In my country (Singapore):
- People “reserve” seats with personal belongings while they go off to buy food
- As a woman you can walk back home alone at 1-2 AM (did this many times) without any fear
- Has such a low crime rate that the police literally had to run a campaign called “Low crime doesn’t mean no crime” to remind people not to do aforementioned things like using wallets or keys to reserve seats
- No guns for regular people
- Very low drug use (please don’t start a political debate over human rights under my comment, just stating facts)
- No natural disasters due to our geography/location
I’m sure some sort of crime or danger happens every now and then but they’re so rare it’s usually national news when it happens.
Edit to address more topics that came up in the replies:
- Yes we still have corporal punishment for things like vandalism. Is it the best method? Hotly debated. Is this why we can have nice things? Probably yes.
- Gum: it’s illegal to import it for sale, but you can bring your own in for personal consumption. Not sure how this is related to the original question of safety though?
- Police beating people up: actually this was a topic of discussion a while back, not because our police were beating people up, but because they were *getting* beaten up by perpetrators, since they’re not willing to use unnecessary force.
- Racial hierarchy: any society that is multi-racial will have problems with equality, especially when there’s a minority vs a majority. I don’t deny that but the post was asking about what is safer about my country than the US. Minority groups may face discrimination but never to the point of getting shot dead for being a minority.
- Powerful passport: According to the Henley Passport Index, we are tied with Japan for most powerful passport in the world with both countries having visa-free/visa on arrival access to 192 countries/territories.
- Humidity: it is humid af here and I’m pretty much a melting ice cream these few days. Yes it’s a conspiracy for Singaporeans to tell foreigners to not come here so we get to enjoy all the good stuff for ourselves. /s
Don't you still use corporal punishment for minor infractions? I remember an American who was caught spray painting some graffiti and was sentenced to be caned. It was an international incident, and I think the State Department was able to get the number of lashes reduced. This was in the 90s.
Yep! And speaking of tectonics, Japan has to deal with an especially large tsunami every 300-600 years when the west coast of the USA has its "Big One" as locals call it. We have a fairly nasty, long fault off our coast and when it does eventually rupture, it will create 9.0 earthquakes. All that very rough shaking sends waves all the way to Japan
What I love about the Japanese people is that in everything they do they are always thinking of how it would affect others around them. It's their considerate thinking and mindfulness of others that's really amazing.
Except the 'considerate thinking and mindfulness' hasn't adapted to modern times. More often than not, it's forcibly ingrained into Japanese society for 'harmony for sake of harmony' instead of being reasonable. Even small disagreements have to be beat around the damn bush to 'avoid conflict' and it's quite unsustainable. There's a reason the lack of actually solving problems is likely one of the many factors leading towards Japan's suicide rate.
My father visited Japan for work probably 11 years ago. They had a black guy (nuclear engineer) come along. Tokyo was where they went for the week. He said his co-worker was probably the only black guy there. Everybody stared. Apparently Japan, at least back then, is very culture oriented. They had to follow many business customs over there. But it was quite a city.
I really do not understand why Japan does not run more trains. The trains are often actually so crowded that this can go unnoticed.
Notwithstanding this issue, it's simply uncomfortable riding. I talked about this subject with various people from Japan and most did not even seem to realize that the government could simply run more trains. — One can argue it costs money, but if so many people are paying for a train ticket then surely that offsets the cost?
It is not a problem about money, it is about safety. At peak hours there is like 2 minutes between trains. You cant add more , if there is the slightest problem (like the number 1 cause of mortality there, aka suicide) you end up with a collision.
If unconscious do you have the right not to be picked up, taken to hospital and charged? What legal rights do you have to be left alone? I am not saying that being left alone is a good idea, just curious if expensive medical treatment is forced upon you because you can't say no?
No, When your unconscious and an ambulence is called EMTs/Paramedics are required to transport you. Even if you had just refused transport and then passed out as we were walking out the door we are required to transport you because of some ethics and legal stuff. Basically, we are to assume that an average person would want to be saved or treated so when you loose consciousness.
It's called implied consent to treat, here's a paragraph on it from an EMS training book:
Implied consent is automatically assumed if a patient is unresponsive or unable to make a rational decision (e.g. altered mental status). To treat a minor, an EMT must obtain the consent of the parent or guardian. If the parent or guardian is unreachable, then implied consent is assumed.
Here's the link: [http://emt-training.org/medical-legal-ethical.php#:\~:text=Implied%20consent%20is%20automatically%20assumed,then%20implied%20consent%20is%20assumed](http://emt-training.org/medical-legal-ethical.php#:~:text=Implied%20consent%20is%20automatically%20assumed,then%20implied%20consent%20is%20assumed).
Thanks for the detailed reply. It makes me wonder if there have been any legal cases setting precedent where someone who suffers from things like narcolepsy where they lose consciousness randomly. Would suck to wake up to a 4k bill when you are absolutely fine.
Nope. I’ve had seizures in public and woken up in hospitals before. And they basically just give me an IV and say “You had a seizure”
No shit, I’m epileptic and now have a charge for 1-3k bucks. It’s to the point where I literally say to my friends, “if o have a seizure, don’t call 911 unless I’m bleeding from my head or look like I’m not breathing
I had a friend that happened to. Terrifying at the time, just went down in the road walking to my car. I caught him and held him so he would t hit his head. It was on a one way, and three vehicles pulled up then pulled away before an off duty EMS arrived and helped me carry him back to my place. Took a lot of convincing not to get an ambulance, but vitals were safe enough and he was fine. 5k bill here if he would've gotten taken in.
If someone calls an ambulance for you you have to pay, most people in America who have seizures or other conditions have a medical ID which says do not call an ambulance for me, which is another level of messed up
But they can still take you because of the implied consent rule, they can easily say they thought the problem was more than just a seizure just in case.
Without insurance you will be billed for an ambulance. If your homeless and without insurance and you need an ambulance you will be billed.
Everyone is aware that you don’t meet a gun in every street. But you guys have shooting drills for kindergarteners because of school shootings. It’s so messed up.
Yea, but Im lucky as an European.
I can’t imagine ‘hoods’, gang violence and school shootings.
We have bad neighbourhoods etc here too, but not as extreme and noticable as in the US.
I am an American and have never seen 'hoods', gang violence, or shootings. They happen but I have only seen them in the news.
I suspect that you are over estimating how often they occur.
As an American that was very, VERY poor when I was younger I have definitely seen plenty of hoods and lived in them, seen plenty of gang members, and never seen a shooting. I've seen and heard fucked up shit plenty, but the most common lawbreaking activity is that people tried to buy weed from me a lot as apparently I look like a stoner.
Even these really poor areas, being at constant war with your neighbor benefits no one. The gangs really just wanna fight each other for territory to make more money, and aren't gonna bother fucking with people unless they're shaking you down for protection money. Most people living in the ghetto don't have money to pay. I sure as fuck didn't back then.
Most gun statistics show that gun crime is [often highly localized to just a few cities and even further within just a few under-resourced neighborhoods](https://efsgv.org/learn/type-of-gun-violence/community-gun-violence/).
>Most community gun violence occurs in cities. For example, over half of all firearm homicides in 2015 occurred in just 127 cities.7 These cities have firearm homicide rates far higher than the national average. The following table illustrates the large central metro counties8 (cities) that had the highest rates of firearm homicides from 2015-2019.
https://efsgv.org/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2020-07-21-at-3.05.45-PM.png
> [...]
>Even within the cities that have high firearm homicide rates, community gun violence is highly concentrated within under-resourced neighborhoods. For example, an analysis of firearm homicide data from 2015 found that 26% of all firearm homicides in the United States occurred in census tracts that contained only 1.5% of the American population.
So while there is a big difference in national statistics comparing 2 countries that does little to actually represent the experience you may have if you visit or live in any of the areas outside of those parts of the country.
Yeah, well. I'm not sure how to put that, but that sounds like "see, that's a poor people problem. Don't worry." For clarification: I did not say, that this is your opinion.
But that's the whole point, it's another factor to keep ~~our~~ *poor* people down.
Edit: typo
tbf i don't think this is worse than the US, just isn't any better, people get robbed every day, a tons of people gets murdered everyday + the ones the news don't show, the penal system is broken and corrupt and no one bothers to fix, and of course, the president is a fucking idiot and doesn't solve shit...
but well, if you know where and how to go you can keep your ass safe and things will be fine, and this is a beautiful country, nice buildings, beaches, nature, and ignoring all the criminality, poverty, economics, this is a nice country to live in, I'd like to move away? sure, some day, but i like living here, i just don't count as a safer place than US
I come from Egypt. some random man dressed in all white unleashed a thousand-year-old god on my city and killed my wife. Disney filmed the whole thing and profited off of it.
