Planning to visit Arizona next year - probably Sedona, Flagstaff and Scotsdale (amybe Tucson if time allows). I was reading some stas. that said Arizona State was the third unsafest place in US - would you agree or disagree with this? If so, is one area better than others?

Which area is the nicest to visit for scenery and sightseeeing?

yes

I appreciate your replies to my queries starrsville, but could you be more specific? Yes and no is not much help. Thanks

Luckily Arizona State is in Tempe so you don't have to worry.

Is this serious?

I guess the list is Compton, East 14th St in Oakland, Arizona State...

what does in Tempe mean?

Maybe the third unsafest state in terms of sun stroke, rattlesnakes, and scorpions?

Oh from a previous post I see you are from the UK so my joke bounced off you...

Arizona State is a university in Arizona.

Relax. You'll be fine in Arizona. Plan your trip how you want and don't worry about crime, danger, etc.

I would be curious to know what criteria was used to determine safety?

Arizona is mostly desert and some what mountainous in parts, which means there are plenty of hazards related to climate and geography. It is also fairly rural once you get outside of the population centers, so emergency services may be hard to come by in many areas.

lynn, you asked specific questions. You received specific answers. Given your first two questions, I would imagine that many more will be on the way.

One great way to start planning your trip is to read the information on this board others have used to plan their trips and the resulting trip reports.

And, I still agree with my answer to your question, "Is Arizona safe". Yes.

cheers - now I know what the Yes was in response to. You see I said do you agree or disagree about it being safe, so I wasn't sure which it refreed to. Thanks for everyone else responding too.

Sounds like its no more unsfae than anywhere else!

It's just a weird question. How on earth could you classify any state as safe or unsafe? And what does unsafe even me? According to what criteria?

The main problems are gand activity and drug smuggling, bot of which foster violence. But the violence is mainly within the gangs and drug smuggling/selling groups. You will generally have nothing to worry about, although there are some areas of most cities that you would want to stay away from at night.

To help you decide where to go, here is some information:

If it is during the Summer it will be HOT in much of Arizona, with Phoenix and tucson being over 100F. So you would probably want to spend time in northern Arizona, which is higher in elevation and cooler. The things you would definitely want on your list are the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Check out my report on a recent trip we took there. It includes pictures.

http://p104.ezboard.com/feuropetogof...icID=252.topic


If you will be coming during cooler months (October through April/May) it will be quite chilly up north, so you should consider southern Arizona. There is an awful lot to see and do around Tucson. I have put my list of things to see and do online. Please visit
http://mikepintucson.blogspot.com/
for my list, complete with clickable links.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of folks from other countries read and hear lots about unsafe conditions here in the US.

Lynn -- I think the part of Arizona the stats may have been talking about are close to the border between the US and Mexico.

Generally speaking, most areas where tourist from other countries go are safe and can be enjoyed provided you use common sense when traveling and don't do things you wouldn't do at home.

Hope this helps...
Debi

There are definitely areas of Arizona that would be classified as pretty unsafe (along the border w/Mexico in particular) but the cities you've mentioned are fine.

As far as which area is nicest for scenery/sightseeing, that is all dependent on what you like or want to see. Flagstaff is closest to the Grand Canyon, as has some good mountain scenery close by as well. Sedona is famous for its red rocks. Scottsdale itself isn't much, but there are many parks and wilderness areas near the Phoenix metro, ranging from desert to mountain terrain. Tucson is similar to Scottsdale, with mountains to the north and east and desert all around.

There are places in every city, state, town, village, etc. that are NOT safe. Do you hang out in those places ? If not, I rather doubt if you will be hanging out in them in Arizona. I live in Tucson, it's no better or worse then anyplace else. Get a grip here, please.

What I have heard is the biggest "unsafe" thing in the "border areas" is that group of extremist militiamen and women who like to do target practice in the midle of the night.

Katie bar the door!

Safe is a relative term. I know that the UK had only NINE gun related deaths in 2005 and that was for the WHOLE COUNTRY for an ENTIRE YEAR.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, there were 28,663 firearm deaths in the US in 2000. Even if the rate has gone down, that still is more than 3000 times as many.

By that measure, even places like Canada that have a tiny fraction of the violence the US does would seem dangerous to a UK citizen.

That said, I feel perfectly safe whenever I travel to Arizona (I'm in DC).

In DC last year there were about 300 gun deaths. That's not the whole country.

That's not an entire state.

That's one mid-sized CITY!

Yikes! The sky is falling!

Seriously, there are sections of my hometown that are not safe. Use common sense, especially at night.

Bardo, I'm calling BS on that statistic about the UK. I'll bet there's WAY more than 9 firearm deaths per annum. Prove it!