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There's certain areas of cities in the 2nd list that are just as dangerous as the cities in the first list. Capitalism and crime go hand in hand. The more wealth a city has, the more expensive (however it creates pockets of poverty and inequality that rival less affluent cities).
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?
Washington DC is consistently ranked as a high crime city.
Washington DC is consistently ranked as a high crime city.
DC's crime rate has been going down for years now hence why a lot of people from Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs are moving to DC to be closer to their jobs. There's no way people would be paying the outrageously high CoL if DC's crime rates were still high.
Well, there are areas in the Great Plains and other Midwest states that have some of the lowest CoL and are less crime ridden compared to those expensive cities you mentioned. Sooo....
Well, there are areas in the Great Plains and other Midwest states that have some of the lowest CoL and are less crime ridden compared to those expensive cities you mentioned. Sooo....
Most of these low CoL places have crime as well it's just less noticeable if there's less people. For example, most low CoL rural counties in the Midwest have problems with drugs, poverty ect but may only have 20,000 people per county. In large urban areas, they have these same issues but are dealing with 200,000 more people condensed into 40 sq miles.
Also, on a side note, communities composed primarily of immigrants are usually safer. IE. Union City, New Jersey is known for being safe but while at the same time a poor working class community.
Union City, NJ
Pop: 67,744
Murder Rate 2012: 1
Median Income: $36,567
Foreign Born: 58.7%
Contrast this with Trenton, NJ
Pop: 84,477
Murder Rate 2012: 24
Median Income: $36,049
Foreign Born: 23.1%
At least to me, poor communities without immigrants equate to more institutionalized poverty; generation after generation which drives the high crime rates.
Most of these low CoL places have crime as well it's just less noticeable if there's less people. For example, most low CoL rural counties in the Midwest have problems with drugs, poverty ect but may only have 20,000 people per county. In large urban areas, they have these same issues but are dealing with 200,000 more people condensed into 40 sq miles.
Also, on a side note, communities composed primarily of immigrants are usually safer. IE. Union City, New Jersey is known for being safe but while at the same time a poor working class community.
Union City, NJ
Pop: 67,744
Murder Rate 2012: 1
Median Income: $36,567
Foreign Born: 58.7%
Contrast this with Trenton, NJ
Pop: 84,477
Murder Rate 2012: 24
Median Income: $36,049
Foreign Born: 23.1%
At least to me, poor communities without immigrants equate to more institutionalized poverty; generation after generation which drives the high crime rates.
I'm pretty sure you'll have crime in a lot of these places. But some just don't have a large amount of crime per capita. I also agree that there might be drug use and poverty.
But what I'm saying is that places like Fargo, Boise, Des Moines and perhaps a few others also have a low CoL and at the same time, don't have high crime rates compared to these expensive places the OP mentioned. I'm also well aware that high poverty doesn't always equal crime. There are a lot of small towns in Texas that have some of the highest poverty rates in the nation (probably because a lot of Mexican immigrants) and as a result, might have a low CoL. But they also appear to be less crime ridden than expensive and affluent places like Boston.
Places with a lot of poor and working-class immigrants might also have low crime rates because a lot of new immigrants come from cultures where hard work is valued more than doing crime (especially violent crime). This is even more so when immigrants come from places that are strict or super violent (like Mexico). They're usually trying to escape the crap that goes on in their home country and look towards chasing the "American Dream".
Last edited by LordHomunculus; 04-09-2014 at 06:40 PM..
Also, we have to think about how much of these cities are actually crime ridden and a lot of times, the city comprises a small portion of the metro. So, you may have affordable communities in these metros that aren't crime ridden.
On the other hand, you can have metros were the crime is more spread out, while some areas have the vast majority of its serious crime in select areas of the city. Here is an interesting metro crime ranking list: http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2012...teRankings.pdf
High-crime cities have high crime because they are economically depressed. There is high poverty, few jobs, lousy public services. That also keeps property values down. It isn't rocket science.
Communities composed primarily of immigrants are usually safer.
Yeah like El Paso, TX.
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