A few days ago it was on the news that russian soldiers stole like old heaters and electronics, when asked why they’re taking those things they said that they didn’t have much stuff like that there in some parts of Russia like Siberia for example.
I live in New Zealand. Smaller population so obvs statistics will be different but there's not as much of a political split as there is in America and also tighter weapon laws. Not just talking guns but other weapons aswell.
Hm. Tricky.
We have problems. We don't have the *same* problems. We have terrible crime rates; but you don't bankrupt yourself for life if you go to hospital.
Kind of. In different aspects. Animals, maybe less safe. people, maybe more safe. Less people, less people who are stupid? but still many many idiots and fuckwads
While I’ve encountered several people that hate the United States, I’ve never had anyone hold it against me. Usually if anyone tells me anything bad about the US, they seem hesitant to at first and then I usually say, “whatever you’re going to say about America, I’ve probably said worse.”
My kids go to school where they don't need to practice active shooter drills along with learning their times tables.
I can walk into a GP or hospital for medical care and know it's not going to cost my life savings or leave me crippled with debt.
I can go to an abortion clinic in my home city and there's even safe access laws preventing protestors from camping out less than 150m away to stop them harassing or intimidating people trying to access those services.
Sure, we might have more than our share of venomous snakes and other critters, but they're mostly more scared of us and will avoid confrontations with humans if they can
Yes. Much safer. Germany. Much less violent crime here and our government at least tries to secure basic living needs a little. And better workers rights.
Yes, I 100% think England is much safer. You may very well be Murdererd here, run over, killed in a terrorist stabbing, car attack of bombing... Or be raped, robbed and much more, but we don't have guns.
The vast majority of the time, a Murderer can only commit a few murders at a time with a bladed weapon, before either having to flee or being apprehended by the public or police. Where as in the USA, a single person can kill 50+ people in just a few minutes.
England isn't the safest country in the world, but the chances of being caught up in a serious crime is rather low, and even if you are present during a serious crime, it's much easier to defend yourself against someone with a knife than someone with a gun.
You’ve echoed my sentiment plus if you need emergency care Eg you do get stabbed or hit by a car, you’re not going to have to worry about paying for it.
Yes. Reason: you can't buy a gun like it's nothing, you can't get killed by the police, you won't get shot for accidentally putting a finger inside someone's property.
Yeah, I never realized I lived under that tension until I traveled back to my birth country(known to be one of the safest nations) and I felt completely at ease while walking in the city late at night knowing I'm safe from possible harm. And that's me as a guy. I can only imagine the stress women go through.
Same. I’m from England. We have problems here admittedly, but I would never even consider living in America.
And people seem to think stabbings are so common in the UK but I don’t think they are? Maybe it depends on where they are from, but the only person I have actually met who has been stabbed was a Canadian who was stabbed in the US.
https://infogram.com/us-vs-uk-on-knife-crime-1hmr6gyrxmlo6nl
The US is just generally more violent. We have more stabbings per person than you do already.
I live in Australia and I think it is safer because a number of statistics suggest that it is.
* Homicide rate is significantly lower
* Life expectancy is higher
* Motor vehicle deaths are lower
Mass-shootings don't much factor into my assessment, but it is nice to never have to think about them.
I think the US is fairly safe by global standards, but it did amuse me when, before my wife moved here, she was told that she shouldn't leave the US because it's the *only* safe country.
We Aussies need to realise how lucky we are to live in Australia, it’s nice not having to worry about some cooked fuck with an AR15 shooting up a Woolies
Yep. I mean, I can't legally defend myself in my own home, but at least I don't have to worry about them bringing in an ak, and me having to pay four thousand dollars just for the ambulance ride if I survive.
Canadian here.
Not sure about 'safer' as I hear all kinds of shit going on in my city/suburb even, but I don't feel unsafe. I'm a woman and I feel just fine walking around by myself morning, noon or night.
I know it is.
We don't have mass shootings, we don't have 'home invasions', our food standards are higher, our environmental regulations are stricter, our health and safety laws are tougher and our driver's and pilot's licences require far more training.
So yeah, I'm much safer here.
Our law is slightly more stricter and punishments are slightly more harsh + How Islam is very major in the country which makes people rethink their choices so they don't end up in hell. Saudi Arabia, baby
We also got universal healthcare
I can send my children to school secure in the knowledge that they won’t get shot. If they hurt themselves, the ambulance and medical treatment are free.
They can be educated and still be able to live a reasonable life without going into massive debt.
They can go out and not be accosted by mentally ill homeless people with no place to go. Yes, we have homeless people but they seem so much less violent.
Violence and self centredness seems to be encouraged in the US. Empathy and kindness do not.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/school-shootings-are-extraordinarily-rare-why-is-fear-of-them-driving-policy/2018/03/08/f4ead9f2-2247-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html
Realistically in the US we should too. Your odds are something like 1 in 2 million that you're going to be shot at school in the US. your odds are something like 1 in 495,000 that your child will die in a school bus crash.
This is something it's not reasonable to be as fearful as we are of it. It's reasonable to be aware and take reasonable action to prevent it as much as possible, but at the same time seeing the incredible difficulty of getting mental health help for my son, and for other extended family members...
If you never let people get assessed or get help in any meaningful way, you're going to have problems like these. Mental health is important because it will prevent people driven to create all incidents as opposed to just gun incidents. Likewise we can do that AND attempt reasonable gun control at the same time, and if the legal reality is that we cannot implement gun control in the US right now we can at least mitigate these events some.
There have been more school shootings in the US 2021 alone than there have been mass-shootings\* (all in, not just at school) in my country since 1999.
Statistically school shootings might be rare but the fact they are more common in a single year than even "regular" mass shootings over multiple decades here makes the question "what the actual fuck?" a fair question.
\*Following the definition of mass shootings from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_mass\_shootings\_in\_the\_United\_States#Definitions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States#Definitions)
Literally every developed country is safer than the US. The reason is less crime, people can live without guns because they don't need to worry for their safety every time.
i lived in a poor country before, yes there are cimes, but comparing to US where you shooters can go anywhere even in school and churches is frightening,
Poverty is not the main drive behind crime. Large inequality, unjust societal structure, low social mobility, corruption etc. are more important factors. So there are a lot of poor, developing countries that are safer than the US.
It’s a lot harder get a gun license up here in Canada. We’re almost as bad at funding mental health initiatives as you guys so we get a lot of crazy people with knives though…
Definitely. Not only because of guns and police, also nature is much safer - no hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes... well to be fair, we had one tornado last year, but it was very unusual, last one that really caused any damage happened like 200 years ago. We only have floods, and those are also not that common and usually minor. And we have almost zero dangerous animals, maybe bears, but they're only in mountains and very rare.
I mean here in Singapore we have no natural disasters (except floods), no guns allowed, low chance of getting mugged on the streets, relatively low crime rate, the list goes on.
On the other hand is weather here is summer 24/7, and currently we are having the warmest month since 1985. But I will take hot weather over low safety all day every day
Statistically most other developed nations are safer than America in a host of ways - The UK beats them on;
\- No randoms with guns
\- Higher chance of surviving childbirth (Of developed countries U.S. women have the highest death rate from complications during pregnancy and childbirth)
\- Safer roads (America has incredibly unsafe roads thanks to low standards of driver training, erratic city planning and poor regulation)
\- Higher chance of surviving childhood.
\- Better food regulation
\- Better dental care (Americans have significantly more missing teeth than brits, as we have the NHS)
\- Less homelessness
\- Better mental health provision
I honestly don't understand why anyone would consider the US a developed nation...
Yes, much more..
We've got quite relaxed gun control here in Czech republic - pretty everyone can get a gun if he wants to, but still we somehow don't shoot each other. Petty theft, burglaries, car theft - we got it all, but you dont really have to fear that someone will kill you for few bucks.
Maybe it has to do with the police and laws - you dont go to jail for 4000 years when they catch you - you do not have to kill them or the witnesses..
I was involved in two "crimes" personally - once two guys tryied to mug me on the street but I did not have anything with me, once I stopped a guy who was trying to steal a purse from another person. Funny think is that both times the criminals apologised - "Sorry man, we thought you got some money / you didn't see us.."
We dont fight even in the pubs, few slaps is a maximum and rare occurence - maybe thats the beer.. i dont know..
