Most Dangerous Part(s) of the World You've Ever Been?

[QUIZZLE]

I often see the 'most dangerous cities in America/most dangerous places in the world' articles rolling on Yahoo's pages and stuff, and I'm just curious as to where you've all been. Did you feel scared during your time there?

I did a community service project (mandatory for high school seniors at my high school) in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico AKA probably the most dangerous place in the world right now. It was bad then but not half as bad as it is now. Even still, we were in a heavily monitored area and were fenced in our whole time there.

It's pretty disappointing to think that the house we put up for that underprivileged family could most likely be demolished right now. Pretty sick shit going on down there.

The customs getting back was a complete mission too (as expected). It took us three hours to go probably three quarters of a mile in line. Nuts.


On a side note: Has anyone ever been to Flint, Michigan?

I see this place on lists every time I read them... Sounds like a real hell hole.

[YAWN]

I went to Juarez for drinks one night a handful of years ago. It was fine. Walked over from El Paso. Got wasted at some clubs for cheap, then we walked back. No questions asked. Didn't even have to show any identification :lol

There were like 7 clubs/bars on that one main street and it was all right by the border crossing so thats probably why it was safe.

[QUIZZLE]

I went to Juarez for drinks one night a handful of years ago. It was fine. Walked over from El Paso. Got wasted at some clubs for cheap, then we walked back. No questions asked. Didn't even have to show any identification :lol

There were like 7 clubs/bars on that one main street and it was all right by the border crossing so thats probably why it was safe.

I still would have been shitting myself! :lol I went about five years ago. I guess the violence wasn't a tenth as bad as it is right now though.

[IcanzIIravor]

Almost 3 years at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq.

When I left the Air Force I helped my older brother run a small security company and walked a Project in Jackson, MS that had every stereotype you could think of. I think one reason I never had to use my gun is because I have some crazy uncles on my mom's side who threatened to light the place up if anyone gave us issues.

[ZeN]

Many places in mexico.. from Sinaloa to El D.F. Just many hot spots of wanton violence.

[DonDadda59]

Lived in Soweto for 4 years during Apartheid. The violence was very... let's say casual :lol

[Bigsmoke]

Chicago

[Derrick]

I went to Tijuana for some tacos. :confusedshrug: Im not much of a risk taker.

[Styles p]

camden nj

[DaHeezy]

Many places in mexico.. from Sinaloa to El D.F. Just many hot spots of wanton violence.


THIS, and practically anywhere off resort in South America.

[SevereUpInHere]

I went to a party in a favela in Rio that we were taken to by this dealer there. Pretty insane. I bumped into some dude when we were dancing and he was holding an AK in the air. There were about 7 dudes all with machine guns patrolling the party. Seemed legit at the time, now i look back like what the f*ck was i thinking. :oldlol:

I felt quite uneasy in Patong in Phuket at times.

[bdreason]

I hooked up coke from a one-armed mexican in the slums of Puerta Vallarta, Mexico (about 15 minute drive inland from the resort area) when I was 18 years old.

Not sure what I was thinking. Me and my friend were hammered, and just wanted to get some blow. Turned out to be the best blow(by far) I've ever hard, and for $20 a gram. Same stuff would sell for $120 a gram easily in the States.

[InspiredLebowski]

ramp closure on I-65 in The Region. Then I threw up a hook from Ghana and got my hood pass.

one of those sentences is true.

[SevereUpInHere]

I hooked up coke from a one-armed mexican in the slums of Puerta Vallarta, Mexico (about 15 minute drive inland from the resort area) when I was 18 years old.

Not sure what I was thinking. Me and my friend were hammered, and just wanted to get some blow. Turned out to be the best blow(by far) I've ever hard, and for $20 a gram. Same stuff would sell for $120 a gram easily in the States.

Thats how we ended up in the favela party too. Would have been way more epic if he had one arm tho.

