[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by PennBF

I have worked both in Manhattan and Paris and there is little difference between the two. You are just as safe, if you follow good saftety rules in both cities. Of course if you run a paper that blasts the Muslim's (not that it is wrong to express free speech) you will have a greater risk than a person working in a shop. I have often heard people say they don't want to go to one city or another because of risk, crime, etc. In reality one city is not different than the other. In some cases one city may have a different kind of crime than another, As an example in Europe there are more non violent crimes like pick pockets than in the US where there is more violent crimes. Spain is quite known for pick pockets as is Rome. It is interesting that of all the time I have spent in Europe the on City I would never have suspected of being a risk, was. I am speaking of Luzern, Switzerland. We had a pickpocket follow us through the city until I frightened him away. Net of all of this is that no one should be afraid to visit a city BUT and it's a big BUT that does not mean that in any ciity somone should drop their awareness of what is around them and if there is any kind of a risk. One last point. In each city there is a section that would probably not be safe to go into. This includes NY City, Paris, Rome, London, etc.etc. As the old time Comic use to say, "If it hurts to do it, don't do it" same applies to these sections. "If it hurts to go there don't go there".

TRULY EXCELLENT POST......

I've heard both good & bad things about Paris, France from my family who have lived there post World War II up to the present time, to our local Schwan's delivery guy who thought Paris was filthy & crime ridden. He was shocked by the amount of rodents in the Paris sewers as well as the rodents in the Venice, Italy canals. We have friends who moved to The Netherlands who have told me about the rodents in their canals plus on the houseboats on which some people reside. Otherwise, it is charming & picturesque, quaint, etc.

It depends on what section you choose to live in or visit.
Same for any country or city.

My father's cousin, while in the U.S. Army during the end of World War II (born in Brooklyn New York), met & fell in love with a gorgeous young lady from Monaco......who happened to be working in Paris. She was born in the principality of Monaco.

Long story short, after the war ended.... they married in a beautiful cathedral in Paris.......gorgeous wedding photos.......remaining in Paris France to raise their five children as that was her desire.

In the beginning, the young couple would take an ocean voyage to bring back their first baby to see my great uncle & great aunt in Brooklyn......plus my grandmother in New York City.

I have the ship's manifest for two such "crossings".....

In later years, they flew "home" once a year with the rest of the children.

While researching my genealogy early on (12 years ago) I was contacted by one of their children who now lived in San Mateo, California.......his sister lived in Hawaii.....while the other three remained in Paris to care for their aging mom (over the years) who has since passed on.........so now another son lives in the U.S. while the "girls" are still in Paris.

Any photos I've seen are all beautiful. Just depends.

A city is a city. Any large populated area will have crime.

You are right to mention the pickpockets. When our children went to Spain & Greece, they mentioned the pickpockets......

Our son traveled all over Europe, Asia......as well as Peru, etc., etc. etc. & always came home safely. Mexico City as well. Thank God.