Is Boston safe to walk at night?

30 comments

1. Boston? Yes.

   Jamaica plain? No.

2. Yes.

3. Yes, downtown Boston is generally safe to walk around alone at night. It’s a lot of high-income residents and college students.

   There are less safe neighborhoods and neighboring towns, but you’ll be fine in just about any place you’d find yourself as a tourist.

4. Yes it is.

   I mean don’t sit in an alley at 3am eyeing people down, but also don’t do that anywhere in the world.

5. [deleted]

6. The vast majority of it? Yeah

7. Yah. You would need to look pretty hard to find a place not safe to walk at night. And if you are trying, the obvious question is why?

8. The city proper? Yes, for the most part.

   Dorchester or Charlestown? Less so

9. Just be careful. If an old women approaches you, don’t let her take your hand. That’s how u suddenly get charged 20$ for a bracelet.

10. Boston’s tourist areas are safe. There’s a lot of large schools in Boston so there’s always a lot of people going to restaurants and bars. You’d have to go pretty far out of your way to wind up somewhere with trouble. Even then, Boston is generally considered safer than most cities of similar size.

11. As a Chicagoan, I’m so glad to see this happens on other subs.

12. Compared to where? People in the Northeast have a bit skewed ideas about safe and not safe.

    So some places that are “unsafe” for up here would be considered safe in other regions of the country.

13. Most of it, yeah

14. Yeah it’s pretty safe. The public transportation is good too.

15. Lived in Boston for years right near the Boston Common. It’s still a city, so you need to be aware of your surroundings, but I rarely ran into issues. I did have a couple issues in Jamaica Plain late at night, but the main tourist areas are relatively safe. Still be smart.

16. I encourage you to check out r/boston for more accurate information. I’ve seen some opinions given here based on some out-of-date assumptions. I’d go straight to the source for this one.

17. Boston is very safe. It’s so rich that based on economic need I would be the mugger in most of Boston

18. Is it safe? Generally sure. Is there a lot of reason to walk really late at night? Not really. Boston has a reputation for closing early. It isn’t exactly a hustling and bustling, 24/7 place.

19. I’m currently car camping in Boston rn, and it’s totally safe. Massachusetts has more crime than the other new England states but it’s still far below the national average

20. Boston is generally considered a safe city, but this question really depends where you’re coming from. Visiting from South Africa or Brazil or Venezuela? Nothing in Boston is probably going to strike you as remotely sketchy. Visiting from a small town in Denmark or New Zealand? Might feel a bit dodgy in certain places, albeit probably not in any areas a tourist would visit. Even compared to most other large cities in the US, Boston is a relatively safe place to visit

21. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Boston and never had any problems. Just don’t wear a Yankees hat.

22. Relatively safe city. Just stay out of Methadone Mile. And don’t be like my dumbass friend who wore a New York Giants sweatshirt during a Boston sports game.

23. Most of Boston is very safe by any world standard. My wife jogs alone at night, never had a problem.

    There’s a few *small* areas I’d avoid. But if you’re here as a tourist, it’s unlikely you’d find yourselves there anyways.

    I don’t have a single friend here that’s been victimized at night.

24. Boston is safer than almost any other major city in the US. I live here and have no issue walking to the train etc going out at night and I’m a female

    There’s parts of Boston that are unsafe but not downtown (Boston proper). It’s a very early city too

25. Generally, yes. Also applies to many neighboring municipalities – Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, etc. (not Chelsea)

    In terms of advice for a relatively sheltered person who wants to avoid any feelings of unease (rather than there being much chance of serious danger):

    – If it’s really late, walk around the Common rather than through it.

    – DTX gets *mildly* sketchy once everything shuts down for the night.

    – Don’t stay at the hotels down by Newmarket/South Bay. “Mass and (Melnea) Cass” is pretty much the epicenter of drug/homeless problems in the city, and while they’re quaint and a small area by the standards of the West Coast, you probably don’t want to be right there/walking through there.

    – Don’t get an AirBnB in Roxbury, Mattapan, or the western side of Dorchester.

26. As long as you watch out for Matt Damon

27. Lol

28. Depends. Is your name Crispus Attucks?

29. No. You’ll die. Twice. Maybe three times.

30. Most of it, especially the bits around touristy areas and the schools there.

    Every city has rough areas.

    My general advice for people visiting the states that don’t know how to judge an area isn’t rocket science: Watch for a change towards conspicuous security and petty issues. If you suddenly see a lot of barred windows and visible camera where you didn’t before and want to be cautious, turn around. If you suddenly start seeing a lot more trash and graffiti that looks like signage you can’t read instead of decoration, same gig. Stuff like that. Cities have different vibes so watching for the CHANGE rather than the absolute state is important.

    Will that cause you to miss some off the path areas and some cool local shit? Yes. But if you’re really worried about getting around a US city with the bare minimum or risk sticking to the parts they keep pretty (and pricey) for visitors, students and the like is a good way to do it.