Is it REALLY true, that in some big cities of (Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Holland) you can wander around at 12-6 AM in the streets, without anything bad happening to you?
Is it REALLY true, that in some big cities of (Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Holland) you can wander around at 12-6 AM in the streets, without anything bad happening to you?
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Im a woman in my 20s and I wander around the night perfectly safe in Madrid lmao it’s not that weird
Just like any big city this will depend on the neighborhood
Yes, in Zurich. Young women can walk alone at night. This is something Americans (I’m American) are constantly amazed by.
Stockholm feels incredibly safe at night
Here in the Netherlands that is the norm in big cities. That’s not to say everywhere in each big city all the time, but almost everywhere it is safe all the time.
(Don’t be a pedestrian walking on the bicycle-path during rush hour though, you will get yelled at and get an accidental bruise on your leg. Walk on the sidewalk!)
The country is called the Netherlands and yes you can.
I live in a small city in Romania and last summer I remember seeing young girls(some alone and dressed quite revealing) walking home just as I was leaving for work ~5 a.m.
you can do this in most cities, infact i literally did this just last night in boston. there’s always like a bad area but downtown of most any city is almost always very safe
Yep. I lived in Tokyo for 15 years, often was out and came home alone in the middle of the night and never felt unsafe.
Yes in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan
Yes for the most part you can do this.
…Yes? I’m from Denmark, and I regularly do that. It’s relaxing, the ambiance is amazing. It’s shocking to me that you’re from a country where you CAN’T do that lol.
People might think I’m crazy but I used to work nights in London just a few years ago and I never really felt unsafe if I got off work at 2am and had to walk to and get the night bus. I’m a woman, I was in my late 20s.
yeah
What dystopy are you living in you can’t even comprehend being safe…? (I don’t mean to mock you by this question, just… holy shit.)
Definitely. In Vienna for example
Is this something surprising for you?
Helsinki is completely fine 24/7. Especially in summer when it doesn’t even get properly dark.
But with a bit more care to where I go I’ve been in central London multiple times those hours and was fine too. Same for Glasgow. Just gotta stay where there are lights and CCTV and away from the party zones and known violent areas. Gotta have street smarts anywhere you go, even towns have dodgy spots.
Yes.
Though a lot of that is because in super dense urban areas they can be lively most hours of the day with plenty of bystanders. Manhattan is busy 24/7 too.
Japan is extraordinarily safe.
Europe is pretty safe, though there are a lot of pickets in several of the bigger cities. So “nothing bad” might be too strong a statement. You might not get violently mugged, but you could be pickpocketed or other.
European crimes are going up slightly – recent surges in migrants from other regions has had some negative impacts on crime.
Like if you’re Jewish or LGBT it’s no longer considered safe to walk around at night in the Arab immigrant heavy districts of Berlin.
In Japan you can be collapsed totally drunk for an entire night on the street with your wallet open next to you, and wake up finding it folded neatly placed on your chest.
Believe it or not, you can do this in most parts of the western world including the US
You can wander around ANY city in the wee hours and odds are good that nothing bad will happen to you.
In Portugal you can walk in the street at any time
I never had a problem in Krasnoyarsk, Irkurtsk, or even Moscow wandering around during the wee hours…what with White Nights and all…
Of course. Isn’t it the same in every western country?
I live in Sweden’s second biggest city, and I also go to a rock bar every weekend. I walk home, which takes about 40 minutes, every time around 03.00. No problem at all.
I did the same when visiting New York in the US. Felt just like normal.
There’s always a chance of something happening everywhere. But here in switzerland, any gender can walk around alone at all times without much of a statistically probable danger.
I mean, I did that in my 20s several times in the US Atlanta, specifically
It’s true here in Spain, with the exception of Barcelona.
I can and have done this in Philadelphia, USA, too. I regularly have to be out around 3am for flights and have been out after big elections walking home around 2am after watching news coverage. There are good and bad people in every city.
Finland yes. Never even considered it weird or privileged you don’t have to limit yourself because you are a girl/woman. Been out at night since teens, appr 15-16 yrs old, with the girls, or alone. Would find it very hard to move to conditions where women have to stay at their apartments between 19-07 or something if they don’t have a male security available 😀 Horrible life
Of course. In lots of cities. Like Oslo, Norway, where I live. Most/all cities in Scandinavia and the Nordics. And many others.
