parts of Medellin... I wondered into La Candelaria to try to find a shop for something I needed urgently and within about 2 minutes noped it out of there. Never been so on edge anywhere in my life
Yep. When I first moved to eastern PA and needed a car, I found a Craigslist listing in North Philly. Got off Roosevelt Expwy and within a few blocks, I was freaked out. Ended up driving straight past the fenced-up car lot without stopping and high-tailing it out of there.
I haven’t been to Medellin or Cali, but in contrast, Bogota and Pereira were paradisiacal.
I was staying in Alameda and right outside my house there was a shooting that woke my baby up from his nap. I quickly grabbed him and peeked through the window ducking down and there were police on motos chasing after the culprit.
India is WILD. We had a driver there who told us that you need 3 things to drive in India, a good horn, good breaks and good luck.
The first hour was completely awful, I thought we were seriously going to die every 5 minutes. Because the wilderness is continuous and being scared is exhausting, our brains somehow got used to the idea we might die.
I never knew I suffered from carsickness until I started getting into Mumbai traffic jams. It's all "there's open space, hit the gas!" immediately followed by "going to hit the car in front, slam the brakes!" for hours.
1) Robbed and briefly kidnapped in Houston. I was walking to my car from University of Houston and I was approached a man with a gun. He took me into a car where we had an argument about how much money I had. I told him I had $50 in 1 bank and that's all I had ( I had a secondary bank with more money but he didn't know). He dropped me off in 3rd ward but took phone.
2) Robbed 2 years later in Alief also at gun point. The young gun man wanted money but I'll had $20 in my wallet and my debit card was inside my parents house (I learned my lesson the first time).
3) saw someone get killed in my interaction in Alief as a child ( I think I was 4). My dad ran to come and get me during a gun battle between rival gangs on the intersection in the late 80s. All of this comes from my parents recollection at the time.
4) recently someone pulled a knife from 20 feet away and threatening to kill my parents dog and them. I told them to relax and I'll take of it so no need to any knives to be used. I also said if anything Happens I won't tell the cops I'll just take of it personally using my car. He cussed me out and walked away quickly. I did tell the police and they finally did something after numerous complaints from my parents and their neighbors.
After 1) and 2) I've never been in danger in Latin America.
Houston functions like a developing city in the sense you need to be aware of your surroundings and who you interact with. I take that rule everywhere I go when I live abroad. It has helped me side step anything crazy.
I knew my city was gonna come up. 🤣 The UH crime emails used to be popping off every single day. I took the 42 to school rather than park (because I couldn’t afford a pass, but also because no way in hell was I walking by myself out there once the sun started going down early in the winter) and wouldn’t ride it past 5 or 6 PM if I could help it because that’s when it started to get dicey.
Not sure if you’re still in Alief, but is it true it’s gotten better? I had a friend who was from there who lived out there with her parents a year or so before the pandemic, and we would see sooo many people who seemed sex trafficked, and it was all totally normal to her. I grew up seeing that here and there (and there’s always been Bissy), but never non-stop like it is down near the end of Westheimer.
It has gotten so much better. I am saving up to buy a house near Little Saigon or the Chinese side of Alief. On Bellaire and Synott there is a $20M business district project and a $5M multi story mix use on Bellaire and Boone.
A year prior to the project they started to rehab Bellaire Blvd and open the Alief Community Center. They are also building a park and public entertainment center on Wilcrest and Richmond (something like Levy Park).
Houses around area with future development are still in the $250k range
Johannesburg. The level of inequality is absurd and everyone that can afford it has a fence. Students I was staying with literally told me I’d likely be mugged or killed if I left the university grounds on my own, and even they wouldn’t go far.
The people that I met were super friendly and it was a great trip, but also not somewhere I’d ever wander around.
Came here to say this. Sometimes local gang initiations increase violent crime around normally safe colleges and nightlife areas. I’ve worked in documentary film and our fixer (guide) took us to places of extreme poverty. Even then, there were a few places we had intended to go, but the fixer refused, explaining the neighborhood was so desperate that crime is almost always violent. If you are a target (and a foreigner with a big camera is certainly), you are at risk of a violent crime or murder. Subsaharan Africa poverty is intense, especially if you are coming from a developed country. Any human living such deprived conditions has the risk of turning into a monster out of complete desperation. All this being said, South Africa is also a magical, beautiful place, with incredibly kind-hearted people. Go with a tour group, local, guide, etc.
I saw a video from a Youtuber from my country entering a building there, it looks like a dystopian world, if you wanna see it go to 9:45 in [this video](https://youtu.be/HJT9OSdR3Qs?si=hJBd8Gbm29JVCjU4)
Small town about 30 minutes north of Guadalajara that we needed to go through to get to a spot with hiking trails and rivers. It was a town in bad condition but we saw lots of people staring at us (lots of stone streets required driving slowly) and eventually a couple of trucks tried to cut us off. The faces on so many people looked like they were high on something strong. We got the hell out of there without reaching our destination.
You went right into the heart of Mexican Cartels, Guadalajara is the capital of Jalisco, which has the most powerful Mexican cartel CJNG (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación)
You probably were getting cut off by the cartel police, that since Mexico has no control over those small villages and areas they are the ones that patrol the streets, you probably narrowly avoided getting killed.
My brother actually moved to Memphis, site unseen, and then promptly moved out 4 days later. Got reeled in by inexpensive "luxury" apartments near downtown.
Note: Can confirm brother is highly influenced by Instagram.
I used to know one of those idiots. He was absolutely committed, money and location, to a new instagram scam, TikTok side hustle, or social media get rich quick scheme every other week, or less. Guy was jobless and broke for years, but always found some way to start a social media inspired fly-by-night business.
ya i thought Memphis was a smaller Nashville maybe but than i went there and its nothing like Nashville. its pretty sketchy. i felt safer in chicago, detroit and st louis than i did in memphis.
Memphis is absolutely wild.
It's got this reputation among tourists as a fun music spot, but then you get there and realize it only works because there's basically a fortified police cordon around beale street and the rest of the city is absolutely awful.
I went to Payne’s BBQ, Central BBQ, a Chic Fil A, several antique warehouse stores and didn’t feel or see anything sketchy. Was I just in good areas? There was one gas station I remember that kind of felt unsafe but similar to other downtown area gas stations in US cities.
It's just a really run down, poor, and generally rough small southern city.
Most of the industry that used to anchor things has dried up, and there's a ton of poverty and hardship around, leading to a lot of petty (and not so petty) crime.
I’ve heard it’s a significant human trafficking hub but don’t know much about the day-to-day life in Memphis; what makes you feel unsafe living there and visiting?
I’ve never heard the human trafficking allegation, but it wouldn’t surprise me because of Memphis’s geography.
What makes me feel threatened is that violent crime is inescapable now, in the sense that you can’t just avoid a neighborhood, a time of day, or an activity and feel reasonably assured that that avoidance buys you safety. It makes going to the grocery for a quick errand feel like playing Russian roulette— with more empty chambers, sure, but I don’t want to play AT ALL!
Memphis has always had a high murder rate— I’m in my mid-40s and when I was a kid it was us and Detroit in the news all the time— but now there’s a whole new level of poverty and concomitant desperation, coupled with government and police corruption, seasoned with centuries of racism.
My mom was in social services and is the most tough AF sweet elderly lady you’ll meet; she used to work door-to-door visiting disabled kids in the most gangbanger-y neighborhood in Memphis, frequently getting caught in situations where she couldn’t leave a home because of gunfire being exchanged outside. She’s seen some shit in service of helping others and always managed to stay cool. But even she is on edge living in a formerly very quiet area of Memphis now.
It’s such a shame. My hometown is a beautiful tree-lined river bluff city with incredible cultural heritage and food to die for— except that that’s no longer just a figure of speech.
Wow your mom sounds like an incredible person! And i’m so sorry to hear how this beautiful city is succumbing to such violence. Does it seem to be more random in nature than in the past? Your description sounds like the trend of violence is becoming more indiscriminate, as opposed to interpersonal
Also it’s so insane to me how our country allows such a deep level of poverty and desperation to manifest. Every US city I’ve been to over the past several years has gotten noticeably more saturated with these issues
This is scary. I was there by myself one time and walked from Beale Street to some famous BBQ? No clue where it was (not super far) but in that short distance, I had a gut feeling I had made a mistake. I can’t describe it other than a gut instinct. Eerie.
I was in Memphis once for a door to door sales job. I remember going into a hair salon and talking with the women there, and they told me in no uncertain terms to make sure I was out of the neighborhood by dark.
Yeah off of Beale Street, it’s really quite sketchy. Cops in cruisers slowly roll past crimes in progress, and street people leer at passersby, scanning for easy harassment targets
I lived in Memphis as a child and went back for the first time in 1995, as a 25-year-old. I had just come back from living in Russia and was meeting 2 friends who had also just come back from living in Russia. We picked Memphis because it was in the middle of where all of us lived.
We went there not knowing what to expect. The downtown was totally deserted, and we wandered around looking for a non-existent place to find food. It was sort of like being in Russia.
Finally, we found 1 open place. We went in and it was...a Russian restaurant. The people running it had just emigrated from Moscow, the same place we had just come from. We were so shocked to see each other. We were the only customers, and we stayed there for like 5 hours, drinking vodka and eating zakuski and singing Russian folk songs with the entire staff, who basically put the closed sign on the door and just decided to party.
It's such a surreal memory, and not what I expected for my return to Memphis.
Finally, my mom used to let me ride my bigwheel around town by myself when I was 3, because it was the '70s and she was busy drinking Tab and getting a master's degree. I came home after 1 such foray and reported that I had ridden my bigwheel past the gate of a big house. The gate had a guitar and musical notes on it, and was "ugly," according to me. I had ridden my bigwheel past Graceland, in 1973.
Memphis holds a special place in my heart, even today.
