Compton (Paramount: crime rates, townhomes, neighborhood)

[allenk893]

Is anywhere in Compton safe to live? It's not to say that I want to live there but I just am very curious. I happened to catch a show called "GangLand" on tv on the history channel and it really made Compton seem like the most dangerous place in the US or something. In California to be exact. They were talking about all this stuff that happened with the gangs and how it's not even safe to walk down a street by yourself anymore. I don't want to believe a tv program. I want to hear it from people who live in Compton with semi-normal lives. Not from gangsters who've had tough lives and view Compton their way. If u can, please inform me thx~

[Rhymes with Orange]

Nope, not really. I drove through Compton once and it was just horrible, garfetti and trash eveywhere. Excons sitting on the streets just waiting for the probation cop to crag them back off, just horrible. I could never imagine ever living there.

[skywalker400]

I have a close friend that lives in Paramount, a river and freeway away from east compton, and ventured over there to check it out with him. Its run-down and depressed looking, but its no worse than what Im used to seeing in Nor Cal (west oak, hp, richmonnd). There were new townhomes going up and a Circuit City, so its not like you are in the middle of a warzone in Mogadishu or Karbala. As a young male, Id avoid spending much time walking around alone at night, but thats true for a lot of places.

[Capt. Dan]

A west coast Gary, Indiana!

[rah]

Originally Posted by Capt. Dan

A west coast Gary, Indiana!

I guarantee you that Gary Indiana is worse off. Crime rates might be comparable, but Gary is on a whole other level of decay. Compton is actually improving quite a bit (not sure what Gary's status is at the moment).

[karkyco]

Originally Posted by allenk893

Is anywhere in Compton safe to live? It's not to say that I want to live there but I just am very curious. I happened to catch a show called "GangLand" on tv on the history channel and it really made Compton seem like the most dangerous place in the US or something. In California to be exact. They were talking about all this stuff that happened with the gangs and how it's not even safe to walk down a street by yourself anymore. I don't want to believe a tv program. I want to hear it from people who live in Compton with semi-normal lives. Not from gangsters who've had tough lives and view Compton their way. If u can, please inform me thx~

Do you really think gangbangers are going to be surfing the net, particularly city-data? LOL.

Compton is a horrible ****hole. Sure, it may have improved some from back when it was one of the most dangerous places on earth, in the 80's and most of the 90's, but it is still an awful, awful place. Perhaps it's been eclipsed by ghettos in the rustbelt and midwest manufacturing, particularly automotive, city ghettos like Detroit, where economic conditions are truly horrendous, but it's just about up there in terms of violence and despair.

[streetscenes]

Originally Posted by karkyco

Compton is a horrible ****hole. Sure, it may have improved some from back when it was one of the most dangerous places on earth, in the 80's and most of the 90's, but it is still an awful, awful place.

Come on guys. Compton is bad - but it's not that bad. Another example of a place where 99% of the people are good hard working folk (ok maybe 95% in Compton) and a few idiots screw it up. I go there for work occasionaly and I've never (knock on wood) had any problems. Mind you I am very particular about when I go, between 9am and mid day, and when I go I mind my Ps and Qs. I've been in plenty of nice neighborhood in Compton and met lots of nice people there to.

[killer2021]

I would like to also include any part of south LA - All ghetto, avoid.

[karkyco]

Originally Posted by streetscenes

Come on guys. Compton is bad - but it's not that bad. Another example of a place where 99% of the people are good hard working folk (ok maybe 95% in Compton) and a few idiots screw it up. I go there for work occasionaly and I've never (knock on wood) had any problems. Mind you I am very particular about when I go, between 9am and mid day, and when I go I mind my Ps and Qs. I've been in plenty of nice neighborhood in Compton and met lots of nice people there to.

Man, it's bad enough. That "5% Bad" is enough to make it totally undesirable. But I guess it's all relative. If you're a thrillseeker/adrenaline junky who likes to live dangerously, then sure it's not that bad.

You yourself won't go through the place except for 9am to 12 noon, when most of the troublemakers are passed out. Of course it's "safe" then. But would you take your kids to a picnic at a Compton park, or maybe go jogging on some of the major thoroughfares after work?

Yeah, it's not "as bad" as places like Gary, Indiana, decaying cities of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania etc., and not "as bad" as it used to be, but it's not much better.