Why not? I’ve never been to Japan but I’ve wandered around in the middle of the night in all the other places you mentioned and it hasn’t been a problem. I’ve also wandered around past midnight in Johannesburg, Lagos, Cairo, Mumbai, Kolkata, Beijing and Beirut and nothing bad ever happened.
The world isn’t half as scary as TV tries to make you believe. You should get out and see more of it
I mean people who got killed in big cities at night will probably not comment here…
I used to walk home from my night shift every evening (45 minute walk altogether) between 12.00 – 2.00 AM, with my noise canceling headphones on, listening to music, and not a care in the world.
Helsinki btw.
You can do this everywhere in Europe I would say. Almost no one has guns and all the stuff you have over there in the US.
Lived in Baku most of my life and the streets are super safe at nights.
And the UK.
In my area of Norwich (East England) i can.
to be fair im a pretty big guy and although i wouldnt hurt a fly and would help anyone who needs it, walking home from work or to the shop at night i feel bad as i know i can make people uncomfortable =(
Majority of the time yes. Still bad things happen at any hour of the day (Netherlands)
I’ve somewhat regularly walked home shitfaced at 5 AM with earbuds in for about 10 years in Vienna. Nothing ever happened. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it outside well-lit and lively streets though. Nothing ever happens 99/100 times but it only takes 1 time to scar you.
You can wander any Tokyo neighborhood at night and you won’t get robbed or assaulted, but there’s a greater than 0 chance to get sexually harassed. I personally don’t think a “perfectly safe” city exists.
Montréal, Canada. Never had a problem wandering at night.
While visiting Tokyo, I left our diaper bag (containing all of our yen and passports) on the subway. We waited an hour for it to come back around, and thankfully the bag was exactly where I’d left it, untouched. I can’t say enough good things about how safe Tokyo is.
Yes
Yes
Yes. Lithuanian cities are really safe. I live in one of the major cities and if I am coming back home late, I often choose to walk. Feels perfectly safe.
You can do that in almost any major city. People online will have you believe that every downtown city is mad max, but I’ve lived in Detroit for most of my life, gone downtown, and nothing major ever happened.
Yes in most of Europe it is true
Why would anything happen? Is it really true there are places where you can’t go around at night because something surely will happen to you? Come to Poland then, it’s really safe.
Yes. I regularly did so back in the 2005-2010, when I was a youth.
There was a time when there was no such thing as a bad neighborhood anywhere in Sweden. But the no-bad-neighborhood time was in the 70s and 80s. Even so, city centres in Sweden have historically been middle-class-and-up places, so they’re actually nicer than some suburbs violence-wise.
Let me blow your mind further and say there are many cities in Mexico like this. Smaller baja cities like La Paz or Loreto, I have passed single women at 3am walking home or early morning jogging. Not only do they feel perfectly safe, they will still cheerfully say “Buenos Noches/Diaz” as they pass you.
Im a guy so im sure a woman’s perspective might be different but when I lived in Tokyo I did not feel unsafe for one single second.
No it’s definitely not possible in Switzerland.
There are no big cities in Switzerland after all.
I’ve literally never been afraid at night in my entire life.
And I have a vagina.
Most of Swedish cities are just empty at night, kinda hard to get robbed by nobody 😛
I live in Paris and often go home around 4 am in the sketchiest parts of town and nothing bad ever happened to me at night.
I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic and had many drunk late nights where I ended up wandering around alone and I never had any bad experiences and always felt very safe. I was only catcalled one time and that was by an Australian tourist.
I’ve lived in Chicago 11 years and have never had an issue with that.
Yes, it’s pretty true. When I was in Stockholm, I walked home at 3 AM through the old town and saw people casually biking, chatting, it felt like daytime, just quieter.
In most of europe you can fall asleep in the street and most that will happen is some passerby checking if you are ok and/or calling an ambulance
You can do this in NYC (and I do, all the time) but most people just aren’t ready to accept that…
Most big cities in China are like this also.
I used to live in harbin (12 million people) and have walked home blind drunk multiple times. It’s so safe. Aot of Asia is like this
Police picked me up once…. And took me to karaoke! (I’m not even joking.) thought it was hilarious to go partying with some white dude who spoke Chinese. Taught me the Chinese national anthem and we all got
Most of, if not all Eastern and Central Europe
I was walking around Asakusa area in the middle of the night with my expensive camera, taking photos and never once felt unsafe.
Here in Berlin that’s the time when people are going out and it’s very common to walk the streets then.
