# Debunk fears of your city or country here! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 20, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213 "2014-06-20T15:47:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/21 "2014-06-20T20:51:41Z")
San Francisco is cold in the summer. Bring a jacket and long pants. Don’t call it Frisco. Texas has green grass, green shrubs and green forests. It’s not all flat. It’s not all filled with bigots. However, the heat and humidity are not exaggerations. I had all the New Jersey misconceptions before I went there. I found it to be a beautiful state, and the people were very friendly. And Indiana has hog farms between the corn and soybean fields. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/22 "2014-06-20T21:14:33Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I don’t live in Belfast but it is a safer city than any I’ve ever been in. > So if you visit Ireland, particularly Northern Ireland, your chances of dying in a terrorist attack are possibly lower than they are in much of the world and all of NI is as safe as you are going to get in Western Europe for the most part. > > Not sure if people internationally have any worry about Dublin, I know Irish people from outside Dublin used to think it was full of drug addicts. It is but they are for the most part harmless. > > So bombs, guns, terrorists, not really on the menu if you visit Ireland. When I was a kid growing up in New York (Sixties/Seventies), my best friend and his family used to go to Northern Irelnd for at least part of the summer almost every year. Based on all the terrible news stories I saw, I once told his Dad (who’d been born outside Belfast) they shouldn’t go to Northern Ireland because it was too dangerous. He’d laugh and say sarcastically, “Sure, we’ll just stay here in New York City, where it’s nice and \*\*\* safe\*\*\*.” That was back when NY had about 2,000 murders a year… waaaay more than any Irish city had, even at the height of The Troubles. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/23 "2014-06-20T21:32:12Z")
Los Angeles air quality has massively improved since the last century. There hasn’t been a First Stage smog alert in years, and the evening news doesn’t even bother with smog forecasts anymore. ENOUGH WITH THE SMOG JOKES ALREADY. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/24 "2014-06-20T21:32:56Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > As I’ve noted on these boards earlier: Americans tend to know nothing about Euope, and are often absurdly proud of their ignorance. Europeans THINK they know a lot about America, are usually wrong, and are absurdly proud of what they think they know. That’s a good observation, and if you’ve said it here before I’m glad you repeated it because I never noticed it. > [@lost4life](#): > > Detroit isn’t that bad and is actually a fun, vibrant place. Sure, you might get shot once or twice, but it’s usually not fatal and there’s excellent healthcare 50 miles away in Ann Arbor! > > But seriously, Detroit is not that bad. This is good to hear because I’ve been under the impression that it actually was as bad as people say. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/25 "2014-06-20T21:50:42Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > Hawaii is one of the 50 states. We have Wal-Mart, Target, Whole Foods, Best Buy, McDonalds, etc. There are skyscrapers, freeways, and suburban subdivisions (not grass shacks). But that’s exactly what’s _so bad_ about modern-day Hawaii (meaning, at least in places like Honolulu). Back when Elvis filmed Blue Hawaii, it was actually a vacation destination that was _different_ from your own big-city home town. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/26 "2014-06-20T22:03:21Z")
The food in London is pretty good unless you eat entirely at fast food places and the Angus Steakhouse. There is rarely fog and never smog. I’m not sure there are any other misconceptions about the city, though. I mean, what negative things do people think about London before coming here? Unfriendly? Depends on your perspective but for some people it would seem unfriendly. Expensive? Yes. Crowded? Yes, it’s a capital city. Some of the “misconceptions” listed about the places above are not conceptions I had to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/27 "2014-06-20T22:07:39Z")
I’m going to Nairobi in a few months for a couple of days. I then plan on travelling around the Serengeti and then going to the beach for a few days though I have not planed it any more specific than that. Anybody want to lay my fears to rest? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/28 "2014-06-20T22:14:09Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > As I’ve noted on these boards earlier: Americans tend to know nothing about Euope, and are often absurdly proud of their ignorance. Europeans THINK they know a lot about America, are usually wrong, and are absurdly proud of what they think they know. > > Euros who find out I live in Texas invariably assume that I own a gun and that I see gunplay on a regular basis. After all, everybody knows that Texans are trigger happy maniacs who shoot first and ask questions later. > > In reality, I’ve never owned a gun, don’t personally know anybody who does, and have never known anybody who’s been involved in a shooting in ANY capacity. Can’t speak for the Euros, but I traveled extensively in the Singapore/Indonesia/Australia areas and everyone assumed I owned an oil well or two and several hundred head of cattle. I did own a Stetson hat and I wore it travelling; it seemed to magically open doors for me. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/29 "2014-06-20T22:21:12Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > When I was a kid growing up in New York (Sixties/Seventies), my best friend and his family used to go to Northern Irelnd for at least part of the summer almost every year. > > Based on all the terrible news stories I saw, I once told his Dad (who’d been born outside Belfast) they shouldn’t go to Northern Ireland because it was too dangerous. > > He’d laugh and say sarcastically, “Sure, we’ll just stay here in New York City, where it’s nice and \*\*\* safe\*\*\*.” > > That was back when NY had about 2,000 murders a year… waaaay more than any Irish city had, even at the height of The Troubles. You’d have to compare populations, NI was only about 1.5 million at the time but also most murders in the north’s Troubles were concentrated in a few pretty small geographical areas of Belfast, Derry and a few other areas. Where my family hails from in West Tyrone was largely unscathed by the violence up until the Omagh Bombing of 1998. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/30 "2014-06-21T02:43:03Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > But that’s exactly what’s _so bad_ about modern-day Hawaii (meaning, at least in places like Honolulu). > > Back when Elvis filmed Blue Hawaii, it was actually a vacation destination that was _different_ from your own big-city home town. Yeah, I should’ve mentioned that I discuss those first two when Military pals are getting stationed in Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/31 "2014-06-21T02:52:41Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > (Inspired by this thread, by a future vacationer concerned about seeing Neo-Nazis in Germany: [Going to Germany this summer. How much Neo-Naziism will we encounter? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=726360)) > > Do people express fears of visiting your city, state/province, or country that strike you as overblown or disproportionate? Debunk them here! > > I’ll kick it off: Folks tend to have some very odd and out-dated views of crime in DC. The city is divided into four quadrants - Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast - and a lot of folks are told that it’s exceedingly dangerous to leave Northwest (unless it’s to visit Capitol Hill/Eastern Market). > > Utter hogwash. While it’s true that incomes are generally lower outside Northwest (with some important exceptions), there are fantastic places to visit all over the city, and it’s perfectly safe to do so. The H Street corridor in Northeast has outstanding food and drink, and the National Arboretum is in Northeast. Some of the best green spaces in the city are east of the Anacostia River, with outstanding bicycling opportunities, and downtown Anacostia (also known as “OMG I’M SCARED OF ANACOSTIA”) has some fascinating architecture. > > If you’re just visiting DC for the standard tourist things - and there’s nothing wrong with that - the truth is that you probably won’t find yourself leaving Northwest or Capitol Hill. But if you let people convince you that it isn’t safe to leave the areas, or even to visit formerly dodgy bits of NW (Shaw, for example), you’re missing out on a lot. There are parts of East Of The River Southeast DC that are indistinguishable from Northwest DC if you don’t know where you are. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/32 "2014-06-21T05:37:23Z")
I live back and forth between El Paso, TX and McAllen, TX. Most of the headlines surrounding these places state things such as “Cartel Warzone,” “Flood of Illegals,” “Drug Bust,” “Terrorist Gang War,” and so on. Friends and relatives who live in places like Memphis and Chicago are afraid to come here. I won’t deny that those are issues, but they generally involve clandestine activities, which as a rule, are hidden from view. The murder rates for both areas are very low in comparison to other metros. The only dangers most people will ever encounter here are heatstroke, overeating, and boredom. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/33 "2014-06-21T07:31:50Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > I’m going to Nairobi in a few months for a couple of days. I then plan on travelling around the Serengeti and then going to the beach for a few days though I have not planed it any more specific than that. Anybody want to lay my fears to rest? I was in Nairobi three years ago and had no problems. The people were friendly. I walked around the main city centre and also used the local buses on a couple of occasions. I never felt any sense of risk or danger. Just use the normal, common sense approach. The thing that will drive you crazy is the endless traffic jams - although a whole lot of new roads were under construction when I was there. Perhaps things have improved now. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/34 "2014-06-21T07:48:42Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > No, Orange County (CA) is not some cultural wasteland of endless suburbia dominated by angry right-wing Republicans. I grew up there, and I beg to differ. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/35 "2014-06-21T08:32:50Z")
You probably won’t be shot if you visit Oakland. Seriously, while the city has a lot of problems, it also has some very nice areas. It has interesting and exciting restaurants, great clubs and a vibrant arts scene. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/36 "2014-06-21T13:43:49Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I was in Nairobi three years ago and had no problems. The people were friendly. I walked around the main city centre and also used the local buses on a couple of occasions. I never felt any sense of risk or danger. Just use the normal, common sense approach. > > The thing that will drive you crazy is the endless traffic jams - although a whole lot of new roads were under construction when I was there. Perhaps things have improved now. Yeah, Nairobi traffic is terrible. I never had a problem there, but I found the city kind of boring. To be fair, I never spent much time there, just passing through on the way to the national parks, which I think is some of the most beautiful places on earth. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/37 "2014-06-21T15:45:12Z")
Portland is actually a moderately safe place to visit-The werewolves won’t bother you as long as you keep your Portland BitePass current. ---
**Author:** ![Phila444](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba8739/32.png) [@Phila444](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phila444)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/38 "2014-06-21T16:51:40Z")
Philadelphia We’re not all loud, obese, marble-mouthed savages who live vicariously through the local sports teams. We also don’t all worship a fictitious boxer. There’s a hell of a lot more to eat in Philly than cheesesteaks and soft pretzels. Like any major city, there are areas you’d be wise to avoid, but there are a lot of safe and quite beautiful parts of Philly to enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/39 "2014-06-21T18:34:49Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > You probably won’t be shot if you visit Oakland. Seriously, while the city has a lot of problems, it also has some very nice areas. It has interesting and exciting restaurants, great clubs and a vibrant arts scene. This is what I came on to say. I’ve heard people recount stories of accidentally turning off in Oakland as if they’ve narrowly survived a bad week in Kabul. Oakland has it’s rough spots-- maybe even a lot of them. But it also has exclusive neighborhoods, hipster handouts, middle class areas and whatever else you can expect to find in a city. It’s a nice place to live if you like that kind of underdog charm. ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/40 "2014-06-21T20:18:38Z")
New York City: -Is not always horrendously expensive -Living affordably does not mean cramming into a super tiny apartment with 10 roommates -The outerboroughs are safe for exploring -You will probably not get mugged or pick pocketed -Most people actually are polite -Harlem is a fun and vibrant neighborhood with lots of parks and shopping- it is safe to go to 125th st and above - There are not always tons of people around, you can find privacy - Some of us actually do cook at home, it’s not all fast food and ordering out - The subway system is not that confusing. There are maps and signs everywhere With New York the misconceptions are endless. That’s only the tip of the ice berg. Here’s one last funny one. My dad said to me “People don’t actually refer to New York as ‘The City’ do they” and I was like “Uh…” (We do, as in “we’re going back to the city” if we’re coming back from another borough.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213.md?page=3)