One thing that always seem to stick out here in Houston... (Howe: crime rate, neighborhood)

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by JazzOne

Not at all. I'm a new transplant, and I'm just surprised by how everything works here. I've lived in Chicago, and I've spent a lot of time in Detroit. So, I'm not naive about crime. I just think that many locals have become so accustomed to it that they don't even see it as a problem anymore. In fact, much of the local music brags about it. It's almost like a source of pride here.

In another thread you said you moved to Houston a month ago. Have you ventured outside your neighborhood and toured the entire city in the past month? Because I promise you the majority of Houstonians don't share that viewponit.

Also the music and crime thing - if you are hanging out in places where local music celebrates crime, that indicates to me that you are only experiencing a very narrow sliver of the city. And probably not the best side of Houston either...

[JazzOne]

Originally Posted by DanielWayne

In another thread you said you moved to Houston a month ago. Have you ventured outside your neighborhood and toured the entire city in the past month? Because I promise you the majority of Houstonians don't share that viewponit.

Also the music and crime thing - if you are hanging out in places where local music celebrates crime, that indicates to me that you are only experiencing a very narrow sliver of the city. And probably not the best side of Houston either...

This seems to be the concensus in the other thread as well. I wasn't really sure where to go, and it seemed like every place I tried was the wrong place. But I received a ton of helpful suggestions in my thread, and I intend to broaden my Houston horizons. If I'm proven wrong, I promise I will come back and report that with as much vigor as I reported my disappointment.

[JazzOne]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

Well, those same people will be totally up in arms when they get burglarized.

Burglary, as I'm sure you're aware, is a very difficult breed of crime to eradicate. There are too many people who are lax about their home security and too many people that think it's worth risking being shot to break a window and grab an armful of Stella & Dot costume jewelry. I'm not really getting the same sense of apathy about crime. That probably indicates that you need to get into another neighborhood.

Be careful if you have a home delivery from an electronics retailer or have a cable installation. Sometimes those guys are casing you're place and feeding tips on the side.

Thanks for the tip.

[SWHoustonOpinion]

I subscribed to spotcrime website. They send me a daily email with the police report in my zip code. After several weeks of emailing, I can see the pattern of crime in my area. This allows you to evaluate the risk factor of your home within the zip code. Unfortunately, these reports do not give you enough details.

I also subscribed to my local neighborhood email security alert which give us more info on the crime. I found the most burglaries in my area are done by people walk into you backyard and break or kick in the back patio door or window. Most crimes are done at mid day.

I'm also in the process of selecting a webcam software that can double as a security device. Currently I use yawcam software on my $6.00 HD webcam on my desktop. I set the motion detect on to where if there is motion, yawcam takes a still of my webcam and store the picture on my hard drive. I can view the picture on my computer at work. I need to find a software that also instantly text me when this happened.

I hope to get a full security video system in the near future.

[crone]

A hundred years ago there some crazy law about entering a house during the day penalty being way less than at night, thus the daytime break and entering.

In my experience there is more of it around areas of new construction. The only break in around here happened when a family was having work done on their home. The criminal knew they were going out of town and left and upstairs window unlocked.

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by JazzOne

That's exactly my point. Those cities have a ton of crime, but when I lived there, people lamented the crime. People didn't say to me, "Well, what did you expect? It's Chicago!" I'm not suggesting the crime is worse here, just that people seem complacent about it. But like I said above, there isn't much anyone can do. It's just jarring for a noob to hear locals say, "Ya, so?"

If I lived in your current neighborhood, I would not be surprised with crime. That's not the case for a lot of Houston neighborhoods (including inexpensive ones).

Whenever you see a neighborhood where a common accessory is burglar bars, that's an indication.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by JazzOne

Not at all. I'm a new transplant, and I'm just surprised by how everything works here. I've lived in Chicago, and I've spent a lot of time in Detroit. So, I'm not naive about crime. I just think that many locals have become so accustomed to it that they don't even see it as a problem anymore. In fact, much of the local music brags about it. It's almost like a source of pride here.

The same mentality goes on in Chicago and Detroit and it's probably to a greater extent then here in Houston since overall crime is higher in both Chicago and Detroit. You really have to get out more and stop generalizing Houston based on a few bumps and bruises you've encountered while you've been here for 1 month. And your speaking on violent rap music. Go to any city and you'll here dumb rappers( not all of rap is like this btw for those who generalize hip-hop culture) speak and brag about the violence. I can show you plenty of videos where lost souls are braggin about Chi-town being the murder capitol of the world right now and how Detroit is a NO FLY ZONE for out of towners as if it's a badge of Honor.

[texsn95]

Originally Posted by JazzOne

If I'm proven wrong, I promise I will come back and report that with as much vigor as I reported my disappointment.

Not sure anyone would really care, so you should probably just save your time and work on changing your taste in music to start with.

[MIBS98]

Originally Posted by JazzOne

That's exactly my point. Those cities have a ton of crime, but when I lived there, people lamented the crime. People didn't say to me, "Well, what did you expect? It's Chicago!" I'm not suggesting the crime is worse here, just that people seem complacent about it. But like I said above, there isn't much anyone can do. It's just jarring for a noob to hear locals say, "Ya, so?"

I think you are misunderstanding what is being said here. Houston is the 4th largest city in the USA. The three cities in front of it (New York, LA, Chicago) are all known internationally in a positive way. Houston, on the other hand, doesn't have such a favorable reputation. While those of us who live here know it to be nice, outsiders have a more negative view of Houston largely born out of ignorance. There just isn't much info about Houston out there apart from the heat and humidity, oil, etc.

If you are from Chicago, New York, LA you don't really care what people say about your city because you are comfortable with its place in the world and you know it to be a world class city. Houstonians have, for lack of a better term, more of an inferiority complex about their city. If you come in and say something negative about the city, the most likely reaction (as you have seen) is going to be: "why are you being negative, all cities are like this, it is not unique to Houston." It is not an issue of acceptance, as you put it, it is an issue of not wanting to be compared unfavorably to other cities.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by MIBS98

I think you are misunderstanding what is being said here. Houston is the 4th largest city in the USA. The three cities in front of it (New York, LA, Chicago) are all known internationally in a positive way. Houston, on the other hand, doesn't have such a favorable reputation. While those of us who live here know it to be nice, outsiders have a more negative view of Houston largely born out of ignorance. There just isn't much info about Houston out there apart from the heat and humidity, oil, etc.

If you are from Chicago, New York, LA you don't really care what people say about your city because you are comfortable with its place in the world and you know it to be a world class city. Houstonians have, for lack of a better term, more of an inferiority complex about their city. If you come in and say something negative about the city, the most likely reaction (as you have seen) is going to be: "why are you being negative, all cities are like this, it is not unique to Houston." It is not an issue of acceptance, as you put it, it is an issue of not wanting to be compared unfavorably to other cities.

Is the reaction borne out of an inferiority complex when you're just trying to correct misconceptions? I'm sure New Yorkers would be annoyed when people come in and complain it doesn't all look like time square.