Is Boston having the same problems with "crime" as many blue cities like SF, LA, NYC, Portland, Chicago, etc.

[GeePee]

To answer your question as best as I can from a one person perspective. Living in one of the more "affordable" neighborhoods of Boston with a few housing projects in the vicinity, we feel perfectly safe. We are as exposed as you could imagine, as we both spend a lot of of time in various neighborhoods of the city. I ride the MBTA. I walk a lot. I grocery shop, and visit family regularly in the area. Very rarely do we feel unsafe. I would say the the most "high alert" situations that I encounter is when schools are getting out on public transit. It's a lot of teenagers, getting loud, getting tough, posturing, and general obnoxiousness. I can navigate around that. I also will add that I don't pay attention to the news too much. They are selling you a product. That product is mostly fear. I choose to not live that way. That is my choice. with my whole family and and social structure being here for several decades, nothing bad has happened to anybody that was not self inflicted. Even in the 90's when violent crimes and murders were 10x what they are today. You have a choice to live in peace here. living in any city comes with certain inconveniences, and it's up to you to decide how much you can tolerate.
So to answer your question, yes. I due think it's mostly agenda driven. Blue or red? who cares? they both have their motives. chose to opt out.

[msRB311]

But not everyone else chose to opt out of listening to the news. You can't silence them.

Just because you live in a not so great part of the city and never had anything bad happen to you doesn't mean bad things still aren't happening. You chose to opt out of the news. Seems like it should be pretty simple for you to opt of reading these threads on city data.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by msRB311

But not everyone else chose to opt out of listening to the news. You can't silence them.

Just because you live in a not so great part of the city and never had anything bad happen to you doesn't mean bad things still aren't happening. You chose to opt out of the news. Seems like it should be pretty simple for you to opt of reading these threads on city data.

You could also choose to not $hit on every thread that is here with the same sensational drama and nonsense just for the sake of seeking attention. But of course you don't. I mean, you create 3 million threads of your own - not enough for ya?

[msRB311]

Yeah i don't.

[7 Wishes]

Could it just be it's not mentioned as much in the media because Boston is smaller than the other cities/metros you mention? (except for Portland, which got lots of buzz because of all the protests there).

[Toxic Waltz]

Hasn't Boston always had less crime than most of the cities mentioned, except maybe Portland? Crime may be on the rise in Boston but still be lower than in those cities, and others such as Baltimore and St. Louis. Or maybe not, you guys may know better than me. Anecdotally I had my brother in law from Baltimore visit Boston for work and I went down to visit him and we walked around in Boston for a few hours and he remarked about how peaceful everything was compared to B'more. I figure it has something to do with the weather and general education level of people in the area.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

Could it just be it's not mentioned as much in the media because Boston is smaller than the other cities/metros you mention? (except for Portland, which got lots of buzz because of all the protests there).

Size is not the issue. Boston is a very significant city at the national and international level. If we had crime problems like Union Square / Tenderloin in SFO in Boston, believe me it would not stay buried.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Toxic Waltz

Hasn't Boston always had less crime than most of the cities mentioned, except maybe Portland?

No not NYC and SF. Its been on par with LA for most of recent memory.

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by Toxic Waltz

Hasn't Boston always had less crime than most of the cities mentioned, except maybe Portland? Crime may be on the rise in Boston but still be lower than in those cities, and others such as Baltimore and St. Louis. Or maybe not, you guys may know better than me. Anecdotally I had my brother in law from Baltimore visit Boston for work and I went down to visit him and we walked around in Boston for a few hours and he remarked about how peaceful everything was compared to B'more. I figure it has something to do with the weather and general education level of people in the area.

I've visited all of the cities mentioned except SF (but lived there in the past) in the 2020s and I have to say Boston makes me feel the safest amongst them, relatively speaking. A "bad" neighborhood like Mattapan feels like an average neighborhood in Portland while an "OK" neighborhood like Roslindale feels like one of the better parts of Portland in terms of vibes of sketchiness.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

I've visited all of the cities mentioned except SF (but lived there in the past) in the 2020s and I have to say Boston makes me feel the safest amongst them, relatively speaking. A "bad" neighborhood like Mattapan feels like an average neighborhood in Portland while an "OK" neighborhood like Roslindale feels like one of the better parts of Portland in terms of vibes of sketchiness.

Portland used to have like 1/4th the homicide rate of Boston as recently as 2019/2020. Throughtout the 2000s and 2010s Dorchester alone had more homicides than the whole city of Portland or San Fran. . No visible or palapable change in neighborhood vibe has occurred. They've just taken down the gangs with extensive federal assistance. Portland's all-time high in homicides is like 95. Bostons is 152. Same deal with SF.