Coping with the feeling of insecurity

[Vilma]

This is quite funny because I did not even realize that I should feel insecure before I started to read expat forums.
I came to city about 6 weeks ago and my preconception was that this city is definetely more dangerous place than my home in country side of small scandinavian country. But also I read from my country's foreign ministry advice of Argentina which said that Buenos Aires is one of the safest big cities in Latin America. So, why to feel insecure? You can get robbed anywhere.

In that small country town I live people get beat up every weekend. Awful for those that it happens but it does not stop me going out at night. Maybe it makes me choose my location a bit more carefully.

By the way, this city does not come even close at the numbers of pick pockets compared to some European cities, starting with Prague etc.

 

[KatharineAnn]

Well, I don´t know if there´s more crime here than other big cities, probably not, but what there is is a rise in crime, I´m pretty sure of that. I´ve been robbed here 3 times in the course of a year and a half, once at knife point, another time also threatened with physical harm. And these two muggings took place in Palermo, during the day. Most porteños you talk to say that 10 years ago it wasn´t nearly this bad (but of course, being the exagerados that they are, one may never know). I now live in Once, which is one of the pickpocketing hotspots of the city, and that doesn´t bother me ´cause I know how to watch my pockets. What really unnerves me is knowing that I don´t feel safe going out alone at night, because any random boludo on drugs could have a knife, and that´s never, ever a pleasant experience.

How do I cope with this? Just accepting it. You get numb to it after a while, you get used to watching your back all the time, and that´s life. Honestly, if the worst that´s happened to me is that I´ve gotten my phone and IPOD stolen from a drugged up teenager with a knife, it doesn´t make me feel terribly ´insecure´ in the survival sense that I´m sure this hierarchy of needs is talking about.

 

[steveinbsas]

Check out the thread "Avoid becoming a victim of crime" for more information.