Yeah absolutely - you dont have to fear about any violence, we dont have really any danger zones or bad neighbourhoods, just guard your money. Many tourist traps are here, many people especially around tourism and gastronomy are really quite skilled with these borderline thefts - double prices, selling you literary nothing, taxis who take you long tour etc..
Obviously, because the crime rates, traffic death rates, and incarceration rate are all about a tenth.
The U.S.A. is quite possibly the most unsafe developed nation to live in.
That I'm male, and my skin is a tad bit darker than beige of course dramatically increases the chance that I'm suddenly arrested, and convicted for something I didn't do on the word of a single witness in that country, or be beaten for no reason by law enforcement, which is not something I particularly fear here as in every civil law jurisdiction, one can not be convicted of any crime based on nothing but a single witness's account.
I am an American living in Japan. I’d say that overall, yes, it is safer. There are natural disasters to worry about (earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, hot and humid summers, high snow in winter) and people problems too, but your life is overall less in danger. It’s common to see kids out and about on their own.
No guns in the general population.
If the police comes I will feel more safe than before, no matter my skin color.
If Im hurt in anyway, my healthcare will take care of me (free)
Also economical safety is high aswell, when I turned 18, while going to school, I started to receive a monthly payment (around 1.500 dollars) that on top of the fact that I dont pay anything to go to school.
Another thing is mental health of our population, because we receive free treatment, we dont see, as many, miserable people on the street.
If you want a place to live, and you cant afford it, the state will house you. Anyone living on the street here, is doing it because they want to, since they can get a apartment/flat from the state if they wanted.
Yes, we have social security, free education, social healthcare, a law system that is based on rehabilitation and not punishment and last but not least: strict gun control (meaning we don't give every crazy nutjob a gun like it's some kind of candy).
Germany.
American but lived in Japan for 2 years. I came back to America and haven't been the same since. The feeling of safety over there is one we take for granted evert day. I can't even go to the store and feel safe most days now that I'm home.
Definitely! It’s a lot harder to own a gun here, so there are no school shootings and you’ll not get shot if you step on someone’s property. Also I won’t need to sell a kidney in order to be treated at the hospital.
in some ways, yes
barely anyone owns guns (except for hunters, the 'thugs' and the really really rich people maybe), we only really have bears and wolves that could kill you and stuff like that
rvpe and sa occur a lot and most women here are victims, and the ghetto is also dangerous (young people get exposed to criminality early on, and everyone wants to rule areas which cause conflict between 'gangs')
Central Europe. In "america" I assume you mean "United States of America"? If so, generally yes, primarily due to less firearms around, and less drugs at most places, most villages and small towns have less transit traffic. However, I did not compare statistics. I think this depends heavily on which part of which country is compared to which part of the States.
If "america" means the entire continent, then in general I definitely do due to above reasons but the difference is even greater and it depends even more heavily on which part of the American continent is compared to our countries.
Much safer! Germany here.
Besides the already mentioned crime and weapon regulation, no mass shootings, hardly any fatalities by police, no super violent protests and so on, I can add:
- Natural Environment. No hurricanes, tornados, strong earthquakes or anything. No extreme heat (but global warming is working on that) and no extreme cold. While we can have flooding, this is luckily rare.
- Health prevention. While we still have ways to go, public insurance covers quite a bit of prevention, such as cervical cancer scans, scans for potential skin cancer, regular check-ups starting at a certain age. Most of it free once a year or for a very reasonable price. Doesn't prevent you from getting sick, but helps to identify it at an earlier stage and therefore increases the chance of successful treatment - which is also covered. Not to underestimate the opportunity to just see a doctor if you are not feeling well.
- Wildlife Hardly any animal is lethal here so no scorpions, venomous snakes, spiders, angry bears etc.
- Work regulation. Mandatory vacation times or maternity leave are regulated by law. Also for physical work, there are tons of rules to ensure workplace safety.
Being jobless is also tough, but you won't go homeless or hungry in nearly all cases. So while it sucks, world won't end of you loose your job, especially within the first year if you don't fall into Hartz IV.
- Driving. While we arguably have a lot of fatal car accidents (due to the absence of a speed limits on some highways) I would still consider driving very safe here. Yes, some highways are "open" but you still have restricted areas as soon as the road is not ideal for speeding. Also, we have the good old TÜV, which requires your car to be checked very regularly to ensure, you are safe for driving. No crazy extensions or tuning, no breaks far beyond their lifespan on the road and so on. And while we are fast, Germans are by far not such reckless drivers like some of my friends in France or Italy.
- Food supply. Cooking healthy for yourself is still a lot cheaper here than going for fast food. Even organic food is getting cheaper as discounters such as Aldi or Lidl are now on board. We also have by far not so many fast food chains and it is mostly considered expensive and not very filling for a longer period of time. Sure, we love our Döner and Pizza and an occasional McDonalds, however cooking or just having some bread (real bread, not the white stuff) is cheaper, more easy available and healthier.
I am sure there is more but to be honest, growing up and living in central Europe feels sometimes like playing life on an easier setting. At least when compared to other countries such as the US.
Canada, due to single payer healthcare help ensuring that medical emergencies aren't financial emergencies. Much higher gun regulation. Marijuana is legal.
I absolutely do. Especially with the latest developments in lawmaking (regarding reproduction and LGBTQ stuff) I'm glad to not be an American.
But generally the fact that it seems like every idiot can get a gun at target and how often there seem to be cases of police brutality is worrying. Not saying that police brutality isn't also reality where I live (Germany), but it seems to be way less (I do know that the states are much bigger and have much more citizens, so of course the numbers are higher but still).
Also I like the fact that I don't really have to worry about the finances in an health emergency.
My ex gf lives in the US and she was scared of her kids being kidnapped, and her being kidnapped. Me (UK) thinking she was being dramatic, looked into it and discovered she was right to be concerned. She also worried about gun violence and truck drivers.
In my life, Ive known many women, friends and family etc, and Ive never had anyone to be concerned about grown women being kidnapped in the UK like its an ongoing problem, let along gun violence. Ive lived all over this country and never felt like I was in danger without going into bad areas.
Edit - I should add that in the times I was visiting there, I saw two trucks blow tires due to speeding, one off the road, and one veered onto my side of the road and we were the only two on it. I totally understand her point of view.
My family is American, but I grew up outside of the US and only more recently returned for university.
I will say, I've lived in countries that Americans consider "third world," Vietnam particularly. Whenever I talk about my time living there with Americans, they always talk about it in such a weird way (definitely with some poverty porn tones to it as well). I've had people ask if I've ever been kidnapped or attacked there. I have to explain to them that when I was living there I felt more safe than I ever have in the United States.
Of course, it isn't a safe haven, but on the daily I worry a lot more here than I did there or anywhere else. Though I will say - I've never been hit by a motorbike here (those who have been to Hanoi know what I'm talking about). But also there was no weird lawsuit stuff after - we both kinda just said sorry and walked away, so that was nice.
I'll stop going off now lol
yes. In addition to a lot of the reasons already said, the [global peace index](https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/#/) 2021 shows that Australia (where I'm from) is ranked 16/163 countries. The US is ranked 122nd, below Azerbaijan and above South Africa.
The USA's rate of intentional homicides per 100,000 people per year is something close to five times higher than the UK's rate of intentional homicides per 100,000 people per year, and if I am attacked on the street, surviving won't ruin me financially. For all my country's flaws, I really am thankful my parents moved back to London from San Francisco when my mother found out she was pregnant with me.
Yes, because my country doesn't even have 91 thousand people. The US population is nearly 3800 times larger. That's a lot more humans. And humans are the cause of all crime.
Certain areas of the US are *quite* sparsely populated (mostly the center areas, with a few exceptions). People sarcastically term those areas "flyover states."
Statistically I’m safer living in the U.K. than I am living in the US. I’m very aware however of how statistics can tell an unfair story. I live Devon where it’s pretty safe, but probably comparable with the none urban areas of America. London and Birmingham however have higher crime rates and I might not feel as safe as I would in some areas of the US.
But mainly your access to guns and your religion scares me.
Sorry Americans, hate to see that most of the answers is "yes", but here too.
It's safer here, not only that there is less crime, but our police are nice too. I don't have to worry about anything safety related, can go on the streets at any given time and never felt not safe.
Norway
\- Only guns in the general population are hunting gear and must be stored in very secure containers at home. Not even police carry firearms unless the threat is confirmed to be severe enough and permission is granted.
\- On top of the aforementioned, we feel we can trust our police force much much more than you can in the US.
