Now it's the French worrying about purse snatching here!
 

This French Government website

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/con...ts-unis-12311/

warns tourists of areas to avoid in the US because of petty crime.

In Boston tourists are warned to avoid walking or traveling at night in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan and advises tourists to be aware during festivals and celebrations in Chinatown, the North End, and the Fenway. They don't specifically mention car flipping after the World Series, but they probably have it in mind.

It is the same the whole world over.

Wow, the entire country sounds scary - even without worrying about those shark attacks.

Maybe I should emigrate the hell out of here...

You sometimes see posts here from tourists from the US, asking if it is safe in Europe; ie 'looking for a hotel in a safe area in London'. Or recently from a mother helping her college age kids with organising a 'safe' trip to Europe.

I don't look at the US boards, but are there similar questions there from Europeans who are worried about safety in the US?

That about sums it up from shark attacks to late night, weekend violence. No mention however of being shot while attending school or of being car jacked.

Wonder what they say about Deeeeetroit?

I don't know how the average tourist could possibly find themselves in Dorchester or Mattapan. Roxbury perhaps if they strayed out of the South End. I must have spent 20+ years walking all over Boston with my wallet in my back pocket and never came close to having a problem. In Paris I'd tell someone to kick me if they ever saw me doing that.

>>are there similar questions there from Europeans who are worried about safety in the US?<<

I wouldn't be surprised. There have been occasional horrific crimes against British tourists who strayed unawares into risky neighbourhoods (bits of Miami, mostly, if I recall correctly).

Pal: I was sitting next to a Mexican doctor at a weekly Spanish-speakers get-together here in Spokane. I told him I'd like to go to Mexico, but that I feel it might be dangerous.

He said, "It's not dangerous. I lived in Detroit for five years. THAT was dangerous."

The French expression for a super dangerous area is "C'est Chicago!" (The expression dates from the Al Capone days, but it is still used quite often.)

This forum gets dozens of questions about safety in Europe. Europeans and the British never post such questions in the US forums, even when perhaps they should.

The irony is that both Europe and America can look dangerous from the point of view of the other. The French sie warns people not to leave luggage visible in a parked car. How many times have we read that here, applying to Italy or France? It is good travel advice anywhere.

How would a French tourist find himself in Dorchester, Mattapan, or Roxbury? The same way an American might find himself in any of the banlieues: taking the wrong train on the T. You start off to the Kennedy Library, miss the stop where the Red Line divides, and pretty soon you are getting on the wrong bus in Ashmont. A Scottish friend found himself on a Dudley-Mattapan bus because he knew Mattapan was near Milton, where he was going, and Dudley looked on the bus map like a good place to make a connection.

We don't have gypsies, but there are well - dressed men in the Back Bay and Fenway who have a flat tire and need $7 to buy a can of flat tire fixer. The good ones give back $3 change from a $10 to prove their bona fides and carefully copy down your address to send you the rest. The man whose car broke down and needs to get a train home to Worcester is famous. He will pay you back as soon as he gets home.

If you want to have your iPhone stolen at knifepoint, walk around the streets that border BU and Brookine after dark. The bad guys know the pickings are easy because students, like tourist, don't think.

We don't have many ZTL's to worry about, but it is possible to get into messes in cars right here. Some relatives who had been told very carefully to get off Route 128 at the second Milton exit naturally got off at the first one and pulled their 35 foot camper into Egleston Square before they realized they were lost.

Again my point in posting this was to poke a bit of gentle fun at our worries abroad and to remind us that seeing ourselves as others see us at home may open our eyes to things we miss through familiarity.

peg about "It's not dangerous. I lived in Detroit for five years. THAT was dangerous."-

He is probably one of the few bolks to survive to be able to say that - many never come out!

FMT, my thoughts exactly. Where are the warnings for Philly?