Most dangerous cities in the world

[paul]

[Dan]

tsk tsk.

The most dangerous city in the world is the one where you wander around with expensive cameras hung out for all to see, and then wonder why someone ripped it off your neck/sack!

Number of fatal car crashes, food poisonings, murders, muggings or any number of other criteria could be used to claim the "most dangerous" title (as though anywhere aspires to hold it?!

[Kez]

Some observations of US cities - New York (visited twice) is where I felt the safest, Miami Beach felt dangerous when I wandered just one street off the main drag, LA (even staying in Hollywood), catching the bus felt a bit dangerous, Las Vegas is apparently dodgy off The Strip, but we didn't stray.
New Orleans (twice) - the suburbs look bleak and dangerous. We stayed in a hotel in New Orleans East, a very dodgy and dirty neighborhood, but next time stayed in the CBD/French Quarter, which is safe enough.
Chicago, San Francisco, Memphis were all OK.
I agree with some of the earlier posters: stick to the tourist areas and you'll usually be OK. You don't walk down any dark alleys at home, so you wouldn't do it when you're on holiday either.

[Sidesplitter]

I heard Johannesburg has a bad reputation and I can remember the only place from experience I ever hated was Rennes in France. Was run down and the train station has lots of dodgy characters

[jzurdogo]

I've had problems in Rome and I did walk through a very scary neighborhood in Perpignon France.
I think that Johannesburg is at the top of my scary city list. When I went there, the "good" neighborhoods were surrounded with high walls wigh barbed wire on the top and that was to keep people out not in. Plus I have two friends from Johannesburg and even they're scared when they go back to visit family.
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[Sidesplitter]

I think thats to do with the townships. Soweto has had a bad rep in the past and Johanessburg is notorious for gun crime is it not? This is from Lonely Plant



Johannesburg
A city of astonishing contrasts, a huge metropolis where opulent wealth and desperate poverty live side by side: Johannesburg is the intriguing, dynamic heart of this turbulent country. If you want to see the real South Africa - and try to understand it - Jo'burg has to be on your itinerary.

Jo'burg, Jozi, eGoli or 'the city of gold' (never Johannesburg) is by far the largest city in South Africa. It's brash, fast-growing and often ugly, but it's got wealth, energy and a beautiful climate. If you take reasonable precautions and listen to the locals, you can enjoy it in safety.

While the racial divide is still alive and well, you stand a better chance of meeting blacks on relatively equal terms in Jo'burg than almost anywhere else. Unlike many South African cities where there are so few black faces you could forget that you are in Africa, the centre of Jo'burg has been reclaimed and the sidewalks are jammed with black hawkers and stalls of every description. There's also a growing multi-racial music and theatre scene.

Warning
Many people don't have any problems walking around Johannesburg, but there are enough true-life horror stories to make caution essential. A combination of common sense and cowardice will always be your best defence. Don't advertise your wealth or tourist status - bum bags and dangling cameras are a dead giveaway. Be aware of what's going on around you.

Don't hesitate to cross the road to avoid an alleyway or a threatening individual or group. Avoid the city centre at night and on weekends when the shops close and the crowds drop. If you do get held up, don't try to be a hero: give your assailants any possessions they want and try not to make any threatening moves. Jo'burg is inundated with guns and knives and their owners don't hesitate to use them.

If you're driving, make sure your doors are locked, and when you're waiting at traffic lights leave enough room in front of you to drive away if necessary. Running a red light is not illegal if you're in reasonable fear of assault.

Area: 2,500 sq km
Population: 4.9 million
Country: South Africa
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +2
Telephone Area Code: 011


Orientation

Despite its size, it's not difficult to find your way around Johannesburg. The two major communication towers on the ridges to the north of the city centre make good landmarks. Downtown is laid out in a straightforward grid, which also simplifies orientation. Redevelopment of the Newtown cultural precinct, at the western edge of the city, is at the core of an effort to clean up downtown, but the city centre is still not an attractive place to base yourself. After the shops close it becomes a virtual ghost town and, unless you're in a car, it's extremely unsafe.

Most travellers stay in the leafy, exclusively white northern suburbs that are cocooned within an arc formed by the N1 and N3 freeways. While safe, they're also isolated, manicured and Merc'ed. Homogeneous shopping malls form the centre of most social life, although there are a few pockets that offer greater cultural diversity. The inner-suburban restaurant enclaves of Melville and Norwood make a refreshing change.