[sick_brah07]

I hooked up coke from a one-armed mexican in the slums of Puerta Vallarta, Mexico (about 15 minute drive inland from the resort area) when I was 18 years old.

Not sure what I was thinking. Me and my friend were hammered, and just wanted to get some blow. Turned out to be the best blow(by far) I've ever hard, and for $20 a gram. Same stuff would sell for $120 a gram easily in the States.

$20 a ****ing gram lol? sells for 350-400 in australia at the moment

[InspiredLebowski]

$20 a ****ing gram lol? sells for 350-400 in australia at the momentyou forgot about the internet message board inflation rate

[JtotheIzzo]

I was in New Delhi the same day Pakistani insurgents bombed a Pakistan bound train.

I was in Phnom Penh when there were still tanks in the street and UN jeeps everywhere. I was mugged by the police during this visit.

I was in Sri Lanka under marshal law.

I was on the same highway in Laos on the same day a tourist bus was hijacked and many tourist were killed.

I rode my motorcycle down the wrong dirt road in Northwestern Thailand and ended up accidentally crossing into Karen Rebel controlled Burma and had Thai soldiers draw their machine guns on me imploring me to turn around.

All of these now seem like fun stories rather than any real threatening situations.

The luckiest I ever was was when I pulled out of The Bali Tens rugby tournament at the last minute. Five people on the team I was supposed to play on died in the now infamous bombing that killed over 200 people.

[macmac]

I was in Israel during the gulf war in 1990 as a 5 year old, wearing gas masks in sealed rooms whenever the alarms would go off....

I bought coke in mexico off the cab drivers and sold it to tourists in my resort in cancun about 10 years ago, but that was pretty uneventful

[JtotheIzzo]

I was in Israel during the gulf war in 1990 as a 5 year old, wearing gas masks in sealed rooms whenever the alarms would go off....

I bought coke in mexico off the cab drivers and sold it to tourists in my resort in cancun about 10 years ago, but that was pretty uneventful

Nothing quite as fun as buying drugs in poor countries. Hookers are usually the best bet, but with that comes a bit of worry, plus they usually want you to share. Good adrenaline rush both before and after.

[SevereUpInHere]

$20 a ****ing gram lol? sells for 350-400 in australia at the moment

I paid less than $20 a gram in Brazil, haha, I wanted to move there. You in Sydney? I bet it's still cheaper there than Perth.

[Jackass18]

Various places in DC. One time my friend got out of the car to go buy weed and got surrounded by a couple guys. I thought he was about to get jumped, but it ended up being undercovers and he got arrested.

Various places in New Orleans. The first time there, my friends and I stayed in a real shitty hotel in the ghetto. It was pretty dumb since the lock on the door didn't really work, but we were too ****ed up and caught up in the partying to really care.

[SevereUpInHere]

The luckiest I ever was was when I pulled out of The Bali Tens rugby tournament at the last minute. Five people on the team I was supposed to play on died in the now infamous bombing that killed over 200 people.


Man I was just in Bali last month, don't mind admitting I shed a tear at the memorial, was pretty emotional being there, knowing how many people died just enjoying a holiday like I was.

[embersyc]

I grew up in Detroit? :confusedshrug:

[NuggetsFan]

$20 a ****ing gram lol? sells for 350-400 in australia at the moment

That's wild. $80 a gram where I'm at in Canada.

It would be kinda interesting to see the prices for drugs everywhere :oldlol:

[sunsfan1357]

Wal-Mart on Black Friday somewhere in Illinois. There were a bunch of crazy people and I got body slammed by this big guy over a video game.

Other than that I've never been anywhere really dangerous.

[rufuspaul]

Been to Juarez and to Detroit several times, but the most dangerous place has got to be Stroshow's hood:


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/Bar-Harbor.jpg

Shit gets real in the Harbor.

[niko]

I grew up in 1970's Brooklyn in a primarily spanish neighborhood. Day to day not horrible but i've been running from bullets flying a few times, etc.

