Living in a city feels less dangerous than living in the country. amirite?

I think there are pros and cons for each. I live in the country (6 miles from a town of less than 1000 residents) and I've never had any problems. No break-ins, thefts, or even trespassers. Just a smashed mailbox within my first month here (the entire road was victim to the same). Other areas in the same county, though, definitely have some issues. The limitations of emergency responders, though, is definitely an issue. No chance of the fire department getting out here before my house burns down. EMT or ambulance response is also slow, and if a hospital is required that's a 30+ minute drive once the ambulance arrives. There are also some slight concerns about wildlife, most notably coyotes or venomous snakes (copperheads and rattlesnakes).

by No-Opposite-2024 2 days ago

Yes, when I lived in TN, there were a lot of coyotes and copperheads. A group of my friends and I actually almost got bit by a copperhead in the Cherokee National Forest.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

We have Rattlesnakes, Coyotes, Bears and Mt Lions. Good times.

by LavishnessBulky 2 days ago

Medical emergencies don't care if the EMTs are 5 minutes away or 50. Also access to doctors is much harder if you're far from a city center. (Which I now am in a city center and still struggle to find doctors…) I grew up in a very rural area, 60 minutes to the nearest hospital and I think that one isn't going to survive the Medicaid cuts.

by Cronincorbin 2 days ago

Yes, the concern about Medicaid cuts is very real. As I age I've been considering relocating somewhere closer to a hospital and more options for doctors.

by No-Opposite-2024 2 days ago

I just was doing some research and there are no delivery hospitals near me. That is scary.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Sounds like your mailbox took one for the team, huh? But seriously, you've nailed it - wildlife and that long wait for help definitely paint a vivid picture of living off the grid. Community counsel against venomous snakes should be a mandatory briefing at this point.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I fortunately live in one of those areas. Didn't realize it was so uncommon until after high school and I moved to Portland for a few years.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

To be fair Portland has been at different times notable in how bad it is (non-violent property crime). Even when comparing cities.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

That's actually very similar to my living situation. Everyone looks out for everyone else. Which I will be the first to admit is highly unusual in my city.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

They usually drive out to the country to steal.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Ok. If rural is limited to less than 500-1000 people then sure (although I know tiny villages where I wouldn't be confident anything in my car would still be there in the morning). My point was it depends. Which city and which small town. Because the worst drug problems (and therefore the worst crime) I've seen are all in small towns. And I live in a city with a really bad drug problem.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I think we agree more than disagree. It's all good. Everyone does it. Kudos for owning it and putting it in reverse. It takes class to do that.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I leave my car running like that all of the time and I have a bunch of tools and stuff in my car. I've honestly never been worried about it before.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Lol You say this like every rural and urban area are exactly the same. What you're saying is simply confirmation bias based on anecdotes, urban areas are inherently more crime ridden (more people in close proximity leads to greater frequency of crime not just overall, but per capita) and have higher rates of violence than rural areas there is zero evidence to back up what you are saying.

by BadgerTraditional640 1 day ago

Got some data on that? Because the last time I looked (Canada. Because that's where I live) the highest crime rates were mostly in the smallest towns or places so small I'd never heard of them.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Always tap in w locals any place you go.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Some wise words there - a fancy zip code doesn't guarantee safety. It's like the wild, wild west everywhere; you just get different kinds of cowboys and sheriffs depending on where you're at!

by Anonymous 1 day ago

So you're saying I could just show up and do whatever? Time to hit the backroads

by Unlucky_School 1 day ago

You can, just know there is an entire class of people living out in the boonies with an arsenal of guns. Waiting, hoping and praying for someone just like you shows up and they get to use them.

by Rodriguezjohan 1 day ago

and they usually have trail cams set up where you aren't gonna see em. that way they have ample time to sneak up on you and get you in their sights.

by Lilyan91 1 day ago

When I lived in the country in TN, this was my experience.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Sure, just remember - trespassers might become the starring role in someone's shotgun symphony. Choose your own adventure wisely!

