Why are alot of the cheap affordable cities so crime ridden and dangerous? (low income, crime)

[jacobwilliam77]

I've noticed something. That many of the cheap cities have high crime rates.

I mean look at some of these cities with a low cost of living and they all have high crime rates....

- Memphis, TN
- Birmingham, AL
- St Louis, MO
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Louisville, KY
- Jacksonville, FL
- New Orleans, LA
- Indianapolis, IN
- Detroit, MI
- Nashville, TN

On the other hand look at some of the safest places in the U.S. and they have sky-high living costs....

- Boston, MA
- San Jose, CA
- Providence, RI
- New York, NY
- Washington DC
- San Diego, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Hartford, CT
- Minneapolis, MN
- Portland, OR

What gives?

[animatedmartian]

Unemployment. Low jobs, low demand, low prices and lots of desperate folks without many other options.

[stateofnature]

This is a troll post right?

Are you seriously asking "why would something that's bad (crime) be cheaper than something that's better (low crime)?"

[Davy-040]

Dangerous places are cheap because they are dangerous, they are not dangerous because they are cheap.

[EnricoV]

Do you really not know why? It would seem fairly obvious to a first-grader.

[creeksitter]

Louisville is not dangerous and Nashville is not cheap or particularly dangerous.

[Ankhharu]

I hate to pile on, but to echo the sentiments of the others, it's fairly obvious. Crime has always been higher in low income areas. If you can afford to live in an expensive place, why would you be out robbing liquor stores and doing drive by's? I don't know too many 6 figure cats getting off work and heading down to perform a car jacking or two. They can usually afford other forms of legal entertainment.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Ankhharu

I don't know too many 6 figure cats getting off work and heading down to perform a car jacking or two. They can usually afford other forms of legal entertainment.

Not to mention, when they do theft, it's legal. Or at least not specifically illegal.

[NOVA_guy]

They sort of go hand in hand because in most cheap places it's cheap for a reason which is why I've never understood people who purposely look to move somewhere cheaper and then are surprised by the huge amount of crime or the awful public school systems.

It's mostly due to lack of opportunity, high unemployment, high poverty rates, lack of resources, etc.

[jtur88]

The thing that makes them cheap is also the thing that makes them dangerous -- Poverty. Americans seem to be burdened under the notion that you can economically marginalize people, and they will still be law-abiding neighbors.