[Rake2204]

On a side note: Has anyone ever been to Flint, Michigan?

I see this place on lists every time I read them... Sounds like a real hell hole.
Like embersyc, I am from that region (not Flint, just east Michigan itself), though I don't know if he meant he grew up in Detroit Detroit or just the metro area. I personally spent the majority of my metro Detroit life in pretty neighborly areas such as Farmington, Livonia, and Northville (and later Ann Arbor, which is quite removed from Detroit).

Like most cities, Flint and Detroit aren't garbage through and through. I don't usually have much reason to travel through Flint but when I do, it's not the worst thing ever. I mean, it's not all full of beauty and splendor, but I don't think I feel my life is at stake. I can't really imagine either city belongs in the same category as Juarez and the numerous other locations cited in this thread where bombings are taking place. They make Flint and Detroit sound like child's play.

That said, I have a lot more experience with Detroit experience than Flint, so perhaps I'm off-base. My dad has done a lot of work in that area though, and I don't think he's had any crimes committed upon him, so that's good. He also bought me a pair of Jordan VII's from Flint for Christmas '03. I always kind of wondered exactly where he got them from. . .

[Bucket_Nakedz]

i was raised in the bay area all my life (hunters point, union city, hayward). nothing more dangerous to me than going to the suburbs. white folks scare me...

[niko]

Like 5 years ago i flew to Detroit to meet a contact. We got stuck (Our flight was cancelled). My coworker asked where she could go to hang out and the concierge at the hotel said "it might be better to not go out if you don't know the area." :lol

[Rake2204]

Like 5 years ago i flew to Detroit to meet a contact. We got stuck (Our flight was cancelled). My coworker asked where she could go to hang out and the concierge at the hotel said "it might be better to not go out if you don't know the area." :lol
I'd say that's probably sound advice for a lot of locations if you're new to the place and you're just looking to roam about the random outskirts of a city at night. There's some very nice places around Metro Airport but there's also some rough spots. So maybe you guys wander and stumble into Canton (nice spot). But then maybe you wander and end up in Inkster (not the best).

If your concierge was telling you that in the light of day with a lot of time to spare, I'd say she's way off base. And again, if you guys had an extended amount of time, she could have easily pointed you in the direction of a lot of worthwhile, safe spots to explore and discover. Immediate, downtown, business district Detroit really is not a bad spot. It seems there's a solid center to the city (Ford Field, Comerica area), a shady outer-inner portion (with all the dilapidated housing) then a thoroughly upscale surrounding area (Canton, Bloomfield, Farmington Hills, etc.).

So point being, there's definitely some portions of Detroit that are as rough as advertised, but there's also a ton of good spots. It'd just be beneficial to have a loose idea of what's where.

[Dwade305]

Most dangerous I would have to say Cali, Colombia. 1 because there is nothing really to do in the day, so you have to come out night to look for hoes and other forms of entertainment. There is alot of clubs were there are working girls and some club wre their just your regular loose b1tches(not that difficult to pick long as you know spanish and can dance). The problem is getting to these places, because the surrounding areas are complete sh1tholes. The streets are filled with junkies, armed delincuents, tranny prostitutes, and nothing but f*cking weirdos. I think I only saw 1 cop throughout the area at night, had to tell taxi dude to take me around the whole city the whole night for 15,000 pesos . The coke is off the chain they tell me(Not my thing) and its real f*cking cheap. Always kept some handy because all of the hoes there really only are down to f*ck when they consume the polvo magico.


Definitely worth the risk though lol. You'll probably just need $40 the whole night to do it nice.

[embersyc]

Like embersyc, I am from that region (not Flint, just east Michigan itself), though I don't know if he meant he grew up in Detroit Detroit or just the metro area. I personally spent the majority of my metro Detroit life in pretty neighborly areas such as Farmington, Livonia, and Northville (and later Ann Arbor, which is quite removed from Detroit).