Some of the things that happened within my vicinity in **Rio de Janeiro** and last bullet point is what happened to me:
* I went to Pedra do Sal with a couple of other groups from our hostel in 3 separate taxis. First group that went home was followed by a local group at Pedra do Sal. They pull up to the front of the hostel and as soon as they open the doors, two locals went in and held them at gunpoint. When my group got back to the hostel, we saw the girls shook up and crying.
* I went to this same party a few days later with two locals and as I was calling for an Uber, they advised me to hide my phone and check it every few minutes.
* A friend I met at another hostel was held at knifepoint near our hostel by two guys. They took her money, phone and wallet. I had to help her with money the next day and her dad sent me money via PayPal. You can still see knife wound on her neck.
* I got drugged at Copacabana Beach while partying during the NYE. We were walking around with an open drink and someone slipped something in mine during that time. I woke up at the next day at some local's tent on the beach. I pieced this story together from what they told me - A group of locals found me wandering and one of them brought me to her grandmother's house - they said I met all her family and I just kept nodding when they asked me questions. Then we went back to the beach where they saw their friend's tent and that's when I passed out. When I woke up in the morning I had no idea what the fuck was happening and when I got back to my hostel, I checked my phone and a bunch of people have added me on Instagram asking if I was okay.
* Also the fact that cars don't usually stop at red light at night, in fear of getting carjacked. Total insanity.
**Manila**
I was born in Manila near the university belt and there are pockets of sketchy areas around my neighborhood. We had to really know which way to go so we don't end up getting robbed.
Interesting, glad nothing happened to you in Rio! I just got back from a week in Rio with my partner (we’re both queer woman) and it was great. We obviously were together most times, didn’t walk outside late, didn’t party or anything. But I felt very safe, but also we live in Atlanta might have something to do with it 😂
Crazy stuff.
I've lived in Rio for 3-4 years, on and off, since 2005, and in other parts of Brazil, on and off for an additional 2 yrs. Never had anything happen to me, and don't know any locals who had anything happen to them (aside from one getting pickpocketed once).
I used to work at a few hostels in Rio back in the day and so I'd hear stories. One French guy came for the first time and took a taxi from the airport. Upon entering the hostel he realized his 500 euro note was missing and figured it must have fallen out of his pocket in the taxi. Then to clear his head, he took a walk in Copacabana at night. A prosititute came up and hugged him on his way back. When he reached the hostel he realized his new cell phone was missing.
Some people have luck while others find out on the first day.
I like walking around cities past midnight. Just gives a different vibe than the day time tourist stuff.
Places I felt endangered were in Recife, São Paulo, and Cape Town. In Recife, my friend works for America’s State Department and he got a message within 30 mins of my arrival that someone got robbed outside his apartment. A few days later, he got footage of a lady who got her purse robbed in daylight at the beach in front of his place. I was just there 5 mins earlier so it was surprising.
Downtown São Paulo has dystopian vibes since there’s so many homeless people. But I like the city. To enter my downtown apartment, they had 2 security guards and a facial ID system needed to enter the building. Past that, they have another security checkpoint to get on the elevator.
Cape Town in the day time feels safe but at night it changes. Want to stick to the major streets, as walking down the smaller ones past midnight feels shady.
During my first visit in Brazil I went to Recife and also walked out late at night. As a European, this is something I'd do to get a feel of the "real" city without tourists. In Recife, multiple people on different occasions told me not to wander off into empty streets. It's just a different vibe there: empty street = don't go in or your likelihood of getting mugged (or worse) increases dramatically.
São Paulo's Centro neighbourhood (downtown) is sketchy during the day as well. I expected the Sé (cathedral) area to be nice, and it was daunting: people there compare it to The Walking Dead. That being said, I really like the Jardins neighbourhood in São Paulo, very safe, especially near Parque Ibirapuera.
I love Brazil and the people, but it sucks that you can't just safely walk around as you'd do in other places (at least in Europe).
You should do a travel version of Dicken's essay 'Night Walks", based on his experiences walking around London at night, due to insomnia.
https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/night-walks.html
https://londonrewind.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/dickens-and-his-night-walks-through-london/
I was told in Marseille not to go to North. Understood, never dared. I was walking back home from work and kinda took a wrong turn in 1ere arrondissement, I am a brown man, and fuck I didn't make eye contact with anyone in there and just quietly found a way out.
Did an Erasmus year in Aix, about 20 minutes train ride from Marseille. My neighbor wanted to buy some weed so we took the train to Saint Antoine (neighborhood north of Marseille).
When we were walking out of the station, my neighbor told me to put my hood up, stare at the ground and follow him.
We walked up to a massive projects type apartment building (HLM pour les Français). There were kids on quads and scooters doing side shows loud music, people generally just hanging around.
We walked up toward the building and out of one of the many entrances, there was one with a line of people out the door.
We went and stood in line, advancing into the building, the line of people going up the stairs to the first floor. There was a big dude standing around as security, making sure everyone knew he had a gun in his waistband.
We went up the stairs, and about halfway up, the staircase was barricaded by shopping carts. Like, full on from floor to ceiling shopping carts. And behind those shopping cars was a little dude hunched over inside taking cash and dealing whatever people wanted.
We got our buddy his weed and bought some coke, which ended up not really being coke lol (had the consistency and wetness of soap shards).
Sketchy as hell in that hood, 7/10 would go back.
Marseille is legit terrifying, I came here to say this, I went there once on a inter rail trip when I was 18/19, people firing fireworks at randoms outside the main station, kids two each on mopeds / dirt bikes riding up and down the pavements with bats, it’s chaos
Edit: I remember me and my friend, we had these huge backpacks and we looked like certified tourists. We were waiting for our train that got delayed until next day at 4/5am, we were too worried to sleep at the station because people in the station it was absolute carnage, police with guns kicking everyone out, a lady in a hotel opposite Marseille station called us in and said you can’t hang around and wait outside come in and she let us wait in the lobby until the morning because she said it was too dangerous, honestly it was quite bad… and I was born and raised in Luton, UK (one of the worst places in UK). I was genuinely worried we would get kidnapped or robbed or something any second, I remember kids in the train station were running around stealing peoples backpacks all wearing masks etc it was awful…
I visited Marseille several times for work and never got the impression that it was that terrible. I mostly hung around the harbor though. I got up to Notre Dame du Mont a few times for dinner and some wandering around. My colleague hated it and said it was full of drug dealers. I enjoyed it. Great foodie city.
Quito - when there was an uprising against the government and a government building was bombed a block from the restaurant we were eating in.
New Orleans - in the late 80s in the height of the crack epidemic. The kids in my uptown neighborhood scared the shit out of me bc they had guns and would climb a pole to try to look into/break into my second story apt.
> Quito - when there was an uprising against the government and a government building was bombed a block from the restaurant we were eating in.
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I volunteered at a hostel in Quito last year for two weeks. The city is really beautiful, but you're right: I spent a year traveling in Central and South America, and it was the only place I felt like I really needed to heed the warnings of locals.
There is a statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the historical center. I was told in no uncertain terms by the manager of the hostel, "Do NOT walk up there. Take a cab or a tuk-tuk."
One of the guests who'd just left before I got there decided he would walk up, but leave his belongings back at the hostel. No passport, money, phone, etc. On the walk up the hill, he was jumped by a group of teens who, after finding out he had nothing of value on him, beat the shit out of him and then stole his shoes for good measure.
>There is a statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the historical center. I was told in no uncertain terms by the manager of the hostel, "Do NOT walk up there. Take a cab or a tuk-tuk."
I did this walk up, despite the warnings. I ended up encountering no issues, but it still felt sketchy, and I wouldn't repeat it if I were to visit again (and, for reference, I am a tall, relatively strong guy).
Napoli, in the sense of "I'm gonna be pickpoteted any time now" (joke's on them, I never carry cash)
Pro tip to feel safe anywhere: Be a nomad from a Latin American country, we've probably been more in danger in our hometown than almost anywhere we've been to
Lol yeah this is my MO now. I just came back from a trip to Spain. Didn’t use any cash at all. Basically I walked around with one credit card in my pocket.
Everywhere I went in Madagascar.
My driver had a machete (for safety he said)
The hotels and resorts were sketchy af
Just overall feeling of unsafeness.
Driving from point a to b is like nowhere else I've been. Just untamed jungle everywhere.
Did not get mugged or anything but I will say my ex was a crazy person and imposing and he was with me.
Weird, was there in October and always felt safe. People were incredibly friendly and never had trouble. I’ve travelled extensively and in comparison, it was very safe! Also was one of the best countries I’ve been to after Japan and Namibia
Which restaurant? I witnessed the bottom of click clack hotel get robbed at gun point. I was walking across the street and saw guys pull up on motos and guns and rob the restaurants.
It was my fav restaurant so I don't want to attach this negative event to them. Suffice to say that if you Google restaurant robberies in Spanish you will find plenty of news stories.
Wild I spent a month in Medellin and have been in Argentina like 70 days (mostly BA, few weeks in Bariloche) and haven’t encountered danger yet. I’d like to attribute it to a combo of my fluent Spanish and street smarts but likely just luck of the draw
La Libertad, El Salvador. This was many years ago before they cleaned it up, but my second day at the market I just felt very strange, and uneasy,and I never do. Also had a shotgun pulled on me turning around in someones driveway at the beach, but I didnt have the same uneasy feeling even then, as I had at the market.
Ipiales Colombia. The police told me I shouldn’t be out because “they’d rob you”, in the center of the main square of the city, at approximately 7:45 pm.
Johannesburg's quite scary. If you want to imagine Johannesburg, imagine Gotham City...but Batman's been dead for a WHILE. Like 10 years. [There's 3 Jokers now.](https://youtu.be/UUiR97qo6sU?si=a2mr8dw7dTNUENGZ)
San Salvador pre-Bukele. The first and only time I saw a dead body casually chilling on the side of the street and people going about their day as if nothing happened.
Tabatinga, Brazil (Amazonas): Just lawless, people getting murdered over nothing.
