Is PA "naturally safe" (except for cities and urban areas)? (Reading: crime, campers)

[moshywilly]

I am a NJ native and I moved to the Bay Area 1.5 years ago. NJ suburbs are super safe to live in and they are "naturally safe" where it is safe of its nature and you rarely need cops to keep the place safe. The only suburbs where you really need cops are the towns that have lots of highways running through them. In NJ burbs, you only needed a cop for car accidents and all you need is a few cops in most towns, except we had an excess of cops.

Most of NJ is not "prone" to crime (except for urban areas obviously) and even something like covid, economic distress / poverty, political issues, does not make people go crazy and commit crimes and even defunding of the police does not increase any issues here. I totally understand that nowhere is safe, but I need to live somewhere that is just as safe as NJ.

I now live in the Bay Area with family and I am miserable here. Everything in the Bay Area is urban and is not "naturally safe" and the Bay Area is prone to homeless people, panhandling, smash and grab crimes, stolen vehicle crimes, catalytic converter thefts, etc. I honestly cannot see how I could pay a high cost of living to live through all of that with the addition of third world looking roads, very long droughts, and wildfires.

My dream is to live in a semi-rural area in Southeastern PA, but I would want to know how safe semi-rural and suburban SE PA in its own "nature" and if you really "need" cops to keep the place safe. I am tired of living in the Bay Area where you need to advocate for more police and mental health care just to keep the area safe.

[RetireinPA]

Yep. Biggest danger is from lions and bears with the occasional coyote. Unless you are a car. The deer. the #@$@# deer. Rodents.


but seriously, I would never lock my place up north, cept all the 'neighbors' are campers from the pitt area and thefts are up like 3000% since 1990.

[RetireinPA]

PS, SE pa is essentially delaware - pointless unless you push on to amish country. Then its tourism central. live a little. go wester and norther.

[jtab4994]

OP, you once stated you were looking for someplace with a "western Morris County (NJ) vibe". Seems like you are looking for a wealthy exurb in SEPA. Have you looked into Forks Township in Northampton County? Not sure if that's considered SEPA but it's in the 610 area code. Lots of McMansions, the township athletic center is sprawling, and it has a "wealthy and safe" vibe. At least it did when my kids played sports down there.

[thedirtypirate]

I would describe northern Bucks county up to around Easton as semi-rural with a 'western Morris County' vibe. The little river towns are essentially their own worlds.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by RetireinPA

PS, SE pa is essentially delaware - pointless unless you push on to amish country. Then its tourism central. live a little. go wester and norther.

As someone that has lived in every county that Delaware has plus three counties in Southeastern PA (four if you count Lehigh), I have to say that's a weird statement. Lower Delaware is night and day different than Northern Delaware so when you say, "SE PA is essentially Delaware", that's just wrong. Parts of New Castle County are like parts of SE PA, but that's about it.

I'd say that most of the small towns in SE PA are safe. You're always going to have petty larceny like kids stealing stuff from unlocked cars but as another poster said, the real thing to watch out for is deer at dusk. Between my husband and I, we've hit or clipped half a dozen.

[RetireinPA]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

As someone that has lived in every county that Delaware has plus three counties in Southeastern PA (four if you count Lehigh), I have to say that's a weird statement. Lower Delaware is night and day different than Northern Delaware so when you say, "SE PA is essentially Delaware", that's just wrong. Parts of New Castle County are like parts of SE PA, but that's about it.

I'd say that most of the small towns in SE PA are safe. You're always going to have petty larceny like kids stealing stuff from unlocked cars but as another poster said, the real thing to watch out for is deer at dusk. Between my husband and I, we've hit or clipped half a dozen.

I mean the Delaware you accidentally fall into out of lancaster on 41 when you are trying to get to cape may without $200 in tolls. If I took down the sign that said 'welcome to...' I challenge anyone to tell me when they change over.


I wont say its a bad drive, winnie got like 9.1mpg last trip which aint bad for a 6 ton 1 car garage that can do 70 - but its the same thing over and over with a traffic light at the bottom of each hill so you have to ditch overdrive. like leaving LAX to riverside....50+ miles of identical.



west and north!

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by RetireinPA

I mean the Delaware you accidentally fall into out of lancaster on 41 when you are trying to get to cape may without $200 in tolls. If I took down the sign that said 'welcome to...' I challenge anyone to tell me when they change over.


I wont say its a bad drive, winnie got like 9.1mpg last trip which aint bad for a 6 ton 1 car garage that can do 70 - but its the same thing over and over with a traffic light at the bottom of each hill so you have to ditch overdrive. like leaving LAX to riverside....50+ miles of identical.



west and north!

Northern Delaware feels more like South Jersey than Southeastern Pennsylvania, which makes sense, because both areas were largely farmland outside of the urban hubs of Camden and Wilmington until the 1950s. Delaware is also different because County governments reign supreme, as they do in Maryland and Virginia, and many areas are unincorporated.

[Tweb66]

I kind of think "naturally safe" isn't a real thing, drugs and poverty are pretty much everywhere. Having said that, western Montgomery County is fairly rural, safe and has great services because its a wealthy county. You will probably like Berks a lot too. Reading is atrociously but I think it otherwise fits the bill.

[moshywilly]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

I kind of think "naturally safe" isn't a real thing, drugs and poverty are pretty much everywhere. Having said that, western Montgomery County is fairly rural, safe and has great services because its a wealthy county. You will probably like Berks a lot too. Reading is atrociously but I think it otherwise fits the bill.

Nowhere is perfectly safe in terms of humanity (not counting wild animal drama lol), but I just want to live somewhere that is just as safe as NJ where nothing bad happens whenever people do become poor, or whenever any political issue comes up, and a place that would still remain safe even if police defunding (or little police) happens. All we needed was a few cops in my NJ suburb, otherwise it was safe by its nature. Of course in PA, you do not have the weather like California, so PA is not going to overpopulation (PA is not NJ either), homeless people, but yes, people do drugs everywhere. I don't mind kiddy crimes though. That is something you cannot get away from.