Well half and half.

Lived in Detroit proper (Brightmore region) until 5th grade, then moved to Taylor, was in Taylor until I gradudated from high school then moved back to Detroit (Joy Rd/Evergreen area) for about 3 years. Since then I've been in the western suburbs, lived in Redford/Westland/Wayne/Dearborn/Livonia/Farmington Hills and bought a house in West Bloomfield about six months ago, so hopefully I'm done moving for a bit.

My mom's old neighborhood in Detroit is totally demolished today, every single house is burned down. However where I live now I could probably leave a box of money on the porch and nobody would touch it. So I've been through both extremes.

[LBJDW305]

Lol at all this talking about coke....in Miami atleast a gram is 50-60$ so I'm trying to figure out how people are getting these crazy numbers....most dangerous place was probably "La perla" in PR when I went on a cruise that stopped in PR For a day.

[lakers_forever]

lol at internet losers acting like it's "cool" (and thinking they are somehow though) to use cocaine.

[chairman]

lol at internet losers acting like it's "cool" (and thinking they are somehow though) to use cocaine.
:biggums:

[code green]

Beirut, Lebanon in the 90s lol.

[chairman]

Cleveland Ohio

[Rake2204]

Well half and half.

Lived in Detroit proper (Brightmore region) until 5th grade, then moved to Taylor, was in Taylor until I gradudated from high school then moved back to Detroit (Joy Rd/Evergreen area) for about 3 years. Since then I've been in the western suburbs, lived in Redford/Westland/Wayne/Dearborn/Livonia/Farmington Hills and bought a house in West Bloomfield about six months ago, so hopefully I'm done moving for a bit.

My mom's old neighborhood in Detroit is totally demolished today, every single house is burned down. However where I live now I could probably leave a box of money on the porch and nobody would touch it. So I've been through both extremes.
Yeah wow, you've been all over the place. Nicely done.

[LEFT4DEAD]

http://travel-for-love.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/balkan_map.gif

Balkan (especially borders between Serbia-Bosnia, Serbia-Kosovo)
Hatred out there is on a very high level.
Nothing comes close

[RaininTwos]

Church and Wellesley. I've never been more scared in my life son

[bballer]

Kingston, Jamaica.

[LamarOdom]

Damn was in Detroit 2 years ago that city is a shithole looked like a ****ing warzone, stupid bitches take care of ya damn city.

I wasn't even impressed close to the hockeyarena, we should burn that place down.

[Rake2204]

Damn was in Detroit 2 years ago that city is a shithole looked like a ****ing warzone, stupid bitches take care of ya damn city.

I wasn't even impressed close to the hockeyarena, we should burn that place down.
I mean, it's surely more than your right to not be impressed and surely, many parts of Detroit are abandoned, worn, and destroyed, but it's not all of Detroit.

http://dynamicdetroit.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/detroitmichigan.jpg

[pauk]

A bad hood? Ghetto? Criminality? Haha... That is heaven for what me and my family had to go thru...
at least you could sleep more than 10 minutes a night without hearing a bomb/gunshot or having some random bullet fly thru your window depending on your location...
at least you could quickly walk out and buy milk without literally risking your life...
at least you could you could go 10 seconds watching a movie in your living room without thinking somebody would just brake in your door and kill you....

As some of you may know, i am from Balkans (fr. Yugoslavia).. and just so happened to grow up in fr. Yugoslavia in its worst time ever and one of the worst moments in human history ever...

Our house was burned by Serbs in Bosnia, i had a relative get killed there while i was just a kid aswell, after witnessing death & destruction here and there we ran for our lives to a relative in Kosovo for a couple of years because there "was no war" there, just until it settles down, next thing we know those Serbs go do their genocide/massacre thing there to... but this time Albanians (UCK) forced us out ... (you see we were on neither side as we are Croatians/Bosnians so we had to dodge bullets from any corner).... so we moved to Croatia and prayed to god there was not gona be any war there to... although just before Bosnia/Kosovo there was a war there to in Croatia (once again the Serbs) which my parents had to go thru.... i cant count how many times i/we could have got killed...

