Are there a lot of gangs or wannabe thugs in Phoenix ? (Mesa: school, live in)

[sweat209]

I was in Phoenix for 2 days on business and I seen so many people loitering ,open alcohol in public and people hanging out and smoking pot in public.

I seen many people dress like they are in gangs or wannabe thugs big baggy long t-shirts or tank tops and big baggy jeans or sweatpants sagging very low and tattoos and bandana.

I was not there that long to really get a feel or gone down many streets but how is Phoenix ?

[CodyW]

I've lived in Phoenix most of my life and have NEVER seen anyone openly smoking pot. I do see people loitering, but very infrequently.

Have to wonder what part of town you were in!

[stasi_crystals]

Moderator cut: inappropriate No. I don't know what area of the city you were in but I've never seen anyone with that description.

[Steve Pickering]

I have.

[cacto]

Sounds like downtown or South Phoenix. Maybe he was near the airport on a layover.

[Bondurant]

Originally Posted by sweat209

I was in Phoenix for 2 days on business and I seen so many people loitering ,open alcohol in public and people hanging out and smoking pot in public.

I've seen the same in New York City and Toronto.

[Steve Pickering]

Most likely West of 16th, North of South Mountain, East of 7th Ave, and South of the river around Central.

Or almost anywhere on Buckeye.

I am surprised there was no mention of the prostitutes.

[Sco]

Originally Posted by CodyW

I've lived in Phoenix most of my life and have NEVER seen anyone openly smoking pot. I do see people loitering, but very infrequently.

Have to wonder what part of town you were in!

I live in the Desert Ridge area and have seen teenagers smoking weed and/or spice fairly frequently at a park near my house. Personally, I couldn't care less but it does happen here.

[PoppySead]

I see that in downtown, South, North, depends on area. Also in some of the smaller cities downtown like Chandler downtown on AZ ave, Alama School. Same with Tempe, and Mesa. It just depends on where in the cities you are. Yes, we have gangs and Barrios here. Mexican gangs mostly, but of course. We are one of the top 10 largest cities in the country. Drugs are big business here, we are by the border. It's going to have everything a large city would have, we are just more spread out and have more areas throughout the valley. Like L.A. It's expected.

That said there are many areas you will never see this. I'd just make sure to pick one of those. I rarely see these things anymore because I rarely go into those areas of town.

[Steve Pickering]

Not all of the gangs are Latino. Many are black, some are white, some are mixed, and some are bikers.