Safety

People ask, “Is living in New York City scary?”

No.

Truthfully, it’s not.  Sometimes, I feel safer living in a city of 11.7 million people than living in a slightly less populated place.  Crazy, I know.

New York City feels safe for many reasons.  One, I live in an area of Manhattan that has lots of young people and families.  Those people tend to be pretty harmless. 

Two, the police are highly visible in the city.  They patrol the subways, the streets, touristy destinations – they’re everywhere.  I like that.  Supposedly, it was not like this before Giuliani, but now, thankfully, it is.

And, third, there are always so many people everywhere I go.  I probably pass thirty people just walking one block to the grocery store.  People in my apartment building, people on the sidewalk, people on the corner, people at the bus stop.  I pass several hundred in the morning on my way to work.

I can’t ever recall walking down the street and not passing or seeing someone.  It’s a comfort to know that.  Someone is always somewhere.

Just because I feel safe doesn’t mean that I ‘m stupid.  I take the same precautions here that I take at home.  I don’t walk alone late at night.  I avoid poorly lit areas.  I don’t take to strangers.  I don’t go to unfamiliar places.  I let people know where I am. 

I mean, duh, that’s just called common sense.

So, ultimately, when out-of-towners ask “Do you feel safe in New York?”  I can honestly answer… yes.