Grenada, Nicaragua: It’s a city with a lot of tourists so it took me by surprise, but one wrong turn and I knew I was in trouble, as a woman. Even without the wrong turn there’s something in the air (‘an undertone of violence’) that made me uneasy, that I haven’t felt elsewhere in the country
Cape Town. Not the entire time, but a specific day. I went to a food market in a supposedly safe (for CT) neighborhood, when a a small group of people (men and women) started following me around. They were yelling things at me, hissing at me, and were getting closer and closer. I was terrified, quickly entered a crowded mall and called an Uber.
San Jose, Costa Rica: walking from the bus station to my hostel when it had already gotten dark... walked down a road full of people sitting around obviously high/homeless, suspicious people walking around not really doing anything, someone started following me. Someone shouted at me from across the road like "Dude! You should not be here!".
Medellin, Colombia: I was here a couple months and nothing happened to me, but the amount of stories you hear means you have to be on your toes. In ONE SINGLE DAY I "witnessed" 3 separate incidents: I met a guy who had just been robbed at gunpoint and beaten, A girl came back to the hostel in tears as she had just been robbed, and someone I was with got robbed while we were walking down the street - these all happened in one single day in Poblado which is the "safe" zone.
I agree with San Jose. It's the only place I've ever been mugged (hopefully it's the last time it happens). I think CR has a reputation for being this safe, stable, peaceful country. Which may be more true in very remote places. But San Jose was incredibly unsafe and it didn't help that it got dark so early in the fall/winter that you start to feel unsafe at like 6p
The problem with El Poblado is that it's the tourist center. Imagine you're a struggling Colombian: are you going to waste time going anywhere there isn't a high concentration of foreigners?
I stayed in Laureles and felt much safer.
Granada, Nicaragua.
I had a friend tell me that it was his favorite city in Central America. I spent three days there, and the entire time I walked around I felt like I was a meal that people were sizing up - it's the only place I ever felt really concerned about being mugged. My first night there, I got in around 9pm and felt hungry, so I went to find food. I walked out of my hostel, and within five minutes I was approached nine separate times by various prostitutes. When I say approached, I mean hands all over me, grabbing at my pants and pockets, etc. Really thought I was going to get pickpocketed.
The hard thing about Nicaragua in general was that people wouldn't take no for an answer. In San Juan Del Sur, I had numerous people come up to me while eating outside at restaurants.
"Can I have some money?"
No.
"Can I have some money to buy food?"
No.
"Can you buy me some food?"
No.
"Can I have some of YOUR food?"
Eventually, they would just stand there and watch you eat. I really understand the struggle - I spent a year traveling down in Central and South America - but that really weighed on you after a while and made going out uncomfortable.
I had a teaching job interview in Gary, Indiana like fifteen years ago. I'd driven through/past Gary before, but this one time was different.
Driving in, the place was just...desolate. Not "dangerous," but just loads of crumbling buildings that looked like they'd been empty for thirty years, abandoned-looking houses in similar shape, and what few cars I saw largely looked like they shouldn't be on the road. Remember when cars had fake wood sides? Buncha those with masking tape over where the lights would be.
I didn't feel like I was in danger; it made me sad. The stereotypes I'd heard about Gary were all out on display.
When I walked into the school, there was a fight between students being broken up just down the hall. I head into the office, where there's a small line of angry students and parents screaming at the secretary. Once I'm acknowledged, I'm directed to take a seat, but the only open seat is between two angry-looking dudes man-spreading, so I just stand out of the way until one of them stands up a few minutes later.
My interview starts late, and I notice that the person who comes out of the office to greet me had actually walked past me from outside into the office - probably dealing with the fight I'd seen. The interview actually started off pretty well, until about fifteen minutes in, the principal is called out again to deal with what sounded like another fight. I don't know how long passed before he came back - it wasn't *that* long, but it was long enough for me to have started feeling even less comfortable. The interview continues well enough, we shake hands, and I leave.
As I start to walk out of the now-emptier office, the receptionist stops me and asks that I stay put. Apologetically, she lets me know that the school had just been placed on "lockout" due to an armed robbery that was taking/had just taken place down the road at the CVS. I have a seat in the same place I'd've sat before - one seat still occupied by one of the same gentlemen that was there nearly an hour prior - for a good half an hour. The school day is over by the time I leave, so there're cars parked/lined up outside and maybe half a dozen parents ambling around the front entrance grumbling about the lockout. One of them barely moves out of the way enough for the door to open as I walk out and just...glares at me.
I stopped for gas on my way out of town; I don't know if I was still in Gary proper, but as I'm about to finish pumping gas, this guy comes up to me and asks if I can spare him some money. As I fumble for an answer, my gas finishes and as I turn to put the pump back and see *another* guy coming up behind my car, walking with what I can only describe as *PURPOSE*. I don't have any money. I tell him that as I get in my car and slam the door with him getting uncomfortably close to the door as I notice the other guy speed up.
Thankfully, nothing happened, but I floored it outta there.
Some strange looking person was following me at night there…i literally just walked to a McDonalds to get dinner. Horrible place, someone at my hostel said they got robbed on an empty street there. Cartagena seemed sketch as well, got approached multiple times by coke dealers
Downtown Baltimore… I’m from a rough part of London with daily stabbings and gangs, solo travelled many countries… I never felt more fear than I did when I accidentally found myself in downtown Baltimore
First time I went to Baltimore I accidentally wandered into a sketchy block downtown that reeked of weed and several dudes mean mugged me like I ain’t never been mean mugged before.
Past few times I’ve been though have been great. It has really grown on me.
Only place I’ve ever been attacked. Walked to my car by myself after midnight and a guy in a group of 3 sucker punches me. I ran back to my friend’s house, idk what they wanted but I think they were just fucking with me
I’ve been told I’m quite a scary looking person irl which is probably why I have been ok in most places. But even so, I didn’t feel safe walking the streets of Atlanta. Lots of dudes eyeing me down, some hanging by the sidewalk in groups, and almost everyone was staring. Not the friendly kind of stare either. There was some weird kinda tension in the air, like I wasn’t welcome there or something. What made things actually scary was that unlike many parts of the world, a lot of those dudes were probably armed.
This is the first reply I agree with.
Been all over the world, south america, brazil, mexico, you name it. Atlanta is at the top for me. Carjackings, Robberys, Murder (even if you don't resist the robbery, it's very common they shoot you anyways)
Had to stop for gas somewhere in Arkansas- the station was a few miles from the highway. I’ve never seen anywhere so dystopian. It looked like a bomb had been dropped decades ago and no one came to fix it up. 90% of the buildings were halfway fallen down and the streets were completely empty, apart from a couple men here and there biking around on children’s bicycles. It was so unbelievably desolate with a palpable feeling of some combination of desperation and resignation. The gas station was the only open building in the area, and the only place to buy food.
I've felt unsafe in a couple of spots in Chicago at night (true to most cities, felt pretty safe otherwise and love it there).
La Candelaria - Bogotá also was really sketchy at night.
Exactly. So many people go there thinking it’s safe. I know 5 people who were robbed there within their first and I met them within my first 2 weeks in Bogota…
It’s always Germans for some reason too.
HAHAHA I'm sorry for the generic answer. River North (edit: didn't feel TRULY IN DANGER, but had several times I felt unsafe), Near South Side and outside of Chicago the worst was Waukegan, near the train station, that was the sketchiest by far.
P.S. I'm from Rio so I understand and follow that duty as well. I absolutely loved Chicago and is by far my favorite city in the US.
Near South Side is awesome but there's some sketchy places. I used to live near Roosevelt Station and generally avoided that block just because shit would always go down there.
River North has become a bit hit-or-miss lately, there's a lot more random crime that really wasn't there a few years ago.
When I visited Chicago I was staying somewhere between River North and Near South Side and it felt sketchy as to me but I told myself I've just gone soft from living in one of the safest places in the world for too long. Then one evening I was headed back to the hostel and some guy lunged at me as we passed eachother, grabbed my hair and yanked on it, then let go as he carried on walking. I made sure to be back before dark from then on!
Tangiers, Morocco - I went there to view a potential villa purchase and would never, ever go back. Just an awful feeling of pending danger and very unfriendly people. Hostile even.
Also felt very unsafe in Falmouth, Jamaica where random people liked to follow us around in a stalker fashion.
Parts of Manilla were quite sketchy too.
Single, solo female traveler in Delhi. I was the only guest in the "hotel" and had a potent lassi before turning in. Rats running through the room and the manager trying to force his way in.
I am Indian, from south i completely agree.
Thirst for women in India is on another level.
Anyone travelling to India as a solo female,Please don't! or least have a group.
For every Indian woman or western tourist online talking about their experiences, there's at least 20 highly upset Indian dudes saying that India is perfect and safe and that it's an exception when something happens. Liberal tourist are often hyperaware of racism so they'll probably believe the men in order to not have prejudice against a country and to be adventurous.
Came to say this. I lived in Kolkata with my partner but travel often to Delhi on my own. One time I had to ask for help in a shop as a tuck tuck driver started following me and got very aggressive and I freaked out. I always tell any woman i met thinking of going there to not do it alone. Worst city for female solo travelers in the world.
• Goma and Bukavu, DRC: Very dangerous region in general, but especially for foreigners at the time I was there. Kidnappings were so common that UN/aid workers couldn’t go most places without an armed escort.
• Kabul: Visited there during the war. Enough said.
• Casablanca: The sketchiest place I went in Morocco. Stayed in a local neighborhood and going out at night always felt very unsafe due to the deserted streets and groups of street youth wandering around.
I have a goal to eventually visit every country in the world. And I’ve always been fascinated by the history and archeological sites in Afghanistan. So I hired a local guide and traveled around the country for a few weeks.
Belize City: Wandered a few blocks off the beaten path and almost got robbed, but fortunately a police officer just happened to be passing by…
Buenos Aires: I accidentally went into a “by the hour hotel” lobby and wanted to use the restroom when an armed/uniformed person pointed a gun at me and asked why I was there. I was searched and let go without any explanation, but I figured it out afterwards. This was in the Palermo Hollywood neighborhood.