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Hell no, don't do that.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I agree. My mom always says one of the reasons she loves living in the city is that if someone breaks in then neighbors can hear her scream. You don't get that out in the country.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Neighbors won't do anything anyway. Just get a gun to defend yourself, something that you are actually allowed to do outside of cities.

by Albert54 1 day ago

you can do those same things inside of the city. castle doctrine applies to any residence

by Lilyan91 1 day ago

Excuse me, I'm a trigger happy liberal.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

City life - where a scream is your ultimate neighborhood watch system! Stay safe out there.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Living in the country generally requires you to be prepared to handle emergencies on your own (to an extent)

by Anonymous 1 day ago

If a horse in your yard terrified you, you aren't cut out to live in the country.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I grew up in rural PA, where we still have Amish. And I also lived in rural TN. I've lived in the country more often than I've lived in the city. I was a 5'0", 111lb woman at the time. So, yes, a scared and lost horse running right by me scared me.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I am going to go the opposite direction and say if a panicking large livestock animal doesn't scare you at least a little but, you haven't spent time near them. Horses are cute and awesome when they're calm, but when they're spooked, they are scary. It's like a dog that's pissed off versus a calm dog.

by Ohararodrigo 1 day ago

Yes, it (didn't know the gender) was running right by me and rearing. I have no experience calming horses, and they can weigh up to a half a ton. I know people who had very severe head injuries from being kicked and trampled by nervous horses, so it scared me.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Horses can be extremely dangerous. She doesn't know that horses temperament. It's just as likely to walk up and nuzzle her as it is to kick her.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

That's just not true. I'm not saying a horse isn't a dangerous animal and that in this circumstance it's not a particularly dangerous animal. But with an open yard/patch of land, there is a near zero chance that horse waltzes over and kicks you intentionally.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

You can completely neutralize that danger by not approaching the horse though.

by Hyattreilly 1 day ago

I am very familiar with horses.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Horses are actually pretty easy to gauge, and they never kick without cause. And if one is freaking out and running around, just let em tire themselves out. Even when they are in a mood, they'll never intentionally go out of their way to run someone down.

by Albert54 1 day ago

Depends on what city but the country freaks me out as someone who grew up in the city

by Street_Revenue 1 day ago

15,000 people isn't a very small town.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Your experience is a poor people problem not a urban vs rural problem. Thats universal no matter where you live. Being around poor tweakers and drunks generally sucks no matter where you are.

by Parking_Possible 1 day ago

I'm not even poor, though. Our farmland sold for a lot of money when we moved. Erie is a poor area, but I make around the median income for the area. The area I lived in in TN was poor overall, but we weren't poor. I've always been middle to upper middle class.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

the more you need to drive, the more dangerous it is where you live

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Hmm.. not sure if I agree. I can hear gunshots in the country and think nothing of it. "Must be a farmer shooting away predators from his herd." But gunshots in a city? Absolutely not. I've been woken up at 3 am by gunshots across the street from my apartment. Never ever ever again do I want to feel that terror. All you can do is lay in bed and hope a stray bullet doesn't hit your general area. Also, the driving. In a city there's a lot of motorists and pedestrians. And they all drive like its an emergency. Sure, people still drive like assholes in the country, but there are far less, so if you trust yourself behind the wheel, you should be safer.

by wolfclare 1 day ago

Statistically driving in rural areas is much more dangerous as speeds are often much higher. There are fewer crashes but they are more likely to be fatal.

by Madison56 1 day ago

Statistics show this isn't even remotely the case

by Constant_Recording 1 day ago

What's the stats per Capita.

by AdTight5771 1 day ago

He saying it feels

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yep..and im saying statistics don't back up the anecdotes

by Constant_Recording 1 day ago

When I grew up in the country and something was stolen who would I have called? The town I lived in didnt have a police station. How are your statistics factored into the many small towns like that?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

If you factor in the amount of high speed car travel associated with rural living and access to healthcare, statistics show this is very true.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

What statistics? The ones you made up just now with these bizarre metrics?

by BadgerTraditional640 1 day ago

What statistics are you looking at? Because while cities have more total crimes, the per capita numbers tend to be significantly lower than rural areas. Are you just looking at absolute numbers? Because if so, yes NYC has more car accidents than all of Wyoming but also has 20x the population so it would be weird if they didn't.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Here are some statistics and they seem to disagree.

by Madison56 1 day ago

Stay in the city please!

