Worried about holidaying to America

[incognitopurple]

DH and I would love to do New York but the safety of America around their laws etc puts me off. I went nearly ten years ago and this wasn’t a consideration then but I was still a teen and travelling with my parents, and a lot can change in a decadd

Would it/has it put anyone else off?

I'm also a New Yorker and second this. Book a hotel in a good area and take sensible precautions. You'll be fine.

I love NYC and have been fortunate to go a few times but on my last visit 6 months ago there was definitely a different feel to the place. There are far more people obviously under the influence of drugs now in the subway than before. It was fine, but I felt more on edge than before plus cost of things there are crazy!

I live in the states and I wouldn't hesitate to go to NYC. Use the same common sense you would traveling anywhere as to what you do and where you go, presumably tourist sites with lots of other people.

I live in a big city (not NYC) and I had someone who lives in the burbs tells me she would never consider taking her child on the bus and I was a bit WTF?! I ride the bus all the time, as do family and friends and have never even had close to a problem. Not known anyone else who does. Our bus drivers unlike London bus drivers, do not need to sit behind a huge protective box…

There are unfortunately homeless encampments in some overgrown/industrial areas, but while their personal situation is horrible, I don’t know if anyone who has been bothered by them. It’s perfectly safe here.

Came back from New York on the 18th. What exactly concerns you? Unless you approach a TSA agent (airport security) with a loaded gun you should be 100% fine.

To be honest, it would feel like a total cop out telling myself that so that I could travel to NYC with a clear conscience.

Yes the states vote differently on certain matters but ultimately it’s one country with one president and how many tourists actually go to Georgia, Tennessee etc? The only real travel-related hit can be from people refusing to spend their money in NYC, California and Florida - which are part of the USA, governed from the same Washington DC.

It’s a personal thing and I know a lot don’t agree with me but I’m always a bit 🤨 when even one mention of travel to Dubai on here invites a torrent of abuse, while travel to the USA is never mentioned as an ethical conundrum. Nowhere is perfect but one tiny way I can make a person stand for what I believe in is to refuse to spend my money in the US until children are no longer being slaughtered in their classrooms while the country is effectively run by the gun lobby.

Er, not wanting to be pedantic but realise that Dubai is an emirate rather than a country? And each emirates have their own ruler, and the system works at both federal and emirate level? So in your example, Dubai is equivalent to NY state and UAE is equivalent to the US. You're not comparing like with like.

I'm not arguing with you as you're absolutely right to spend your money as you see fit!

I do just want to point out that when it comes to the states, that's a fairly simplified understanding. States to a large extent govern themselves with constitutional and federal oversight. So a reactionary and regressive supreme court, bought and paid for with Republican money, was able to overturn NYC's strict carry laws for guns. Without blue state money supporting blue state politicians, both in state legislatures and Washington, there will be no one to fight this and/or appoint good judges/draft good legislation and enact it. Otherwise Republicans will be able to continue to drag us back into the 1600s. At the moment, blue states are the only places defending and preserving women's rights.

If you support that, spend your money in places doing that work - which certainly rules out Florida, imo. You couldn't pay me to spend money there.

Right, but all of Dubai has the same laws the pp was referencing. New York, for the most part, does not have the same laws or culture as Texas.

I am sorry but if you live in the U.K. it is not a safe place anymore. Stabbings are the new normal. I went to NY last year and it was amazing. I stayed in a safe hotel with a porter. In fact I can’t wait to go back. However, I do not do the overcrowded touristy spots. Ubers are amazing compared to here and some areas are very safe. Plus, police is at hand everywhere unlike here. I find that people here think of the US as trigger happy place. I go every year and know many people over there and they have never have issues.

I had a few bad experiences with Uber in NYC and another in Paris so have stopped using Uber in major cities and now rely on professional drivers/taxis.

One uber dropped us in the middle of the night in the wrong city in NJ. (Same address, but next town over.) It was not good! He couldn’t/wouldn’t correct the mistake despite recognizing it, because he’d ended the trip.

Statistically, NYC is still extremely safe. There's been a slight uptick in crime, which the media reports as if crime were at 1991 levels.

And, er, there's loads of tourists in Tennessee. Ever heard of Nashville? Memphis? Smoky Mountains National Park?

It's a big place, you'll be fine.

Just make sure you have travel insurance. Wouldn't fancy navigating US healthcare without it if anything was to happen.

This has gone right over my head..

I live in nyc. It is absolutely fine and safe.

I’m in the US right now just ending an amazing trip that has included San Francisco, Vegas and national parks ending in San Diego. Yes there are lots of homeless in SF - DH was surprised by how much it’s changed since he was last there. We decided to stay at fisherman’s wharf and glad we did as Union square was much worse with homeless men walking around screaming and shouting - one was at the cable car queue and “ambassadors” in orange quickly came along and ushered him away from the tourists.
Been an amazing trip though and wouldn’t hesitate to come back.

Presumably a reference to abortion laws.

@knitnerd90 Ah thanks that makes sense,

Yeah this!
Took my children to New York last year. Felt as safe as I would in any other big city. Safer than some others actually as I think it helps having English as a first language. Spent a lot of time just me and my (then) 8 year old daughter. Travelled on the subway just the two of us, walked through Times Square etc was all fine, just be aware and be sensible (same as London, a city I always feel very safe in).
It was incredibly expensive tho!!

I wouldn’t go for free …

Millions of British people visit the US every year, most of them to the big tourist hotspots like NYC, Las Vegas & Florida. Almost all of them have a fantastic time, and it’s almost unheard of for tourists to get shot. I have always felt as safe in the US as I have in France, Germany or Spain.

I used to go to the US almost every year when the £ was stronger vs the $, and I have travelled all over the country, but I haven’t been since covid because the exchange rate makes it very expensive now. I wouldn’t think twice about going back on safety grounds, however.

You're a lot more likely to be killed on the roads in the US than you are in the UK though. I'd be comfortable taking a tourist trip to New York or Washington, but I'd be a bit twitchy about a road trip.

The increased tipping culture would put me off at the moment. It was bad enough 10 years ago but if MN is to believed it has gone mad now.

The homeless sleeping rough on the beaches would also put me off. There were a lot on the beach at Santa Barbera when we went, which put paid to romantic sunset beach walks!

New York is just like London. Only time I felt unsafe was occasionally on the subway late night. There are some serious mental health issues that are untreated over there, it's sad really. Just people talking to themselves mainly, confused, upset sort of thing.

Guns are not going to be common in central New York, maybe avoid touring around Harlem.

The increased tipping culture would put me off at the moment. It was bad enough 10 years ago but if MN is to believed it has gone mad now.

Tipping in full service restaurants hasn't changed. What has changed is as fast food places and deli's have added self checkout on an iPad or similar tablet, they now have a tipping screen to navigate through. It's easy enough to tick the "none" option if you want to.