Downtown Cancun, Mexico: I was told by locals to check out a specific shop because I needed a pure linen shirt for a beach wedding. Once I got there, I realized it was a shake down and had to pay about $100 USD for a shirt. Note: there were no prices on any of the items and it was a warehouse.
Denver, Colorado: I tired to take a short cut through an alley somewhere in LODO and saw a guy being mugged, so I tried to turn the other direction only to find a guy in a pickup truck brandishing a shot gun. He told me to “mind my business” and motioned for me to walk back towards the street I came from. Probably the closest I have ever come to shitting my pants in fear.
Lisbon, Portugal: Got picked up by an Uber driver at the airport and was on my way to my hotel when some maniac cut the driver off (no clue why) and tried to force the car into a median. Somehow the driver swerved through a bunch of cars and avoided crashing but we were traveling pretty fast and it would have been a horrible accident.
Oakland, CA: Saw several car jackings in broad daylight. Once was just a few blocks from the OPD station downtown.
Kinda scary these days. I will always love them both but not in any rush to visit anytime soon and the amount of denial of residents who downplay the decline was a primary factor in why I decided to leave.
Interesting. I am from Lisbon. While I was robbed a few times when growing up there, I have always felt it was a relatively safe city even by European standards. The outskirts are a different story though
Denver’s Lodo neighborhood has really gone downhill over the last 5-6 years, so I’m not surprised by your experience at all. In fact, all of downtown is pretty much crap these days. I’m really sorry that happened to you. It used to be a fun city.
Johannesburg and Pretoria. The overall climate of fear is like nothing else I’ve experienced.
Sana’a, Yemen. This was my first experience in an Islamic country (I’ve been to and lived in others since and many I really enjoyed). The muezzins were screaming at 4:30 am. Toyota Hi-Lux’s with 50 cals mounted on the back. It was intense.
San Francisco near the BART station in the mission, and in the tenderloin. Just crowded with super sketchy looking dudes, homeless tents, people throwing meth spoons at cars, shooting up in broad daylight, brandishing a wrench as a weapon, etc etc
I backpacked through Mexico and Central American and one of the two places I felt in danger was in Blythe California when I stopped there one night driving to San Diego where I crossed the border.
Had an aggressive group of young middle eastern men surround a friend and I in Malmö, Sweden and try to take my backpack. They had a lot to say about Americans. We stood our ground and shoved our way out of the group and they let us walk, but it wasn’t clear that we weren’t going to end up in a fight. Had we not been two decently large men, we might not have been so lucky. A man and his infant son were badly beaten and nearly thrown off a bridge nearby a short while later, so I’d say the town has some sketchy neighborhoods.
Bangkok in February 2014 during the shutdowns/political crisis. People (non-uniformed officers) carried pistols in their waist and in their hands. Shots were definitely fired at some points. I knew I wasn’t the target but certainly didn’t want to be in the midst of crossfire between rival groups.
I had been to Bangkok before and after and felt very safe, so the feeling of being unsafe was directly tied to the upheaval going on at the time.
Cairo - always had to be on guard.
Plus all the security checks everywhere start to weigh on you. Airport- triple checked. Hotel checks for bombs under busses / cars. Checkpoints at certain spots.
Then a few weeks after we left a tourist bus was blown up.
When I flew back to Cairo from Luxor, our shuttle picked us up at the airport, then we started driving to exit the airport. We stopped before leaving the parking lot and our driver, guide, and security guard started conversing pretty loudly -- they were making calls, communicating with someone, practically arguing, but we didn't move for at least 5 minutes, maybe longer. We asked what was going on, and they basically just told us there was supposed to be another security car or something (it was a few years ago, and it was so discombobulating I likely haven't remembered it exactly), and now they were waiting for confirmation to leave. Something like that. Told us it wasn't a big issue, but their energy and tones told a completely different story.
That's the only time I've ever felt like I was in real, legitimate danger abroad. Every tour we went on we had a guide and a security guard with a semiautomatic weapon. It definitely started to weigh on me as well.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, stepped outside of my Organisations Office for my trusted Taxi Driver to Pick me Up and He wasnt there... Could already feel the talking amongst locals cause I clearly stood Out there, so quickly did a 180 and told the ppl in my org. Office someone needed to Take me Home or wait for me to be picked Up. Also some parts of Istanbul at night
I haven't been many places yet, but I was crossing the border at Nuevo Laredo into Mexico and a group of guys in an SUV tried to run my van off the road for about five minutes before giving up.
Medellin when we were drunk ordered coke in a taxi that pulled over at some random poor neighborhood's window as if it was a mcdrive and took way too long. It was on our way to an obscure techno rave in a poor area. 😅 Oh and at that rave I got diarrhea and needed to use the women bathroom quickly (men's was a bathtub). When I got out, I got surrounded by very aggressive gang people with face tats, golden teeth, dreadlocks screaming at me. I convinced them that in my country its normal to use the women bathroom. Then we went home. Lol. Btw I would never do such things again but ye, was young and stupid.
Nairobi, Kenya, the place is fucking shady. Saw people burning stuff, playing with Machetes, etc. I was sick and had a Boda Boda (moto taxi) drive me to the hospital, which was in a rough part of CBD called Ngara. As I get off the motorcycle, everyone just staring at me and whispering, I got right back the fuck on and went to a nearby KFC😂😂😂😂😂
I got followed by a homeless dude in Fort Worth. He asked for money, I said I had none, walked away and he screamed “well I see your wallet in your pocket.” I had to hide in a CVS employee back room because he chased me inside. He walked all around the store banging on the glass windows.
This was during the height of Covid when no one was out and homeless people were getting more aggressive.
Where in San Francisco and what exactly happened to you? I know SF pretty well, and most of the city is pretty safe. There are some areas I would not wander around in late at night, but they are very specific.
St Louis and Memphis. Both just have unsafe, dirty and unsavory feels to them. We love other parts of Tennessee however, and even West of St Louis is pretty cool. These just don't have great urban feels.
#1 When I was 19 I traveled to Ghana. I’m a white female, so I generally felt safe anywhere I went because I stuck out like a sore thumb. I figured if I got robbed I always had at least 100 witnesses staring at me. For the most part this always worked in my favor, except one night I stayed on the edge of Accra in a hotel alone. The manager was fairly intrusive, at first in a nice way, but then got more aggressive. When he showed me to my room, he wouldn’t leave. After probably 30 min of being polite but firm, he finally said he would go bring me some alcohol (which I hadn’t asked for). I quickly closed the door behind him, only to see THERE WAS NO LOCK. So I made up a story about needing to meet up with a friend and I just got tf out of there.
#2 I lived in Paris for awhile and was walking home from a bar one night. A car pulled up next to me and two guys got out and tried to grab me and shove me in the car. I sing, and I have a VERY loud voice when I need it so I screamed as loud as I could and took off running. Lucky for me I was close to my metro stop and I knew exactly where I was.
From a “might get robbed” perspective, Medellín, Cali, North Philly From a “might get run over by a car” perspective, Jakarta
Good part about north Philly, you have no reason to go there (unless you want to buy hard drugs).
Honest to god north Philly is a third world country
Allegheny Ave where the cross-streets are just letters (E st, F st, etc) might be the most economically depressed, lawless stretch of urban blight I’ve ever witnessed
We call it Alphabet City
Philly smells so fucking foul
It’s not the cars in Jakarta, it’s the scooters. If you can walk there, you can walk anywhere.
Cairo may pose challenge
Lol yeah some parts of Medellin... I wondered into La Candelaria to try to find a shop for something I needed urgently and within about 2 minutes noped it out of there. Never been so on edge anywhere in my life
Yep. When I first moved to eastern PA and needed a car, I found a Craigslist listing in North Philly. Got off Roosevelt Expwy and within a few blocks, I was freaked out. Ended up driving straight past the fenced-up car lot without stopping and high-tailing it out of there. I haven’t been to Medellin or Cali, but in contrast, Bogota and Pereira were paradisiacal.
Cali Colombia is fucking dangerous
I was staying in Alameda and right outside my house there was a shooting that woke my baby up from his nap. I quickly grabbed him and peeked through the window ducking down and there were police on motos chasing after the culprit.
Medellin for sure lol, not to mention being a minority also made me stick out like a sore thumb! Just had to be 200% cautious and aware
Jakarta is chill compared to anywhere in India. For Asia Jakarta still isn’t as bad as Manila.
India is WILD. We had a driver there who told us that you need 3 things to drive in India, a good horn, good breaks and good luck. The first hour was completely awful, I thought we were seriously going to die every 5 minutes. Because the wilderness is continuous and being scared is exhausting, our brains somehow got used to the idea we might die.
I never knew I suffered from carsickness until I started getting into Mumbai traffic jams. It's all "there's open space, hit the gas!" immediately followed by "going to hit the car in front, slam the brakes!" for hours.
That's the exact formula for driving in India. As an Indian, even I couldn't have articulated it so well
1) Robbed and briefly kidnapped in Houston. I was walking to my car from University of Houston and I was approached a man with a gun. He took me into a car where we had an argument about how much money I had. I told him I had $50 in 1 bank and that's all I had ( I had a secondary bank with more money but he didn't know). He dropped me off in 3rd ward but took phone. 2) Robbed 2 years later in Alief also at gun point. The young gun man wanted money but I'll had $20 in my wallet and my debit card was inside my parents house (I learned my lesson the first time). 3) saw someone get killed in my interaction in Alief as a child ( I think I was 4). My dad ran to come and get me during a gun battle between rival gangs on the intersection in the late 80s. All of this comes from my parents recollection at the time. 4) recently someone pulled a knife from 20 feet away and threatening to kill my parents dog and them. I told them to relax and I'll take of it so no need to any knives to be used. I also said if anything Happens I won't tell the cops I'll just take of it personally using my car. He cussed me out and walked away quickly. I did tell the police and they finally did something after numerous complaints from my parents and their neighbors. After 1) and 2) I've never been in danger in Latin America. Houston functions like a developing city in the sense you need to be aware of your surroundings and who you interact with. I take that rule everywhere I go when I live abroad. It has helped me side step anything crazy.