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yup people will know something is wrong, will they do anything maybe, in the country no one will hear you scream

by Anonymous 1 day ago

And in some cities, no one will react to the scream.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Although I feel safer in a city .. depends on the area. .. the country is likely better for safety. Trouble with the country is that when the serial killer shows up there's no one to hear your screams 😞

by Tmitchell 1 day ago

I grew up in a big city and have lived in towns with 3-4 digit populations and I think it's far more nuanced than what you're getting at OP however I definitely agree that in the country you feel, and are, further away from first responders and stuff. However, the response rate of police and stuff is dependent on neighborhoods in the city too; just because a police station is a couple miles away doesn't mean they're gonna come out to an area they don't want to come out to. I think if you spent some significant time living in very bad areas or adjacent to them you'd realize it's a bit more nuanced, but I do understand what you mean here.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Different dangers, yeah. I never lived in a big city though so I can't say for sure what that's like. County pros? Extremely unlikely anyone will break into your home. Everyone is spaced out, most people have guns or dogs that'll bark, and to be blunt most of us don't have stuff the average robber is gonna want anyway. Some cons though? Risky behavior that goes unchecked. Neighbors lighting fires to burn their trash even though a little spark on dry grass could spread it rapidly. Everyone shoots guns as a pastime, minimal but nonzero chance it could go off-course. If something goes awry it's gonna take the cops awhile to even reach you. I've had coyotes, pigs and even a few loose bulls right outside my window. Most animals try not to confront humans, but still, best to keep indoors until it passes.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

That's why I have guns. Lol

by Kborer 1 day ago

It's true. There's a reason why people in rural areas always carry a gun on them. Somebody could rob them or hurt them and there wouldn't be a single witness. Might not even find the body for days or weeks.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I grew up out in the country. Homeowners and farmers houses and barns were always getting broken into by meth heads. I live in a large city now in a fairly cheap part of town and I can't remember the last time there was a break in in my neighborhood. Obviously there are bad parts of towns but still the common sentiment from people back home is "wow you live in the city? Way too dangerous." Like, my dudes, I don't know a single neighbor who has came home to their garage broken in to with a mower and tools gone. This still happens once a week in my small hometown.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I grew up on 100 acres of farmland, over 20 minutes from the nearest town, and my mom had a trailer on 2 acres of land across the street from the farmland. She set her trailer on fire while drinking, and because we were so far out, the fire department had problems finding her and the trailer burnt to the ground. Trailers burn quick. In the city, a trailer would also burn quick, but the city doesn't allow many (if any) trailers. Living in the country later in life with my grandparents produced a lot of tweakers who would ride into the country and steal from people. You think that they aren't doing this to people in the city? Furthermore, they would be pretty stupid to do this to people in the country because typically they are more armed. I find that aid comes more quickly and easily in the city, and you can kind of just avoid sketchy people or neighborhoods. In the country, people can just show up and do whatever before aid comes. Not saying it is fast in the country, but there are many times in the city where the responses are very delayed if they come at all, especially police. Also, when I was living in the country in TN, my neighbor's horse got loose and was running around our yard. It was terrifying because the horse was huge but also scared. That kind of stuff doesn't really happen in the city. But you just said you have to avoid the sketchy parts of town. That is far less likely to be an issue in the country. And if the big thing you are worried about is a scared horse in your yard, I bet your neighbor got there as quick as the could to get the horse out of your yard.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

In the city at least the cops come faster, people warn you, there's people around to hear you scream etc. My mother moved out into the country. Terrifying. No help is coming if something happened. Absolutely not. At least if I'm going to the park with my kids and some tweaker attacks me there are witnesses and the police station isn't that far away.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

The less people per square mile the better

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I 100% agree. This is why places like Arkansas have a higher crime rate than NYC or San Francisco. While cities have more crime they also have far more people and you're quite a bit less likely to be a victim of crime there.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I have found that when a regular guy walks into a "bad neighborhood" in a city, what will happen is several people will kindly ask if you are lost and will suggest you turn around. For every potential robber, there are 100 regular dudes who give you a warning that robbery is frequent here, for people who show disrespect. The people who get hurt ignored warnings and disrespected people's neighborhood. In a rural setting it is simply easier to accidentally disrespect someone or their property and nobody is around to warn.

by Illustrious_Rain_221 1 day ago

Crime is more dependent on poverty and socioeconomic inequality than any other factors. If you live in the poor part of a city, you're probably less safe than a rural area. If you live in a relatively well off part of the same city, you're probably better off than a farm in a rural area.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

But if you move out to the country, you can eat a lot of peaches.. Really. Millions of peaches. Peaches for free.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Depends.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I would take the issues of living outside of the city over the issues of living inside the city. I do enjoy living in a small town, but am 45 min away from the city and totally fine with that.

by Arelykuhic 1 day ago

I feel safer in the country with a rifle. I dont like being in the city, people are too close.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Oh the country is incredibly dangerous, you're all better off staying in the city. ;)

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I'm having this conundrum. I love the idea of living in the country, but it freaks me out that noone would hear if you called for help. If some psycho comes in your front door, you're on your own. I feel like I'd want multiple layers of security - motion detectors, dogs, automatic contact to law enforcement and/or neighbors, a flare system?? I don't know! How does one put up.an sos?!