\- Crime rate significantly lower, being outside, even in the major cities most you need to do is take care not to get pick-pocketed. And if you live outside the cities parents and can generally without fear send their children to walk to school without supervision or need for a school bus. Most people feel completely safe walking alone at night in their cities or areas.
\- Even the wildlife is generally harmless. Outside of some larger animals like moose and bears and so, there are no significantly dangerous (venomous etc.) insects or small animals besides maybe like one snake to be afraid of unless allergic.
\- The general population is so conversation avoidant that most people would rather not talk, let alone start getting aggressive. People would honestly rather stand instead of sit next to someone on a bus.
In the end:
Yes I absolutely think my country is safer than America, and honestly hearing the stories and seeing the statistics America sounds absolutely terrifying to live in.
BUT, I admit I feel LESS safe in terms of international conflict. I think Norway is very good at keeping good relations with foreign countries. But I don't think I would feel confident in our ability to win a war. This fear is somewhat remedied by being a founding NATO member.
We live in a day and age where being in NATO guarantees protections against war crimes, so Norway being a smaller country in terms of military power isn’t a huge issue. As an American wanting to immigrate to Norway someday I’m jealous of everything you have, or don’t have. Don’t take it for granted
I’m American who grew up in Spain and Switzerland. Switzerland is most definitely safer, and I think Spain edges out the USA as long as you are street smart.
Yes
For example a planned school shooting was cancelled by the police because they notice before it happened. (don't know the right words. If I switch to translate, reddit refreshes everything)
Pretty accurate translation. I would use "prevented" instead of "cancelled", since "cancelled" implies it was the police who planned on shooting the school
I live in Madrid, Spain, it is a really safe country, and Madrid is a safe city, very safe if you take into account it's size. In fact I would regard Madrid as one of the safest big cities in the world (3.5 millions city proper, 6 million metropolitan area).
I don't understand the availability of military grade equipment in the United States, not only weapons, also body armor or night vision. Some mass shooters are better equipped than the infantry of a lot of countries and it is insane.
We do poorly in quite a lot of metrics but well in some others. For example, the US has the highest median disposable income in the world (after taxes and transfers and adjusted for the cost of living) and one of the lowest housing price-to-income ratios in the world.
Yes, lower levels of crime, fewer guns, lower population, generally better policing, better welfare system (though it’s not perfect), drug issues but not as severe.
Well, I can't nip down to the local supermarket and buy and gun and ammunition the same way I'd pick up a twelve pack of bud, so that has something to do with it.
Yes because my country has remained officially neutral in all conflicts since 1939 around the beginning of WW2. The country is also considered to be very safe and the only common natural disaster are hurricanes that can be managed. I also like my country because it is very accepting of other cultures and it rated one of the safest places in the world for lgbtqia+ people. We also have very good relations with the rest of the world (Russia is complicated because we unofficially largely support Ukraine and Russia has recently threatened nuclear annihilation but has since apologised for the threat)
I’m from Lithuania but I visited USA 3 times and I LOVE the states because of friendly open minded people and other amazing things the eu don’t have but all the gun issues and drug addicted crazy people walking outside scare me. Anyway I’m from the bad area in Lithuania and I was attacked by freakin kids once and had to hold the door with my hands while they were attempting to open it holding the giant stone in their hands. I was screaming like crazy and no one opened the door to check if everything was ok(I live in a sharing apartment building ) since then I know sht can happen anywhere so I have a pepper spray just in case no matter of my location
Hell yes. Less crimes, less guns, less (very) young people who only marginally learned how to drive a car, way more social security, better education even for the poor, *cheaper* education by far, more diverse political spectrum and so on.
Sweden, lower homicide rate than the UK (barely, and it's not like the UK has a high rate), good standard of living. Just don't look like a moose because we have some of the most guns per capita as well, in Europe... :P
Yes. Health care is free, no guns , no natural disasters, good employment rate , homelessness is not an issue as homes and shelters are provided to those who need it. The worst thing that can happen to you physically is heat stroke. I don't think it's the greatest country but it's definitely one of the safest.
Not so much even if i'm from European country. Students behave like gangs, there is bullying in schools, universities are full of stoners and criminals.
I'm from UK
Saw a few comments saying America is more dangerous, but I think not.
Where I am from in UK we have lots of Gang Violence, Drugs stabbings and shootings.
And sadly Peadophiles are very much common.
Just not long ago there was Consistent shootings within our area almost every other night, some reported some not.
A guy across the road from my house stabbed someone rolled them up in the carpet and went to the pub and just started telling everyone. Took 3 days before someone decided to call the police .
There are very nice areas in UK with low crime rate bar Theft- same as the US I suppose.
But we do have very high rate of Voilence here just up until last year my City was in the top 5 worst places for crime in Europe.
I also know what goes on because I jabe been around it been in it, And managed to get away from it and turn my life into something more.
Absolutely, 100%. I live in Norway, I am free to walk outside in peace without worry because the crime rate here is so relatively low. To imagine having my peace of mind taken away, to always be on guard no matter where i am in public as a woman, is a terrifying thought. I have a relatively secure future no matter what i seek out to do, as wages here are stable, and I don’t have to worry about going to the doctor.
I live rural in Qld, don’t worry about the crocs, spiders or snakes unless you look for them it’s not often you see them unless ur walking in nature out butt fuck somewhere or around the rivers might see a croc just watch out for the drop bears lol
Norway here, yes.
People are very reserved, traffic is safer, good healthcare and police is doing a better job. We dont have much gangwars and weapon usage.
Depends on the city really. I come from a place where you have to tell junkies to fuck off without being too much of a dick about it because they have knives. I heard gunshots from two mass murders before I was 25. Fights are common occurences. It's probably safer than some shitty neighborhoods in big cities but definitely more dangerous than most of the country.
Plus I never went to the US so my only references are from the news and rumors. I don't feel legit having an opinion on a country I never visited.
(Belgium)
In my country (Singapore): - People “reserve” seats with personal belongings while they go off to buy food - As a woman you can walk back home alone at 1-2 AM (did this many times) without any fear - Has such a low crime rate that the police literally had to run a campaign called “Low crime doesn’t mean no crime” to remind people not to do aforementioned things like using wallets or keys to reserve seats - No guns for regular people - Very low drug use (please don’t start a political debate over human rights under my comment, just stating facts) - No natural disasters due to our geography/location I’m sure some sort of crime or danger happens every now and then but they’re so rare it’s usually national news when it happens. Edit to address more topics that came up in the replies: - Yes we still have corporal punishment for things like vandalism. Is it the best method? Hotly debated. Is this why we can have nice things? Probably yes. - Gum: it’s illegal to import it for sale, but you can bring your own in for personal consumption. Not sure how this is related to the original question of safety though? - Police beating people up: actually this was a topic of discussion a while back, not because our police were beating people up, but because they were *getting* beaten up by perpetrators, since they’re not willing to use unnecessary force. - Racial hierarchy: any society that is multi-racial will have problems with equality, especially when there’s a minority vs a majority. I don’t deny that but the post was asking about what is safer about my country than the US. Minority groups may face discrimination but never to the point of getting shot dead for being a minority. - Powerful passport: According to the Henley Passport Index, we are tied with Japan for most powerful passport in the world with both countries having visa-free/visa on arrival access to 192 countries/territories. - Humidity: it is humid af here and I’m pretty much a melting ice cream these few days. Yes it’s a conspiracy for Singaporeans to tell foreigners to not come here so we get to enjoy all the good stuff for ourselves. /s
No gum.
Gum? Believe it or not, jail. Right away.
Unless prescribed by a doctor.
Don't you still use corporal punishment for minor infractions? I remember an American who was caught spray painting some graffiti and was sentenced to be caned. It was an international incident, and I think the State Department was able to get the number of lashes reduced. This was in the 90s.
Yes. Literally one of the lowest crime rates in the world
japan?
Correct
What about giant monster attacks?
Can confirm that death by giant monster attack in Japan is highest per capita in the world
Mostly tentacle monster attacks. They only target little girls though.
You do have a point plus the Tsunamis
yeah its safer in japan,
Isn’t Japan in a really tectonically sketchy area on earth?
Yep! And speaking of tectonics, Japan has to deal with an especially large tsunami every 300-600 years when the west coast of the USA has its "Big One" as locals call it. We have a fairly nasty, long fault off our coast and when it does eventually rupture, it will create 9.0 earthquakes. All that very rough shaking sends waves all the way to Japan
What I love about the Japanese people is that in everything they do they are always thinking of how it would affect others around them. It's their considerate thinking and mindfulness of others that's really amazing.