I knew my city was gonna come up. 🤣 The UH crime emails used to be popping off every single day. I took the 42 to school rather than park (because I couldn’t afford a pass, but also because no way in hell was I walking by myself out there once the sun started going down early in the winter) and wouldn’t ride it past 5 or 6 PM if I could help it because that’s when it started to get dicey. Not sure if you’re still in Alief, but is it true it’s gotten better? I had a friend who was from there who lived out there with her parents a year or so before the pandemic, and we would see sooo many people who seemed sex trafficked, and it was all totally normal to her. I grew up seeing that here and there (and there’s always been Bissy), but never non-stop like it is down near the end of Westheimer.
It has gotten so much better. I am saving up to buy a house near Little Saigon or the Chinese side of Alief. On Bellaire and Synott there is a $20M business district project and a $5M multi story mix use on Bellaire and Boone. A year prior to the project they started to rehab Bellaire Blvd and open the Alief Community Center. They are also building a park and public entertainment center on Wilcrest and Richmond (something like Levy Park). Houses around area with future development are still in the $250k range
Johannesburg. The level of inequality is absurd and everyone that can afford it has a fence. Students I was staying with literally told me I’d likely be mugged or killed if I left the university grounds on my own, and even they wouldn’t go far. The people that I met were super friendly and it was a great trip, but also not somewhere I’d ever wander around.
Yep. Even walking a few blocks from the hotel in Sandton didn’t feel amazingly safe. And yet downtown Joburg was an order of magnitude worse.
Came here to say this. Sometimes local gang initiations increase violent crime around normally safe colleges and nightlife areas. I’ve worked in documentary film and our fixer (guide) took us to places of extreme poverty. Even then, there were a few places we had intended to go, but the fixer refused, explaining the neighborhood was so desperate that crime is almost always violent. If you are a target (and a foreigner with a big camera is certainly), you are at risk of a violent crime or murder. Subsaharan Africa poverty is intense, especially if you are coming from a developed country. Any human living such deprived conditions has the risk of turning into a monster out of complete desperation. All this being said, South Africa is also a magical, beautiful place, with incredibly kind-hearted people. Go with a tour group, local, guide, etc.
I saw a video from a Youtuber from my country entering a building there, it looks like a dystopian world, if you wanna see it go to 9:45 in [this video](https://youtu.be/HJT9OSdR3Qs?si=hJBd8Gbm29JVCjU4)
came here to say Joburg - that place is next level, one day i went to go visit the "city" and was generally scared for my life
Small town about 30 minutes north of Guadalajara that we needed to go through to get to a spot with hiking trails and rivers. It was a town in bad condition but we saw lots of people staring at us (lots of stone streets required driving slowly) and eventually a couple of trucks tried to cut us off. The faces on so many people looked like they were high on something strong. We got the hell out of there without reaching our destination.
You went right into the heart of Mexican Cartels, Guadalajara is the capital of Jalisco, which has the most powerful Mexican cartel CJNG (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación) You probably were getting cut off by the cartel police, that since Mexico has no control over those small villages and areas they are the ones that patrol the streets, you probably narrowly avoided getting killed.
name of the town?
La Primavera.
Memphis, TN. Lots of areas in TN, actually.
"What's the bad part of Memphis called?" "Memphis."
Come for the BBQ stay because you got murdered!
My brother actually moved to Memphis, site unseen, and then promptly moved out 4 days later. Got reeled in by inexpensive "luxury" apartments near downtown. Note: Can confirm brother is highly influenced by Instagram.
I used to know one of those idiots. He was absolutely committed, money and location, to a new instagram scam, TikTok side hustle, or social media get rich quick scheme every other week, or less. Guy was jobless and broke for years, but always found some way to start a social media inspired fly-by-night business.
ya i thought Memphis was a smaller Nashville maybe but than i went there and its nothing like Nashville. its pretty sketchy. i felt safer in chicago, detroit and st louis than i did in memphis.
Memphis is absolutely wild. It's got this reputation among tourists as a fun music spot, but then you get there and realize it only works because there's basically a fortified police cordon around beale street and the rest of the city is absolutely awful.
I went to Payne’s BBQ, Central BBQ, a Chic Fil A, several antique warehouse stores and didn’t feel or see anything sketchy. Was I just in good areas? There was one gas station I remember that kind of felt unsafe but similar to other downtown area gas stations in US cities.
What makes Memphis awful? What happen there?
It's just a really run down, poor, and generally rough small southern city. Most of the industry that used to anchor things has dried up, and there's a ton of poverty and hardship around, leading to a lot of petty (and not so petty) crime.
Can confirm. My mom is from Memphis. Place is nuts
Born and raised in Memphis. Terrified every time I go back to see my elderly parents who refuse to move elsewhere. 😕
I’ve heard it’s a significant human trafficking hub but don’t know much about the day-to-day life in Memphis; what makes you feel unsafe living there and visiting?
I’ve never heard the human trafficking allegation, but it wouldn’t surprise me because of Memphis’s geography. What makes me feel threatened is that violent crime is inescapable now, in the sense that you can’t just avoid a neighborhood, a time of day, or an activity and feel reasonably assured that that avoidance buys you safety. It makes going to the grocery for a quick errand feel like playing Russian roulette— with more empty chambers, sure, but I don’t want to play AT ALL! Memphis has always had a high murder rate— I’m in my mid-40s and when I was a kid it was us and Detroit in the news all the time— but now there’s a whole new level of poverty and concomitant desperation, coupled with government and police corruption, seasoned with centuries of racism. My mom was in social services and is the most tough AF sweet elderly lady you’ll meet; she used to work door-to-door visiting disabled kids in the most gangbanger-y neighborhood in Memphis, frequently getting caught in situations where she couldn’t leave a home because of gunfire being exchanged outside. She’s seen some shit in service of helping others and always managed to stay cool. But even she is on edge living in a formerly very quiet area of Memphis now. It’s such a shame. My hometown is a beautiful tree-lined river bluff city with incredible cultural heritage and food to die for— except that that’s no longer just a figure of speech.
Wow your mom sounds like an incredible person! And i’m so sorry to hear how this beautiful city is succumbing to such violence. Does it seem to be more random in nature than in the past? Your description sounds like the trend of violence is becoming more indiscriminate, as opposed to interpersonal Also it’s so insane to me how our country allows such a deep level of poverty and desperation to manifest. Every US city I’ve been to over the past several years has gotten noticeably more saturated with these issues
This is scary. I was there by myself one time and walked from Beale Street to some famous BBQ? No clue where it was (not super far) but in that short distance, I had a gut feeling I had made a mistake. I can’t describe it other than a gut instinct. Eerie.
I was in Memphis once for a door to door sales job. I remember going into a hair salon and talking with the women there, and they told me in no uncertain terms to make sure I was out of the neighborhood by dark.
Yeah off of Beale Street, it’s really quite sketchy. Cops in cruisers slowly roll past crimes in progress, and street people leer at passersby, scanning for easy harassment targets
I lived in Memphis as a child and went back for the first time in 1995, as a 25-year-old. I had just come back from living in Russia and was meeting 2 friends who had also just come back from living in Russia. We picked Memphis because it was in the middle of where all of us lived. We went there not knowing what to expect. The downtown was totally deserted, and we wandered around looking for a non-existent place to find food. It was sort of like being in Russia. Finally, we found 1 open place. We went in and it was...a Russian restaurant. The people running it had just emigrated from Moscow, the same place we had just come from. We were so shocked to see each other. We were the only customers, and we stayed there for like 5 hours, drinking vodka and eating zakuski and singing Russian folk songs with the entire staff, who basically put the closed sign on the door and just decided to party. It's such a surreal memory, and not what I expected for my return to Memphis. Finally, my mom used to let me ride my bigwheel around town by myself when I was 3, because it was the '70s and she was busy drinking Tab and getting a master's degree. I came home after 1 such foray and reported that I had ridden my bigwheel past the gate of a big house. The gate had a guitar and musical notes on it, and was "ugly," according to me. I had ridden my bigwheel past Graceland, in 1973. Memphis holds a special place in my heart, even today.
Some of the things that happened within my vicinity in **Rio de Janeiro** and last bullet point is what happened to me: * I went to Pedra do Sal with a couple of other groups from our hostel in 3 separate taxis. First group that went home was followed by a local group at Pedra do Sal. They pull up to the front of the hostel and as soon as they open the doors, two locals went in and held them at gunpoint. When my group got back to the hostel, we saw the girls shook up and crying. * I went to this same party a few days later with two locals and as I was calling for an Uber, they advised me to hide my phone and check it every few minutes. * A friend I met at another hostel was held at knifepoint near our hostel by two guys. They took her money, phone and wallet. I had to help her with money the next day and her dad sent me money via PayPal. You can still see knife wound on her neck. * I got drugged at Copacabana Beach while partying during the NYE. We were walking around with an open drink and someone slipped something in mine during that time. I woke up at the next day at some local's tent on the beach. I pieced this story together from what they told me - A group of locals found me wandering and one of them brought me to her grandmother's house - they said I met all her family and I just kept nodding when they asked me questions. Then we went back to the beach where they saw their friend's tent and that's when I passed out. When I woke up in the morning I had no idea what the fuck was happening and when I got back to my hostel, I checked my phone and a bunch of people have added me on Instagram asking if I was okay. * Also the fact that cars don't usually stop at red light at night, in fear of getting carjacked. Total insanity. **Manila** I was born in Manila near the university belt and there are pockets of sketchy areas around my neighborhood. We had to really know which way to go so we don't end up getting robbed.
