Supposing that I decided to take a stroll in those neighborhoods, wearing casual clothes, nothing flashy or exotic. Just a packet of cigarettes and a cell phone. Would I be in danger, and if so, why?

38 comments

  2. The same bad thing that can happen to you in any bad place.

    U.S. violent crime is often contained to specific neighborhoods within large cities. You’ll be relatively safe outside of them.

  5. Who uses a travel agent in 2023 to visit two of the easiest to visit cities in the entire country?

    They kind of serve a purpose in cruises but that’s about it.

    Anyway, pickpocketing isn’t really a thing in most of the US so no need to worry about that.

    Most likely nothing will happen to you if you shut up and mind your own business.

    If you’re engaging in poverty tourism and treating people as if they’re zoo animals, you may get some dirty looks and maybe people will tell you to fuck off.

    If you try to buy a g-pack and then don’t pay your dealer, you’re liable to get a cap in your ass.

    Probably the most likely crime to happen is someone smashes your car window because you left something valuable there. But this isn’t restricted to “bad” areas and arguably is worse in touristy areas.

  6. Probably nothing, people live their whole lives in those neighborhoods obviously. But tourists are advised to avoid high crime areas in any big city because the risk of being a victim of crime is higher. And in particular the assumption with foreign tourists, their lack of familiarity could make them more vulnerable. But in all likelihood you would be fine if you just went for a walk in the middle of the day.

  7. It depends. For the most part, nothing. Especially driving. If a group of super obvious tourists with expensive cameras, etc, stroll around certain blocks they would be at a higher risk of being mugged for their possessions.

    But also, these parts of the city tend to not have a while lot in the way of tourist attractions, so there’s not a lot of reason for a casual tourist to go there. Biggest reason would often be for particular food spots, but in that context, maybe try not to be a glaring tourist, but there really aren’t a lot of true “no go” zones here.

  8. In all honesty, if you just look like a local and don’t have anything flashy, you’ll most likely be fine. (I am in no way saying to try it, though.) If the cell phone is nice, that may be a bit flashy. Gangs mostly leave non gang members alone, they bring too much police attention. Though if you wear the wrong colors or symbols and are mistaken for a member of a rival gang, that could lead to trouble.

    I would assume most bad neighborhoods all around the world are similar. They’re dangerous yes, and should be avoided at all costs, but it isn’t instant robbery for stepping into them, especially if you don’t look like you have anything worth stealing.

    Don’t take any of this to mean it’s ok to walk through these places. It’s still dangerous, and there’s nothing in them worth seeing.

  9. There’s basically no bad neighborhoods in NYC, especially where tourists are on Manhattan.

    LA and NYC are two pretty safe cities.

    Not being a “US number 1” kind of person, but tourist pickpocketings and muggings are incredibly rare in both of those places. LA has crime – and it’s gang related. The murder rate will be higher but theft lower than most big tourist cities in Europe.

  10. All common sense advice about bad neighborhoods goes completely out the window if you ever wandered into skid row at night.

    That place is on a totall different level of crazy

  11. Your chances of being robbed, attacked, or witnessing a serious crime are slightly increased. The person who commits the crime is often a drug addict looking to get their next hit or someone who is suffering from a serious mental disorder and feels threatened by you. These people are usually homeless and homeless will often live in the same parts of a city. This are the parts that you are being warned about.

    In those places, you might have a 2% chance of being attacked. In a safer spot, that chance is almost 0%. Would you want to travel to such a spot? Even if you are safe, those places really don’t offer anything. There is often nothing to do, no where good to eat, and are very dirty.

  12. Usually it’s cause those neighborhoods have higher rates of violent crime.

    That said, most of those places have basically nothing to offer tourists so there wouldn’t generally be any reason for a visitor to be just taking a walk through such a neighborhood.

    That said, if you’re a woman walking alone in such a neighborhood at night, you’d have a higher than average chance of running into someone with ill intent. You might get mugged or assaulted. Is it likely? No. It’s still more likely than not that you’d be fine. But the risk is greater than other areas so if you have no reason to be in such a neighborhood it’s probably still better to avoid.

  13. It’s a lot like Australia. Everyone thinks that when you step off the plane in Sydney, you’re going to get jumped by spiders, snakes and drop bears. Just not true at all. Don’t go rolling around in random bushes and woodpiles in the Oz outback and don’t go rolling around in random neighborhoods at 2am in the States. Very simple concept.

  15. The same kinds things that happen in poorer more run down areas of cities in other countries. You might get mugged. Maybe worse things like kid napped, or stabbed in rarer more extreme cases.

  17. I just recently learned, that if you’re a big baseball fan. Be weary of wearing certain baseball hats in LA. It could cause some problems for you from gangs.

  18. Let’s see the “casual clothes” you’re talking about.

    Decent chance you’re going to get clowned by a bunch of 14 year olds.

    Both the cigarettes and phone might get jacked so hide those.

    They probably won’t physically assault you though

    ——

    idk, it’s a pretty stupid idea to stroll through rough neighborhoods for the sake of tourism

    You’re going to reek of your intention and likely won’t be welcomed under this dynamic

  20. Honestly op it might be shady and it might be more dangerous but you’ll be fine
    Source: I live in Philadelphia and this city is full of neighborhoods where bad stuff happens and if you ask around you’ll find people who treat the neighborhoods like they are war zones. Curious what areas the travel agent told you to avoid

  21. Same thing that could happen if you tried the same thing in Bethnal Green, London. Most random crime is drug related, regardless of what country you’re in. Someone who’s judgement is burned out needs money for their next hit and decides you look like an ATM.