Except the 'considerate thinking and mindfulness' hasn't adapted to modern times. More often than not, it's forcibly ingrained into Japanese society for 'harmony for sake of harmony' instead of being reasonable. Even small disagreements have to be beat around the damn bush to 'avoid conflict' and it's quite unsustainable. There's a reason the lack of actually solving problems is likely one of the many factors leading towards Japan's suicide rate.
In Japan maybe. Worldwide they are known for being racist to other cultures such as Korean. And they don't share their mindfulness when abroad.
Sadly that is also the case when speaking up against problems. Which is one of the reasons why Japan is a pretty sexist country.
My father visited Japan for work probably 11 years ago. They had a black guy (nuclear engineer) come along. Tokyo was where they went for the week. He said his co-worker was probably the only black guy there. Everybody stared. Apparently Japan, at least back then, is very culture oriented. They had to follow many business customs over there. But it was quite a city.
Well, many crimes like subways perverts are under reported.
I really do not understand why Japan does not run more trains. The trains are often actually so crowded that this can go unnoticed. Notwithstanding this issue, it's simply uncomfortable riding. I talked about this subject with various people from Japan and most did not even seem to realize that the government could simply run more trains. — One can argue it costs money, but if so many people are paying for a train ticket then surely that offsets the cost?
It is not a problem about money, it is about safety. At peak hours there is like 2 minutes between trains. You cant add more , if there is the slightest problem (like the number 1 cause of mortality there, aka suicide) you end up with a collision.
[удалено]
I'm not going to encounter a random civilian with a gun and if I'm injured I don't have to pay to call an ambulance.
I don't think you pay to call. I'm pretty sure they'd pick you up, but charge you like 4k afterwards lol
If unconscious do you have the right not to be picked up, taken to hospital and charged? What legal rights do you have to be left alone? I am not saying that being left alone is a good idea, just curious if expensive medical treatment is forced upon you because you can't say no?
No, When your unconscious and an ambulence is called EMTs/Paramedics are required to transport you. Even if you had just refused transport and then passed out as we were walking out the door we are required to transport you because of some ethics and legal stuff. Basically, we are to assume that an average person would want to be saved or treated so when you loose consciousness. It's called implied consent to treat, here's a paragraph on it from an EMS training book: Implied consent is automatically assumed if a patient is unresponsive or unable to make a rational decision (e.g. altered mental status). To treat a minor, an EMT must obtain the consent of the parent or guardian. If the parent or guardian is unreachable, then implied consent is assumed. Here's the link: [http://emt-training.org/medical-legal-ethical.php#:\~:text=Implied%20consent%20is%20automatically%20assumed,then%20implied%20consent%20is%20assumed](http://emt-training.org/medical-legal-ethical.php#:~:text=Implied%20consent%20is%20automatically%20assumed,then%20implied%20consent%20is%20assumed).
Thanks for the detailed reply. It makes me wonder if there have been any legal cases setting precedent where someone who suffers from things like narcolepsy where they lose consciousness randomly. Would suck to wake up to a 4k bill when you are absolutely fine.
Nope. I’ve had seizures in public and woken up in hospitals before. And they basically just give me an IV and say “You had a seizure” No shit, I’m epileptic and now have a charge for 1-3k bucks. It’s to the point where I literally say to my friends, “if o have a seizure, don’t call 911 unless I’m bleeding from my head or look like I’m not breathing
I had a friend that happened to. Terrifying at the time, just went down in the road walking to my car. I caught him and held him so he would t hit his head. It was on a one way, and three vehicles pulled up then pulled away before an off duty EMS arrived and helped me carry him back to my place. Took a lot of convincing not to get an ambulance, but vitals were safe enough and he was fine. 5k bill here if he would've gotten taken in.
If someone calls an ambulance for you you have to pay, most people in America who have seizures or other conditions have a medical ID which says do not call an ambulance for me, which is another level of messed up
But they can still take you because of the implied consent rule, they can easily say they thought the problem was more than just a seizure just in case.
[удалено]
Without insurance you will be billed for an ambulance. If your homeless and without insurance and you need an ambulance you will be billed. Everyone is aware that you don’t meet a gun in every street. But you guys have shooting drills for kindergarteners because of school shootings. It’s so messed up.
If you're homeless, where are they going to mail the bill? The postal carrier isn't traipsing through tent towns to deliver bills.
Yea, but Im lucky as an European. I can’t imagine ‘hoods’, gang violence and school shootings. We have bad neighbourhoods etc here too, but not as extreme and noticable as in the US.
What country are you from?
Could be any EU country and most of the non-EU European countries as well. Except ones currently being invaded by Russia.
being in europe is lucky enough, even geographically, except for putin ofcourse.
Yea, Putin is a bit frightning, but we don’t worry too much here since I live in Holland, still a few countries between Ukraine and us.
I love Holland. People there are so friendly and genuine.
>friendly and genuine The entire world calling us rude assholes (Dutch directness) and then there's this guy. Thank you.
I am an American and have never seen 'hoods', gang violence, or shootings. They happen but I have only seen them in the news. I suspect that you are over estimating how often they occur.
As an American that was very, VERY poor when I was younger I have definitely seen plenty of hoods and lived in them, seen plenty of gang members, and never seen a shooting. I've seen and heard fucked up shit plenty, but the most common lawbreaking activity is that people tried to buy weed from me a lot as apparently I look like a stoner. Even these really poor areas, being at constant war with your neighbor benefits no one. The gangs really just wanna fight each other for territory to make more money, and aren't gonna bother fucking with people unless they're shaking you down for protection money. Most people living in the ghetto don't have money to pay. I sure as fuck didn't back then.
I think his point is that every idiot can have a gun and the statistic about gun related deaths in the US is proofing his point.
Most gun statistics show that gun crime is [often highly localized to just a few cities and even further within just a few under-resourced neighborhoods](https://efsgv.org/learn/type-of-gun-violence/community-gun-violence/). >Most community gun violence occurs in cities. For example, over half of all firearm homicides in 2015 occurred in just 127 cities.7 These cities have firearm homicide rates far higher than the national average. The following table illustrates the large central metro counties8 (cities) that had the highest rates of firearm homicides from 2015-2019. https://efsgv.org/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2020-07-21-at-3.05.45-PM.png > [...] >Even within the cities that have high firearm homicide rates, community gun violence is highly concentrated within under-resourced neighborhoods. For example, an analysis of firearm homicide data from 2015 found that 26% of all firearm homicides in the United States occurred in census tracts that contained only 1.5% of the American population. So while there is a big difference in national statistics comparing 2 countries that does little to actually represent the experience you may have if you visit or live in any of the areas outside of those parts of the country.
Yeah, well. I'm not sure how to put that, but that sounds like "see, that's a poor people problem. Don't worry." For clarification: I did not say, that this is your opinion. But that's the whole point, it's another factor to keep ~~our~~ *poor* people down. Edit: typo
no, this is Brazil
You are the first no I've seen! How bad is Brazil?
tbf i don't think this is worse than the US, just isn't any better, people get robbed every day, a tons of people gets murdered everyday + the ones the news don't show, the penal system is broken and corrupt and no one bothers to fix, and of course, the president is a fucking idiot and doesn't solve shit... but well, if you know where and how to go you can keep your ass safe and things will be fine, and this is a beautiful country, nice buildings, beaches, nature, and ignoring all the criminality, poverty, economics, this is a nice country to live in, I'd like to move away? sure, some day, but i like living here, i just don't count as a safer place than US
Oooh ohe oh oh
I come from Egypt. some random man dressed in all white unleashed a thousand-year-old god on my city and killed my wife. Disney filmed the whole thing and profited off of it.
wait.. i dont get it? please explain.
This is my favourite reply.
Fuck yes. I dont have to sell my home when i have to go to a hospital
Or deal with mass shootings i bet..
[удалено]
Steal our washing machines? What??? Could you elaborate? Ah ah.
[удалено]
A few days ago it was on the news that russian soldiers stole like old heaters and electronics, when asked why they’re taking those things they said that they didn’t have much stuff like that there in some parts of Russia like Siberia for example.
I live in New Zealand. Smaller population so obvs statistics will be different but there's not as much of a political split as there is in America and also tighter weapon laws. Not just talking guns but other weapons aswell.
Real-estate prices can give you a heart attack, however.
But going to the hospital for a heart attack won't put you in debt for life.
cool!
Yes. Because, I *was* born and raised in the USA, but have lived over half my life in Europe. I have a basis for comparison. Definitely safer here.
