[throwaway290]

Anecdotally I heard this from many unrelated people about Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona (heard similar about London and major UK cities but that's mostly from stories online). Basically all your typical big Western European cities. Pretty level with NYC.

It's a stark contrast with big cities in parts of Asia where I go. Sometimes I'm toying with an idea of moving to Europe but apart from troubles getting digital nomad visa petty crime is also a thing that scares me.

(However it's not generally supported by published crime stats so I'm not 100% sure whether to be worried)

[atlasunshrugged]

If you are comparing from the US to Europe, the crime and how concerned you should be is absolutely night and day. I've lived in SF, DC, SLC, and San Diego in the U.S. and Berlin, London, and Tallinn in Europe with plenty of time spent in Paris and elsewhere and I have never felt outright scared in any European city. Are there parts of them I wouldn't be comfortable in at night? Sure, same with any big city, but the lack of gun crime and better social safety net means a lot fewer mentally ill people and a lot fewer people with easy access to a firearm. And just overall, I always felt far safer in Europe (which I can't quantify, just a vibe), even as a tourist. That said, having lived in Beijing for a bit I would guess it is technically safer there, you just are living in a panopticon.

[throwaway290]

I wasn't talking about China, plenty places I would feel unsafe as a foreigner due to xenophobia. Panopticon thing is similarly bad yeah. Imagine how bad it would be without CCTVs.

I mean cities in other countries, without such a central CCTV network but still safe. Walk with XL sized phone hanging out from your back pocket in city centre safe. If you can do it in Paris (or leave your laptop in a cafe while you go pee) then sure.

But I read a story how phone was snatched out from guy's hands at a crossing in central London so I doubt it. I use phone while walking a lot so in Europe I should better be rich enough I can buy a new one easily.

[goodbyesf]

> Sure, same with any big city

Not true. Major asian cities are pretty much safe throughout.

> That said, having lived in Beijing for a bit I would guess it is technically safer there, you just are living in a panopticon.

The guy said asian cities. Not beijing. Also if beijing is a panopticon, what is london? Super panopticon?

Are most asian cities panopticons too? Or are you just picking on beijing because of an agenda?

[kergonath]

> However it's not generally supported by published crime stats so I'm not 100% sure whether to be worried

You should not. There is some level of crime anywhere, but big cities have become much safer than they used to be, at least in the West. Shit still happens sometimes, but there is no reason to be worried if you have a reasonable behaviour. I know of a couple of people who got their phone stolen or who had a burglary, but many more who lost wallets by dropping or forgetting them somewhere.

[TylerE]

How much of that petty crime would be violent crime in the US?

I’ve I’m gonna get robbed, I’m gonna get robbed. Rather not have a Glock stuck in my face while it’s happening.