Pretty much as the title says.
I’m a 26 year old female from Australia planning a trip to America next year. I don’t have a friend in my life right now that can afford to travel or would want to as they’re all married with kids now. So instead of not travelling at all, I’ve decided to travel solo. I’ve done some solo trips around Australia and it was great. So yeah, just wanted to see if the country is relatively safe for a solo traveler from the citizens perspective. Obviously I won’t be dumb, walking around late at night alone or anything like that.
33 comments
Get a personal safety kit on Amazon and you should be fine as long as you always appear to know where you are going.
Yes absolutely. Just like any other country as long as you don’t go to stupid places at stupid times with stupid people you should be fine pretty much anywhere you go in the country.
Yes, you will be fine. Just don’t do anything you wouldn’t do in Australia basically. Don’t go walking around places with no other people around in the middle of the night in the city or something like that, which applies to basically anywhere in the world really.
Reddit has a lot of fear mongering about the US that’s simply false. Whether it be from our own citizens who barely go outside or non Americans with extreme cases of “America Bad”. You’re not going to get shot or something walking around outside. Ignore those people.
Almost everyone who does what you want to do comes out of it surprised at how different the US is compared to the preconceived notion they had in their heads from doomer media. We’re on the whole actually really nice.
You should be fine but ultimately it depends on where you go. Some areas/cities can have higher crime rates than others
Yes you will be just fine. Use good judgement and do what you wanna do.
The US has a lot of great areas, and from what I understand from foreigners we tend to be a very friendly nation. Obviously, you need to be careful anywhere, but as long as you’re not walking down Skid Row at 2am in your underwear you should be fine. Have fun! If you come to Los Angeles, don’t do it in June, July, or the beginning of August because hot.
I used to solo travel weekly as a woman in my 20s back when I had a consulting job circa 2017.
Caught a flight every Monday morning and stayed in a hotel by myself in whatever random city I was working in until Friday when I flew home. I would explore the cities solo after hours.
I also moved to both Chicago and San Francisco to live alone without knowing anyone there.
I’m 31 now. I’ve had some creepy encounters with weirdos here and there, but the biggest incident that’s ever happened to me is being groped by my seat mate on a Greyhound bus once on my way home from college. No muggings or physical threats or anything like that.
If you’re a woman, then you already know the drill: don’t leave your drink unattended, don’t get drunk by yourself, be alert in unfamiliar places after dark, don’t go walking alone late at night, be wary of who you tell you’re traveling alone, deadbolt your hotel door, trust your gut, etc.
Same as many cities around the world, US cities are fine as long as you know what parts to stay out of. Look that up before you go.
Our wilderness, on the other hand, is pretty wild with extreme weather and large predators, and I personally would never camp alone.
Do you plan to travel to cities or into the national park/state park wilderness?
Absolutely – where are ya going?
The US and fun and we love friendly people!
I’d say yes, as long as you use common sense, and do a little bit of research on the places you’re gonna be traveling to, you should be fine.
Like probably don’t go exploring the woods of Montana/Alaska by yourself without bear spray and a gun, don’t go walking around swamps in the southeast, and if you’re going to a big city, maybe look up what neighborhoods have a lot of gang violence, but 95% of the country (and probably 100% of the places you would likely even be interested in visiting) will be perfectly safe.
I’m not a woman, but I’ve drunkenly wandered around somewhat sketchy parts of various cities in the middle of the night by myself many times, and never had a problem. Not saying that’s smart by any means, but it’s not like it just becomes Gotham City after dark here or anything lol. (Outside of a few very specific neighborhoods which you can easily avoid with a quick google search on whatever city you happen to be in).
yes
Absolutely it’s safe, take the same precautions as you would in your own country and you’ll be fine
Yes. Be aware of your surroundings and don’t do silly stuff like wander around dark alleyways at night.
I’ve lived all over the US for the last 15-20 years as a woman, and it’s fine, but one thing to remember is that different regions can vary greatly. Mississippi will be a very different experience from Minnesota for example.
Do you know what states/regions you want to visit? I have been to all regions and been just fine, but certainly felt safer in some areas than others
relatively, yes. You should exercise the same precautions and situational awareness that you should solo travelling anywhere.
Yes. Obviously use common sense and don’t go into the wilderness without a partner, but you’ll be fine.