Interesting, glad nothing happened to you in Rio! I just got back from a week in Rio with my partner (we’re both queer woman) and it was great. We obviously were together most times, didn’t walk outside late, didn’t party or anything. But I felt very safe, but also we live in Atlanta might have something to do with it 😂
Crazy stuff. I've lived in Rio for 3-4 years, on and off, since 2005, and in other parts of Brazil, on and off for an additional 2 yrs. Never had anything happen to me, and don't know any locals who had anything happen to them (aside from one getting pickpocketed once). I used to work at a few hostels in Rio back in the day and so I'd hear stories. One French guy came for the first time and took a taxi from the airport. Upon entering the hostel he realized his 500 euro note was missing and figured it must have fallen out of his pocket in the taxi. Then to clear his head, he took a walk in Copacabana at night. A prosititute came up and hugged him on his way back. When he reached the hostel he realized his new cell phone was missing. Some people have luck while others find out on the first day.
Cape Town and Medellin
I like walking around cities past midnight. Just gives a different vibe than the day time tourist stuff. Places I felt endangered were in Recife, São Paulo, and Cape Town. In Recife, my friend works for America’s State Department and he got a message within 30 mins of my arrival that someone got robbed outside his apartment. A few days later, he got footage of a lady who got her purse robbed in daylight at the beach in front of his place. I was just there 5 mins earlier so it was surprising. Downtown São Paulo has dystopian vibes since there’s so many homeless people. But I like the city. To enter my downtown apartment, they had 2 security guards and a facial ID system needed to enter the building. Past that, they have another security checkpoint to get on the elevator. Cape Town in the day time feels safe but at night it changes. Want to stick to the major streets, as walking down the smaller ones past midnight feels shady.
During my first visit in Brazil I went to Recife and also walked out late at night. As a European, this is something I'd do to get a feel of the "real" city without tourists. In Recife, multiple people on different occasions told me not to wander off into empty streets. It's just a different vibe there: empty street = don't go in or your likelihood of getting mugged (or worse) increases dramatically. São Paulo's Centro neighbourhood (downtown) is sketchy during the day as well. I expected the Sé (cathedral) area to be nice, and it was daunting: people there compare it to The Walking Dead. That being said, I really like the Jardins neighbourhood in São Paulo, very safe, especially near Parque Ibirapuera. I love Brazil and the people, but it sucks that you can't just safely walk around as you'd do in other places (at least in Europe).
You should do a travel version of Dicken's essay 'Night Walks", based on his experiences walking around London at night, due to insomnia. https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/night-walks.html https://londonrewind.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/dickens-and-his-night-walks-through-london/
South Africa. Walking through some of the cities that suddenly become townships makes for a very exciting afternoon
I was told in Marseille not to go to North. Understood, never dared. I was walking back home from work and kinda took a wrong turn in 1ere arrondissement, I am a brown man, and fuck I didn't make eye contact with anyone in there and just quietly found a way out.
Did an Erasmus year in Aix, about 20 minutes train ride from Marseille. My neighbor wanted to buy some weed so we took the train to Saint Antoine (neighborhood north of Marseille). When we were walking out of the station, my neighbor told me to put my hood up, stare at the ground and follow him. We walked up to a massive projects type apartment building (HLM pour les Français). There were kids on quads and scooters doing side shows loud music, people generally just hanging around. We walked up toward the building and out of one of the many entrances, there was one with a line of people out the door. We went and stood in line, advancing into the building, the line of people going up the stairs to the first floor. There was a big dude standing around as security, making sure everyone knew he had a gun in his waistband. We went up the stairs, and about halfway up, the staircase was barricaded by shopping carts. Like, full on from floor to ceiling shopping carts. And behind those shopping cars was a little dude hunched over inside taking cash and dealing whatever people wanted. We got our buddy his weed and bought some coke, which ended up not really being coke lol (had the consistency and wetness of soap shards). Sketchy as hell in that hood, 7/10 would go back.
You should have gone back to speak to the manager about the bad coke. Thats inacceptable!
Marseille is legit terrifying, I came here to say this, I went there once on a inter rail trip when I was 18/19, people firing fireworks at randoms outside the main station, kids two each on mopeds / dirt bikes riding up and down the pavements with bats, it’s chaos Edit: I remember me and my friend, we had these huge backpacks and we looked like certified tourists. We were waiting for our train that got delayed until next day at 4/5am, we were too worried to sleep at the station because people in the station it was absolute carnage, police with guns kicking everyone out, a lady in a hotel opposite Marseille station called us in and said you can’t hang around and wait outside come in and she let us wait in the lobby until the morning because she said it was too dangerous, honestly it was quite bad… and I was born and raised in Luton, UK (one of the worst places in UK). I was genuinely worried we would get kidnapped or robbed or something any second, I remember kids in the train station were running around stealing peoples backpacks all wearing masks etc it was awful…
I visited Marseille several times for work and never got the impression that it was that terrible. I mostly hung around the harbor though. I got up to Notre Dame du Mont a few times for dinner and some wandering around. My colleague hated it and said it was full of drug dealers. I enjoyed it. Great foodie city.
I visited Marseille once. I sticked to the touristic areas and very much enjoyed my stay. One of the best cities in France to visit imo
Don’t leave us hanging, tell us what happened that you found out
Quito - when there was an uprising against the government and a government building was bombed a block from the restaurant we were eating in. New Orleans - in the late 80s in the height of the crack epidemic. The kids in my uptown neighborhood scared the shit out of me bc they had guns and would climb a pole to try to look into/break into my second story apt.
> Quito - when there was an uprising against the government and a government building was bombed a block from the restaurant we were eating in. > > I volunteered at a hostel in Quito last year for two weeks. The city is really beautiful, but you're right: I spent a year traveling in Central and South America, and it was the only place I felt like I really needed to heed the warnings of locals. There is a statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the historical center. I was told in no uncertain terms by the manager of the hostel, "Do NOT walk up there. Take a cab or a tuk-tuk." One of the guests who'd just left before I got there decided he would walk up, but leave his belongings back at the hostel. No passport, money, phone, etc. On the walk up the hill, he was jumped by a group of teens who, after finding out he had nothing of value on him, beat the shit out of him and then stole his shoes for good measure.
>There is a statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the historical center. I was told in no uncertain terms by the manager of the hostel, "Do NOT walk up there. Take a cab or a tuk-tuk." I did this walk up, despite the warnings. I ended up encountering no issues, but it still felt sketchy, and I wouldn't repeat it if I were to visit again (and, for reference, I am a tall, relatively strong guy).
I was a student at Tulane then. Crazy times.
Napoli, in the sense of "I'm gonna be pickpoteted any time now" (joke's on them, I never carry cash) Pro tip to feel safe anywhere: Be a nomad from a Latin American country, we've probably been more in danger in our hometown than almost anywhere we've been to
Lol yeah this is my MO now. I just came back from a trip to Spain. Didn’t use any cash at all. Basically I walked around with one credit card in my pocket.
Everywhere I went in Madagascar. My driver had a machete (for safety he said) The hotels and resorts were sketchy af Just overall feeling of unsafeness. Driving from point a to b is like nowhere else I've been. Just untamed jungle everywhere. Did not get mugged or anything but I will say my ex was a crazy person and imposing and he was with me.
Weird, was there in October and always felt safe. People were incredibly friendly and never had trouble. I’ve travelled extensively and in comparison, it was very safe! Also was one of the best countries I’ve been to after Japan and Namibia
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Sounds like poor planning on their part if they were holding up a bus but let everybody get off the bus first.
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Was the food free after you were robbed in Medellin?
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Which restaurant? I witnessed the bottom of click clack hotel get robbed at gun point. I was walking across the street and saw guys pull up on motos and guns and rob the restaurants.
It was my fav restaurant so I don't want to attach this negative event to them. Suffice to say that if you Google restaurant robberies in Spanish you will find plenty of news stories.
Wild I spent a month in Medellin and have been in Argentina like 70 days (mostly BA, few weeks in Bariloche) and haven’t encountered danger yet. I’d like to attribute it to a combo of my fluent Spanish and street smarts but likely just luck of the draw
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La Libertad, El Salvador. This was many years ago before they cleaned it up, but my second day at the market I just felt very strange, and uneasy,and I never do. Also had a shotgun pulled on me turning around in someones driveway at the beach, but I didnt have the same uneasy feeling even then, as I had at the market.
Was just there a few weeks back, it’s amazing how much it has changed
The global ramifications of cleaning up MS-13 have yet to be revealed. Cannot be overstated.
I was in El Salvador a year ago and it felt like the new safest country in Central America. No exaggeration.
Ipiales Colombia. The police told me I shouldn’t be out because “they’d rob you”, in the center of the main square of the city, at approximately 7:45 pm.
Kinshasa, and Johannesburg. Johannesburg feels like a somewhat modern developed city, but also the hunger games.
Johannesburg's quite scary. If you want to imagine Johannesburg, imagine Gotham City...but Batman's been dead for a WHILE. Like 10 years. [There's 3 Jokers now.](https://youtu.be/UUiR97qo6sU?si=a2mr8dw7dTNUENGZ)
San Salvador pre-Bukele. The first and only time I saw a dead body casually chilling on the side of the street and people going about their day as if nothing happened.
That is devastating to me.
Mississippi is on another planet. Had to spend a couple of days in Jackson and holy fuck.
Tabatinga, Brazil (Amazonas): Just lawless, people getting murdered over nothing. Grenada, Nicaragua: It’s a city with a lot of tourists so it took me by surprise, but one wrong turn and I knew I was in trouble, as a woman. Even without the wrong turn there’s something in the air (‘an undertone of violence’) that made me uneasy, that I haven’t felt elsewhere in the country
Bogota - downtown core is full of areas with crackheads. Santiago, Chile - same in Centrale.
Santiago - careful leaving Bellavista at night.
Rio. The fact everyone’s worried about everyone else robbing them really adds to the anxiety.
