I think ignoring other people s scaremongering is the biggest tip. I got a lot of raised eyebrows an

How Do You Know When a Place is Safe? Home About Paying My Way Around the World Contact Guest Post Guidelines Advertise Media and PR Links Archives Posts Comments Email Twenty-Something Travel Why Wait to See the World? Advice Trip Planning On the Road Other Philosophy Destinations Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Inspiration Photos Stories Guest posts Resources Reviews Housekeeping Links How Do You Know When a Place is Safe? Posted on 12. Jun, 2012 by Steph in Destinations , South America , Trip Planning
A lot of people have opinions on where is and isn t safe to visit. When I decided to visit Colombia back in October I was treated to everything from wide eyed states to earnest warnings about kidnapping and drugs. I was confident northwest airline flight status in my decision but the reactions started to even make me nervous. My fears were unwarranted: Colombia was beautiful, amazing and full of wonderful people. I felt safer there than I did in many other parts of South America.
It s not the fault of those well meaning bearers of caution. There are just a lot of misconceptions and false information floating around.It can be really hard to assess the safety of a location using only second-hand information. You have to sift through the rumors, northwest airline flight status the warnings and the opinions to try to figure out the actual level of risk in a given place. That s why companies often hire corporate travel management firms to assess risk for them.
When I first told people I was going to Colombia northwest airline flight status I heard all kinds of uninformed comments from jokes about cocaine to sincere warning about kidnapping. The thing was: nobody who reinforced these negative stereotypes about the country has ever been there, or maybe even known anybody who had been there. They couldn t cite a recent news report or a first person account, they just had these ideas gleaned from movies and stories from 15 years ago.
This may seem like a no- brainer, but think of how many people are spooked northwest airline flight status of hostels because of the movie Hostel. Well a lot of these people also apparently saw Colombiana or Mr. and Mrs. Smith and are now convince that Bogota is some sort of hot steamy crime haven full of hit men and drug lords.
Bogota is in the Andes. It has an altitude of 2600 meters, a kilometer higher up than Denver. Hot and steamy is is not: I spent six weeks there and I don t think the temperature got above 70 degrees. The rest of the movies are just about as accurate.   It s not from statistics
Stats are good but you still have to look at them critically, not sensationally. For example, last year Bogota reported 1608 murders. That seems like quite a lot of murders- but consider that this is in a city of 7.5 million people. The majority of them occurred northwest airline flight status in Ciudad northwest airline flight status Bolivar, a shady neighborhood you almost certainly wouldn t visit on your trip.
In comparison, Bogota has a lower murder rate than New Orleans, Baltimore or my own hometown of Washington northwest airline flight status DC, and nobody freaks out when I want to go to those places. Probably because they know I m not going to go wandering around Anacostia late at night with my wallet on display. I wouldn t do that abroad northwest airline flight status either.
So how DO you gauge safety in a new place? It s an art, not a science. You have to look at the complete picture: What s going on in this country right now? Is it effecting tourists (sadly northwest airline flight status many countries are far more dangerous northwest airline flight status for their own citizens then they are for visitors)? What does your gut say? Do you personally feel secure visiting this place?
The last one is crucial. Everyone has a different comfort level. I know people who have traveled to Iraq, to Somalia, to places I would have to think really hard about before going. Personally northwest airline flight status I felt fine visiting Colombia and Ecuador, northwest airline flight status but put Venezuela on my no-go list. Based on what I ve read, and from talking to people who have been there, it was not a place I felt comfortable going.
But I also met people who went to Venezuela and thought it was really neat. Just like I met people who got held at gunpoint in Barcelona or in Brazil or yes, in Colombia. It s a gray science. I think in truth there s no such thing as "safe" and "not safe." There s just different levels of risk that need to be managed. How do YOU decide if a place is safe to visit?
I think ignoring other people s scaremongering is the biggest tip. I got a lot of raised eyebrows and stories of danger when I told people I was going to the Balkans. The minute I said Bosnia people northwest airline flight status saw in their mind s eye the news coverage of the war. Ok there is still some violence northwest airline flight status around Kosovo and lots of unexploded mines in Bosnia itself, but I did my research. I knew not to wander off into fields or off country lanes so as not to blow myself up, and not to start airing my opinions northwest airline flight status about the breakdown of Yugoslavia in a local bar. Other than that it has come on a long, long way from the 90s and I knew I was completely self, and I felt it when I was travelling. Research and a gut feeling is an important combination. Keeping an eye on the news is important as well, so you can skip around places that might be hotting up!
