# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/101 "2014-06-25T20:21:53Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > I’ve lived in the Midwest (US) my whole life, 33 years now, and my house has never been destroyed by a tornado. No one I know has had their house destroyed by a tornado. My great-uncle’s calf barn did have its roof picked up, rotated 90 degrees, and dropped back into place. That’s all. Same for over here. Have I seen a tornado, sure I have (it’s kind of a spectator sport here) but I’ve never had any damage done by one and I’m 47. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/102 "2014-06-25T22:09:33Z")
Your chances of being carjacked while driving in Chicago, even in an area of questionable overall safety, are between trivial and none. You’re more likely to be mown down by one of our taxi drivers. Said taxi drivers, while apparently intent on vehicular homicide, will get you to your destination without deliberately ripping you off. Public transit here is, in fact, generally safe, clean, and reliable. The city has invested considerably in new infrastructure and in systems to keep riders informed of bus and train arrivals. I’m serious. ---
**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 26, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/103 "2014-06-26T02:47:48Z")
When was that? I remember when Metro was built and I can say that it is now in it’s worst state ever. It’s still shocking to see people eating on Metro to me, in the 80s that never happened, it was pristine. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/104 "2014-06-26T15:24:14Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Not true; you don’t have to go to Ann Arbor for great care. When I got stabbed they took me to a fine level II trauma center at 8 Mile and Grand River. They really know how to treat gunshot wounds as well. Might even meet the fellow who injured you (and his friends) at the hospital in the next room. Great place Detroit; come over anytime and we’ll show you around. That’s not exactly debunking the fears of Detroit; I’d have expected Detroit to have great trauma care for gunshots and stabbings, just like I’d expect E. St. Louis and New Orleans to have the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/105 "2014-06-26T15:34:43Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Most of our cities are Democratic oases, with museumst & theaters & diverse cuisines. (More than Barbecue & Tex Mex.) Yeah, Austin isn’t the lone preserve of culture in Texas; in almost all ways, Houston and Dallas have it beat, between the Wortham Center, Meyerson, Winspear, Jones Hall, Bayou Place, etc… They’re just not “cool” and don’t have crappy two-bit musicians playing too loudly in every possible venue and non-venue in town. (seriously- who needs some doofus playing acoustic covers of lite-rock too loud while you’re shopping for groceries?) Plus, Houston and Dallas both have real immigrant communities and the associated restaurants and markets that go with them. I don’t think Austin has any serious immigrant population except from California and other states. Houston especially has a really vibrant food scene- on par with Austin, but again, Houston’s not cool, so you don’t hear about it unless you’re from there, or visit there often. Dallas’ scene is getting better, but still needs some work. ---
**Author:** ![gms453](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@gms453](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gms453)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/106 "2014-06-27T01:21:52Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > No, Orange County (CA) is not some cultural wasteland of endless suburbia dominated by angry right-wing Republicans. True. There are a lot of angry left-wing Democrats there, too. ---
**Author:** ![gms453](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@gms453](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gms453)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/107 "2014-06-27T01:30:25Z")
> [@LibrarySpy](#): > > If you come to Charlotte, you WILL get carjacked. > > However, it’s not a po-dunk redneck town full of sweaty Republicans. We have an amazing theater scene, opera, symphony, and art galleries and museums everywhere. It’s the opposite of a cultural wasteland. But be forewarned: there are far more smug, silly and pretentious Democrats there than you may think (and they’re just as sweaty as the Republicans). ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/108 "2014-06-27T01:56:07Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > For real. If you’re one of those people who seriously and stubbornly say that you refuse to visit Australia because of the dangerous wildlife, then you are the silliest creature imaginable and ought to be mocked and ridiculed publicly, you utter, utter moron. My Aussie friends need to cut it out then. Because they’re always posting links like this one: > **[37 Pictures That Prove Australia Is The Craziest](https://www.buzzfeed.com/simoncrerar/pictures-that-prove-australia-is-the-craziest)** > > Let's count the ways Australia is trying to kill all the Australians. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/109 "2014-06-27T02:02:08Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Right. But I heard the drop bears can smell the difference between Aussies and tourists. 😛 The locals smell of vegemite so the drop bears leave us alone.😉 From a misconception perspective rather than a fear, Australia is a big place, it doesn’t all look the same or have the same climate. Depending on which part of the country you’re visiting will depend on whether you wear singlets and shorts all day or overcoats. So if you’re not visiting because you think it’s too hot; too cold; too wet; too dry; etc, just look for a part that suits you. There’s plenty of it. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/110 "2014-06-27T02:05:44Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > My Aussie friends need to cut it out then. Because they’re always posting links like this one: > > [37 Pictures That Prove Australia Is The Craziest](http://www.buzzfeed.com/simoncrerar/pictures-that-prove-australia-is-the-craziest) > > :eek: Yeah but apart from that stuff it’s all good and safe.😃 ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/111 "2014-06-27T04:34:28Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > My Aussie friends need to cut it out then. Because they’re always posting links like this one: Australia’s dangerous creatures kill around [5 people a year](http://www.bobinoz.com/migration-advice/australias-killer-creatures-the-truth-about-deaths/) in total. Twice that many die from bee stings alone. The last death from a redback spider bite was in 1956. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/112 "2014-06-27T14:50:16Z")