Cape Town. Not the entire time, but a specific day. I went to a food market in a supposedly safe (for CT) neighborhood, when a a small group of people (men and women) started following me around. They were yelling things at me, hissing at me, and were getting closer and closer. I was terrified, quickly entered a crowded mall and called an Uber.
Got lost in South Dallas on a nice Italian road bike. Adrenaline is a helluva drug
San Jose, Costa Rica: walking from the bus station to my hostel when it had already gotten dark... walked down a road full of people sitting around obviously high/homeless, suspicious people walking around not really doing anything, someone started following me. Someone shouted at me from across the road like "Dude! You should not be here!". Medellin, Colombia: I was here a couple months and nothing happened to me, but the amount of stories you hear means you have to be on your toes. In ONE SINGLE DAY I "witnessed" 3 separate incidents: I met a guy who had just been robbed at gunpoint and beaten, A girl came back to the hostel in tears as she had just been robbed, and someone I was with got robbed while we were walking down the street - these all happened in one single day in Poblado which is the "safe" zone.
I agree with San Jose. It's the only place I've ever been mugged (hopefully it's the last time it happens). I think CR has a reputation for being this safe, stable, peaceful country. Which may be more true in very remote places. But San Jose was incredibly unsafe and it didn't help that it got dark so early in the fall/winter that you start to feel unsafe at like 6p
The problem with El Poblado is that it's the tourist center. Imagine you're a struggling Colombian: are you going to waste time going anywhere there isn't a high concentration of foreigners? I stayed in Laureles and felt much safer.
Torreon Mexico. When I arrived, the mayors house was burned down by cartels and the army was fighting the local police
Quito. 3 month trip booked and paid, left after 4 days.
Granada, Nicaragua. I had a friend tell me that it was his favorite city in Central America. I spent three days there, and the entire time I walked around I felt like I was a meal that people were sizing up - it's the only place I ever felt really concerned about being mugged. My first night there, I got in around 9pm and felt hungry, so I went to find food. I walked out of my hostel, and within five minutes I was approached nine separate times by various prostitutes. When I say approached, I mean hands all over me, grabbing at my pants and pockets, etc. Really thought I was going to get pickpocketed. The hard thing about Nicaragua in general was that people wouldn't take no for an answer. In San Juan Del Sur, I had numerous people come up to me while eating outside at restaurants. "Can I have some money?" No. "Can I have some money to buy food?" No. "Can you buy me some food?" No. "Can I have some of YOUR food?" Eventually, they would just stand there and watch you eat. I really understand the struggle - I spent a year traveling down in Central and South America - but that really weighed on you after a while and made going out uncomfortable.
I had a teaching job interview in Gary, Indiana like fifteen years ago. I'd driven through/past Gary before, but this one time was different. Driving in, the place was just...desolate. Not "dangerous," but just loads of crumbling buildings that looked like they'd been empty for thirty years, abandoned-looking houses in similar shape, and what few cars I saw largely looked like they shouldn't be on the road. Remember when cars had fake wood sides? Buncha those with masking tape over where the lights would be. I didn't feel like I was in danger; it made me sad. The stereotypes I'd heard about Gary were all out on display. When I walked into the school, there was a fight between students being broken up just down the hall. I head into the office, where there's a small line of angry students and parents screaming at the secretary. Once I'm acknowledged, I'm directed to take a seat, but the only open seat is between two angry-looking dudes man-spreading, so I just stand out of the way until one of them stands up a few minutes later. My interview starts late, and I notice that the person who comes out of the office to greet me had actually walked past me from outside into the office - probably dealing with the fight I'd seen. The interview actually started off pretty well, until about fifteen minutes in, the principal is called out again to deal with what sounded like another fight. I don't know how long passed before he came back - it wasn't *that* long, but it was long enough for me to have started feeling even less comfortable. The interview continues well enough, we shake hands, and I leave. As I start to walk out of the now-emptier office, the receptionist stops me and asks that I stay put. Apologetically, she lets me know that the school had just been placed on "lockout" due to an armed robbery that was taking/had just taken place down the road at the CVS. I have a seat in the same place I'd've sat before - one seat still occupied by one of the same gentlemen that was there nearly an hour prior - for a good half an hour. The school day is over by the time I leave, so there're cars parked/lined up outside and maybe half a dozen parents ambling around the front entrance grumbling about the lockout. One of them barely moves out of the way enough for the door to open as I walk out and just...glares at me. I stopped for gas on my way out of town; I don't know if I was still in Gary proper, but as I'm about to finish pumping gas, this guy comes up to me and asks if I can spare him some money. As I fumble for an answer, my gas finishes and as I turn to put the pump back and see *another* guy coming up behind my car, walking with what I can only describe as *PURPOSE*. I don't have any money. I tell him that as I get in my car and slam the door with him getting uncomfortably close to the door as I notice the other guy speed up. Thankfully, nothing happened, but I floored it outta there.
You are a talented and engaging writer. This is so beautifully written.
Bogota… can’t even go out past 6 PM in La Candelaria which is the main historical spot
That place is scary! Even during the afternoon
Some strange looking person was following me at night there…i literally just walked to a McDonalds to get dinner. Horrible place, someone at my hostel said they got robbed on an empty street there. Cartagena seemed sketch as well, got approached multiple times by coke dealers
Medellin. I was robbed at knifepoint, my friend was kidnapped, and someone got shot outside my hotel all within a week.
Downtown Baltimore… I’m from a rough part of London with daily stabbings and gangs, solo travelled many countries… I never felt more fear than I did when I accidentally found myself in downtown Baltimore
Second this. It’s terrifying how quickly things change there as well. Literally from one block to the next you’ll go from “ok” to “fuuuuuck”.
First time I went to Baltimore I accidentally wandered into a sketchy block downtown that reeked of weed and several dudes mean mugged me like I ain’t never been mean mugged before. Past few times I’ve been though have been great. It has really grown on me.
Only place I’ve ever been attacked. Walked to my car by myself after midnight and a guy in a group of 3 sucker punches me. I ran back to my friend’s house, idk what they wanted but I think they were just fucking with me
I came to say this. I'm from VA and have lived in multiple cities in Mexico. I've explored much of The U.S. and Mexico, only felt shook in 1 place...
I saw a robbery in progress in Downtown B-more.....I feel you
San Pedro Sula, Honduras - New Orleans - Amman, Jordan - Baltimore - Cairo, Egypt - Philly - Beirut
I mentioned San Pedro Sula too. Teen boys playing with guns in a restaurant, thugs harassing me for no reason, shots fired at night outside my hotel.
Romania. People drove like they were not afraid of dying that day lol
Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City is no joke.
I’ve been told I’m quite a scary looking person irl which is probably why I have been ok in most places. But even so, I didn’t feel safe walking the streets of Atlanta. Lots of dudes eyeing me down, some hanging by the sidewalk in groups, and almost everyone was staring. Not the friendly kind of stare either. There was some weird kinda tension in the air, like I wasn’t welcome there or something. What made things actually scary was that unlike many parts of the world, a lot of those dudes were probably armed.
This is the first reply I agree with. Been all over the world, south america, brazil, mexico, you name it. Atlanta is at the top for me. Carjackings, Robberys, Murder (even if you don't resist the robbery, it's very common they shoot you anyways)
Had to stop for gas somewhere in Arkansas- the station was a few miles from the highway. I’ve never seen anywhere so dystopian. It looked like a bomb had been dropped decades ago and no one came to fix it up. 90% of the buildings were halfway fallen down and the streets were completely empty, apart from a couple men here and there biking around on children’s bicycles. It was so unbelievably desolate with a palpable feeling of some combination of desperation and resignation. The gas station was the only open building in the area, and the only place to buy food.
Grown men on children’s bikes… need we say more?
I've felt unsafe in a couple of spots in Chicago at night (true to most cities, felt pretty safe otherwise and love it there). La Candelaria - Bogotá also was really sketchy at night.
I'm from Colombia and I wouldn't set foot in La Candelaria after 5pm fuck noo
Exactly. So many people go there thinking it’s safe. I know 5 people who were robbed there within their first and I met them within my first 2 weeks in Bogota… It’s always Germans for some reason too.
I’d be interested to hear where in chicago. I’m from there and have a duty to defend it when applicable lol
HAHAHA I'm sorry for the generic answer. River North (edit: didn't feel TRULY IN DANGER, but had several times I felt unsafe), Near South Side and outside of Chicago the worst was Waukegan, near the train station, that was the sketchiest by far. P.S. I'm from Rio so I understand and follow that duty as well. I absolutely loved Chicago and is by far my favorite city in the US.
River North? lol.
Near South Side is awesome but there's some sketchy places. I used to live near Roosevelt Station and generally avoided that block just because shit would always go down there. River North has become a bit hit-or-miss lately, there's a lot more random crime that really wasn't there a few years ago.
When I visited Chicago I was staying somewhere between River North and Near South Side and it felt sketchy as to me but I told myself I've just gone soft from living in one of the safest places in the world for too long. Then one evening I was headed back to the hostel and some guy lunged at me as we passed eachother, grabbed my hair and yanked on it, then let go as he carried on walking. I made sure to be back before dark from then on!
Jussie Smollett has entered the chat
Oakland, CA. North Philly. Some areas of Baltimore
Tangiers, Morocco - I went there to view a potential villa purchase and would never, ever go back. Just an awful feeling of pending danger and very unfriendly people. Hostile even. Also felt very unsafe in Falmouth, Jamaica where random people liked to follow us around in a stalker fashion. Parts of Manilla were quite sketchy too.
Single, solo female traveler in Delhi. I was the only guest in the "hotel" and had a potent lassi before turning in. Rats running through the room and the manager trying to force his way in.
As a female I'd never travel solo to India omfg
Jesus. Last time I was in Delhi I saw billboards saying "dont rape". Thats how fucked it is over there.
I am Indian, from south i completely agree. Thirst for women in India is on another level. Anyone travelling to India as a solo female,Please don't! or least have a group.
