London murder rate overtakes New York as stabbings surge

[bcking 3,157]

1 minute ago, Italian_in_NYC said:

Cleaner no doubt (but NYC is way too small for 8.5 million people), but in NYC we have cops (with guns!) everywhere and I feel in peace of mind. And yes, I live in Williamsburg (a posh Brooklyn neighborhood) and I avoid doing drug deals in the projects, so that helps as well. 

What areas of London made you feel unsafe? 

 

I mostly hung out in central/west/north london which obviously are nicer areas. I recall seeing plenty of police officers. Are they armed with guns? No, but neither are criminals for the most part. I also think the idea of feeling safe because you see armed police officers depends on where you come from. My wife always feels uncomfortable around cops with guns. It doesn't make it her feel safe, it makes her feel uneasy. When I took her to the hospital where I work one day she felt really uncomfortable that the two police officers that act as "crossing guards" outside the hospital to direct traffic also carry pistols. 

 

I hear now East London is becoming quite gentrified/hip. I'd cross the Thames pretty much just to go to Borough Market, or Waterloo Station.

[Boiler 45,519]

3 minutes ago, bcking said:

What areas of London made you feel unsafe? 

 

I mostly hung out in central/west/north london which obviously are nicer areas. I recall seeing plenty of police officers. Are they armed with guns? No, but neither are criminals for the most part. I also think the idea of feeling safe because you see armed police officers depends on where you come from. My wife always feels uncomfortable around cops with guns. It doesn't make it her feel safe, it makes her feel uneasy. When I took her to the hospital where I work one day she felt really uncomfortable that the two police officers that act as "crossing guards" outside the hospital to direct traffic also carry pistols. 

 

I hear now East London is becoming quite gentrified/hip. I'd cross the Thames pretty much just to go to Borough Market, or Waterloo Station.

I used to live near Borough Market, now how has that changed.

 

And now famous for other things.

12 minutes ago, bcking said:

You don't want to live in Reading. My wife's work was located there for 3 years. She lived in the city the first year then left. Not a great place.

There are some nice places very nearby though. Henley, Wokingham, etc...

 

I lived in NYC for 3 years and traveled to London about that many times a year to visit my wife (Technically Reading/Wokingham, but we would go into London a lot).

 

I always felt safer (and cleaner) in London. This was 2013-2016 so maybe it's very different now. Though honestly for the most part I felt safe in both places. I lived in the UES though so that probably helped.

 

I feel less safe in most of Houston than I ever did in London/NYC. Not in my immediate neighborhood where I live, or where I work. But I never have any desire to walk around downtown or in any other neighborhoods. 

Reading has changed a lot, I lived for a while in South Oxfordshire but that was a long time ago.

[Italian_in_NYC 259]

3 minutes ago, bcking said:

What areas of London made you feel unsafe? 

 

I mostly hung out in central/west/north london which obviously are nicer areas. I recall seeing plenty of police officers. Are they armed with guns? No, but neither are criminals for the most part. I also think the idea of feeling safe because you see armed police officers depends on where you come from. My wife always feels uncomfortable around cops with guns. It doesn't make it her feel safe, it makes her feel uneasy. When I took her to the hospital where I work one day she felt really uncomfortable that the two police officers that act as "crossing guards" outside the hospital to direct traffic also carry pistols. 

 

I hear now East London is becoming quite gentrified/hip. I'd cross the Thames pretty much just to go to Borough Market, or Waterloo Station.

I always stay by the Paddington Station area (easy when you come from LHR). It's ok, don't get me wrong. I just feel safer in NYC, especially when walking alone at night.

[bcking 3,157]

10 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I used to live near Borough Market, now how has that changed.

 

And now famous for other things.

Reading has changed a lot, I lived for a while in South Oxfordshire but that was a long time ago.

I guess the Train Station is a little nicer now than it used to be, I remember when the remodel opened  (And the Queen visited!). The Bill's by the Church is also nice.

 

To be honest I haven't been back to Reading (except to change trains) since probably 2015...so perhaps it's a great place now.

 

9 minutes ago, Italian_in_NYC said:

I always stay by the Paddington Station area (easy when you come from LHR). It's ok, don't get me wrong. I just feel safer in NYC, especially when walking alone at night.

When I need a hotel in London I always stay around there also. Rates are much better than other places, and yet it's still very central. Also some good middle eastern and Indian food around there. 

Edited April 5, 2018 by bcking

[Jacque67 7,328]

I'd avoid Paddington Station like the plague, just as I would Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

[Boiler 45,519]

I used to commute through Paddington, OK back then.

[Jacque67 7,328]

A dump.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Not to detract from Paddington Bear fans

https://www.thisispaddington.com/article/paddington-bear-statue 

[TBoneTX 45,292]

4 hours ago, yuna628 said:

It doesn't matter if they have lived in central England before they could formulate much of a sentence, it comes down to a roots thing.

And here, we have T-shirts that say, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could" ...

[Italian_in_NYC 259]

1 hour ago, Jacque67 said:

I'd avoid Paddington Station like the plague, just as I would Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

Brighton Beach isn't bad. Excellent Russian food.

And I met my wife in a club there.

[bcking 3,157]

1 minute ago, TBoneTX said:

And here, we have T-shirts that say, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could" ...

So far I've hesitated when asked where "I'm from" or where "I live". I don't think I've gotten around to calling myself a Texan yet. Not sure if I ever will. My wife will continue to refer to herself as English for the foreseeable future I assume. We both find there is more often than not a negative connotation with Texan so we leave it out unless people ask specifically where we live.

 

That being said, we love Houston.

[Italian_in_NYC 259]

1 minute ago, bcking said:

So far I've hesitated when asked where "I'm from" or where "I live". I don't think I've gotten around to calling myself a Texan yet. Not sure if I ever will. My wife will continue to refer to herself as English for the foreseeable future I assume. We both find there is more often than not a negative connotation with Texan so we leave it out unless people ask specifically where we live.

 

That being said, we love Houston.

Texas by far the best State in the country, by far.

Don't love Houston though.

[Jacque67 7,328]

1 minute ago, Italian_in_NYC said:

Brighton Beach isn't bad. Excellent Russian food.

And I met my wife in a club there.

Oh, if you want a hearty peasant lunch, it's great, I hear. Never that hungry to be honest. I once tried to cross Brooklyn bridge. Only made it half way. As for getting the 8 train(?) to Brooklyn, fuggataboutit.

[bcking 3,157]

1 minute ago, Italian_in_NYC said:

Texas by far the best State in the country, by far.

Don't love Houston though.

To each their own, clearly.

 

I think we would have been fine in San Antonio or Austin...not sure my wife would have been happy anywhere else in the State. When we go through the country it is entertaining, but no where we would actually want to live.

 

She already feels uncomfortable and unsafe enough knowing how many cars in Houston are armed etc... We have no interest in living in "the countryside" in Texas. Not because we aren't country people, her father is a farmer and she grew up in a small village. Just because of the types of people here.

[Italian_in_NYC 259]

Just now, Jacque67 said:

Oh, if you want a hearty peasant lunch, it's great, I hear. Never that hungry to be honest. I once tried to cross Brooklyn bridge. Only made it half way. As for getting the 8 train(?) to Brooklyn, fuggataboutit.

There is no 8 train.

And several parts of Brooklyn are more desirable than most parts of Manhattan (try $1,500/sf, at least).