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When we lived in the city, just off the greenbelt, a nervous neighbor wanted to have a streetlight installed "for security reasons". Fortunately, the city polled the surrounding neighbors and got a resounding "no", because while she lived at the bottom of the hill, the street light she wanted installed directly across from her house would have shone directly into the windows of three houses on the other side of the street uphill from her. None of us had any problem going for walks in the dark in the city.
Interestingly, various studies have shown that lighting simply helps the burglars rather than deterring them. If you really feel that you must have outdoor lighting for security reasons, though, you might want to check in with Dark Sky International to find ways to have security lighting without annoying your neighbors or using (and paying for) too much energy.
What really annoys me are the people who move to the country (where we have beautiful views of the Milky Way just about every clear night and can walk around in the dark just fine, thank you very much, even with no sidewalks or streets to walk on but simply walking cross country) and are clearly afraid of the dark. Why on earth did they move out here if they are? (These are usually the same people who move to the country and then are annoyed and try to stop things that occur here, like, oh, say, animals and farming and such.
Motion sensor lights are the way to deter crime.When pools of light are the normal, well it's normal, and the thief doesn't have to worry about the interior lights of your car coming on, etc.
And there you have it. If lights are left on, on a regular basis, then it is no deterrent. However, if you have motion sensor lights they only come on when someone is approaching your house - combined with an alarm set on a timer, then would be thieves will realize your house is not an 'easy target' and move on to one that is. There are even street lights that only come on when a car is approaching, low wattage, but enough where one can see where they're driving, then go off soon after the car passes and the next light comes on as the car approaches it. Modern technology is a beautiful thing.
It's my reason too, as we have no streetlights in our development. I live in a nice suburban neighborhood, but we've had our share of break-ins, so my outside lights are on a timer. Several years ago, the light bulb blew in the fixture by my garage door (back of the house). That night, someone tried to get into my shed to steal my lawn mower. Grrrr...
You would be better served by a motion detector controlling your lights (light coming on is more of a deterrent than one that is always on), you would save money, you would be kinder to the environment and if visible from neighbor homes I bet your neighbors would also appreciate it.
Location: Finally escaped The People's Republic of California
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I live in the suburbs, and long to live in the country upon retirment, I've seen threads like this in the past. I think most people like me, who do move to a rural area are just plain used to it being light out. I know if I turn off my porch lights, my wife will turn them back on...Now my folks upon moving to the mountains leave all thier lights off...So there is hope for us newbies.....and yes when we get away from the city, the night sky is spectacular.......
oh and anti-streetlight folks who think we should be using lanterns and flashlights in the city .... what about those of us who don't depend on cars and don't have a cute little driveway to park them in? are we supposed to supply our own lighting as pedestrians while also watching our backs?
... What really annoys me are the people who move to the country (where we have beautiful views of the Milky Way just about every clear night and can walk around in the dark just fine, thank you very much, even with no sidewalks or streets to walk on but simply walking cross country) and are clearly afraid of the dark. Why on earth did they move out here if they are? (These are usually the same people who move to the country and then are annoyed and try to stop things that occur here, like, oh, say, animals and farming and such.
Well, when we lived in the city and didn't want the streetlight, we didn't have a "cute little driveway". There was a drive behind our house that was shared with several other houses on the same outcropping with the cliff behind it, and it did have a carport, but there were many things within walking distance (still are, more even), and we didn't use the car to go to those. (We were right on the greenbelt.)
But we didn't use flashlights. Nor do we here for the most part except for special situations. Once your eyes adjust (which takes very little time), you don't need extra lighting to see your way around, even out in the country away from almost all lighting, never mind in a city.
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