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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
True. There are a lot of angry left-wing Democrats there, too.
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).
My Aussie friends need to cut it out then. Because they’re always posting links like this one:
:eek:
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.
Yeah but apart from that stuff it’s all good and safe.
Australia’s dangerous creatures kill around 5 people a year in total. Twice that many die from bee stings alone. The last death from a redback spider bite was in 1956.
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.
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.
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.
No not everyone in L.A is associated with the entertainment industry. No people are mostly not fake.
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.
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.
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.
I’m assuming you mean hipster hangouts. 
Unless that’s what those long lines at the chicken pot pie place are all about.
I’m sure there are those who will be disappointed then…
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…