Do Women and Children Feel Safe Walking in Deserted Areas in NOVA? (Manassas: crime, home)

[FairfaxGuy73]

If you are a woman, do you feel safe walking by yourself in areas like empty trails in the woods or along empty roads at night? Would you let your young (teen or younger) daughter walk in such areas? This means without a dog. Or if you are a man, are you ok with your wife or daughter walking in such areas alone such as coming home from school?

[CaliTerp07]

DH and I were just talking about this. As a young woman, I've been conditioned and told countless times not to feel safe alone at night, regardless of where I am. My neighborhood is perfectly safe as far as I am aware (have not heard/read of any burglaries or car thefts or mugging or anything), but I still get the heebie jeebies when a car passes me late at night when I'm walking my dog. They just drilled it into us so much as teens/college students, that I don't think I'll ever out grow it.

Sitting here at my desk, I can say logically that my neighborhood is safe and I will have no problems walking through it. Realistically, I will never be at ease walking alone at night, whether in DC, the suburbs of Northern Virginia, or podunk small town.

[movingtodcfromseattle]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

DH and I were just talking about this. As a young woman, I've been conditioned and told countless times not to feel safe alone at night, regardless of where I am. My neighborhood is perfectly safe as far as I am aware (have not heard/read of any burglaries or car thefts or mugging or anything), but I still get the heebie jeebies when a car passes me late at night when I'm walking my dog. They just drilled it into us so much as teens/college students, that I don't think I'll ever out grow it.

Sitting here at my desk, I can say logically that my neighborhood is safe and I will have no problems walking through it. Realistically, I will never be at ease walking alone at night, whether in DC, the suburbs of Northern Virginia, or podunk small town.

I totally agree!

[HereinVA]

I am a 35 year old female (about 5 foot 4, average weight). I feel safe walking around my typical suburban neighborhood at night...in the summer I'll do it as late as 11 pm/midnight because that's when it's a bit cooler. I only stay on the actual residential streets though--I don't go down our walking trails or even out onto the "main streets" leading to our neighborhood.

And yes, I also walk/hike/run wooded trails (such as the trails in Prince William Forest Park, or the Manassas battlefields) by myself--though only during daylight hours. I'm totally missing the summer right now when it was light out enough at 6 am to go out on the trails and I could run them several times a week. Now, it's still too dark when my husband leaves for work, and I can't be out running on trails because I have to be home for the kids.

[Caladium]

I can't speak for all the neighborhoods in Nova, but we take walks after dark where I live. I walk to the gym and sometimes to the store and feel safe walking alone at night. At the same time, I'm not likely take a long hike late at night. It's not that anything's happened around here but, like the others said, it's been drilled into me from childhood that you don't take long walks after dark.

My daughter takes the bus into DC, and walks home from the bus stop (which means these days she's walking about 3/4 mile after dark). I don't worry much about her doing this (OK maybe a little, but not enough to insist on picking her up). Having said that, not all parts of Nova are the same and I'm sure there are some areas where I wouldn't feel as comfortable walking after dark.

I might think twice about walking alone on some of the more out-of-the-way wooded trails. The fear would be an encounter with wildlife more than an encounter with a dangerous person.

[HereinVA]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I might think twice about walking alone on some of the more wooded trails, however. The fear would be an encounter with wildlife more than an encounter with a dangerous person.

Yes...I have had a few "scary" moments with wildlife--I had a beaver "chase" me pretty agressively in PW Forest...and a fox kind of "shrieked" at me as I was running a trail in a nearby residential neighborhood--the fox startled me mostly...but the beaver really scared me!

[movingtodcfromseattle]

Originally Posted by FairfaxGuy73

If you are a woman, do you feel safe walking by yourself in areas like empty trails in the woods or along empty roads at night? Would you let your young (teen or younger) daughter walk in such areas? This means without a dog. Or if you are a man, are you ok with your wife or daughter walking in such areas alone such as coming home from school?

Wait. On second thought, why the curiosity?

[FairfaxGuy73]

Originally Posted by movingtodcfromseattle

Wait. On second thought, why the curiosity?

Well, I just like the idea of making parts of NOVA more walkable and open. I just feel like crime (or the perception of it) might ruin such efforts. In general, I think that crime really ruins the quality of life and makes a lot if healthy and environmentally friendly ideas unworkable. For example, how many people really want their children walking home as per the Safe Routes to School program. Also, the idea of having open town areas with people actually walking to them.

This is just my opinion. I'm hoping that I'm wrong, so was curious.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by HereinVA

the fox startled me mostly...but the beaver really scared me!

Hahahaha--I've had a few encounters with foxes and I know what you mean. I don't know if they bite people or not but they are aggressive and will dart out right by you (or at you?). They aren't scared of anything! We also have bobcats in our woods, although I haven't had any encounters with them. Also, every once in awhile a dog is running loose and that can be a scary thing to have running towards you in the dark. Even a tiny little squirrel can startle you when it's running by in the dark.

[FairfaxGuy73]

Also, I just feel like women, children, and the elderly are prisoners to crime (and the perception of it). That's what I see anyway when I'm out in empty areas. Mostly just guys and grown women with dogs.