It’s safe just stay out of the more sketchy parts like Skid Row
Go watch some videos on YouTube by Eva zu Beck(32 year old from Poland)who has traveled a lot of the world and spent 6 to 8 months traveling the western part of the US and Alaska
I met a solo female traveler from South Korea while at Disney World, she said she started in Maine and worked her way down the coast, then was heading west. We added eachother on ig and she had a great time out west.
You’ll be fine. Americans are really nice and helpful. Your accent will be a huge hit and a reason for people to talk to you. They’ll ask you about Australia and generally be interested in you. We like people who are smiley and fun and lighthearted.
Just take reasonable precautions and you’ll be fine. There’s so many unique places to see and so many fun things to do. You’ll have an absolute blast. Update us!
Yeah. Especially if you’re sticking to the heavily populated touristy areas.
Just do the precautions you’d usually do I assume at home, avoid walking around sketchy areas at night. If you’re going to bars/clubs, don’t leave your drink unattended. Maybe keep a can of pepper spray on you if you’re worried about it (they’re readily accessible here, dunno about Australia)
And just generally good traveling safety: Make sure someone knows your itinerary. Keep your bags closed and in view, etc.
You have to be careful and stay out of bad areas in cities, which might not be always easy to identify. I’m a woman and I lived in DC, I used to go to Union Station at 5 am to catch the train to New York for work, and had to pass the masses of homeless sleeping there . Some were aggressive. I started having nightmares about it after a while. This was a civilised area in the middle of the city, just shady at that early time.
You’ll be safe most of the time.
Obviously though it should be mentioned it really heavily depends on the area and you need to take basic precautions even if it’s a safe area (this goes for any country one travels to).
For example, in California, I wouldn’t go to Oakland.
The US and Australia have almost the same exact rate of violence against women, so yeah.
https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/crime-victimization-australia-comparison-us#:~:text=Violent%20crimes%20of%20rape%20and,was%20double%20that%20of%20Australia.
You’d be safe! Enjoy!
You’ll be fine.
Use common sense. Don’t drink to oblivion. Be respectful. Don’t wander off into a deserted area.
Same as you would at home.
The U.S. is closely the size of Australia, so know it will take time to get around.
Plus, our public transportation isn’t all that great. But, [Amtrak Train System](https://www.amtrak.com/home?cmp=pdsrch-NAT%20%7C%20Non-Core%20DMA%20%7C%20Brand%20%7C%20Google%20%7C%20Exact-google&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIno_j0qCFhQMVxGtHAR3r_wz0EAAYASAAEgIV3vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) may be a great way to see the landscape while traveling.
The US is absolutely safe for a female solo traveler, as an Aussie, most of what you’ve heard about us is so exaggerated as to be almost fiction. Just pretend you’re going to Canada or a different part of Australia and you’ll be fine.
You’ll be fine, but be prepared to get hit on a lot – we love women with Aussie accents.
Yes, with the common sense caveats that others have given. But I’d like to add two things that I haven’t seen yet. First, do a quick search about American law, especially where driving laws and your rights are concerned. What you think you know about American laws from TV might not be quite right. You’ll want to know what to expect if you get pulled over. A couple youtube videos from reputable sources should do it.
And second, please get solid health insurance. There’s travel insurance policies at reasonable rates. Read the fine print, and in the unfortunate case that something happens to you medically while you’re here, get some good advice before you pay any large bills that remain after the insurance pays as you might have some payment options. Don’t avoid getting treatment for something you need out of fear of the bill.
Have fun!
Of course. Just take the same precautions everyone, everywhere, male or female, has to take: be aware of your surroundings; don’t get drunk/high and wander around or drive; lock your doors; check the back seat before getting into the car; don’t leave things unattended; don’t flash a bunch of cash or other expensive items; research where you are going to get an idea of the area (safety can change street by street in some cities); trust your gut; if someone tries to stop you when no one is around, do not stop for any reason; etc.
All of these precautions aren’t because it is particularly dangerous here compared to any other major country, it’s just a better safe than sorry kind of thing. Plenty of people throw all of these precautions out of the window all the time and are perfectly fine; you just don’t want to be one of the unlucky ones.
For sure. I am an American woman and have traveled solo. Just listen to your gut and don’t go into an area that’s shady looking.
Definitely. Just have common sense. The same as you would in your nation.
Crime in America is on the decline in general. Do the normal safe practices you would do while traveling in Australia and you should be fine. Don’t leave your drink unattended at a bar would be my main advice. Not sure if that’s as much of thing in Australia.
One of the safest, in fact.