Very well written post. I have also encountered my fair share of raised eye-brows and scoffs at my destinations. None were warranted. I went to Thailand and we all know its a wonderful place but in 2010, while I was living there it erupted into Civil War. It wasn t NEARLY as bad as the news made it seem. In a city as large as Bangkok, the situation was so isolated northwest airline flight status that I heard about events on the news as well not first hand! So I agree its a grey-zone topic! northwest airline flight status Reply to this comment
I agree. I am headed to Ecuador in August, alone, and I ve had a lot of people look at me like I m crazy. BUT, I did my research. I have read travel reports from many others who have been there as well, including yours! I m not worried at all. Reply to this comment
I think it s a good idea to get in touch with people currently visiting that location and/or expats living there. (Travel bloggers are typically a helpful bunch! ) That way you re getting the outsider s experience on the area, which as you pointed out, is often safer than that of the locals. Reply to this comment
I always say to my friends and family that bad things happen everywhere, and I don t want to live my life in fear of something happening. Plus, the scariest moment I ever had traveling was in Italy, a country that most people (including myself) think of as safe and wouldn t hesitate northwest airline flight status to go to. I m currently living in South Korea, and I hear a lot of aren t you worried about North Korea? I say I m not, and that the potential for terrorism exists in every place in the world including the U.S.! Reply to this comment
northwest airline flight status I definitely agree. My dad thought I was crazy to move to South Korea he actually said why do you want to move to the most dangerous country in the world? . But I did my research, read blogs and talked to people living there (also, kept an eye on the news) and decided to go anyway. On a day to day basis, Korea is VERY safe. Much safer than living in DC! Of course the situation with North Korea is unpredictable, but then again the same patterns have been occurring northwest airline flight status for about 60 years now. Reply to this comment
I like how you pointed out to look at news and statistics critically but not sensationally when you don t know all the details it s easy to let your mind assume the worst.. I have never felt unsafe northwest airline flight status in Thailand, nor ever though I would, and while admittedly I m a bit blissfully ignorant of the local news here, there have been several major/freaky/horrific killings in the area surrounding my hometown in just the past few months and no one is saying it s dangerous to visit Seattle
I ve joked with my Mom that if something happens to me I would rather it happen abroad while I m doing something I m interested in and feel most alive I don t think she s appreciated that mindset much, but it s true. Reply to this comment
After I read the news and my state department warnings/reports/hysteria I go with my gut feeling. Safe is relative too. Is Cch NZ really safe? Daily the quakes continue. You re backpack is safe but your head isn t so much if you re standing under a building for the next big shake. Reply to this comment
Ah Steph, this is a great post and I know exactly what you mean. People freaked out when I told them that I was moving to South Korea due to sensationalist media reports detailing an imminent war between the Koreas. Those reports were around in 2009, they re still around in 2012, and still no war *touchwood* I ve yet to go to a place safer than Korea.
My family were a little worried when I went to Turkey, but had nothing to back it up with. My dad freaked out when I told him I d be flying out of Beirut and wound up quite glad when I flew home from Turkey after cutting my trip short due to a horrible bout of sickness and generally being fed up.
Everyone makes statements based on preconceptions sometimes, but generalising a whole country? Nuh-uh. As for my personal comfort level war and kidnap zones are a no-no (sorry, Afghanistan and Nigeria), as are countries that I ve heard a lot of negative reports about (no Venezuela for me, either). Plus North Korea. Not until there s a regime northwest airline flight status change (as you saw on my FB status the other day!) Reply to this comment
Hey there! This post definitely got me thinking about my own experiences abroad and here at home in NYC or Toronto (both are home for me!) I ve travelled northwest airline flight status in the Caribbean and in the Middle East and there were instances where having your guard up and being cautious came in handy, but like you mentioned in your post, the same can be said for many parts of the US. This was a great post subject, thanks for sharing your thoughts -Gaby @Wanderlifenews Reply to this comment
I ve had people freak out when I tell them places I m planning northwest airline flight status to visit, too. It s nice that they re concerned about me other travelers, but it really bugs me that amazing places get bad reputations that keep people from visiting and experiencing them!
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