> [@bump](#): > > That’s not exactly debunking the fears of Detroit; I’d have expected Detroit to have great trauma care for gunshots and stabbings, just like I’d expect E. St. Louis and New Orleans to have the same thing. Yeah, we’re being facetious. Some of the neighborhoods in Detroit and surrounding communities are wastelands, but Detroit’s had shit like that for a long time. Detroit has lots of restaurants, bars, bands, festivals, sports, etc. There’s a lot going on, and you probably won’t get shot. It has a ton of financial and internal struggles, but that doesn’t stop people from having a good time. I’m not saying its reputation is totally undeserved, just way, way overblown. If you’re ever “stuck” going there, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. If you Google “Detroit” and look for pics, you’ll notice that almost all the shots are of decaying, crumbling buildings. People get the impression that’s all there is. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/113 "2014-06-28T15:00:44Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > Ok… > > 1. As far as I know, there is only one person in my 20 person office who carries a gun daily. And only one other who goes to a shooting range regularly. The average person isn’t armed. I’ve been offline for a few days…but ironically, the same day I posted this, I found out that a friend of mine was at my local Sears, next in line, when the cashiers were held up at gun point. No shots were actually fired, but she’s pretty shaken up about it. Not to give the wrong impression - I feel completely safe here, and don’t remember the last time I even saw a gun that wasn’t attached to a police officer. Sure, there are people with guns, but it isn’t a dangerous place. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/114 "2014-06-28T18:28:24Z")
Others have already mention New Jersey. Although we are the most densely populated state most of it is still rural. One selling point is that I live in arural area and I’m still about an hour away from either NYC or Philly. My last house had a view of cornfields and farm silos. Since no one has said differently I will continue to believe that New Zealand is full of orcs and hobbits. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/115 "2014-06-28T18:57:35Z")
No not everyone in L.A is associated with the entertainment industry. No people are mostly not fake. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/116 "2014-06-28T20:23:57Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I’ll just back up what the other Australians have said: I’m nearly 50, never lived anywhere but Australia, been out into the country on many occasions, and I’ve never been bitten by anything worse than a mosquito. To the best of my knowledge, nobody I’ve ever met (and I’ve met a _lot_ of people) has ever been bitten, stung, or harmed in any serious way by any native creature. > > Yes, we do have some particularly nasty wildlife, but it’s also very rare and very shy, and your chance of coming into contact with any of it, unless you deliberately seek it out and provoke the fuck out of it, Steve Irwin style, is zero. Many more Americans are killed by bears every year than Australians are killed by anything native to Australia. I’ve never been to Australia, but here in the states, deer (number one because of deer-car collisions), dogs, bees and wasps pretty much top the “animals that may kill you” list and even then the [numbers are awfully low](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer%E2%80%93vehicle_collisions). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/117 "2014-06-29T01:43:13Z")
> [@CatherineZeta](#): > > 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.) Most people in New York do not spend their 20s and 30s living with the same five friends, frequenting the same bar or coffee shop and endlessly discuss relationships, career, and such. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/118 "2014-06-29T05:24:16Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > I’m going to argue with you about that bolded part. 🙂 I used to live near Billings, and I’ve also lived in DC, Boston, and outside Philadelphia, and there is no urban area in Billings or indeed Montana that compares with the urban-ness of an East Coast city. > > Now, that said, that’s a good thing. That’s what I loved about Montana. Granted we don’t have suburbs for miles or anyplace with a subway, but that wasn’t quite what I meant. I meant that our big cities have multi-story buildings, concerts, bus lines, traffic jams, police stations, boutique shops, nice restaurants, good dive restaurants, bars, and homeless problems just like NYC. We’re not all dirt roads, tumbleweeds, and cattle drives down Main Street these days. Some towns kind of are, but the big cities are actual cities and have the benefits and problems relevant thereto. Also, just like in most of America, most people around here don’t carry firearms on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/119 "2014-06-29T05:40:05Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > 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. I’m assuming you mean hipster **hangouts.** 🙂 Unless that’s what those long lines at the chicken pot pie place are all about. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213/120 "2014-06-29T07:30:28Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > If you visit San Francisco you will not be set upon by packs of leather-clad gay guys. I’m sure there are those who will be disappointed then… > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Portland is actually a moderately safe place to visit-The werewolves won’t bother you as long as you keep your Portland BitePass current. Furthermore, you won’t be required to bicycle to the local brewpub to sample their wares.Walking to the brewpub is perfectly acceptable. And the things you see on _Portlandia_ are mostly exaggerations. Well some of them… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-fears-of-your-city-or-country-here/691213.md?page=7)