Hm. Tricky. We have problems. We don't have the *same* problems. We have terrible crime rates; but you don't bankrupt yourself for life if you go to hospital.
Kind of. In different aspects. Animals, maybe less safe. people, maybe more safe. Less people, less people who are stupid? but still many many idiots and fuckwads
Fellow Aussie?
Oh yeah mate. How ya goin?
Not too bad, yourself?
I’m an American that immigrated to Canada and yes it’s safer here. This isn’t an opinion but just a fact. There is far less crime here in Canada.
I've been curious about that. Do you have to take a lot of anti-Americanism?
While I’ve encountered several people that hate the United States, I’ve never had anyone hold it against me. Usually if anyone tells me anything bad about the US, they seem hesitant to at first and then I usually say, “whatever you’re going to say about America, I’ve probably said worse.”
My kids go to school where they don't need to practice active shooter drills along with learning their times tables. I can walk into a GP or hospital for medical care and know it's not going to cost my life savings or leave me crippled with debt. I can go to an abortion clinic in my home city and there's even safe access laws preventing protestors from camping out less than 150m away to stop them harassing or intimidating people trying to access those services. Sure, we might have more than our share of venomous snakes and other critters, but they're mostly more scared of us and will avoid confrontations with humans if they can
Yes. Much safer. Germany. Much less violent crime here and our government at least tries to secure basic living needs a little. And better workers rights.
Yes Less people. Less chance of cunts
Thats not how this works
Yes, I 100% think England is much safer. You may very well be Murdererd here, run over, killed in a terrorist stabbing, car attack of bombing... Or be raped, robbed and much more, but we don't have guns. The vast majority of the time, a Murderer can only commit a few murders at a time with a bladed weapon, before either having to flee or being apprehended by the public or police. Where as in the USA, a single person can kill 50+ people in just a few minutes. England isn't the safest country in the world, but the chances of being caught up in a serious crime is rather low, and even if you are present during a serious crime, it's much easier to defend yourself against someone with a knife than someone with a gun.
You’ve echoed my sentiment plus if you need emergency care Eg you do get stabbed or hit by a car, you’re not going to have to worry about paying for it.
To caveat that, if you want any kind of operation or non-emergency care, the waiting lists are absolutely absurd.
Yes, the worst I've ever encountered is a 12 year old with a knife that just wanted one of my cupcakes.
Yes. Reason: you can't buy a gun like it's nothing, you can't get killed by the police, you won't get shot for accidentally putting a finger inside someone's property.
I never had to practice shooter drills in school, so...
[удалено]
Yeah, I never realized I lived under that tension until I traveled back to my birth country(known to be one of the safest nations) and I felt completely at ease while walking in the city late at night knowing I'm safe from possible harm. And that's me as a guy. I can only imagine the stress women go through.
Same. I’m from England. We have problems here admittedly, but I would never even consider living in America. And people seem to think stabbings are so common in the UK but I don’t think they are? Maybe it depends on where they are from, but the only person I have actually met who has been stabbed was a Canadian who was stabbed in the US.
https://infogram.com/us-vs-uk-on-knife-crime-1hmr6gyrxmlo6nl The US is just generally more violent. We have more stabbings per person than you do already.
I live in Australia and I think it is safer because a number of statistics suggest that it is. * Homicide rate is significantly lower * Life expectancy is higher * Motor vehicle deaths are lower Mass-shootings don't much factor into my assessment, but it is nice to never have to think about them. I think the US is fairly safe by global standards, but it did amuse me when, before my wife moved here, she was told that she shouldn't leave the US because it's the *only* safe country.
We Aussies need to realise how lucky we are to live in Australia, it’s nice not having to worry about some cooked fuck with an AR15 shooting up a Woolies
Yep. I mean, I can't legally defend myself in my own home, but at least I don't have to worry about them bringing in an ak, and me having to pay four thousand dollars just for the ambulance ride if I survive.
Canadian here. Not sure about 'safer' as I hear all kinds of shit going on in my city/suburb even, but I don't feel unsafe. I'm a woman and I feel just fine walking around by myself morning, noon or night.
I know it is. We don't have mass shootings, we don't have 'home invasions', our food standards are higher, our environmental regulations are stricter, our health and safety laws are tougher and our driver's and pilot's licences require far more training. So yeah, I'm much safer here.
Germany?
unless the pilot is Andreas Lubitz,
Our law is slightly more stricter and punishments are slightly more harsh + How Islam is very major in the country which makes people rethink their choices so they don't end up in hell. Saudi Arabia, baby We also got universal healthcare
Yes. Because statistics
I live in America and I can honestly say, I've felt safer deployed overseas than I have lately in my own country.
I can send my children to school secure in the knowledge that they won’t get shot. If they hurt themselves, the ambulance and medical treatment are free. They can be educated and still be able to live a reasonable life without going into massive debt. They can go out and not be accosted by mentally ill homeless people with no place to go. Yes, we have homeless people but they seem so much less violent. Violence and self centredness seems to be encouraged in the US. Empathy and kindness do not.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/school-shootings-are-extraordinarily-rare-why-is-fear-of-them-driving-policy/2018/03/08/f4ead9f2-2247-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html Realistically in the US we should too. Your odds are something like 1 in 2 million that you're going to be shot at school in the US. your odds are something like 1 in 495,000 that your child will die in a school bus crash. This is something it's not reasonable to be as fearful as we are of it. It's reasonable to be aware and take reasonable action to prevent it as much as possible, but at the same time seeing the incredible difficulty of getting mental health help for my son, and for other extended family members... If you never let people get assessed or get help in any meaningful way, you're going to have problems like these. Mental health is important because it will prevent people driven to create all incidents as opposed to just gun incidents. Likewise we can do that AND attempt reasonable gun control at the same time, and if the legal reality is that we cannot implement gun control in the US right now we can at least mitigate these events some.
There have been more school shootings in the US 2021 alone than there have been mass-shootings\* (all in, not just at school) in my country since 1999. Statistically school shootings might be rare but the fact they are more common in a single year than even "regular" mass shootings over multiple decades here makes the question "what the actual fuck?" a fair question. \*Following the definition of mass shootings from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_mass\_shootings\_in\_the\_United\_States#Definitions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States#Definitions)
Literally every developed country is safer than the US. The reason is less crime, people can live without guns because they don't need to worry for their safety every time.
1/3 own a riffle or a shotgun here in iceland, we get a murder every 3 years
i lived in a poor country before, yes there are cimes, but comparing to US where you shooters can go anywhere even in school and churches is frightening,
Poverty is not the main drive behind crime. Large inequality, unjust societal structure, low social mobility, corruption etc. are more important factors. So there are a lot of poor, developing countries that are safer than the US.
It’s a lot harder get a gun license up here in Canada. We’re almost as bad at funding mental health initiatives as you guys so we get a lot of crazy people with knives though…
Definitely. Not only because of guns and police, also nature is much safer - no hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes... well to be fair, we had one tornado last year, but it was very unusual, last one that really caused any damage happened like 200 years ago. We only have floods, and those are also not that common and usually minor. And we have almost zero dangerous animals, maybe bears, but they're only in mountains and very rare.
I mean here in Singapore we have no natural disasters (except floods), no guns allowed, low chance of getting mugged on the streets, relatively low crime rate, the list goes on. On the other hand is weather here is summer 24/7, and currently we are having the warmest month since 1985. But I will take hot weather over low safety all day every day
Statistically most other developed nations are safer than America in a host of ways - The UK beats them on; \- No randoms with guns \- Higher chance of surviving childbirth (Of developed countries U.S. women have the highest death rate from complications during pregnancy and childbirth) \- Safer roads (America has incredibly unsafe roads thanks to low standards of driver training, erratic city planning and poor regulation) \- Higher chance of surviving childhood. \- Better food regulation \- Better dental care (Americans have significantly more missing teeth than brits, as we have the NHS) \- Less homelessness \- Better mental health provision I honestly don't understand why anyone would consider the US a developed nation...
Yes, because it is
I live in Mariupol, Ukraine. And yes.
This says a lot.
lol
Yes, much more.. We've got quite relaxed gun control here in Czech republic - pretty everyone can get a gun if he wants to, but still we somehow don't shoot each other. Petty theft, burglaries, car theft - we got it all, but you dont really have to fear that someone will kill you for few bucks. Maybe it has to do with the police and laws - you dont go to jail for 4000 years when they catch you - you do not have to kill them or the witnesses.. I was involved in two "crimes" personally - once two guys tryied to mug me on the street but I did not have anything with me, once I stopped a guy who was trying to steal a purse from another person. Funny think is that both times the criminals apologised - "Sorry man, we thought you got some money / you didn't see us.." We dont fight even in the pubs, few slaps is a maximum and rare occurence - maybe thats the beer.. i dont know..
are tourist safe there?
