I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and I’ve sometimes considered moving, but I’m always hearing about threats to life and limb in other places on this continent.
The Southern US appeals to me because of the sunshine, but they’ve got hurricanes in the east, tornadoes in the mid-east, scorpions and snakes in the mid-west, potential dunking in the Pacific in the west, and they’ve all got “killer bees” and fire-ants!
Mexico is right out.
How about New York City? Too many guns for this Canadian’s taste. Ditto Detroit (which I think has more murders each year than all of Canada.) Upstate New York? Lyme disease!
Okay, maybe I’m making too much of relatively minor risks, but still … what do you think is the safest place to live in North America?
Well, time to send this message. I’m going to go watch Cops.
according to lowest crime rates (total, not specific crime) it Wyoming as #1 state, and Charlotte County, FL as #1 county. Too many cities too rate this way.
I lived in Port Charlotte, FL (in charlotte county) it’s the DEADEST FUCKING PLACE ON EARTH. I remember one year Charlotte County was in the Guiness book of world records for percentage of people over 80.
We do have few snakes in the Midwest, but you’ll have to go to a zoo to see scorpions. A little FYI… the “Midwest” usually refers to Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Scorpions are in the Southwest–Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico. Tornadoes usually stick to the Central Plains and South Central.
Well, I know the Vermont has a very low crime rate, and I think lowest per capita or soemthing like that, I could be wrong, though. Interestingly enough, only Wyoming has fewer people than Vermont. Also, A&E ranked Burlington (our largest city) as the most liveable city in the US, due to low crime rate, cost of living (though I actually find it high) and entertainment.
But what are you looking for? Urban, suburnan, rural? Help us out here.
Southern New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine
Other than icy winters (certainly not daunting to someone from Montreal), there’s not many natural disasters, big predators, poisonous creatures, etc. The human population is nice and tame too. Low crime. Few hunters.
I believe Utah has the highest life expectancy, probably due to the large Mormon population eschewing alcohol & cigarettes (although breeding like rabbits.) Probably a pretty low crime rate too, & not much in the way of Acts of God like hurricanes & so on. Maybe the odd tornado. Parts of the state are rather pretty, the salt flats are interesting to drive across REALLY fast, with your fingers crossed. And Nevada is just to the West, if you need a little debauchery.
However, Utah is largely populated by pod people-ever see Invasion of The Body Snatchers? I’m not sure how that correlates with high life expectancy, though.
Wiil 1997 stats do? Not necessarily up-to-date but I guess it gives you a general idea. IIRC, some agency puts out surch a list each year. Couldn’t find it.
The safest place to be in North America is inside NORAD. You’ll survive a full-scale nuclear war in there. Of course, the view is a little limited, what with it being inside a mountain and all.
No, I don’t live in Burlington. I’m just from around there.
But, hey, when two Dopers agree on something, isn’t it worth checking out? (I mean, that rarely seems to happen.)
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