Urban living not working out due to crime

[Tradd]

I have several friends who’ve moved into Chicago the last few years for various reasons. More active nightlife, but also being able to take public transit, walkable neighborhoods, etc. One of the three left his car at home with his parents in the suburbs, but the other two sold their cars. After several years in the city they are now all getting out ASAP.

All three (guys in their 30s) have been victims of crime on the CTA, either on the L trains or platforms. Phones and wallets taken. These attacks were all during morning/evrning commutes, not late at night.

Two of the three have been victims of robberies while walking home from the grocery store, in broad daylight on a weekend day.

Two lived on the north side, one in the south loop.

Even the close in old suburbs of Evanston and Oak Park (which has tons of Frank Lloyd Wright houses) are crime ridden.

[catherine]

This hits home. We moved to VT to be near family but also because of the adorable town/city of Burlington. Over the past couple of years, it has sadly gone the way of Portland and San Francisco. Addicted spaced-out people wandering the main pedestrian street in town, a lot of homeless who were, frankly, chased from an innocuous spot near the lake to a bunch of pods in-town, and shootings. The mayor is not running for re-election. I think there are compassionate ways to handle these issues, but I haven't seen much done effectively.

Sad to hear about Chicago... I have done a lot of research in Chicago and in the suburbs, and I am a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan.

[Tradd]

In Chicago, murders and such may be apparently going down, but robberies and the like are on the rise. The smash and grab robberies are a big thing, especially with high end stores downtown.

[iris lilies]

We moved to bucolic no- crime ( or low crime) tiny touristy town Hermann from The Big Bad City. We are casual about locking doors and don’t even bother on our cars, although some of that seems to be automatic with our new car. But that’s a whole Nother post where I can complain about it!

but anyway—then last spring a piece of shit shooter took out half of our police force because he didn’t want to go back to jail. The police were called to talk to him because he was acting up at the local convenience store.

really shocking for our little town.

Tradd, also St. Louis had a measurable decrease in homicides 2023, but the other crimes are way up.


City fathers are well aware that constant minor crime causes people to flee the city, and by “minor crime “I don’t mean armed robberies such as your friends experienced. I mean car cloutings, petty theft of property, etc.

Avenging Michael Brown seems the order of the day and it is a breakdown in the social order. But yay for the eternal victims, now getting theirs

[pinkytoe]

Media continues to report that crime is down but I imagine those numbers can be reworked as needed. There is way too much what I call lawlessness here - stolen cars, porch pirates, homeless fires, robberies, theft and a disenfranchised police force to deal with it all. It makes me want to move to a smaller town for my last chapter.

[Tradd]

I’m in a nice NW Chicago suburb. I’m about 45 min from the city limits.

[Yppej]

This hits home. We moved to VT to be near family but also because of the adorable town/city of Burlington. Over the past couple of years, it has sadly gone the way of Portland and San Francisco. Addicted spaced-out people wandering the main pedestrian street in town, a lot of homeless who were, frankly, chased from an innocuous spot near the lake to a bunch of pods in-town, and shootings. The mayor is not running for re-election. I think there are compassionate ways to handle these issues, but I haven't seen much done effectively.

Sad to hear about Chicago... I have done a lot of research in Chicago and in the suburbs, and I am a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan.

I have heard this about various places in Vermont. Do you have a feel on Springfield VT? It is smaller, maybe not like that? Still thinking of an escape from Massachusetts.

[bae]

Even out here in the hinterlands, we are experiencing a sharp rise in drug and mental health issues, homelessness, property crime, and lots and lots of scam activity. And this is not an easy place to get to, nor are there supportive services available in any quantity.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Crime and especially drug use is on the rise in Phoenix, even in the pseudo upscale neighborhood I work in. Shoplifting has increased dramatically at the grocery store and there have been a few incidents of what I believe were fentanyl inspired customer (?) collapses in the store with said individuals flopping around like fish out of water on the buffed clean flooring.

As a Valley Metro Rider, I sometimes see people at bus stops either smoking fentanyl - it has a really toxic smell, too - or hunched over unconscious under it's influence. I witnessed a middle aged man recently fall splat on the floor of the light rail train I was on, also flopping around like a fish out of water. This was one day after I witnessed similar on the 7th Street bus southbound.

Fentanyl is some serious (expletive) in Arizona but something I can tell you - you can't avoid this drug by moving somewhere rural in Arizona - it's everywhere, sadly even in Nogales, AZ.

Now here is something I've never posted here. When I had my liver infection late 2016, the hospital staff gave me fentanyl - likely a smaller dose than the individuals above took - before my absess draining procedure. I can see why it's so addictive. I was flying for hours with zilch need for additional pain killers. From this one legal, medically administered dose, I can completely understand why fentanyl is.such a nightmare. Couple the intense high with the fact it's so cheap in a country with declining opportunities and a declining standard of living - this is the end result.

Does anyone see a way out of this? Rob

[ToomuchStuff]

Wish I did. The daughter of my late friend/coworker and bosses medical assistant, has a big fentanyl problem, and is now pregnant the third time by another drug dealer. She has overdosed several times and many of us would like to see her get off the drugs and eventually have a relationship with her kids, for their and their late grandmothers benefit.