  23. You may get mugged or robbed, or they’re just not picturesque, and the agent wants to get positive reviews on Yelp.

  24. In 2001 my husband and I visited Chicago. We got confused on the L and went a little too far south. A very kind gentleman advised us to get off at the next stop and head back north.

    So I don’t know exactly why but I imagine it’s a lot like south Chicago.

  25. Weird question. Any big enough city can be a bad place to wander around obviously impaired, looking like a tourist carrying cash. The list of bad things that could possibly happen to someoneis quite long, what you’d want to worry about is the stuff that’s somewhat unlikely to happen to localsdrifting up in probability if you look like a target. People looking to do whatever get emboldened when they assume you won’t possibly stick around to pursue legal action. If you’re sticking to tourist areas , there’s generally a healthy police presence there to deter people from taking advantage of you.

    This stuff goes for any city, so why wander into situations you’re not prepared for sticking out like a sore thumb.as in nature, stay with the herd. That’s every bit as true in Paris as it is in LA.

  26. It isn’t just the bad areas. You will see naked people in Times Square, and be careful in the bus station.

    That said, you will be safe enough during the day.

  27. The thing about America it’s not commonly understood is 90% of our violence including gun violence happened today relatively small area of our major cities.

  28. Los Angeles native here, Southern Downtown and South LA is no joke after dark. During the day though? Nobody gives a shit what you look like as long youre not messing with anyone.

  29. As a tourist, don’t go to any “bad areas” of any city, if you can avoid it. Even if you are fine in the hood in your city, you aren’t local and don’t know how things work.

    I’m fine in bad areas of my city, but I wouldn’t go similar places in other cities, certainly ones in other countries

  30. New York? Nope, aside from a few areas at night. Those are either the places in Manhattan where junkies congregate (a few blocks in Hell’s Kitchen and a block in Harlem) or a few particularly desolate housing projects which are way out of the way of tourists. Even then, non-targeted predatory crime is rare, and the thing to worry about is crazy people.

    LA? See the other comments about Skid Row. Long story short, it’s mostly junkies and the insane that cause problems in American cities with positive economic growth.

    The concept that NYC is a dangerous city by world standards is at least 25 years out of date. The places in the US where whole neighborhoods are best avoided are largely (but not entirely) in the South and the Rust Belt.

  31. I have been mugged in NYC.

    I know someone who was killed accidentally in a gang shooting in LA.

    The cities are mostly safe but of you come from a place like Copenhagen or Tokyo you could get caught in a bad place.

    Just listen to what the guides say, in both cities you pretty much have to go looking for trouble.

  32. That’s where we keep all the secret American stuff we don’t want you to know about. Tupac lives there, and the only thing on TV is the super secret alternate finale of Friends and season 2 of Firefly.

  33. Also be sure to be street smart too, Avoid very crowded areas for big cities (What I mean is keep a low profile on the East coast.)

  34. In LA if you don’t look Black or Hispanic* you can go pretty much every where during the day with little to no hassling on average, including skid row.

    At night there are certainly areas to avoid, but that’s everywhere.

    *if you look black or latino, might be subject to gang harassment, especially if not minding your colors.

  35. Listen to the travel agents bro. Same reason you don’t go to Mexico and sight see cartel country. If the locals tell you what’s up. Listen to them. Yes, bad things can happen, and do.

  36. In New York? Honestly, odds are nothing these days unless you’re really flaunting cash or walking around drunk or being otherwise stupid. There aren’t many REALLY bad areas, and there’s just no reason for a tourist to go anywhere near them.

    Most gun violence is gang-based and tourists are statistically unlikely to ever encounter any. The only thing that’s a bit dangerous can be the drug addicted / mentally ill homeless, give them a wide berth on trains and take a detour if anything gets weird. But this is in all all the touristy neighborhoods, and even plenty of good areas too.

  38. Yeah, it’s possible you would be in danger. Any number of things could happen. You could simply be robbed. You could be assaulted. You could be collateral damage in a violent situation. It’s possible no one would bother you too though and you’d be fine. But it’s like when the US Dept. of State advises Americans to not travel to Haiti or certain parts of Mexico bc of the risk of being kidnapped and held for ransom it’s bc it actually happens. Some people go and have a great time. Some people go and get kidnapped. A woman and her kid was just snatched in Haiti a couple weeks ago. They were recently released, but the kidnapping wasn’t really shocking to hear about. There’s definitely a good reason you’re advised to stay out of particular places.

    Even if you stay low key, it can still be pretty obvious to the locals that you’re foreign and therefore a target either to be taken advantage of OR they could feel threatened by an outsider and assume you’re there to cause harm to them.

    It doesn’t mean everyone there are criminals and terrible people. It’s typically a small group that terrorizes others and everyone else there are victims of circumstance. These places are impoverished and frequently those who live there are really struggling with addiction or homelessness, and besides the fact that you could be in danger, to me atleast, it’s in very bad taste to go to one of these places just to ogle the suffering of others like it’s tragedy porn. Is there somewhere you’d like to go that you’ve been warned isn’t safe? Is there a reason you’d like to go there?

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