# Do you ever go to your city's "bad part of town"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645 "2019-10-29T15:23:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/61 "2019-11-06T20:44:00Z")
Checking crimes maps for my actual town, I guess I live in/adjacent to the bad part of town, but that an incredibly low bar and almost certainly means a handful of frat bros throwing punches outside a bar. If you mean the nearest adjacent city, no, I don’t go to the bad parts of DC. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/62 "2019-11-06T20:44:15Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Your city’s “bad part of town” has deer and ducks? Ashland, Oregon doesn’t really have a “bad part.” But there have been a few times when gangs of hooved hoodlums on the street made me a bit nervous… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/63 "2019-11-06T21:35:39Z")
Here’s another one: The neighborhood I grew up in! At the time it was just a regular 50s-60s subdivision boom area. But later on it went downhill and became a high crime area. It is the reference point for Bad Stuff within the city. Since my mother still lived there, I stayed there often. I’d walk around to see what stuff was still standing. Felt reasonably safe. So relatively, but not absolutely bad. She finally sold and moved out a few years ago and I’ve only driven thru the area a couple times since. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/64 "2019-11-07T01:26:27Z")
The bad part of my town is where there’s a cluster of a McDonald’s, a 99 cent store, and 6 gas stations all on the same block. Every single homeless person in this part of the state seems to cluster there for whatever reason despite it not being the busiest part of the city. The McDonalds has two armed security guards at all times and the 99 cent store is similar, while each gas station has a security guard also positioned inside. It’s one of those places where you don’t even look in the general direction of someone or else they and their friends will bum-rush you asking for money and will get quite aggressive with you if you refuse. No murders yet but people get robbed all the time and I had an incident where I in my car waiting at an exit about to get back on the road when a person walked up to my drivers side window with a large knife in their hands and motioned for me to roll down my window. I don’t know what exactly his plan was but he had his knife to the window when he motioned for me to roll it down so he wasn’t trying to conceal it. I just ignored him and drove away. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/65 "2019-11-07T04:28:30Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > Ashland, Oregon doesn’t really have a “bad part.” But there have been a few times when gangs of hooved hoodlums on the street made me a bit nervous… Ashland’s bad part was where the mudflows wiped out real estate. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/66 "2019-11-07T05:48:46Z")
What is the “bad part” of a city? Looking at my city, the crime statistics don’t necessarily match up with the neighborhoods people consider bad or dangerous. Specific neighborhoods or parts of the city are said to be bad, but most of the crime happens downtown, where people are around at night, often having been drinking. It seems like mostly a simple matter of where the targets of the crimes can be found. Where I live, there are gang tags, and I sometimes hear gunshots. In the ~10 years I’ve been here, there was a drive by shooting a block away once. Maybe they are really good shots . . . I haven’t heard of any bystanders being shot since I’ve been here. But, it is also just a diverse working to middle class neighborhood. I have never been afraid to walk around, even late at night. We did have a burglary once while we were out walking the dog, but we knew who did it. It felt bad, but it didn’t feel like the neighborhood’s doing. I consider it a great neighborhood. A person I carpool with lives in a much wealthier part of town. But she can’t have packages delivered to her house because people steal them off her porch, and she has gotten warnings from neighbors about a person who was assaulting people on the sidewalk. But no one calls that part of town bad. It’s also a very white part of town. So, I’m not sure what my answer to the question is, because I don’t know what part of town you would consider the “bad part.” ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/67 "2019-11-07T16:59:01Z")
When I lived in a city with a bad part of town (Springfield, IL), I oft had to go there for my job. I also went there voluntarily from time to time, there was a BBQ place that was to die for. Never got so much as a dirty look. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/68 "2019-11-07T17:04:20Z")
In the bad part of my town, the ice cream truck plays Helter Skelter. Not really. We don’t have a really bad part of town. I’ve been in some fairly sketchy areas of other towns, but usually during the day. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/69 "2019-11-07T19:35:55Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > Ashland, Oregon doesn’t really have a “bad part.” But there have been a few times when gangs of hooved hoodlums on the street made me a bit nervous… I’d suspect that one could become positively frightened by encountering people smoking pot with some seeds and stems mixed in. :eek: Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/70 "2019-11-07T20:35:00Z")
