I was just wondering: when people say that a certain suburb is unsafe, is it really dangerous to live there, or are they just exagerrating?
Of course common sense dictates that as with any city in the world, you really shouldn't be putting yourself in a situation that you know will put you in danger, e.g. walk alone in dark alleys at night, flaunt valuables, leave your bags unattended, etc. But other than doing those precautionary measures, is it actually possible for these "unsafe" suburbs to be relatively safe for us to live in?
I currently work in Strathfield and I'm currently looking for a place since I've been living in Blacktown with my cousin and I find the commute a bit too long. Many of the suburbs near Strathfield - especially the ones with more affordable rentals - are deemed to be unsafe: Lakemba, Punchbowl, Bankstown, Auburn, Ashfield. Then there's also other suburbs like Blacktown, Mt Druitt, and Redfern that have quite a bad reputation. Mostly crimes to property lang daw like robbery and vandalism (which is still annoying) but there have been a few cases of crimes to persons like rape, mugging, people beating random people up, etc.
Pero iniisip ko rin kasi, sino ba ang nagsasabing "unsafe" yang mga lugar na yan? I was telling my colleagues earlier today that I was going to view a place in Punchbowl, and they were all like, "NOOOOO!" "Do you have a bulletproof vest?!" "Do you have a death wish?" Stuff like that. Well, they were all white females.
But I mean, <i>is it really that bad???</i>
P.S. It's kind of sad when I think about how I used to live in Singapore and it was so safe that even in the so-called unsafe areas there I never feared for my safety. I lived in Little India for 1.5 years and I've had colleagues who were "impressed" that I could live there because they think it's a dangerous place. It really isn't. I could walk down any street in Little India at any time and not fear that someone will mug me or harrass me. Naglalakad nga ako ng mga 2-3am doon na maraming bitbit pero kebs lang ang mga pana na nakatambay sa damuhan haha. Live and let live lang sila.
Now it somehow feels I've taken a step backward in terms of security having moved here. Di na pwede yung naglalakad ka sa kalye na nakalabas ang cellphone, dapat mas mindful na kase maraming medyo siraulo, etc.