mickj

Hello there,

Alright geezer....sounds like you know london just by mentioning streets Am glad you agree with me that CENTRAL london is safe, just like the poster said about downtown TO, which would be the same. Kings cross is not central london, and yes sauf landon is rough, as an eastender myself, i hate it round there. I use to go to the brixton academy for concerts all the time, but i won't live round there for free.

The poster didn't come back to finish what he/she started about feeling scared in london compared to TO.

Nuff said yeah

seamonsta

Yes, I do know London quite well!
I have tonnes of friends and relatives in London. Shepherd's Bush, Tufnell Park, Vaux & Thamesmead. Central London is completely safe, almost. The Met pump so many police into the area it's basically off limits to criminals. The problems are around the periphery, away from the tourists. I was on a bus a few years ago in Acton and saw a guy being pushed out of the back window upstairs! Scary! London is extremely dangerous in my opinion, most tourists who stick to the usual sights won't see it, but for residents, it's a different matter! Does this sort of thing happen in TO? I bet not!
Let me ask you a question. pick the worst part of Montreal. Would you dare walk through it right now? There is no way on earth I would walk through any estate in peckham or hackney after about 6pm!! Even in Leeds, I would never walk through somewhere like Gipton, OK, I wouldn't be murdered, but you'd probably get loads of abuse or be chased by a Rottweiler!! :scared:

mickj

Hello there,

The thing is, we londoners know how to take care of ourselves in those areas you've mentioned. Am a 6ft 2' guy from the eastend of london originally, and i have never been mugged in all the 20 odd years that i was there, a guy that tried it once, got what he deserved.

The thing is too, you've got to walk in a certain way too in some areas, the hackney empire is somewhere i frequent a lot whenever there is a play on, and i use to play football down the marshes on sundays.

If you are an out-of- towner, you shouldn't make it that obvious. Like you get yanks and others holding maps in the middle of the road on oxford street, its like advertising yourself really.

seamonsta

Well of course! I've lived in Manchester and that IS rough! The thing is, do you think it's right that you should have to put on a pretence to avoid being attacked? I've passed gangs of youths smashing hell out of a phone box and pretended I didn't care or even notice just to avoid trouble. Thing is I DID care, and it's not right that this sort of sh*t happens all the time and you can't do a thing about it. The UK is in such a state I despair sometimes. If you were being attacked wouldn't you like to think that someone would stop to help? I would. However in Leeds I don't think anyone would. This is one of the reasons I want out!

mickj

hello there,

I don't blame you, and you have come to the right place to emigrate to. It was hard for me actually when my wife said she prefers me to move to canada instead, i was going to miss all that buzz in the city of london where i use to work, and then coming home to the docklands when all the workers have gone home.

But now that i have been in canada, its a different story entirely. Am still able to pop over on a cheap flight now and then, so all is well.

mickj

The only thing scary in TO apart from the shootings of cause, is looking down the glass floors from the CN tower :scared:

taira

I think that what appears to be an easy and straightforward question such as which city/country is safer or has more crime is truly not as easy a question as it appears.

When taking into consideration the outlook of the speaker, their sex, size, race, material status, nationality and whether they are visiting or at home, as well as what is going on for them in real and psychological terms will play a big part.

Not to cause offense or anything but I doubt a 6'2 reasonably sized guy who has 'the walk' would be in much danger regardless of which city he is in. People are just less likely to mug a person who is 4 inches taller than them and looks as if he might fight back.

I've noticed a lot of comparisons and such--one person feels safer walking in one city than another. And I wander if not some of this is due to it being more of a holiday and an acceptance and appreciation of some of the pluses of whatever city etc etc than wether or not the place is actually safer to live in. Also brings to question exactly what kind of crime are we talking about.

I remember England as feeling safe--or sort of safe. Crime was more likely to happen at home than it was out in the street, yet I also remember my pals and my brothers pals talking more about getting together to 'gank' some guy or whatever where-as when we got here he was too busy playing soccer and football to have much time for that sort of thing. But we moved from a relatively rural area close to a large city (Southamptom) to a very rural area (also close to Southampton--Canada though). I remember not being allowed to go to football matches because of the potential of riots and such--yet that doesn't happen here when you go to a hockey match.

Yet things such as unreported domestic crime--I often have to wander. One of the really nice benefits of Canada--and I'm not really sure about how things are in Britain now--is the gains that the womens movements have made in this country. Womens shelters across the country could point to a higher family violence rate--OR--they could also point to a simple fact that violence of that nature is less tolerated here. I remember home in England being the 'mans' castle and that whole thing being considered quite normal and okay--yet here, this is simply hardly tolerated at all.

Response time from poice, lights in malls, solid programs and such to keep youth busy all play a part in the supposed 'safetiness' of a neighbourhood and most of the major cities in Canada have spent a lot of time and effort in having this type of stuff organized and brought into effect. Kids from what my experience is, are still in school untill 18 or 19 and then either find work or go to college or university--yet the group where I was in England--fewer went to college, most started drinking legally at 16 and went right on the dole. Maybe this makes a difference.

I know in a small rural town in Alberta I felt less safe and was amazed when I spoke to some of the women there in the shelter and realized that the response time for the police was sometimes over 2 hours. Not a problem for the men am sure, but I'm certain many of the women there felt less safe than they would in a town or larger city where the response time is far, far less. The death rate in that area for spousal abuse was higher than it was in say Edmonton or even down in Ontario.

I read through this forum and I kind of have to admire the fact that it is a topic on violence rates and it is the first place I have seen where people seem to get upset and edgy and actually insult one another because they hold different views.

So, I think that before passing judgement on such a wide topic, one would have to really narrow down exactly what kind of crime we are talking about--whether it is hidden or more 'open'--and the exactly where they, themselves are coming from and that all of this and a whole lot more should be taken into consideration.

seamonsta

It's a very complex subject. Some types of crime have a higher rate in Canada than in UK, some lower. Homicide IS higher in Canada, however that doesn't mean you're anymore likely to get shot walking down the street. Perhaps gangs in Canada are more likely to carry and use guns? Also in rural areas I would imagine a hell of a lot of people carry guns for hunting etc? Therefore drunken arguments are more likely to result in shootings? For the average person in the street this doesn't matter a jot.
I don't care what you say but yobbism and random unprovoked assaults are far and away higher in Britain. I know, because I have Canadian friends IN Britain. They say these vicious attacks and acts of yobbishness simply do not happen in Canada. It's a British thing in my opinion.
Let me give you an example. The underground city in TO stays open 24 hours does it not? Same with Montreal? If that was Britain it would've been trashed, graffitti everywhere, arson attacks, it would be a no go area full of chavs and criminals. Agree? It's a different society altogether.

Jeffy G

The poster didn't come back to finish what he/she started about feeling scared in london compared to TO.

Nuff said yeah [/QUOTE]




Sorry i've got a life!!
I apologise for my late response i have been bogged down by coursework! I'm from Islington but i live and study in Plymouth.

CalgaryAMC

Shootings in Toronto, or Calgary for that matter, completely unconcern me.

I don't know a single one that has involved an innocent bystander. They are always between drug pushers and other lowlifes. It is not as though gun-toting thugs are roaming the streets looking for people to set upon.

oceanMDX

Very true.