Yes. I live there. There’s actually almost zero crime in my neighborhood, and most of the crime in the immediate vicinity occurs on the “good” side of town. According to my cynical father, it’s because “the crooks gotta live somewhere,” and “they don’t rob from each other.” Thanks, Dad. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/71 "2019-11-07T20:37:33Z")
Yes, whenever I need to visit Leroy Brown. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/72 "2019-11-07T21:21:25Z")
I don’t think either the city I live in, or the city I work in, even have bad sides. Both about as vanilla as can be. The city I used to live in had somebody kidnap a woman, sexually assault her roommate, then stole a car and kidnapped a family of four. When the cops caught up with him, they exchanged gunfire but he committed suicide. But nobody involved except the cops actually lived in the city. I used to work in a building where upstairs was the IT department, and downstairs was the adolescent detox center. Periodically I saw some drugged-out teenagers being dragged in handcuffs, and sometimes his friends would try to break into the wrong part of the building and free him. Or vandalize cars. Eventually IT took over the whole building, but we still needed security guards because there were a good number of alcoholics and druggies wandering the neighborhood panhandling and/or headed for the homeless shelter a couple of blocks down the road. I haven’t been back there in years. The church I grew up in was pretty much in the middle of a ghetto, but on Sunday morning all the criminals were still in bed, so it only affected us when we went there during the week. Eventually it got bad enough that my folks went to a different church, and now it is closed. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/73 "2019-11-07T23:18:09Z")
I live in St Louis (30 years) and yes…I have been in every sketchy area in this metropolis. I also used to appraise real estate in East St Louis and Centerville IL…so Yes to the OP. And **HeyHomie** I have previously lived in Springfield for a LONG time. My mom and brother are still there, appraising real estate. Where is the nefarious area you speak of?? the east side?? ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/74 "2019-11-07T23:28:16Z")
I could claim to be the bad part of my remote village. I’m reminded of an ancient MAD look at small towns. A briefcase-toting suited guy tells a little girl at a homemade lemonade stand, “I’m looking for the business district.” She replies, “Speaking.” In the bad part of the forest, the bucks have sharpened antlers. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/75 "2019-11-08T00:41:27Z")
> [@Jumpbass](#): > > In the bad part of my town, the ice cream truck plays Helter Skelter. > > Not really. We don’t have a really bad part of town. I’ve been in some fairly sketchy areas of other towns, but usually during the day. We actually had an ice-cream truck cruise through that played Black Sabbath, Beatles, Grateful Dead – all that. The owner/operator was an old burn-out and there were constant rumors about him selling dope out of it. In actual fact he was probably the only ice-cream truck NOT selling dope. The dude was a fixture of our summers and is greatly missed but he would have been pleased with the turn-out for his funeral. (Natural causes in case you wondered. And around here we always wonder.) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/76 "2019-11-11T15:45:23Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > And **HeyHomie** I have previously lived in Springfield for a LONG time. My mom and brother are still there, appraising real estate. Where is the nefarious area you speak of?? the east side?? A lot of my work was in about a six-block radius of 11th & Cook (near east side). The BBQ place I spoke of was near MLK & South Grand. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/77 "2019-11-12T01:25:21Z")
In Japan the bad parts of town are bad because they are poor not because they are dangerous. So yeah, I go all the time. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/78 "2019-11-12T03:50:25Z")
where I live there’s no real “good part” any more just some places worse than others ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/79 "2019-11-12T15:33:24Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > Cary, North Carolina, population of approximately 170,000, is consistently rated as one of the safest communities of its size in the U.S. As far As I can tell, the “bad part of town” is that neighborhood where they are lazy about keeping the lawns mowed. Or the ones who hang flags out front that aren’t municipal in nature, the ones that have too many lights on the front window, or the businesses that use colors that aren’t from the approved palette. I used to live in Swift Creek, and Cary was annexing its way around it. Glad I moved. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645/80 "2019-11-12T16:09:48Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > We actually had an ice-cream truck cruise through that played Black Sabbath, Beatles, Grateful Dead – all that. The owner/operator was an old burn-out and there were constant rumors about him selling dope out of it. In actual fact he was probably the only ice-cream truck NOT selling dope. The dude was a fixture of our summers and is greatly missed but he would have been pleased with the turn-out for his funeral. > > (Natural causes in case you wondered. And around here we always wonder.) That’s an ice cream truck I can dig. Sweet story. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-to-your-citys-bad-part-of-town/842645.md?page=5)