For safeties sake we moved to Denmark for a while and now im back in Croatia/Balkans..... where we try to act like nothing ever happened... Those Serbs sure are something, although i dont blame them but their dictator politician/politicians (dont want to talk about it really)....

Hm... did i just destroy this thread? :D

[AlonzoGOAT]

A bad hood? Ghetto? Criminality? Haha... That is heaven for what me and my family had to go thru...
at least you could sleep more than 10 minutes a night without hearing a bomb/gunshot or having some random bullet fly thru your window depending on your location...
at least you could quickly walk out and buy milk without literally risking your life...
at least you could you could go 10 seconds watching a movie in your living room without thinking somebody would just brake in your door and kill you....

As some of you may know, i am from Balkans (fr. Yugoslavia).. and just so happened to grow up in fr. Yugoslavia in its worst time ever and one of the worst moments in human history ever...

Our house was burned by Serbs in Bosnia, i had a relative get killed there while i was just a kid aswell, after witnessing death & destruction here and there we ran for our lives to a relative in Kosovo for a couple of years because there "was no war" there, just until it settles down, next thing we know those Serbs go do their genocide/massacre thing there to... but this time Albanians (UCK) forced us out ... (you see we were on neither side as we are Croatians/Bosnians so we had to dodge bullets from any corner).... so we moved to Croatia and prayed to god there was not gona be any war there to... although just before Bosnia/Kosovo there was a war there to in Croatia (once again the Serbs) which my parents had to go thru.... i cant count how many times i/we could have got killed...

For safeties sake we moved to Denmark for a while and now im back in Croatia/Balkans..... where we try to act like nothing ever happened... Those Serbs sure are something, although i dont blame them but their dictator politician/politicians (dont want to talk about it really)....

Hm... did i just destroy this thread? :D

Doesn't really count since someone saved you from this darkness


LeGawd

[Hazard]

^Crazy shit man.

Soviet Union age 0-9 and during the collapse. Also lived in North Philly during my College years.

[pauk]

Doesn't really count since someone saved you from this darkness


LeGawd

lol

[LamarOdom]

I mean, it's surely more than your right to not be impressed and surely, many parts of Detroit are abandoned, worn, and destroyed, but it's not all of Detroit.

http://dynamicdetroit.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/detroitmichigan.jpg

Nothing special w/ that pretty average actually for being riverside, I feel bad for that city it's sad that a part of U.S can look like that.

[AlphaWolf24]

i was raised in the bay area all my life (hunters point, union city, hayward). nothing more dangerous to me than going to the suburbs. white folks scare me...


Tru that...even scarier....Taking Bart to Union City or Ardenwood (for some run) and playing against 20 Flips tryin to doin 2K12 crossover moves all dey..

what the **** is up with that?....never seen any of them do 1 basic move




on topic...

in America...easily Queens or East Oakland.

over seas....China/Taiwan...they (chinese mafia) beatdown fools left and right over there.

[Timmy D for MVP]

China I guess. But we were never really in danger they just lock shit down when they want to. Some places looked a little sketchy but no more so than my own hometown.

[Rake2204]

Nothing special w/ that pretty average actually for being riverside, I feel bad for that city it's sad that a part of U.S can look like that.
Right, I was merely stating the entire city is not in ruins. There are many parts of Detroit and metro Detroit that are in excellent shape, even if they do not wow you.

[n00bie]

Went to a cruise, and one of the stops was Honduras. Most of the people just stayed within the gated shopping area at the port.. but I don't know why we decided to join a tour around the Island.. SCARY AS HELL.. Police with automatic rifles at almost every corner.. Village folks giving you the "I want to kill you look" everytime our car past them...

Hope I never have to go back to that place.

