[toddrew]

The murder rates in the other countries are mostly drug related gang on gang violence. I've spent the past four years in Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, and Chile (was in Startup Chile)) and found Chile to be the sketchiest of places for lesser crimes against tourists like non-violent theft, or assault.

I lived in an apartment with three others, and we were all robbed during the 8 months in Santiago, violently in some cases, and non-violently in other cases. I knew lots of others who were also robbed.

The rest of my years in other Latin American countires, including hitchhiking from Chile back up to Guatemala after Startup Chile was completely safe and uneventful.

[Casseres]

What part of Santiago? At this moment, I'm staying at a hotel in Las Condes. This part of the city seems very safe, but I've taken the subway to other parts of the city, and never felt unsafe in those other places either. Part of my strategy is to blend in with my attire, mannerisms, and attitude. My Spanish is currently rudimentary at best, but I still manage not to stick out like a sore thumb and "shout" that I'm a tourist with my actions.

If you stand out like a tourist, it seems like no matter where you are in the world, you will be taken advantage of.

[toddrew]

I agree about standing out. But as someone that lived in other countries down there for three years before moving to Chile and speaks Spanish, this definitely wasn't the case for me.

Are you in Startup Chile?

Just watch your backpack on the subway or walking through busy streets. During my time there my female room mate had her wallet taken from her backpack at the market and some big charges racked up on her credit card before she noticed.

A month later her parents visited and they climbed Cerro San Cristobal in the middle of the day and had three young guys come out and beat them with sticks to steal their bags. Lots of bruises and stitches.

Another had a iPhone ripped out of her hand while she was using it on the street. Another had his laptop stolen out of his bag on a bus to the coast. Laptops were also stolen by people who just walked into the co-working space that Startup Chile uses.

There's no reason to be scared in Chile. I always felt safe, but don't let the title of safest place in Latin America based on comparative murder rates make you forget that you're still a possible target for a robbery. And based on nothing but my own experience and people I knew, more so than any other place I've ever visited.

[Casseres]

I'm not in Startup Chile, just visiting my grandfather and doing some sightseeing. I use an over-the-shoulder bag like many of the businessmen here use. I only keep valuables in one pants pocket that I can be more aware of and control access to rather than using multiple pockets.

Being attacked with sticks to steal bags is pretty bad, it would be difficult to try to prevent that. Poor access control and letting people walk in to steal stuff is not good either. It seems to me that the rest can be prevented by having better control over one's belongings and being more aware of their environment. The same things happen to Americans in the US.

In highschool, I would mess with my friends by either removing things from their backpacks while walking behind them in crowded hallways, add random things to their backpacks, or put things in their pockets without them noticing. I would also tie their shoelaces to desks or backpacks when they weren't paying attention. Even though it was just highschool, it taught me that most people don't pay attention to their stuff, themselves, or the things around them.

Since I've traveled a lot internationally for school, work, and family, I've learned to operate in "Condition Yellow" (Cooper Color Code) and I've never had any problems.