p.3 #1 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
Steve Spencer wrote:
Chicago is also the third largest city in North America, so it is not surprising that it has more murders than smaller cities. The typical murder rate is computed as murders per 100,000 people and Houston and Dallas are right up there with Chicago when you look at murder rate per 100,000 over the last few years. And yes, the Chicago murder rate is up dramatically this year, but Houston's has risen almost as much. And Houston has a higher burglary rate and a higher assault rate than Chicago and Dallas has a higher rape rate than Chicago. Again, you can cherry pick a particular statistic, but I don't think there is a good case for saying that Chicago is a lot more dangerous than Dallas or Houston.
Said, another way when you just look at the headlines--which are often purposely sensational--and you look at the actual data--the crime rates--things are often not nearly so cut and dried....Show more →
Hi Steve,
Not to be picky, but unless I am mistaken Chicago should be the 3rd largest US city and 4th largest in North America by population. I believe that by population the North American cities should be Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles, and then Chicago.
Rich
Dec 03, 2016 at 05:54 PM
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p.3 #2 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
naturephoto1 wrote:
Hi Steve,
Not to be picky, but unless I am mistaken Chicago should be the 3rd largest US city and 4th largest in North America by population. I believe that by population the North American cities should be Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles, and then Chicago.
Rich
Yes, Rich you are right, and Toronto is catching Chicago in size as well (TO grows by about 150,000 people a year, whereas Chicago is staying pretty steady). People in Toronto last year wanted to say it was bigger than Chicago, but I think that is in dispute. So, depending on how you count it might even be the 5th largest in North America. I should have said the US.
p.3 #3 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
Steve Spencer wrote:
Chicago is also the third largest city in North America, so it is not surprising that it has more murders than smaller cities. The typical murder rate is computed as murders per 100,000 people and Houston and Dallas are right up there with Chicago when you look at murder rate per 100,000 over the last few years. And yes, the Chicago murder rate is up dramatically this year, but Houston's has risen almost as much. And Houston has a higher burglary rate and a higher assault rate than Chicago and Dallas has a higher rape rate than Chicago. Again, you can cherry pick a particular statistic, but I don't think there is a good case for saying that Chicago is a lot more dangerous than Dallas or Houston.
Said, another way when you just look at the headlines--which are often purposely sensational--and you look at the actual data--the crime rates--things are often not nearly so cut and dried....Show more →
Canada as a country is on pace to have less homicides in total compared to safe Chicago.
p.3 #5 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
airfrogusmc wrote:
Again the areas that one would want to visit are as safe as any large city.
Depends on what one wants to see. Personally I like getting into the guts of a city to photograph the real life...not the one put on display for tourists. I've recently shot Havana and Hanoi and went deep into both cities off the beaten tourist track. I actually got totally lost in Hanoi and needed to find a room for the night before finding my way via taxi to my original hotel. Both cities were very safe, even at 1:00 am.
Now take Atlanta for instance. I was staying at the Westin Downtown at $250/night. Went out to get some snacks at a convenience store a couple blocks from the hotel. Was accosted at knife point...forced to buy a bunch of thugs cigarettes and some hot dogs in the store. That's 2 blocks from the center of Atlanta...just trying to get so e snacks...less than 5 minutes from the Westin.
This is why I believe it is wise to tell our visitors from other countries where this type of thing doesn't occur to be on their toes...even in the safe parts of the city.
p.3 #7 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
If you've ever seen my street work I like that also. I know the neighborhoods that are safe and there are MANY that are that have real character. Knowing the city you are in is key. I am on the streets shooting all the time in Chicago in many different neighborhoods and never feel unsafe.
p.3 #9 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
airfrogusmc wrote:
If you've ever seen my street work I like that also. I know the neighborhoods that are safe and there are MANY that are that have real character. Knowing the city you are in is key. I am on the streets shooting all the time in Chicago in many different neighborhoods and never feel unsafe.
I've seen your work and love it. That's the key...knowing where you are safe. Some cities you are safe everywhere... others have their bad spots. Thought I was safe in downtown Atlanta...guess not.
Dec 03, 2016 at 06:59 PM
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p.3 #10 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
chez wrote:
Canada as a country is on pace to have less homicides in total compared to safe Chicago.
Just saying....
If you notice, I have said all along that there are real national differences in the crime rate, and I do know the crime rates in Canada pretty well as until about 6 months ago I lived there for the previous 20 years. The US does have a substantially higher rate across the board for all crimes than Canada, but that is especially true for murders. Again, however, none of this says anything about differences between cities in the US, and specifically while the murder rate is higher in Chicago this year, robberies and burglaries are not higher and in fact lower than a number of other cities that are considered safe.
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p.3 #11 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
chez wrote:
I've seen your work and love it. That's the key...knowing where you are safe. Some cities you are safe everywhere... others have their bad spots. Thought I was safe in downtown Atlanta...guess not.
