Safest Neighborhoods For Families?

[arielm]

What are the SAFEST neighborhoods for a family to live in? Today we were in Plaza San Martin at a nice cafe, and my purse was stolen non-violently, but gone in a second, leaving me feeling a little more concerned with safety than I already was. Is Plaza San Martin a bad neighborhood for families? we saw a great apartment there....i feel a little sick and scared. My Argentine husband assures me that it was a freak incident. LOL.

 

[Gringoboy]

Really sorry to hear about that, it's very unpleasant when that happens
Petty theft is prevalent everywhere, not just in BA.
Maybe your Argentine husband would have an opinion on Plaza San Martin?

 

[robwerwe]

To be honest this could happen anywhere in the world, not just here.

Hope you didn't loose too much and you cancelled your cards.

 

[RichardP]

If it can happen to Bush's daughter, it can happen to anyone.

But seriously, it can and does happen everywhere. A tolerance and awareness of this kind of theft is part of living in a place like BA. I am amazed how locals shrug off being robbed so quickly and get on with their lives.
No neighborhood is immune, but I'd venture to say that the Plaza San Martin area is worked heavily by thieves due to the sheer amount of tourists there.

Edit to add: The only place I've been robbed was being pickpocketed in a ritzy part of Paris.

 

[Rich One]

The ONLY some how safe place for children is within gated communities, Children Can Not go out in the streets day or night in Retiro, Recoleta, or Palermo, etc, Would you let your children walk alone to the corner kiosk at 10 pm

I point this out because in the country like in Mercedes (km 100 from Capital) mothers send their small children perhaps 8 yo. to mount their bikes and go, thru dark dirt roads, to the store to get some smokes or a few eggs, or a prepizza. at 10 PM

 

[Montauk_Project]

Petty theft can happen anywhere in Buenos Aires. I was robbed three times in Buenos Aires, all due to my carelesness. Hold on to your belongings. Use moneybelts, only head out with what you need.
I started to buy men´s jeans because they have deeper pockets so I don´t have to wear a purse.
Retiro is a rich neighborhood but it is near a lot of transport, so it isn´t a neighborhood, it is in the center of everything. Maybe a place with less people passing through? If you have the cash Palermo Chico maybe?
Also, sometimes the safest neighborhoods are NOT the richest. Thieves know where rich people live, so they tend to rob there. I live in San Telmo, and there are petty robberies on the street but I have never heard of a break-in.

If it makes you feel better, I just read a report by the World Health Organization that claims that 11% of US women have been raped, but only 3% of Southern cone women. So you might get your purse stolen, but you won´t get raped.

http://youtu.be/L2Wx230gYJw

 

[Iznogud]

Family safety and pickpocketing are different problems. Plaza SM has a huge lot of people (white collars mostly) and foreigners constantly in transit. It's a thieve's paradise.

My take is that families living there, specially children, are less prone to be targeted.

I've been a (local) resident of the area since the early nineties until 3 years ago.

 

[Rich One]

Family safety and pickpocketing are different problems. Plaza SM has a huge lot of people (white collars mostly) and foreigners constantly in transit. It's a thieve's paradise.

My take is that families living there, specially children, are less prone to be targeted.

I've been a (local) resident of the area since the early nineties until 3 years ago.

Plaza San Martin is NOT SAFE during the day, lots of bums sleep there and sniff glue openly.If you venture there at 8 am or earlier you will see the people that sleep there....!! BEWARE NEVER walk inside the Plaza You can be mugged, Remember the French journalist stabbed at 9 am in front of the Malvinas Memorial to rob hus camera. Night time is suicidal to cross the Plaza, or the Plaza del Monumento de Los Ingleses, in Front of the Sheraton.

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1447068-lo-matan-para-robarle-una-camara-en-plaza-san-martin

 

[camberiu]

What are the SAFEST neighborhoods for a family to live in?

Puerto Madero or Barrio Parque, hands down.

 

[Rich One]

Petty theft can happen anywhere in Buenos Aires. I was robbed three times in Buenos Aires, all due to my carelesness. Hold on to your belongings. Use moneybelts, only head out with what you need.
I started to buy men´s jeans because they have deeper pockets so I don´t have to wear a purse.
Retiro is a rich neighborhood but it is near a lot of transport, so it isn´t a neighborhood, it is in the center of everything. Maybe a place with less people passing through? If you have the cash Palermo Chico maybe?
Also, sometimes the safest neighborhoods are NOT the richest. Thieves know where rich people live, so they tend to rob there. I live in San Telmo, and there are petty robberies on the street but I have never heard of a break-in.

If it makes you feel better, I just read a report by the World Health Organization that claims that 11% of US women have been raped, but only 3% of Southern cone women. So you might get your purse stolen, but you won´t get raped.

Your statistics are a great consolation for the 7 % women that escape being raped here.