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Old 06-27-2007, 10:12 PM
 
Location: Nashville, TN
43 posts, read 133,401 times
Reputation: 67

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Hello,

I noticed that both of these towns are listed on the city-data.com 100 least safe cities in the U.S. Does this really seem to be true or does this have something to do with them being popular tourist towns? Thank you for the information.

Robert
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Old 06-27-2007, 11:40 PM
 
13,350 posts, read 39,946,186 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crtfour View Post
Hello,

I noticed that both of these towns are listed on the city-data.com 100 least safe cities in the U.S. Does this really seem to be true or does this have something to do with them being popular tourist towns? Thank you for the information.

Robert
Chattanooga isn't much of a tourist town, but Pigeon Forge definitely is. The city has only something like 3,000 permanent residents but over 2 million annual visitors. So you're right, for Pigeon Forge the crime rate is definitely skewed because of the tourist trade.

Chattanooga has some pretty nasty inner city neighborhoods near downtown, otherwise I'm sure the rest of the city is fairly safe.
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Old 06-28-2007, 06:13 AM
 
Location: LEAVING CD
22,974 posts, read 27,001,123 times
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Most of those safe city stats are decided by crimes committed per capita. That would mean if you have a large influx of people visiting your stats would go haywire. I was told once (and do so) to talk to the local PD. When I visit I look for a local cop, maybe one who stops in for coffee or dinner and ask them what areas they consider unsafe. Since they're the ones that see what goes on daily they are the best info center. You could always stop in or call the local cop shop and ask the supervisor on duty what he/she thinks.
The stats for where I live are rated pretty high but the population for the state is very low so if you have a few bad apples it raises the stats very fast.
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Old 06-28-2007, 09:33 AM
 
Location: Greenville, SC/Greensboro, NC
1,998 posts, read 4,607,387 times
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I disagree JMT's post that Chattanooga is not a tourist area.

It has wonderful attractions for both adults and kids (especially for a town this size, although it may not be the tourist mecca that Pigeon Forge is ).

The Chattanooga attractions that stand out are (IMHO):

Tennessee Aquarium (new penguin exhibit!): Welcome to the Tennessee Aquarium
Rock City: See Rock City on beautiful Lookout Mountain
Chattanooga Choo Choo: the Chattanooga Choo Choo
Ruby Falls: Ruby Falls on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN
Incline Railway: Ride The Incline.com
Creative Discovery Museum (awesome for kids!): Welcome to Creative Discovery Museum!
Tennessee Riverpark (over TWENTY MILES of biking, walking, fountains, retail, etc - soon to be designated a national park): Visit Chattanooga (broken link)

See also: chattanoogafun.com for additional attractions.

Also, some of the "inner city neighborhoods" are beginning to see revitalization and repair - especially near MLK blvd.

Police presence is visible near the attractions.

drfranklin
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Old 06-28-2007, 10:15 AM
 
Location: Beautiful East TN!!
7,280 posts, read 21,315,676 times
Reputation: 2786
Interesting thread. I go to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg several times through out the year. I do make sure my car doors are locked when there but really don't feel "unsafe". I do however realize there are tourist from everywhere there. It is where I see more "full diaper" pants (as the kids around here call the baggy pants with boxers showing that you see everywhere in any metro city now a days) and side ways ball caps, spiked wild colored hair and such than I do here at home in the Tri-Cities area. So I know most of those folks are tourists. Gatlinburg is a great place to sit on a sidewalk bench and watch the show walk by LOL! But I honestly don't feel "unsafe" when we are there.
I would really like to see a list of the type of crimes they are getting those figures from. Is it shoplifting? Break ins? Public disturbance/intoxication? Property damage?
I agree those stats on crime are an important thing to look at when considering anywhere for what ever reason, but I wish they (those compiling those stats) would be a bit more descriptive in what the crimes are. That way we all would know better what to be carefull of. For example, If there is a high number of purse snatches in that area, I want to know so I won't carry one when I am there. Or if it is car theft, we won't take the mustang, but the PT cruiser (statistically less of a theft target car).
I am not saying I am neurotic about stats or anything, but a heads up and something to consider would be nice.
To term something "least safe"..........least safe for who from what? Are the stats talking about nature or human? Is it where more people get struck by lightning or mugged?
I know the owners of City-Data get the info posted from many, many sources and put them all in one place, which is very convenient and nice but I just wish there was more info to explain those "stats" out there so they could put that here with it too.
Sorry, rambling now........
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Old 06-28-2007, 10:33 AM
 
Location: East Tennessee
59 posts, read 284,710 times
Reputation: 43
The biggest danger in Pigeon Forge is the all day long traffic jam.
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Old 06-28-2007, 10:51 AM
 
Location: Beautiful East TN!!
7,280 posts, read 21,315,676 times
Reputation: 2786
Quote:
Originally Posted by TreeFarm View Post
The biggest danger in Pigeon Forge is the all day long traffic jam.
Your right! Maybe all that reported "crime" is road rage issues? LOL
(we are lucky enough that we know most of the "go arounds" )
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Old 06-28-2007, 11:49 AM
 
3,371 posts, read 13,374,704 times
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Are you looking to move to one of these areas, or just visit? It's all relative; I have been to Chattanooga and never felt unsafe in the least bit, anywhere we've been. I felt actually sort of super safe, compared to a lot of cities I've traveled to. I wonder what crime stats make up that rating, but compared to my hometown (Memphis) Chattanooga is a walk in the park. Even then, I've lived a bunch of other places and I still thought Chattanooga seemed safe.
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Old 06-28-2007, 02:58 PM
 
Location: Kingsport, TN
1,697 posts, read 6,804,376 times
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As noted above, Pigeon Forge's crime stats are skewed tremendously due to its popularity w/ visitors from all over. Particularly high are their burglary & theft rates, which one would expect in a city with a gazillion businesses & vast parking lots full of vehicles to break into:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Pigeon...Tennessee.html

Pigeon Forge has a population of 5600 but gets over 11 million visitors per year (per the city's tourism dept.), giving it an effective "daily" average population of approx. 36,000. When one adjusts the crime rate accordingly, the crime index falls to about 160, or just half the national average.
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Old 06-28-2007, 07:27 PM
 
13,350 posts, read 39,946,186 times
Reputation: 10789
Quote:
Originally Posted by drfranklin View Post
I disagree JMT's post that Chattanooga is not a tourist area.
I didn't say that Chattanooga wasn't a tourist area. I said that it's not MUCH of a tourist area (go back and re-read my original post). There are indeed lovely things to see and do in Chattanooga. I've posted on here before that I love Chattanooga. I would much rather spend a weekend in Chattanooga than a weekend in Pigeon Forge. But compared to Pigeon Forge and its 11 million visitors per year, Chattanooga is barely even a blip on the radar in the world of tourism.
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