Yes, knowing the city is key. There are very few cities in the US, however, that are safe everywhere. I actually don't know of any such cities. And although I don't know downtown Atlanta well (only been there twice), I do know that it isn't necessarily the safest part of Atlanta.
p.3 #12 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
Steve Spencer wrote:
If you notice, I have said all along that there are real national differences in the crime rate, and I do know the crime rates in Canada pretty well as until about 6 months ago I lived there for the previous 20 years. The US does have a substantially higher rate across the board for all crimes than Canada, but that is especially true for murders. Again, however, none of this says anything about differences between cities in the US, and specifically the murder while the murder rate is higher in Chicago this year, robberies and burglaries are not higher and in fact lower than a number of other cities that are considered safe....Show more →
Steve...my entire point in this thread is just to make people aware that the crime rate in some US cities is higher than what they are used to, especially if they are coming from Europe or even some Asian cities. It really doesn't matter if the Chicago robberies are down compared to Houston...its just to make people aware that are coming to the US to be careful in the cities. I've done enough traveling on business throughout the US to know you can get yourself into trouble pretty quickly if you come into the city naive.
p.3 #13 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
From west to east...Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Avenue of the Giants/Redwood, Yosemite, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone/Grand Tetons, Apostle Islands, Niagra Falls...yeah don't know much about the east coast.
p.3 #14 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
In Chicago as long as you stay in areas that most want to visit you are safe. That has been my point. As I understand the OP is coming to the US. If that's the case if he wants to come to Chicago and stays in the area where most want to be in he will probably be as safe as in any big city.
p.3 #15 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
Steve Spencer wrote:
Yes, knowing the city is key. There are very few cities in the US, however, that are safe everywhere. I actually don't know of any such cities. And although I don't know downtown Atlanta well (only been there twice), I do know that it isn't necessarily the safest part of Atlanta.
That's the point though...it's where the tourists would go. The Westin is maybe a couple blocks from the Olympic park which is a beautiful area to just hang in during the summer evenings. I got jacked not very far from this park. I did not have my radar up...should never approached the store with the gang of thugs just hanging there. My fault...but the point is it happened right in the tourist part of town...not in some drug invested neighborhood.
A very good friend of mine was robbed and stabbed 1 block from her apartment in Atlanta...in a good part of town. She says that occurred ( 10 years ago ) on a very regular basis. Has move to the Portland Oregon area since and says its a much safer city. I've cruised through all of Portland with her many times without any incidents.
Dec 03, 2016 at 07:33 PM
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p.3 #16 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
chez wrote:
Steve...my entire point in this thread is just to make people aware that the crime rate in some US cities is higher than what they are used to, especially if they are coming from Europe or even some Asian cities. It really doesn't matter if the Chicago robberies are down compared to Houston...its just to make people aware that are coming to the US to be careful in the cities. I've done enough traveling on business throughout the US to know you can get yourself into trouble pretty quickly if you come into the city naive.
Chez, I think we totally agree on that point, what I was reacting to is people saying you shouldn't go to San Francisco or Chicago, but it is fine to go to Houston, Dallas, Nashville, and Minneapolis. The data on crime rates just doesn't support that argument. Like some others on this thread, including you I believe, I think some care is needed when visiting any US city, but at the same time I don't think people should avoid any city and certainly shouldn't based on crime without examining the actual crime rates.
Portland might seem like a safer city, but its crime rates aren't all that great. It's murder rate is about at the national average, but the rape and assault rates are about double the national average and the burglary rate is about 30% higher than the national average. So, I wouldn't call it a completely safe city, but that is my view, YMMV.
p.3 #17 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
airfrogusmc wrote:
In Chicago as long as you stay in areas that most want to visit you are safe. That has been my point. As I understand the OP is coming to the US. If that's the case if he wants to come to Chicago and stays in the area where most want to be in he will probably be as safe as in any big city.
The key is knowing the safe parts from the not so safe parts. I don't know Chicago very well...only been there a couple of times on business, but cities like Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis, Memphis...the safe and not so safe are maybe 1 block apart. Easy to wander into the wrong part of town in these cities.
p.3 #18 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
You're quite correct. As in many US cities, the areas where "white folks go" are perfectly safe, and the rest are left to rot. Sorry, but it's true. Welcome to the racist US of A.
That said, I don't see why someone from overseas would visit Chicago, for any reason, unless it's to grab a Lou Malnati's. There's nothing to see, and nothing to do, and it's cold as hell in the winter.
p.3 #19 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
So to the OP come to Chicago and stay out of Atlanta. It's been years since I've been to Atlanta. Not on the to go list anytime soon. In Chicago the areas where the crime rate is high are areas that are miles from the downtown so if you are walking you are not going to wonder into them and I don't go there because there are usually not many out and about and really nothing all that interest to shoot.
p.3 #20 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor.
Actually, avoid Chicago, and avoid Atlanta, both. If your'e coming from China, why would you bother with either? They're both crap cities.
If you want to see interesting people, or shoot street, head to NYC or LA (I'd recommend Venice Beach in particular. It was good in Winogrand's day, and it's still good today.)