The black townships that ring the city are a stark contrast to the northern suburbs. Conditions within them range from reasonable to appalling. Accessibility and convenience were never factors in the planning process, so they are a considerable distance from the city centre and the white suburbs. The main township is Soweto, which you can visit via a hop-on, hop-off tour bus that takes you around both rich and poor suburbs.

[Heartlander]

I'm in the Greater Chicago area, and can never figure out why folks in other cities think it's so rough here.
I mean, we have lots of nice tourist attractions, a Great Lake, all the outdoors (and indoors) recreation you can think of......

Damnit all to hell, some SOB just took off with my bike. Again.
Be riiiight back.....
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[paul]

[drunken_irishmen101]

I must say that all these places that you people speak of are obviously dangerous places but people tend to overlook smaller cities... especially in places like Canada that are supposed to be safe.. sure toronto is large but its not a very dangerout place comparred to regina, Saskatchewan.. at a population of 200 000 its got the highest crime rate per capita in all of Canada.. personally i lived in regina for about 6 years and after going to the area of north central regina i was scared for my life. This is soley because the native americans actually run the town and theres nothing anyone can do about it... i personally witnessed my friend get stabbed to death by 16 natives right on my school property because he threw a drink at one of the natives... now theres something wrong with that... also the high school downtown has its own police station complete with a force of 100 or so police officers that is only open during school hours.. it is also probably the uglyiest place in canada because there is absolutly no funding going into this city. so even the areas of 5 years of age look like complete crap. During the 6 years i lived there i noticed the safest area in the city, get worse and worse by the day now its just plain crappy. I think you should all take wat i have said into concideration.. that is if u want to of course.. also ive been to compten in LA its a pretty scary place too i must say...

[Straniero]

London? Detroit? RFLMAO!!!!!!

Try Mogadishu and Baghdad for starters. There are a bunch of other dangerour cities but none of them are in Western countries.
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[Sidesplitter]

Rennes from memory is a dump. The crack fiends havng around the train station and there has beem numerous muggings and rapes.
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[jeremy]

I still haven't got over a childhood visit to Esher in Surrey.

[JohnBoy1984]

Tijuana is defenitely ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, its one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico and its one of the most dangerous cities in North America.

It is ridden with crime violence poverty and police corruption, i went there last year with my parents on a day tour across the border from San Diego and i wasnt really impressed with what i saw there, although me and my parents were only there for a few hours and we only stayed in one area of the market district, still we didnt like it there, because we were constantly harrassed by street hawkers shop owners and homeless people, and there really wasnt anything great to see or do there.

Tourism has also gone down alot in Tijuana and alot of people are choosing not to go there because of it being dangerous, it is also alot more dangerous then any city in America and it has an average of 6 murders a day which is an average of over 1,200 murders a year, it also has an average of 2 kidnappings a day with an average of over 700 a year.

Last year a 6 year old American boy who was on vacation with his parents in a hotel in Tijuana was kidnapped and held for ransom and was latter murdered to.

One things for sure its a city which i have no desire to want to visit again and i have no desire or interest to want to visit any other city in Mexico because the Mexican cities are to chaotic and dangerous and dirty, but i would like to visit the small laid back resort areas in Mexico such as Cancun and Los Amos, they look nice and peaceful and clean and safe and relax.

[Sidesplitter]

You can go to a resort and experience diddly squat, in that case you might as well go to Spain or somewhere. They may be dangerous but you have to take risks !
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[Roly]

I was born in Johannesburg, studied there, worked there... had a few close encounters in Hillbrow, but then what was I doing there at night anyway?

As long as everyone agrees that a "dangerous" city also depends on what you are doing there, what you have with you (prominently displayed cameras, computers, watches, etc.) and how lost you look while walking the streets with these expensive items!

A lot os people in South Africa are stealing for survival - the next meal, warm jacket, etc... even though we hate the crime figures here, we can understand some of it.

I was mugged in London on a train - laptop, cellphone, handbag, etc. - and I still don't think London is a dangerous city! The difference is the way I was treated by Police there - they ran after the culprits, for miles... and got back EVERYTHING of mine! Then they looked after me as if I was a real "victim" - offered counseling, driven home, etc.

Tourists in South Africa are a lot safer than crime figures implicate! Be aware, speak to locals about the "crime spots" and stay away from those!

Better even - come to Cape Town! There's not much to see in Johannesburg anyway! The beauty of our country is elsewhere! North, South East, West from Johannesburg! Jo'burg is only a stop-over and industrial workplace to locals.
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