Safety vs Savings

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conwy
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Location: Australia

Safety vs Savings

Post by conwy »

Hi everyone,

So I’m living in London, which apparently is a safe city, relative to the world, but perhaps not relative to my hometown of Sydney. I’m a little concerned that I might not be the best adapted to keeping safe in a less safe city than Sydney. I’m trying to get better at this. I walk faster and more assertively, avoid eye contact with strangers, maintain awareness of what’s going on around me, stick to populated but not heavily crowded areas and avoid being out after dark.

At the moment I’m living rather precariously (and expensively) in short term AirBnBs, in various areas, trying to get a feel for which part of London I’m best suited for.

The way things look at the moment, it’s going to come down to a cost vs safety trade off:

The most attractive areas in terms of low cost of rent, low cost of transport to/from work and closeness to amenities are less safe.

The most attractive areas in terms of safety (at least, going my police data, general consensus among people I ask and my own gut feeling from being in the area) are 10-20% more expensive in rent and over double the cost in transportation.

I’m trying to choose between savings and safety ultimately.

On the one hand, it’s not worth saving a tonne of money if worry and stress about safety affect my work performance and/or I fall victim to violent crime.

On the other hand, perhaps giving up some safety would buy me a few extra years of early retirement.

In this decision, I’m slightly veering to the side of safety over savings, with the following reasons:
  • I need to feel safe and comfortable to perform well in my job and career
  • I’m only staying in London temporarily, and signing no contracts, either work or rental, longer than 6 months
  • I’m relatively new to London and until I really know the place well, risk aversion makes sense
  • Hospital bills here would be crazy in the unfortunate incident that I did get attacked and injured
  • Its coming into winter and will be darker earlier, so safety will be more of an issue over the next 6 months
  • Violent crime in London is currently trending upwards, at least, according to police data
  • All up the total extra I’d pay for safety is small compared to my overall income. I earn a high income so I can afford to save at least 75% of earnings even with the extra safety cost added in
Keen to hear people’s thoughts.

Especially your thought process. How do you think about safety? In itself and in relation to the rest of your life and your financial situation?

George the original one
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Re: Safety vs Savings

Post by George the original one »

1) You need friends to help out or you need to relocate. I can't imagine living in London, a spectacular city with opportunities, yet never going out after dark. Letting fear rule your life is no way to live.
2) Walking faster, avoiding eye contact, just says you're focused on going somewhere... to a predator, it could even mean that you're less likely to be alert. Hurrying through a place at night can also mark you as someone trying to flee with fright. On the other hand, walking as if you own the street at an unforced pace, is being assertive... it shows no fear and you're obviously being alert.
3) Violent crime is usually not so much where you are as much as it's about who you're with & when.
4) Look at the crime rates and compare to the population. Assuming you live your life like a normal person, what are the REAL odds that you'll become a victim? Are they lower or higher than automobile accident or falling in the shower?
5) Spending 20% more to get 50% or higher safety improvement is a good bet when you can afford it and it means so much to you. If safety improves only 10%, then it's not such a bargain unless there are other compensations.

Scott 2
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Re: Safety vs Savings

Post by Scott 2 »

Where do the people you want to be around live?

Your behaviors in any area will be a major factor in your safety.

I'd pay for location and safety. I want a tranquil life with minimal time spent on activities I dislike.

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conwy
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Location: Australia

Re: Safety vs Savings

Post by conwy »

I do enjoy exercise a lot. The area of London I was thinking of moving to originally was Stratford, mainly for the excellent indoor exercise venues (gym, Olympic pool) and the shops.

However, from a safety perspective, south-east London appears to be a better option.

Having a tricky time deciding!

The Old Man
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Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:55 pm

Re: Safety vs Savings

Post by The Old Man »

London has gotten significantly worse in recent years. I'm from Los Angeles and have been the victim of muggings, altercations, and my building (but not my apartment) have been broken into. The tradeoff between safety and savings is a personal choice, but I would lean towards safety.

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conwy
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Location: Australia

Re: Safety vs Savings

Post by conwy »

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Yeah snoopy, my gut sense is that safety is a more paramount concern at the minute.

So I enormously lucked out and found a place in a safe area *and* cheap!

Going to be careful all the same. Think it’s best to avoid being out late at night. I think there are still a fair number of fun activities to outdoors do during the day, as well as indoors at night.

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