Truly mundane and pointless but it made me happy. My adopted town of Franklin, MA was just named the safest city in America through an analysis of crime statistics. I always knew it was pretty safe here but you always think there must be somewhere else that just absolutely perfect. The study lists the top 100 safest cities and all the top ones are good places to live but it is good to be the absolute top. There are a number of other Massachusetts cities on the list as well. They include the usual suspects like Newton and Wellesley. They are a whole lot more expensive than Franklin and still didn’t win.
I have to be extra good now so that I don’t blow it for everyone else.
Convicted, never. Vindicated occasionally. Only the official stats count for these types of things.
In all seriousness, Franklin is a really safe and almost idyllic place. This entire region of Massachusetts is with just a few exceptions. We outsource our crime and sins just across just a short drive away into Rhode Island. If you think Las Vegas is Sin City, think again. Try a mafia controlled strip club in Providence (there are plenty). It is the most little known stronghold of hedonism this side of Bangkok. We try to keep things really segregated here though in that special New England style.
That is no joke. Providence is a special city and only a short drive away. It is both a foodie paradise and a stronghold of sin. Rhode Island in particular is by far the strangest the state of all. You can drive across the entire state in roughly an hour and encounter everything from true blue-bloods in Newport to the most liberal strip club laws of anywhere in the U.S. in Providence (it is basically legalized prostitution). It is completely corrupt beyond repair. It makes me think fondly of my home state of Louisiana. Mafia rule is still obviously in force but I never worry about that.
If you like more traditional tourist attractions, Newport RI and Block Island are some of the prettiest places in the U.S. The former has true American castles lined up one after another. The latter is a slightly better version of Martha’s Vineyard 30 years ago. I love Rhode Island and all of its idiosyncrasies.
Franklin IS a really safe place but it does seem funny after being the site of Aaron Hernandez’s flophouse and the stories of past Mafia connections. (The double yellow on Union St. was once red/white/green.)
It’s my hometown so I still find the city designation weird. (Run like a town but called a city.) And it’s true about Rhode Island.
Looking at the list, the safest one I’m acquainted with in #38 Danville (#65 San Ramon is more of the same). If that’s the price of a little safety, gimme danger, little stranger.
More precisely, it is the safest city with a population of > 25,000. The crime rate is 0.37 / 1,000 whereas my city (much smaller) has a violent crime rate of 0.21 / 1,000
I would have thought my city would be on there. In a city of around 25,000, where everyone is rich old well-to-do Republicans, crime isn’t something that happens.
It is hard to get good stats on smaller towns. There is usually one family that screws the numbers up for everyone. Even 25,000 isn’t that big. Franklin isn’t a city in any true sense of the word either but it does have a college and some entertainment options. It started out as a standalone town a long time ago so it isn’t what most people think of as a suburb in U.S. terms but it is still largely a bedroom community for Boston or Providence.
Some of its neighbors are even smaller and safer but they don’t meet the 25K criteria for inclusion. I think the criteria are fair overall. I lived in nearby Holliston (pop. 13,000) before Franklin. Even many people in the general area claim they have never heard of it because it is a one road town that fully intends to be as segregated and exclusive as it gets. When you move in there, the Newcomers Club will find you and insist that you become a member for the first two to five years that you are there so that you can become successfully assimilated into the standards and practices of the town. You have to go to parties in mansions do fundraisers for the schools and participate in town activities before they will let you out on your own. That is no joke in the least. Needless to say, there is no meaningful crime there either.
You’d assume a city like that would be a target for crime like theft (people coming in to rob the houses, etc). Not only that, but cities like that aren’t going to have a lot of street crime but they will have domestic violence, sexual abuse, DUIs, etc the same as any other city.