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

sadly.. Harlem.

[ace23]

A bad hood? Ghetto? Criminality? Haha... That is heaven for what me and my family had to go thru...
at least you could sleep more than 10 minutes a night without hearing a bomb/gunshot or having some random bullet fly thru your window depending on your location...
at least you could quickly walk out and buy milk without literally risking your life...
at least you could you could go 10 seconds watching a movie in your living room without thinking somebody would just brake in your door and kill you....

As some of you may know, i am from Balkans (fr. Yugoslavia).. and just so happened to grow up in fr. Yugoslavia in its worst time ever and one of the worst moments in human history ever...

Our house was burned by Serbs in Bosnia, i had a relative get killed there while i was just a kid aswell, after witnessing death & destruction here and there we ran for our lives to a relative in Kosovo for a couple of years because there "was no war" there, just until it settles down, next thing we know those Serbs go do their genocide/massacre thing there to... but this time Albanians (UCK) forced us out ... (you see we were on neither side as we are Croatians/Bosnians so we had to dodge bullets from any corner).... so we moved to Croatia and prayed to god there was not gona be any war there to... although just before Bosnia/Kosovo there was a war there to in Croatia (once again the Serbs) which my parents had to go thru.... i cant count how many times i/we could have got killed...

For safeties sake we moved to Denmark for a while and now im back in Croatia/Balkans..... where we try to act like nothing ever happened... Those Serbs sure are something, although i dont blame them but their dictator politician/politicians (dont want to talk about it really)....

Hm... did i just destroy this thread? :D
Hardcore bro

[DonDadda59]

sadly.. Harlem.

When was this? Harlem is gentrification central these days. High rise doorman buildings and Starbucks have replaced run down crack dens.

I saw a man get hacked with a machete in the early 90s in broad daylight somewhere in the 120s, forget the specific street. Same area is just the Upper Upper West Side now.

[BlakFrankWhite]

I visted Pakistan in december 2013, with a friend who's from there.

Didn't feel in danger at all...but the beggars are so fkin annoying

[Rake2204]

Couple years later, still haven't been to anything extreme beyond American cities like Detroit & Flint.

I visited Harlem last year (and Rucker) but that didn't feel too bad (and apparently it's gentrified and whatnot).

Visiting South Central Los Angeles this summer was probably the iffiest I've felt in an area, mostly due to the unknown. I was trying to gauge how rough the area actually was in the past vs. how rough it is now vs. how much was just media conjecture. I didn't feel totally cool with parking our SUV full of all our belongings (road trip) in the middle of Watts but it ended up being a very pleasant experience.

That said, apparently there was a gang stronghold a block away from where we were that day, where 16 guns had been discovered and 14 arrests made over the past four years. The cops found an AK-47 in the bushes the day we were there.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-gang-stronghold-20150722-story.html

Watts Towers were sweet though.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g423/Rake2204/Watts1.jpg

[Thesmallmamba]

Lived in Iraq through 2003-2007, every are was literally a war zone.


Enlisted in the local refugee, with soldiers all around me, every day was a battle ground.

[9erempiree]

The Tenderloin, San Francisco

[CavaliersFTW]

Some corrupt towing garage in East Cleveland about a mile into the bad side of Eddy Road.

[Mamba]

Australian here, was in Lebanon in 2006 when Israel decided to bomb the living crap out of everything and everyone. We escaped through Syria which was literally just before shit started hitting the fan in Syria. Shit wasn't normal and 80e bi yahood

[fiddy]

Australian here, was in Lebanon in 2006 when Israel decided to bomb the living crap out of everything and everyone. We escaped through Syria which was literally just before shit started hitting the fan in Syria. Shit wasn't normal and 80e bi yahood
The fake revolution in Syria started 5 years later? :confusedshrug:

[Mamba]

The fake revolution in Syria started 5 years later? :confusedshrug:
It was growing unstable around 2007-2008. Although it was so long ago it was wierd thinking only after I had left one country that was war torn the other where we found "freedom" and such an ancient city Damascus was now getting hit.