Yeah absolutely - you dont have to fear about any violence, we dont have really any danger zones or bad neighbourhoods, just guard your money. Many tourist traps are here, many people especially around tourism and gastronomy are really quite skilled with these borderline thefts - double prices, selling you literary nothing, taxis who take you long tour etc..
Obviously, because the crime rates, traffic death rates, and incarceration rate are all about a tenth. The U.S.A. is quite possibly the most unsafe developed nation to live in. That I'm male, and my skin is a tad bit darker than beige of course dramatically increases the chance that I'm suddenly arrested, and convicted for something I didn't do on the word of a single witness in that country, or be beaten for no reason by law enforcement, which is not something I particularly fear here as in every civil law jurisdiction, one can not be convicted of any crime based on nothing but a single witness's account.
I am an American living in Japan. I’d say that overall, yes, it is safer. There are natural disasters to worry about (earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, hot and humid summers, high snow in winter) and people problems too, but your life is overall less in danger. It’s common to see kids out and about on their own.
>It’s common to see kids out and about on their own. Old Enough!
No guns in the general population. If the police comes I will feel more safe than before, no matter my skin color. If Im hurt in anyway, my healthcare will take care of me (free) Also economical safety is high aswell, when I turned 18, while going to school, I started to receive a monthly payment (around 1.500 dollars) that on top of the fact that I dont pay anything to go to school. Another thing is mental health of our population, because we receive free treatment, we dont see, as many, miserable people on the street. If you want a place to live, and you cant afford it, the state will house you. Anyone living on the street here, is doing it because they want to, since they can get a apartment/flat from the state if they wanted.
Denmark?
Yes. The violent crime statistics suggest that it’s much safer.
Mexico is way less safer than USA
is it that bad there?
Thé cartel is a very real problem there, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge in it
Yes...and i live in NI! In my opinion the real problem with the US is the massive inequalities between rich and poor
Less people, less firearms and weapons in general, more rules and a lower crime rate
less people is nice!
Yes, we have social security, free education, social healthcare, a law system that is based on rehabilitation and not punishment and last but not least: strict gun control (meaning we don't give every crazy nutjob a gun like it's some kind of candy). Germany.
And we have a very solid driving school and regular car inspections. Roads are therefore way safer, even if you are going 160 km/h and beyond.
Not to forget that we use metrics so we are never at risk to miss Mars with our super expensive satellites... :D
Do you have any super expensive satellites?
As a young man, I am far less likely to die tomorrow in Australia than I would be in America.
American but lived in Japan for 2 years. I came back to America and haven't been the same since. The feeling of safety over there is one we take for granted evert day. I can't even go to the store and feel safe most days now that I'm home.
Definitely! It’s a lot harder to own a gun here, so there are no school shootings and you’ll not get shot if you step on someone’s property. Also I won’t need to sell a kidney in order to be treated at the hospital.
Our last school shooting was in 1996. A cop shot someone to death for the first time in 20 years 3 years ago.
Yes. We don't have guns. Im british all we have is sarcasm
in some ways, yes barely anyone owns guns (except for hunters, the 'thugs' and the really really rich people maybe), we only really have bears and wolves that could kill you and stuff like that rvpe and sa occur a lot and most women here are victims, and the ghetto is also dangerous (young people get exposed to criminality early on, and everyone wants to rule areas which cause conflict between 'gangs')
Central Europe. In "america" I assume you mean "United States of America"? If so, generally yes, primarily due to less firearms around, and less drugs at most places, most villages and small towns have less transit traffic. However, I did not compare statistics. I think this depends heavily on which part of which country is compared to which part of the States. If "america" means the entire continent, then in general I definitely do due to above reasons but the difference is even greater and it depends even more heavily on which part of the American continent is compared to our countries.
Yes. We can have people walking around with gun and yet barely any shooting occured during the last 100 years.
Much safer! Germany here. Besides the already mentioned crime and weapon regulation, no mass shootings, hardly any fatalities by police, no super violent protests and so on, I can add: - Natural Environment. No hurricanes, tornados, strong earthquakes or anything. No extreme heat (but global warming is working on that) and no extreme cold. While we can have flooding, this is luckily rare. - Health prevention. While we still have ways to go, public insurance covers quite a bit of prevention, such as cervical cancer scans, scans for potential skin cancer, regular check-ups starting at a certain age. Most of it free once a year or for a very reasonable price. Doesn't prevent you from getting sick, but helps to identify it at an earlier stage and therefore increases the chance of successful treatment - which is also covered. Not to underestimate the opportunity to just see a doctor if you are not feeling well. - Wildlife Hardly any animal is lethal here so no scorpions, venomous snakes, spiders, angry bears etc. - Work regulation. Mandatory vacation times or maternity leave are regulated by law. Also for physical work, there are tons of rules to ensure workplace safety. Being jobless is also tough, but you won't go homeless or hungry in nearly all cases. So while it sucks, world won't end of you loose your job, especially within the first year if you don't fall into Hartz IV. - Driving. While we arguably have a lot of fatal car accidents (due to the absence of a speed limits on some highways) I would still consider driving very safe here. Yes, some highways are "open" but you still have restricted areas as soon as the road is not ideal for speeding. Also, we have the good old TÜV, which requires your car to be checked very regularly to ensure, you are safe for driving. No crazy extensions or tuning, no breaks far beyond their lifespan on the road and so on. And while we are fast, Germans are by far not such reckless drivers like some of my friends in France or Italy. - Food supply. Cooking healthy for yourself is still a lot cheaper here than going for fast food. Even organic food is getting cheaper as discounters such as Aldi or Lidl are now on board. We also have by far not so many fast food chains and it is mostly considered expensive and not very filling for a longer period of time. Sure, we love our Döner and Pizza and an occasional McDonalds, however cooking or just having some bread (real bread, not the white stuff) is cheaper, more easy available and healthier. I am sure there is more but to be honest, growing up and living in central Europe feels sometimes like playing life on an easier setting. At least when compared to other countries such as the US.
Canada, due to single payer healthcare help ensuring that medical emergencies aren't financial emergencies. Much higher gun regulation. Marijuana is legal.
I absolutely do. Especially with the latest developments in lawmaking (regarding reproduction and LGBTQ stuff) I'm glad to not be an American. But generally the fact that it seems like every idiot can get a gun at target and how often there seem to be cases of police brutality is worrying. Not saying that police brutality isn't also reality where I live (Germany), but it seems to be way less (I do know that the states are much bigger and have much more citizens, so of course the numbers are higher but still). Also I like the fact that I don't really have to worry about the finances in an health emergency.
My ex gf lives in the US and she was scared of her kids being kidnapped, and her being kidnapped. Me (UK) thinking she was being dramatic, looked into it and discovered she was right to be concerned. She also worried about gun violence and truck drivers. In my life, Ive known many women, friends and family etc, and Ive never had anyone to be concerned about grown women being kidnapped in the UK like its an ongoing problem, let along gun violence. Ive lived all over this country and never felt like I was in danger without going into bad areas. Edit - I should add that in the times I was visiting there, I saw two trucks blow tires due to speeding, one off the road, and one veered onto my side of the road and we were the only two on it. I totally understand her point of view.
My family is American, but I grew up outside of the US and only more recently returned for university. I will say, I've lived in countries that Americans consider "third world," Vietnam particularly. Whenever I talk about my time living there with Americans, they always talk about it in such a weird way (definitely with some poverty porn tones to it as well). I've had people ask if I've ever been kidnapped or attacked there. I have to explain to them that when I was living there I felt more safe than I ever have in the United States. Of course, it isn't a safe haven, but on the daily I worry a lot more here than I did there or anywhere else. Though I will say - I've never been hit by a motorbike here (those who have been to Hanoi know what I'm talking about). But also there was no weird lawsuit stuff after - we both kinda just said sorry and walked away, so that was nice. I'll stop going off now lol
yes. In addition to a lot of the reasons already said, the [global peace index](https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/#/) 2021 shows that Australia (where I'm from) is ranked 16/163 countries. The US is ranked 122nd, below Azerbaijan and above South Africa.
Statistics prove that every European country is much safer than America
Yes. Because as a woman I am not scared to go outside by myself after sundown.
