Why would anyone choose to live in a place where it is unsafe to walk alone ?

Sometimes I think things happen and an area that was formerly 'safe' to live and walk alone becomes a place where more caution is required. Crime is everywhere unfortunately, although I think that being aware of your surroundings is advisable in any area !

Most people do not walk here unless it is near the beach or a park for exercise. I still walk in certain areas but have become more vigilant due to the rise in crime. I always wear an across the body bag and try not to have too much money or credit cards on me, unless really necessary. I have a personal alarm attached to my bag and sometimes have pepper spray in my hand. However paranoid that all might sound, I really do not feel unsafe! The roads I take are quite busy. One thing that is changing here is the fact that when I came here nearly thirty years ago, anybody you passed would bid you good day. I love that and still do it myself but do not always get a response.

I'll spare you the details, but many years ago I was attacked while walking home alone after dark. I was in a "safe" neighborhood, well-lit, in the best part of town.
It appears though, that the youth who stopped his car, jumped out and came after me hadn't got the memo that those sorts of things don't happen around here.

I sympathise with you about the dogs. I find dog control in Australia piss-poor, and I'm not just talking about the non-stop barking in the yards. I walk on the beach several times a day and I get bothered a lot by dogs running up to me and jumping all over me. Big bastards as well, like Rottweilers, Dobermans, and other nasty, aggressive breeds like bull terriers. It is a fact of nature that the most aggressive, nasty, out of control animals are going to be owned by the most stupid people, so it's a double-whammy.

I'm a dog lover (although Australia is slowly changing this), but a lot of people are scared of dogs and it's wrong to let them be intimidated in public spaces. There are laws about keeping them on the leads but it goes without saying these are not observed or enforced in any way.

So I hope you beat seven bells of sh*te out of him then

It's the dog poo that got me in Aus - I see so much less here as people do seem to be more vigilant about picking it up - we lived on a corner block and DH had to do a daily poo patrol. The constant barking used to drive me nuts in Canberra too - as you say, the worst behaved dogs are owned by the biggest idiots! We do have one neighbourhood dog here which barks about once a month if left out in the garden but as we live in a country village there is a lot of wildlife for it to be barking at rather than the incessant bored dog barking of the neglected "owner out at work" pooch.

I can imagine being rushed by an out of control Dobermann would be enough to put the fear of God into anyone!

Thinking of safety in cities - I'm always vigilant anyway (keys through the knuckles as habit on dark streets) but I tend no to do much walking on dark streets these days.

Where we used to live, there were a number of "on the fringe of society" individuals living in a hostel which backed onto my local bush tracks and also living in humpies in the area - I was definitely considerably more scared there but, in reality was not that likely to be attacked, they tended to attack each other than your average passer by but you never know and some of them were bloody scary from anything less than 50m

Michali: Is pepper spray really legal to carry in Bahamas? Here in Cayman life is much as it used to be in Nassau when we lived there 43 years ago (!), but pepper spray is illegal here. The best we can do is carry wasp-spray, but that only comes in big canisters, which are too bulky unless in a supermarket bag. We keep three or four canisters of it around the house, and maybe we should keep one in each car. How big are your pepper-spray tins?

To be honest, I really do not know if it is legal but it is sold openly in highly recognized stores. I think the crime situation is such that the powers that be would prefer us to carry pepper spray than a gun! The pepper spray is a very small canister, maybe four inches long. The problem in Nassau is that it appears that obtaining a gun has become very easy for criminals. And guns are the weapon of choice in most instances of assault. I absolutely hate guns! The other night a police officer was shot as he entered his home. He was armed but had no time to get out his gun. His hand is badly damaged and may have to be amputated. I am sure it is very different from when you were here 43 years ago! We came here nearly thirty years ago and it has changed so much. So sad, as I still love it!

This is the first time I heard about the expression "piss poor" which I googled and found that it means to be out of money

By the way, I love your signature and the joke about having French toasts served in the Renaissance time

Karim

Assuming you are serious. I am a 6 foot tall male who has never even been harassed. I live in a good neighborhood but just a mile or two from a somewhat sketchier area. I still walk with confidence in the late evening but I am wise enough to look out for potential trouble and 180 if prudent.

You looked on the wrong line. "Piss poor" has nothing to do with money.

The discussion reminds me of Ray Bradbury's account of being arrested in California becasue he was walking. Very suspicious behaviour.

Errr, bad people have cars and go to areas of low crime where they perceive pickings may be easier.

Last year a pedestrian precinct jewelry store in my provincial market town was robbed in daylight by armed youths from Slough 130 miles away on a day trip by car. One of the criminals was the son of Abu Hamza, a (alleged) terrorist extradited to USA.

This is SO true. Our very safe village had a slightly yobby section where I didn't go after dark, due to a small unsupervised 'youf' element sometimes hanging about.

And the car point is a good one. You had only to walk too far along a rural footpath outside my safe village to reach a motorway layby that was supposed to be a notorious rendez-vous area where London drug couriers met up with their counterparts from around the southern UK.

But I never felt unsafe there. You talk to your neighbours about things & you hear stories, so you keep your eyes open just as a matter of course....