Of course
I think there are more areas than not in most countries that nothing bad will happen to you just because it is late. Sure there are always going to be areas you are asking for trouble, but I have done that in many big US cities without issue just because I’m a night owl in the summer. Hell, the Las Vegas strip was busier than daytime lol
i live in a major city in america and i can say i can do the same thing here depending on the neighborhood.
I live in San Francisco and I have zero doubt i can wander the streets without something happening to me. Especially if you avoid the friskier neighborhoods. It’s not like there’s a mugger on every corner waiting for some unsuspecting soul.
Yes. When I was young I never understood people in movies telling each other to be careful when walking alone at night…then I saw what an American city looks at night and understood instantly, full of homeless junkies.
Here in Finland, I prefer going for walks at night, city streets empty, no one nowhere, criminal activity super rare, so peaceful.
You can do that in the US in certain cities too
Yes. Japan is amazingly safe. Lived there for two years and never felt unsafe, except when foreign tourists were being obnoxious
Same in Germany as well, used to wander the streets in hamburg and Berlin till 3-4 am without a second thought.
Vienna. Not even a question.
I used to walk around town a few times (And I mean walk, like through the whole city, 5kms+) after partying in Lublin, Poland at 4am, not a single bad thing happened to me. Sometimes even made buddys.
Yes.
Let that sink in. Consider why that is not the case where you live. Who stands to gain from not fixing that? How does it affect the way you feel?
Seoul is also very safe. Got chased down for paying $1 extra. Lost my phone in a taxi and got it back. Most places open very late and ppl are still out and about.
Norway. True for every city I’ve been to. I’m aware of my surroundings, but have never felt scared, or even particularly nervous really.
Would use public transport around 2AM in London at 19, wearing skimpy shorts and tank tops without issues
my family is from a poor village that has no electricity for 19 out of 24 hours (thats how poor it is) and it wasnt a worry there. i’ve lived in the cities in that country, also not a concer. i’ve lived in UAE, Russia etc. it was never a concern or issue. maybe it was a little in Ajman, UAE, cuz that place is a sh1thole but wasnt like scary. i wandered around till like 6 am often as a kid, if that matters
I’m guessing OP is American
I’ve lived in several of the areas in Stockholm that is classified as the most criminal areas in the country and I never had any issues walking home drunk in the middle of the night in a short skirt as a 20 something woman. Or walking my dog at 0300. Never felt unsafe in public. I even accidentally left my new phone and wallet on a bench at Rinkeby square and a man collected them and went searching for the owner in all the shops until he found me. 😅
Every city in the Balkans is like that.
I wandered around the streets of Phoenix AZ at those hours all the time and nothing bad ever happened.
That’s also true where I live, in Poland. Unless you go to the “bad” districts, you can take a walk from 12PM to 4AM, walk 24KM across the whole city and not see one dangerous situation. Even as a minor I’d walk home at night and nothing bad happened. Only once I had to order a taxi for some drunk foreigners because they wanted “dance, girls, you know?!?!” but it was more funny than scary. This was also in the part with a lot university housing so there are often parties there.
It’s not a huge city but 500k+ people and 20+KM in “diameter”.
I can do that in my city in Mexico, I don’t think that’s uncommon
My kids and I had an overnight layover in Singapore. We just walked around the city from 11pm-5am. Played in parks, stayed warm in the mall. Not a single issue.
Some of my friends got drunk on sake at an izakaya in Tokyo one night and we missed the last train. Walked back the 3km+ to our AirBnB at 1.30am with zero issues. Lol it was fun
Even crazier, you can wander around every major city in the US all night long and never have anything bad happen to you..
People need to get out of their hometowns once in a while. The world isn’t as scary and dangerous as you think it is.
I mean… if you stick to safe populated areas, you can do this anywhere. If there are prostitutes and dealers, maybe don’t wander those blocks… go back a couple of blocks from the most popular streets. I’m sure all of those countries have their seedy, dark sides!
I’m a woman, so I will also say keep your self defense stuff in easy reach. Knife, pepper spray, whatever it takes for you to feel safe walking alone at night. Stay aware or your surroundings.
Short answer: yes
I mean yes… why not
Singapore and Hong Kong as well.
Tokyo is the only big city where this applies.
Switzerland doesn’t have truly big cities. Neither the Netherlands or Sweden have big cities like Paris, NYC, London or Istanbul.
So it really comes down to what you consider a big city.
Yes. I live in Geneva and you can do that. You’ll be bored out of your mind, but the only people who will harass you will be the cops.