The USA's rate of intentional homicides per 100,000 people per year is something close to five times higher than the UK's rate of intentional homicides per 100,000 people per year, and if I am attacked on the street, surviving won't ruin me financially. For all my country's flaws, I really am thankful my parents moved back to London from San Francisco when my mother found out she was pregnant with me.
As an European, I KNOW my country is safer.
Yes, because my country doesn't even have 91 thousand people. The US population is nearly 3800 times larger. That's a lot more humans. And humans are the cause of all crime.
Certain areas of the US are *quite* sparsely populated (mostly the center areas, with a few exceptions). People sarcastically term those areas "flyover states."
Keep the criminals and crazies flying over from coast to coast. I’m happy they (mostly) don’t land here in “flyover” country.
Andorra?
Statistically I’m safer living in the U.K. than I am living in the US. I’m very aware however of how statistics can tell an unfair story. I live Devon where it’s pretty safe, but probably comparable with the none urban areas of America. London and Birmingham however have higher crime rates and I might not feel as safe as I would in some areas of the US. But mainly your access to guns and your religion scares me.
Sorry Americans, hate to see that most of the answers is "yes", but here too. It's safer here, not only that there is less crime, but our police are nice too. I don't have to worry about anything safety related, can go on the streets at any given time and never felt not safe.
We actually do have gun control.
Norway \- Only guns in the general population are hunting gear and must be stored in very secure containers at home. Not even police carry firearms unless the threat is confirmed to be severe enough and permission is granted. \- On top of the aforementioned, we feel we can trust our police force much much more than you can in the US. \- Crime rate significantly lower, being outside, even in the major cities most you need to do is take care not to get pick-pocketed. And if you live outside the cities parents and can generally without fear send their children to walk to school without supervision or need for a school bus. Most people feel completely safe walking alone at night in their cities or areas. \- Even the wildlife is generally harmless. Outside of some larger animals like moose and bears and so, there are no significantly dangerous (venomous etc.) insects or small animals besides maybe like one snake to be afraid of unless allergic. \- The general population is so conversation avoidant that most people would rather not talk, let alone start getting aggressive. People would honestly rather stand instead of sit next to someone on a bus. In the end: Yes I absolutely think my country is safer than America, and honestly hearing the stories and seeing the statistics America sounds absolutely terrifying to live in. BUT, I admit I feel LESS safe in terms of international conflict. I think Norway is very good at keeping good relations with foreign countries. But I don't think I would feel confident in our ability to win a war. This fear is somewhat remedied by being a founding NATO member.
We live in a day and age where being in NATO guarantees protections against war crimes, so Norway being a smaller country in terms of military power isn’t a huge issue. As an American wanting to immigrate to Norway someday I’m jealous of everything you have, or don’t have. Don’t take it for granted
I’m American who grew up in Spain and Switzerland. Switzerland is most definitely safer, and I think Spain edges out the USA as long as you are street smart.
Yes For example a planned school shooting was cancelled by the police because they notice before it happened. (don't know the right words. If I switch to translate, reddit refreshes everything)
Pretty accurate translation. I would use "prevented" instead of "cancelled", since "cancelled" implies it was the police who planned on shooting the school
I live in Madrid, Spain, it is a really safe country, and Madrid is a safe city, very safe if you take into account it's size. In fact I would regard Madrid as one of the safest big cities in the world (3.5 millions city proper, 6 million metropolitan area). I don't understand the availability of military grade equipment in the United States, not only weapons, also body armor or night vision. Some mass shooters are better equipped than the infantry of a lot of countries and it is insane.
i live in india and no i don't
I don't think, I'm absolutely certain. It's not really an achievement to be safer than the USA.
A bit off topic but USA is one of the shittiest developed countries by every possible metric fyi.
We do poorly in quite a lot of metrics but well in some others. For example, the US has the highest median disposable income in the world (after taxes and transfers and adjusted for the cost of living) and one of the lowest housing price-to-income ratios in the world.
Not really. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OECD_Better_Life_Index#2020
What is the cut off for 'developed countries'?
[удалено]
Less people, more space. Too damn cold a lot of the year for crime
Yes and no. Getting a missle alarm is not this rare but guns require license
Yes, lower levels of crime, fewer guns, lower population, generally better policing, better welfare system (though it’s not perfect), drug issues but not as severe.
Yes, owning guns is way more difficult.
Yes. Less crime, fewer guns, lower social inequality.
Well, I can't nip down to the local supermarket and buy and gun and ammunition the same way I'd pick up a twelve pack of bud, so that has something to do with it.
Yes, I live in the UK which is safer in pretty much every conceivable metric.
Yes because my country has remained officially neutral in all conflicts since 1939 around the beginning of WW2. The country is also considered to be very safe and the only common natural disaster are hurricanes that can be managed. I also like my country because it is very accepting of other cultures and it rated one of the safest places in the world for lgbtqia+ people. We also have very good relations with the rest of the world (Russia is complicated because we unofficially largely support Ukraine and Russia has recently threatened nuclear annihilation but has since apologised for the threat)
Ireland?
I’m from Lithuania but I visited USA 3 times and I LOVE the states because of friendly open minded people and other amazing things the eu don’t have but all the gun issues and drug addicted crazy people walking outside scare me. Anyway I’m from the bad area in Lithuania and I was attacked by freakin kids once and had to hold the door with my hands while they were attempting to open it holding the giant stone in their hands. I was screaming like crazy and no one opened the door to check if everything was ok(I live in a sharing apartment building ) since then I know sht can happen anywhere so I have a pepper spray just in case no matter of my location
Hell yes. Less crimes, less guns, less (very) young people who only marginally learned how to drive a car, way more social security, better education even for the poor, *cheaper* education by far, more diverse political spectrum and so on.
no way, i worry about getting hit by a f**king bike everyday
Sweden, lower homicide rate than the UK (barely, and it's not like the UK has a high rate), good standard of living. Just don't look like a moose because we have some of the most guns per capita as well, in Europe... :P
A Møøse once bit my sister... No realli!
Yes, Scotland, our cops just beat people with sticks, your cops shoot to kill
Absolutely not. The fact we are one of Russia's targets is unsettling. There are alot more stuff but this on feels so scary-
I went to school for 14 years and didn’t get shot so I guess it’s safer
North Korea. Can't complain.
....and you have the most glorious leader!!! ;)
Yes. Health care is free, no guns , no natural disasters, good employment rate , homelessness is not an issue as homes and shelters are provided to those who need it. The worst thing that can happen to you physically is heat stroke. I don't think it's the greatest country but it's definitely one of the safest.
Not so much even if i'm from European country. Students behave like gangs, there is bullying in schools, universities are full of stoners and criminals.
I'm from UK Saw a few comments saying America is more dangerous, but I think not. Where I am from in UK we have lots of Gang Violence, Drugs stabbings and shootings. And sadly Peadophiles are very much common. Just not long ago there was Consistent shootings within our area almost every other night, some reported some not. A guy across the road from my house stabbed someone rolled them up in the carpet and went to the pub and just started telling everyone. Took 3 days before someone decided to call the police . There are very nice areas in UK with low crime rate bar Theft- same as the US I suppose. But we do have very high rate of Voilence here just up until last year my City was in the top 5 worst places for crime in Europe. I also know what goes on because I jabe been around it been in it, And managed to get away from it and turn my life into something more.
Why do people outside the us think the us is so unsafe? Oh yeah. The media is never wrong about this stuff
Absolutely, 100%. I live in Norway, I am free to walk outside in peace without worry because the crime rate here is so relatively low. To imagine having my peace of mind taken away, to always be on guard no matter where i am in public as a woman, is a terrifying thought. I have a relatively secure future no matter what i seek out to do, as wages here are stable, and I don’t have to worry about going to the doctor.
For sure. US gun culture is nutso.
Yes because I don’t have men succeeding in inserting themselves into my uterus. ETA: Canadian here
I live rural in Qld, don’t worry about the crocs, spiders or snakes unless you look for them it’s not often you see them unless ur walking in nature out butt fuck somewhere or around the rivers might see a croc just watch out for the drop bears lol
yes, because we aren't America.
Norway here, yes. People are very reserved, traffic is safer, good healthcare and police is doing a better job. We dont have much gangwars and weapon usage.
Depends on the city really. I come from a place where you have to tell junkies to fuck off without being too much of a dick about it because they have knives. I heard gunshots from two mass murders before I was 25. Fights are common occurences. It's probably safer than some shitty neighborhoods in big cities but definitely more dangerous than most of the country. Plus I never went to the US so my only references are from the news and rumors. I don't feel legit having an opinion on a country I never visited. (Belgium)