How safe do you feel where you live?

[Luanne]

I was just thinking about the thread below regarding being overprotective of your children.

 

How safe do you feel where you live? I honestly don't feel safe going anywhere alone. Maybe I am just paranoid, but I rarely go anywhere unless I have someone with me.

[keptwoman]

I feel quite safe here. I'd happily walk the streets alone and I don't mind the kids going to the park without me.

[Jean in Newcastle]

We get a monthly report on the police blotter for our little city. 90% of crime in this little city is car theft or car break-ins. The other 10% is domestic violence related. I feel safe walking on the roads in our town and feel safe allowing my children to walk to the park. My children always have walkie-talkies with them to communicate with me if they go down to the park (one block away) without me. They have been instructed to start talking to me if anybody they don't know walks by them. That way I can know if there is any trouble right away.

 

I do not like to go into the woods without my two Springer spaniels. With them in tow (esp. the protective male) I feel relatively safe. I do not feel safe walking at night even with the dogs.

[Renthead Mommy]

Well, since moving here, my then 5 year old, and many of the younger neighbors have been playing outside in the open field all by themselves. They sort of have free reign to run and play where ever back there as long as they are in yelling distance.

 

Of coures it helps that you have to show ID to get in, and the gate guards have M-16 strapped to them when you drive in!

 

My mother called it the ultimate gated community! (she's into that sort of thing:001_rolleyes:).

 

In case you don't know, we live on an AFB (but only for another 12 hours!!! The plane is here we leave tomorrow morning FINALLY)

 

While I can live without a lot of all the BS associated with it, I'm very glad my son got to live sort of free range between ages 5 and 7. Sort of like we had growing up. It was wonderful for him.

 

Life will be very different when we move to Long Island. Think of a puppy the first time you put him on a leash type of thing. No you can't play outside by yourself. No you can't go to the public bathroom by yourself. No you can't walk down to someone's house alone. Very, very different.

[momofkhm]

It's only when I think about it that maybe I shouldn't. I run alone but usually with the dog. But if the dog is acting up or one of the girls took him running or if I waited to late and it's now too hot, I'll go by myself. I let oldest dd go around the lake with just the dog. I let middle dd go around the "block" with just the dog. Either girl and the dog can take youngest ds around the block.

 

When I think about it though ... There was a flashing incident around the lake within the last month or so. And a good friend who runs alone doesn't feel comfortable because of one creepy guy following her. But she runs early when there aren't too many people exercising yet. I go much later when there are tons of people around. DDs usually go later than I do. OH! The girls do have to take a cell phone with them whether they go around the lake or the block.

[Pamela H in Texas]

VERY safe. We don't lock doors, windows, the house, the cars, the shed, anything. We have only had one incident that left us ???? but it turned out innocent enough and nothing further came of it. We live a bit outside a small town. Even in town, except in one area, we are perfectly comfy. If we lived in town, my kids (teens) would have almost unlimited freedom. I wish we lived in town. As it is, we're too isolated, imo.

 

I have an overprotective streak. My hubby's is even stronger. But we really fight it in the best interests of our children.

[Janet in Toronto]

We live in a residential neighborhood in a large urban Canadian city. I routinely walk in my neighborhood, with and without my dog, to run errands. My sons (17 and 14) go to school on public transit and the older one walks the dog at night (around 10). I walk from the subway to my car at night without concern. The crime rate is low here, and the little crime we have is break and enter or theft from cars. Our yappy terrier prevents anyone from being interested in our house...we only put the alarm on when we're away for a number of days and the dog is with us or boarding.

[lynn]

Very safe here. I don't have any problem going out alone or at night of course like every other city there are places you just don't want to go when you are alone or at night. I am very cautious of my surroundings but I am not paranoid. I run through a couple of neighborhoods every week by myself and have not issues with it at all.

[Garga]

In Baltimore I felt very unsafe. Locked all the doors. Checked in and under the car before getting in. Locked the car doors the second I was in the car and drove off as quickly as possible. Made a point of looking at my surroundings very carefully everywhere I went--looking at each person. Wouldn't wait in the car outside of convenience stores (car jacking). Always kept a key in my hands when walking to poke someone in the eye if I had to. Etc. But Baltimore was like the 3rd most dangerous city in the US when we lived there, so I thought it was necessary.

 

But 5 years ago we moved to a small town and I feel much safer. I've somewhat relaxed my vigilance, but still try to stay in the habit of keeping myself safe, just in case... The other people who grew up around here aren't as spooked as I am. They leave their house and car doors unlocked and stuff.

 

As far as my kids' safety, I keep my vigilance up for them. I'm with them constantly.

Edited June 7, 2009 by Garga

[creekland]

I feel completely safe where we are. We don't even have a house key on our keychains (it's never locked). My kids free range anywhere on our farm or on our road though they have to tell us where they are going so we know in case we need them.

 

When we go shopping I'll lock our van if there's anything in it (bags, etc), but that's about it.

 

I'm really, really glad to live in such an area.

[Melissa in Australia]

I feel very safe here. we have geese :D. better than a watch dog!

[Laura Corin]

I feel very safe. The boys wander round the village and countryside on their own. I have no problem walking around town on my own at night. Calvin is also free to roam in town, but Hobbes isn't entirely traffic-safe.

 

Laura

[stripe]

I feel safe enough in terms of crime. But my son recently had a neighborhood boy of the same age throw a large rock at his head for no reason whatsoever, which required a trip to the ER, so I no longer feel safe doing anything other than keeping an eye on just WHO is near them and WHAT exactly that person is doing. At ALL times. I also don't like when little kids (or their parents!) come over and use rude language or start screaming at someone, so I prefer to supervise and / or tell the other kid to behave or redirect the language, and I've also been on hand to suggest to a kid that it's time to go home to use the bathroom.

[TravelingChris]

Very safe in my neighborhood. Moderately safe in the larger community but O just keep aware. We have crime reports here weekly and our neighborhood has one report of stranger crime in the five and a half months we have lived here and that was a GPS unit from an unlocked car. (THe other was an employee or acquaintance theft of money from a house).

 

I also realized this week how much safer even my shopping area is when I had to travel to another area to pick up a prescription that my pharmacy was out of. As my daughters remarked, the illegals hanging out in our area don't bother people and seem to be looking for a job. The illegals in the other area were menacing and not looking for a job but for trouble. I am going to try to arrange things so I don't have to go there anymore.

[laughing lioness]

Pretty darn. We are very rural.

[Nestof3]

Our city is one of the safest in the Tidewater area, and our neighborhood is what I would consider safe. I am not sure if we will live here in 20 years or not, though. It is one of the least expensive neighborhoods in our city -- a rank above the neighborhoods known for crime/drugs, etc. The neighborhood itself is starting to look run-down -- people not caring about their property, lots of renters, etc. It's sad that more crime and neglect of property comes from lower income neighborhoods. I don't even like driving into Norfolk or Newport News anymore.