Is Buenos Aires REALLY dangerous?

[Traveler]

I guess, as something pointed out before, that most of crimes are petty crimes which occur to easy or random targets in the street... I'm sure some burglars "would scale the 20 (floors?) courtyard wall like a Batman villain with a rope/hook combination", but they only do if they know what they are going to find inside the flat, if they know the person inside is on holiday or away for the week-end, or easy to immobilise while sleeping (old couples sleeping together, for example)... you don't want to go through all this only to steal a TV or find yourself in the middle of the night in a flat with 4 adults sleeping in different bedrooms who could be armed or hit you in the head from the back with a baseball bat (all of this at the 20th floor of an apartment building).

Once again you must be talking about North Philadelphia.

 

[leaven.guise]

We have friends that live in a country and there have been very, very few robberies where they live, either inside or right outside the country. Not all countries are equal in terms of the reliability and trustworthiness of the security forces and the physical barriers that impide robberies. There seems to be a general dislike for countries on this forum (maybe because of their elitist status for some) and therefore a tendency to exaggerate the level of insecurity they represent, but I doubt that you are going to find than there are more robberies within countries that in non gated neighborhoods of houses, regardless of the area and country you're talking about. I do think, though, that living in an apt in a safe area of the city is the safest option.

Thanks, I've also searched on-line and the cases are very few, and they happened in Barrios Cerrados rather proper Countries with good security and proper barriers... there was one case where they suspect the burglar rented a house next to the victim's in order to hide after he stole 70.000$ from him (and after hitting him in the head in the middle of the night). But in this case they knew what they would find and (poorly) executed a proper plan rather than improvising and steal from a random house.

In our Country nothing ever happened (inside nor outside), there are high walls with electric fence on top, cameras, security going around the premises and the perimeter with motorbikes day and night, and a pain-in-the-ass access procedure for non residents. And I'm not sure how likely it is to be robbed right outside of it, meaning it's much easier to target a tourist in the city center than a person closed in their car leaving a Country, where there are guards armed with rifles and guns (whether they would use them or not is another matter)

 

[leaven.guise]

Once again you must be talking about North Philadelphia.

Dude, I don't even know where North Philadelphia is, I already told you I am not an American and I am not interested in USA dynamics! Can you please stop harassing me?

 

[nikad]

That's true, but it seems to refer more to robberies happening at the entrance of any house or building, rather than at Countries in specific:

Entraderas - Infobae

Entraderas

www.infobae.com

Of all the articles about the matter on this page Infobae, there is none about an Entradera to a Country

I was not answering about countries specifically but on how they break into property.

 

[PhillyD]

Once again you must be talking about North Philadelphia.

like north philly is a place

 

[PatriotsFan]

like north philly is a place

I remember going to Philly quite a few times. What was the neighborhood that was torn down to build the stadiums? I remember that as being an area that one would not walk around on well lit days. Then again you still have Kensington Street.

Where are the Badlands in Philadelphia?


The Philadelphia Badlands is a section of North Philadelphia and Lower Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that is known for an abundance of open-air recreational drug markets and drug-related violence. It has amorphous and somewhat disputed boundaries, but is generally agreed to include the 25th police district.

Most all major cities in the USA have areas that one just does not go to unless they are looking for drugs or whatever.
Boston has Mass. and Cass streets that was recently "cleaned up". AKA moved them along to another area.

 

[Pat Murphy]

leaven.guise ... yeah, it is really dangerous here and there are far safer places to live. Have you considered Utopia?

 

[Alfred_Arnold]

Maybe this is the response you are looking for:

I take personal security very seriously, and I practically never leave home without my pepper spray, and occasionally with a sport coat i also carry an expandable baton and have had lessons in Kali martial arts to use it, in addition to said pepper spray. I also always wear a leather belt with a large buckle.

In my 10 years as a potential victim in the streets of Capital, I've had to reach for my pepper spray perhaps a few times per year due to perceived threat potential, but have never deployed any weapon. I am on high alert and in Capital unless I unfortunately need to go somewhere very unsavory, I don't generally feel at high risk, but carry something just in case.

Also, if you are at least a monotributista, it is rather simple to purchase a firearm to keep in your house, though concealed carry is very difficult to achieve.

Do NOT consider US cities as a reference as the demographics are not at all similar. I do recommend an EDC protection device of your choosing but realize that Buenos Aires may be the safest large city on Earth for Western people, and I encourage you to have fun exploring it.

Regarding home security, you can go as crazy as you want, but iron bars and a dog and a firearm generally do the trick. Cameras are a fancy add-on that could serve well.

 

[Reply Guy]

Quilombo's post is pretty spot on in terms of safety by neighborhood.

I think the comparisons to shitty cities elsewhere in the world like sections of Philadelphia aren't really helpful because no expat is going to move to the equivalent of North Philly in Buenos Aires - Villa Lugano or La Matanza.

Where can there be danger in "nice" neighborhoods in Buenos Aires?

There is a quite a bit of petty crime and armed robbery even in the better neighborhoods of CABA. Violent crime where people are actually getting hurt in neighborhoods like Palermo, Puerto Madero, Belgrano is very low.

The nice areas that can be a bit sketchy in terms of safety are neighborhoods in the conurbano. All of the stories I've heard about violent break ins, robberies, assaults in decent areas have been around Zona Sur and Zona Norte.

Don't be too flashy, give up your possession if someone wants to rob you, avoid the really bad areas, and you should be fine.

 

[Fiscal]

Buenos Aires seems a lot safer to me than coastal elite cities in the United States.