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Think this boils down to ones confidence/self reliance.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Hell no. I will take my backwoods country home over a big city any day of the week. There might be lots of nutcase Trump supporters out here but everyone keeps to themselves and no one ever commits any huge crimes like murder. You just got your petty theft and low ball crimes sometimes.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

i live in the Twin Cities, MN. a few years ago, i was teaching a class at a nursing home in rural Minnesota. the group was nearly all women. mostly middle-aged, obese and sad looking. they stared at me like livestock until i get them to loosen up. at the end of the first break, this one ol' grouch asks "you live in the cities?" i reply "yes." she says she "feels sorry for me." i'm curious and ask "why?", knowing full well where this was going. her answer "because of all the stuff!" of course, she's referring to black and brown people. then, i say "statistically, i would have a shorter lifespan here in rural MN than i would in the cities. i'd be more likely to get cancer, diabetes or heart disease here. per capita, you have a higher rate of gunshot deaths here in rural MN. especially suicide. you have much higher rates of alcohol, opiate and meth addiction in rural MN than we do in the cities. i enjoy visiting farm country and i prefer city life." some of the other women were delighted that i shut her down. she glared at me from under her 80's mall-rat haircut.

by CryptographerNeat 1 day ago

My parents have a cabin in NJ, farm stands at every property that go by the honor system, totally safe. But every time I'm there I can't help but shake the feeling a murderer is going to break in and kill everyone. It's too quiet lol

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yeah and not to mention Bigfoot

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Depends on the city....Where I live honking at someone gets you shot at so...YKNOW

by Top_Past_8227 1 day ago

I agree with this.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I mean I agree with all your points, but your point is just the ops point, but from the opposite view. Like you are just saying it is more dangerous but you prefer the lifestyle it allows. Like don't get me wrong, I also like it, but it is SLIGHTLY more dangerous

by Zboncaklempi 1 day ago

I've a better chance of being robbed or in a car accident, etc, in a city, then I do in my rural area. Heck fires are more common and spread more in a city then rural but thats due to population density.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

That's what the second amendment is for. Go walk out on skid row at midnight and tell me you feel safe haha.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I do, but I am polite and move through bad areas quickly. I lived in Pittsburgh for 4 years, Erie for 6 (high crime) and was in Chattanooga a lot. I personally felt safer there than the rural areas in TN I lived in.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

You felt safe yet had to move through the dangerous parts quickly?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

it was a co-worker on his way to work

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Get a dog.

by Calm_Space3878 1 day ago

Then you'll have to worry about someone hurting your dog if they break in.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Lol. How would they do that without a throat? No one approaches my house unless they let me know they are coming first.

by Calm_Space3878 1 day ago

Not everyone is at home 24/7 and somebody breaking into you home who is ready to deal with large dogs (I.e., machete, gun) will likely kill your dog(s) on sight.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I have 2 GSD, 2 malinois, and a collie. They'll need to come with a machine gun or they are dog food.

by Calm_Space3878 1 day ago

You haven't lived in downtown Los Angeles, San Francisco to compare. Go ride public transport in one of these cities. At night. Alone.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Do most rural area even have public transit to compare?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

In the country it's dangerous from yourself and nature. In the city it's dangerous other ppl.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

That's because it generally is less dangerous. This is one of those unpopular opinions that is relatively common, but completely goes against all factual logic.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Neither are safe

by Anonymous 1 day ago

There are more people around to hurt/help in a city. There are less people to hurt or help you in the country.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Bruh, ever heard of a gun?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yeah, that's why I love the outskirts of a city. Close enough for services, but still have a few acres to spread out.

by NaturalAnything6096 1 day ago

I agree. I've seen Deliverance

by Fickle_Ad7003 1 day ago

I always felt this way too OP. After living in a rural area widely perceived as "safe" where I experienced (among other things) slumlords, medical malpractice, sexual harassment at work… I definitely think rural areas have unique structural challenges that aren't always obvious.

by Mindless-Pie 1 day ago