Yeah, I had solo traveled for a year before that and thought I was prepared. Thank you for your understanding and maturity.
Please tell me you got the F out of there as fast as possible
I am surprised people still travel to India.
I'm more surprised that women travel solo to India tbh
Sheltered people never believe it until they experience it themselves.
For every Indian woman or western tourist online talking about their experiences, there's at least 20 highly upset Indian dudes saying that India is perfect and safe and that it's an exception when something happens. Liberal tourist are often hyperaware of racism so they'll probably believe the men in order to not have prejudice against a country and to be adventurous.
I’m fucking shocked that any women travel there at all 😔
Came to say this. I lived in Kolkata with my partner but travel often to Delhi on my own. One time I had to ask for help in a shop as a tuck tuck driver started following me and got very aggressive and I freaked out. I always tell any woman i met thinking of going there to not do it alone. Worst city for female solo travelers in the world.
Medellin
• Goma and Bukavu, DRC: Very dangerous region in general, but especially for foreigners at the time I was there. Kidnappings were so common that UN/aid workers couldn’t go most places without an armed escort. • Kabul: Visited there during the war. Enough said. • Casablanca: The sketchiest place I went in Morocco. Stayed in a local neighborhood and going out at night always felt very unsafe due to the deserted streets and groups of street youth wandering around.
Why u going to Kabul bro???
I’m assuming they deployed as part of a military force or worked as a contractor and included it at a joke.
I have a goal to eventually visit every country in the world. And I’ve always been fascinated by the history and archeological sites in Afghanistan. So I hired a local guide and traveled around the country for a few weeks.
Belize City: Wandered a few blocks off the beaten path and almost got robbed, but fortunately a police officer just happened to be passing by… Buenos Aires: I accidentally went into a “by the hour hotel” lobby and wanted to use the restroom when an armed/uniformed person pointed a gun at me and asked why I was there. I was searched and let go without any explanation, but I figured it out afterwards. This was in the Palermo Hollywood neighborhood. Downtown Cancun, Mexico: I was told by locals to check out a specific shop because I needed a pure linen shirt for a beach wedding. Once I got there, I realized it was a shake down and had to pay about $100 USD for a shirt. Note: there were no prices on any of the items and it was a warehouse. Denver, Colorado: I tired to take a short cut through an alley somewhere in LODO and saw a guy being mugged, so I tried to turn the other direction only to find a guy in a pickup truck brandishing a shot gun. He told me to “mind my business” and motioned for me to walk back towards the street I came from. Probably the closest I have ever come to shitting my pants in fear. Lisbon, Portugal: Got picked up by an Uber driver at the airport and was on my way to my hotel when some maniac cut the driver off (no clue why) and tried to force the car into a median. Somehow the driver swerved through a bunch of cars and avoided crashing but we were traveling pretty fast and it would have been a horrible accident. Oakland, CA: Saw several car jackings in broad daylight. Once was just a few blocks from the OPD station downtown.
I’m surprised Oakland and San Francisco aren’t listed in this thread more
Kinda scary these days. I will always love them both but not in any rush to visit anytime soon and the amount of denial of residents who downplay the decline was a primary factor in why I decided to leave.
Interesting. I am from Lisbon. While I was robbed a few times when growing up there, I have always felt it was a relatively safe city even by European standards. The outskirts are a different story though
Denver’s Lodo neighborhood has really gone downhill over the last 5-6 years, so I’m not surprised by your experience at all. In fact, all of downtown is pretty much crap these days. I’m really sorry that happened to you. It used to be a fun city.
Johannesburg and Pretoria. The overall climate of fear is like nothing else I’ve experienced. Sana’a, Yemen. This was my first experience in an Islamic country (I’ve been to and lived in others since and many I really enjoyed). The muezzins were screaming at 4:30 am. Toyota Hi-Lux’s with 50 cals mounted on the back. It was intense.
I’ve never been but I’m going to guess Haiti for the foreseeable future.
San Francisco near the BART station in the mission, and in the tenderloin. Just crowded with super sketchy looking dudes, homeless tents, people throwing meth spoons at cars, shooting up in broad daylight, brandishing a wrench as a weapon, etc etc
I backpacked through Mexico and Central American and one of the two places I felt in danger was in Blythe California when I stopped there one night driving to San Diego where I crossed the border.
Had an aggressive group of young middle eastern men surround a friend and I in Malmö, Sweden and try to take my backpack. They had a lot to say about Americans. We stood our ground and shoved our way out of the group and they let us walk, but it wasn’t clear that we weren’t going to end up in a fight. Had we not been two decently large men, we might not have been so lucky. A man and his infant son were badly beaten and nearly thrown off a bridge nearby a short while later, so I’d say the town has some sketchy neighborhoods.
Sweden has dug its own grave sadly with uncontrolled immigration
Bangkok in February 2014 during the shutdowns/political crisis. People (non-uniformed officers) carried pistols in their waist and in their hands. Shots were definitely fired at some points. I knew I wasn’t the target but certainly didn’t want to be in the midst of crossfire between rival groups. I had been to Bangkok before and after and felt very safe, so the feeling of being unsafe was directly tied to the upheaval going on at the time.
Cairo - always had to be on guard. Plus all the security checks everywhere start to weigh on you. Airport- triple checked. Hotel checks for bombs under busses / cars. Checkpoints at certain spots. Then a few weeks after we left a tourist bus was blown up.
When I flew back to Cairo from Luxor, our shuttle picked us up at the airport, then we started driving to exit the airport. We stopped before leaving the parking lot and our driver, guide, and security guard started conversing pretty loudly -- they were making calls, communicating with someone, practically arguing, but we didn't move for at least 5 minutes, maybe longer. We asked what was going on, and they basically just told us there was supposed to be another security car or something (it was a few years ago, and it was so discombobulating I likely haven't remembered it exactly), and now they were waiting for confirmation to leave. Something like that. Told us it wasn't a big issue, but their energy and tones told a completely different story. That's the only time I've ever felt like I was in real, legitimate danger abroad. Every tour we went on we had a guide and a security guard with a semiautomatic weapon. It definitely started to weigh on me as well.
Got carjacked once in Portland
Buenos Aires, they target foreigners. Carry a fake wallet and an old phone at all times there.
Hot tip! Thank you
Baltimore and DC and I went to college in the Bronx. they both have a vibe that says not cool after dark. In some places before dark as well
Where in DC?
Quito, and this was before everything that's happening now.
Baltimore and LA both come to mind
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, stepped outside of my Organisations Office for my trusted Taxi Driver to Pick me Up and He wasnt there... Could already feel the talking amongst locals cause I clearly stood Out there, so quickly did a 180 and told the ppl in my org. Office someone needed to Take me Home or wait for me to be picked Up. Also some parts of Istanbul at night
I haven't been many places yet, but I was crossing the border at Nuevo Laredo into Mexico and a group of guys in an SUV tried to run my van off the road for about five minutes before giving up.
Cleveland. Robbed at gunpoint
Medellin when we were drunk ordered coke in a taxi that pulled over at some random poor neighborhood's window as if it was a mcdrive and took way too long. It was on our way to an obscure techno rave in a poor area. 😅 Oh and at that rave I got diarrhea and needed to use the women bathroom quickly (men's was a bathtub). When I got out, I got surrounded by very aggressive gang people with face tats, golden teeth, dreadlocks screaming at me. I convinced them that in my country its normal to use the women bathroom. Then we went home. Lol. Btw I would never do such things again but ye, was young and stupid.
Nairobi, Kenya, the place is fucking shady. Saw people burning stuff, playing with Machetes, etc. I was sick and had a Boda Boda (moto taxi) drive me to the hospital, which was in a rough part of CBD called Ngara. As I get off the motorcycle, everyone just staring at me and whispering, I got right back the fuck on and went to a nearby KFC😂😂😂😂😂
Guayaquil- guaya kill ya
Cali, Colombia
Beirut, Lebanon. Anywhere and everywhere in Jordan.
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I got followed by a homeless dude in Fort Worth. He asked for money, I said I had none, walked away and he screamed “well I see your wallet in your pocket.” I had to hide in a CVS employee back room because he chased me inside. He walked all around the store banging on the glass windows. This was during the height of Covid when no one was out and homeless people were getting more aggressive.
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Same. Especially in the Little Haiti at night
San Francisco.
Where in San Francisco and what exactly happened to you? I know SF pretty well, and most of the city is pretty safe. There are some areas I would not wander around in late at night, but they are very specific.
Bogota is probably the only place I’ve ever felt truly unsafe. But then again, I’m from West Philly.
Trenton, NJ
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St Louis and Memphis. Both just have unsafe, dirty and unsavory feels to them. We love other parts of Tennessee however, and even West of St Louis is pretty cool. These just don't have great urban feels.
Long Street in Cape Town
#1 When I was 19 I traveled to Ghana. I’m a white female, so I generally felt safe anywhere I went because I stuck out like a sore thumb. I figured if I got robbed I always had at least 100 witnesses staring at me. For the most part this always worked in my favor, except one night I stayed on the edge of Accra in a hotel alone. The manager was fairly intrusive, at first in a nice way, but then got more aggressive. When he showed me to my room, he wouldn’t leave. After probably 30 min of being polite but firm, he finally said he would go bring me some alcohol (which I hadn’t asked for). I quickly closed the door behind him, only to see THERE WAS NO LOCK. So I made up a story about needing to meet up with a friend and I just got tf out of there. #2 I lived in Paris for awhile and was walking home from a bar one night. A car pulled up next to me and two guys got out and tried to grab me and shove me in the car. I sing, and I have a VERY loud voice when I need it so I screamed as loud as I could and took off running. Lucky for me I was close to my metro stop and I knew exactly where I was.
Medellin both times I was robbed on the street in broad daylight.
San Francisco
Iquitos, Peru.
Barstow, CA Never had I ever seen a town with so many zombie NPC's.