Wow Really? (Crime stats are making me not want to move to SA) (Houston: rent, house)

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by rd2007

Any negative stats you read are bogus, according to some, and they'll quote stats of their own to back their statement up, but never tell you where they got them from. I mentioned in another thread that most cities have the areas you stay out of and everything is fine. It was IRT Detroit, but it's applicable to many cities I've lived in and visited. The problem with SA is there is nowhere to avoid or stay out of. People here feel entitled to everything and will take things because they feel it's their right. They also have no regard for the law and feel that drunk driving laws aren't for them and choose to ignore them. The police won't do anything about it until a couple of their own get killed and then the "justice system" lets everyone off the hook as long as they promise to only commit 5 or 6 more violations over the next few years (that last part was obviously sarcasm, but you'd think it was fact if you lived here and saw the unbelievable number of multiple repeat DUI offenders).
For the original comments, I'd keep looking somewhere else. I know Baltimore isn't a great place, but SA is no suitable substitute. It may not have all the serious violent crime, but the amount of lesser crimes will drive you bonkers. My son just had his car broke into for the third time in a year. Those "minor" crimes really add up and this latest one is costing over $600 in car repairs (broken windown and punched out lock) and rental car fees.

Now where are those that only see things with rose colored glasses? Where's the stats that will set the OP straight?

BTW, since when can't you speak the truth in a relocation thread? If the OP is considering moving here, and they are, and they have questions like they have, then I would think CD would be interested in giving them facts and honest opinions. Otherwise we might as well only have 5-10 posters in here.

RD has it right...SA is a cesspool. I'll send you a DM with no sugar coating.
Don't do it!

[amexicano]

I strongly disagree with FirstTimeFlyer. I've lived in many places in my life and San Antonio it's been one of the nicest and safest places, and that includes big and small cities. It's not a perfect city, but the good has been overwhelminghly more than the bad.

I can't talk to Baltimore, but compared to many other places, San Antonio is a fine alternative.

[IonRedline08]

I've lived here for nearly 3 years, moved here from Virginia Beach, originally from Canton, Ohio, which is near Cleveland.

I have never felt unsafe here, well, other than with the way people drive. I have had no criminal acts perpetrated on me either.

The cities crime rates may be high on paper, but, I really think those can be manipulated one way or the other. I haven't been to Baltimore, so, I really can't comment on that specifically. I will say, I feel infinitely safer here than in my home town or in Cleveland. There are lots of decent areas here, and while I don't have a family, I continually hear from my coworkers and my subordinates on how great an area this is to raise a family.

Only you can make the decision if you would prefer it here or not.

[amexicano]

OK...I did a little "googling" and found two sites with some statistics.

First one shows San Antonio to have average violent crime vs. country and above average (1.5X) property crime.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Second one lists safests and most dangerous cities in the country by size. In this one San Antonio ranks as 8th SAFEST city with 500K+ people in the country. As a comparison, Baltimore ranks as #3 MOST DANGEROUS.
City Crime Rankings by Population Group+

Again, my personal experience is that SA is a pretty safe place.

[sapphire]

I think it's the property crime that is the most aggravating. We've had our vehicles broken in to twice in this neighborhood, and most of my neighbors have as well. Our subdivision once (fairly recently) had a guy drive through and just smash windshields out on cars parked in the street.

It's mostly young thug-types who can't handle their beer and don't have positive male role models in their lives. They are scared and angry and I guess this type of behavior gives them some semblance of control over their petty little lives. The same holds true for the tagging, I think. Overall, I don't feel unsafe here but I do know that property crime is bound to happen, and I also know that when I drive many of my fellow drivers do not carry insurance on their vehicles. Also, after 8PM or so, the likelihood of seeing impaired drivers seriously increases.

Just be warned that there are many, many young males here who DON'T have positive role models. Young women, also.

[majormadmax]

Jeez, what's with all this panic over non-existent crime? There's no crime wave going on here, just a lot of bad driving and petty theft. Otherwise, don't get involved with gangs or drugs and there's little chance you'll be the victim of a violent crime!

By the way, I lived outside of Baltimore for nearly five years, I liked the area but crime there is a bit worse than here. Still, it was better than Washington, DC!

[HillCountryHotRodMan]

Couple people killed each night here in this city.... those odds aren't too bad considering the number of folks who live here. Rollllllll the diiiiiiccceeee.... just don't go to Stacy's Sports bar if you plan to live.

I actually passed up a fairly decent job offer near Baltimore last year because of the crime there (and the weather).

San Antonio people - why do you want more people to move down here? The city isn't equipped to handle much more in the way of population increases.

[DCNative24]

I'll offer my perspective as someone who lived in Baltimore for a couple years (mid-90s) and now is here in San Antonio. Personally, I think the crime here in S.A. is nowhere near as bad as it is in Baltimore. I think Baltimore has huge problems with inner city drug use and entire neighborhoods simply wasting away due to drug dealing and drug use. I lived right by Camden Yards in a decent area of town, but one block to the west was seriously scary. I feel like that was true throughout the city - one block would be fine, and the next was a block of crack houses. As a DC/MD native, I want to like Baltimore but the city has a lot of issues and I don't really think they will ever get better.

Now for the other side... We've been here for about a year and a half and like it. There is a lot of property crime here and it really doesn't matter where you live - it happens everywhere. Some places are obviously worse, but it will happen wherever you are. Honestly, this is a problem in all urban areas around the country and it's no different here. However, I think the chances of this happening to you are less if you use common sense: don't leave stuff in your car; don't leave your garage door open; etc. It can happen anyway, but if people don't see anything of value then hopefully that's a bit of a deterrence.

Perhaps the crime rate here is higher (didn't look at the links so I don't know), but I'd say the crimes here are probably more minor than in Baltimore.

[majormadmax]

I'll make it easy for anyone to compare SA to any major city in the US. Wikipedia lists the crime statistics for U.S. cities with a population of 250,000 or greater based on cases per 1,000 people for all of calendar year 2009:

Wikipedia US Cities by Crime Rate for 2009

Baltimore has a violent crime rate of 15.13 compared to SA's 5.71. That's nearly three times more likely! Nearby Washington, DC was at 12.65.

Atlanta, where I visited a few weeks ago and wrote a comparison on versus San Antonio (where the increase in crime was notable) was 11.5 (almost double SA), Cleveland = 13.95, Kansas City = 13.0, Oakland = 16.79, St Louis = 20.7...I think you get my point!

Even other cities in Texas aren't doing as well either. Dallas = 7.92, Houston = 11.26, Ft Worth = 5.85, Arlington = 6.15, Corpus Christi = 8.23. Austin is only slightly lower at 5.50, and maybe we all oughta move to Plano, where it's only 1.7!

By the way, those numbers are directly from the FBI:

FBI Crime in the United States by Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2009

So go ahead and make all the claims you want about this city having a crime problem, the facts prove otherwise...

And I've lived here for a total of over nine years, and to the best of my knowledge, I haven't been killed once!

[smuboy86]

Hey I live in Plano! But besides that in the years that my family and myself have lived in San Antonio, we've never ever had a car of ours broken into. No one has been raped, murdered or assaulted either. Maybe it has to do with living in a neighborhood where everyone has known each other forever,but as a native the places I go in town I never feel unsafe.