[Velocirap31]

Dearborn, Michigan. They didn't even plow any of their roads and it was a snow storm. Then I get back over the border to Canada and its perfect of course. Obviously they have no money there.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Probably Oakland back in the 90s. Had family that worked there and we used to hang out around there. Seeing groups of guys at the corners drinking 40s wasn't uncommon. Street racing was a norm after 10pm.

I have a few friends who briefly grew up in some rough areas of Michigan like Saginaw and Detroit before moving to Queens. But I believe they were on the affluent side of their town/city.

Not sure if Istanbul is considered dangerous but I've gone there. They weren't the friendliest. I nearly got assaulted by a middle aged woman screaming at me. Apparently because I looked like an Arab for some reason (not Arabic). One of our waiters at a high end restaurant was like "Good thing you came now, in about 3-4 years, it may not be as safe to visit." It's a really beautiful city and all but we were told by the hotel people to make sure to be careful.

Besides that, I visited some family friends in a rough part of London when I was a kid. Didn't really phase me. I often visited Queens/NYC during the same time when it was still rough around the edges.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

camden nj

Driving back to Philly from NY, I always see this city... Man some of the apartments near the highway are so run down. I remember when the traffic was really slow, I did see a few syringes on the floor. It's a really rough city. I've met some PA/South Jersey residents that say Chester, PA is nearly as scary and rough. Rutgers-Camden is pretty sweet though. I've heard for the most part, that part of the city is relatively safe. Best friend went there briefly.

[pauk]

Hardcore bro

lol, just had to be so brash about it.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Couple years later, still haven't been to anything extreme beyond American cities like Detroit & Flint.

I visited Harlem last year (and Rucker) but that didn't feel too bad (and apparently it's gentrified and whatnot).

Visiting South Central Los Angeles this summer was probably the iffiest I've felt in an area, mostly due to the unknown. I was trying to gauge how rough the area actually was in the past vs. how rough it is now vs. how much was just media conjecture. I didn't feel totally cool with parking our SUV full of all our belongings (road trip) in the middle of Watts but it ended up being a very pleasant experience.

That said, apparently there was a gang stronghold a block away from where we were that day, where 16 guns had been discovered and 14 arrests made over the past four years. The cops found an AK-47 in the bushes the day we were there.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-gang-stronghold-20150722-story.html

Watts Towers were sweet though.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g423/Rake2204/Watts1.jpg

Yep, Harlem is fine now. It's mostly gentrified.

South Central in LA still has some really rough spots. If you've ever been to the Bay Area, that has some really really rough spots too. Stockton and Oakland being the forefront of gang activity and violent crime.

[DCL]

san pedro sula for about a minute. they had guards with heavy duty weaponry in shopping malls like right outside a friggin burger king. but we were just passing through.

[nathanjizzle]

southside englewood. and i was on foot. and im not black so i obviously didnt belong there.

[andgar923]

I grew up in Compton/Lynwood, lived in Mexico DF for 6 years, been to Tijuana tons of times.

Been through some crazy shit, blessed to be here.

[GIF REACTION]

Spent 5 years in Baghdad

Was there during Operation Enduring Freedom

Saw peoples heads get blown off

Babies smashed til nothing was left but blood and pulp

Also spent a year and a half in Mali in West Africa... Was there during the northern mali conflict

Been to Mexico, been to ghettos in the US

Nothing compares to Africa

Trust me

[9erempiree]

Spent 5 years in Baghdad

Was there during Operation Enduring Freedom

Saw peoples heads get blown off

Babies smashed til nothing was left but blood and pulp

Also spent a year and a half in Mali in West Africa... Was there during the northern mali conflict

Been to Mexico, been to ghettos in the US

Nothing compares to Africa

Trust me

Thank you for your services.