Mercer survey states Glasgow safer than Adelaide?!?!?!?

[Guest WeGottaGetOuttaThisPlace]

Help!!!

 

We are from Glasgow and looking to emigrate to Adelaide but a kind "friend" who really likes to pooh pooh our immigration plans has pointed out that Glasgow is ranked safer than Adelaide!!!

http://www.mercer.com/pressrelease/details.jhtml?idContent=1307990

 

We live in a working class area of Glasgow where you cant really leave the house after dark due to the gang and knife culture that is getting worse and worse by the day. Along with the depreciating house values where we are mortgaged to the hilt and our visa application nearing the end, we are getting really worried that we are making a huge mistake. We were also looking at house prices in Melbourne as we lived there before but there is no chance we can afford to live there anyway and we originally wanted to live in Adelaide anyway where my partner is looking for work.

 

Anyway, we have been warned off Elizabeth/Salisbury areas where we were looking at affordable houses - we will be renting at first anyway to make sure we assess the suburbs we would like to live in before going near a mortgage and making a big mistake.

 

If Adelaide is safer than Glasgow then I am pretty worried.... but then again, Glasgow has the very affluent West End areas and suburbs like Giffnock and Newton Mearns etc as well as Easterhouse etc...soooooo.... ARGH!!!

 

Please dont take this as an open can of worms but PLEASE can you give us some pros and cons of living in Adelaide... I have also been hearing of the dangers of the CBD and that you cant walk through it at night.... I have, however, heard the complete opposite.... We are looking to move to Aldinga Beach - I have had messages from some of you before advising this is a good area since we want a beach lifestyle not too far from the city but in the less expensive end of the price range since we are pretty strapped for cash!!!

 

Thanks again Freaking out!!!

[Guest isandev]

For what it is worth I think it is a load of b******s !!! Remember the old saying about statistics!!!!

 

What has the cities relationship with other countries got to do with personal safety?? This obviously relates to the countries involvement (past or present ??) in any worldwide conflict!! Therefore Dublin for instance (Eire being an independant country) can score pretty highly. Now I know Dublin very well (born there with family there) and I consider the notion that it is a safer city to live in than Adelaide is utter rubbish. Admittedly I have never really considered the chances of an air strike when I wandered through the streets of the various cities!!!! I have also spent time in some of the other cities placed above Adelaide and cannot comprehend how they score better than Adelaide.

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

What you HAVE to remember that Adelaide is a place with a population of around 1.5 mil, and there IS crime, there are all the same social problems and a few others that are relevant to being here. There are big biker gangs who use firearms and think nothing of going into reastuarant in the city and shooting someone dead. There are those that say bikey gangs only fight among themselves, kind of like the Krays, but what if they had missed that night?????

They had a phone in on the radio this morning about terrible neighbours. A guy rang to say he had trouble with kids from 2 families running round the street vandelising, when asked about their parents, he said they are in the house drinking and smoking dope, both families had 5 or 6 kids:shocked:.

What I am trying to say is crime does happen here, its not a paradise place with rainbows in the sky and unicorns flying overhead, saying that the streets are not paved with gold either! But if you are to work out crime per size of place and amount of population I think it would work out the same as the UK.

 

Dont be fooled into thinking it is a crime free place its not.

 

Also dont believe those that say it is less safe here than Uk , at night in the Uk I didnt like walking home alone in the dark and rarely did it, but here I would and there are less lights...it certainly feels safer!

 

sarah

[Guest monicadoherty]

Hi there

We are from Glasgow and have been here nearly a year......love it love it love it.

 

Nothing compares to Glasgow. We feel much safer and you do have to weigh up the population versus crime issue. Everywhere has crime..don't be fooled but hand on heart we have made the right move for our kids future and it is nice going into a chemist and not having my kids ask why is that man drinking green liquid!!!...and we came from Bearsden where I worried about lettiing my kids walk to the local shops when they were older. We are so happy here and I would definitely recommend it especially compared to Melbourne.

 

Take care

 

Monica:jiggy:

[Guest Guzzler&Sas]

Hi,

 

Have a look at this survey from the same mob,

 

http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html

 

 

Guzzler

[Guest WeGottaGetOuttaThisPlace]

Thanks for the replies.... I have to say, we didnt really know about the whole biker thing. Just thought it was an exagerrated rumour but I guess not...

 

Its unbelievable that even in Bearsden (which I thought was one of the nicer parts of Glasgow) you are scared to let your kids walk to the shops alone. We have recently had our 1st child which is a huge factor in moving to Adelaide. We have the problem of kids whose parents dont give a poop letting them run riot.. In fact, I know of a few families who encourage their kids not to let people "tell them what to do" and a wee guy on one of those petrol fuelled disturbers of the peace bike things was speeding round our wee culdesac making a general pain is the ass of himself showing off to his wee mates (no one wearing any kind of crash helmet or leathers or anything) and one of my neighbours took their life in their hands (these wee neds round here ALL carry knives) by going out and asking his to F off. She got a LOT of abuse and he was shouting about "I know my rights!!! I can go where the F I want when the F I want and you can just shut the F up" etc etc. Nice. The womans baby was screaming and crying!

 

You are right about stats and I also hadnt realise the whole background to how the "personal safety" stats had been generated. I mean, a friend's boyfriend was involved in 5 separate fights on Saturday night and he is a good guy who doesnt go looking for trouble. He also saw a few dodgy events involving knives and not just the neds... I wouldnt go out past 8pm in Glasgow at the weekend anymore... As long as we dont end up somewhere worse...

 

Anyway, we cant really afford to take a holiday in Adelaide before emigrating but we have been to Oz before on holiday and lived for a short time in Melbourne but I dont know how different things are when you actually live somewhere permanently so I think we will give it a shot anyways.

 

Cheers!!!

[Guest monicadoherty]

Do give it a go....any questions pm me. If someone gave me the money for a flight now to go back for a visit..hand on heart I would say no....suprising but I have no intention of going there for a while anyway. I miss nothing...believe me

 

Follow your heart...and your head...its a better future out here for you as I family...just my opinion

 

Take care

[Guest soggy]

What you HAVE to remember that Adelaide is a place with a population of around 1.5 mil, and there IS crime, there are all the same social problems and a few others that are relevant to being here. There are big biker gangs who use firearms and think nothing of going into reastuarant in the city and shooting someone dead. There are those that say bikey gangs only fight among themselves, kind of like the Krays, but what if they had missed that night?????

They had a phone in on the radio this morning about terrible neighbours. A guy rang to say he had trouble with kids from 2 families running round the street vandelising, when asked about their parents, he said they are in the house drinking and smoking dope, both families had 5 or 6 kids:shocked:.

What I am trying to say is crime does happen here, its not a paradise place with rainbows in the sky and unicorns flying overhead, saying that the streets are not paved with gold either! But if you are to work out crime per size of place and amount of population I think it would work out the same as the UK.

 

Dont be fooled into thinking it is a crime free place its not.

 

Also dont believe those that say it is less safe here than Uk , at night in the Uk I didnt like walking home alone in the dark and rarely did it, but here I would and there are less lights...it certainly feels safer!

 

sarah

 

What! no flying unicorns, their the reason I came.

 

Simon

[Guest smoki]

Have to say I work in Glasgow and have never felt comfortable as seen some situations just walking the few hundred yards from the station to the office and that is broad daylight so hate to think after dark. Is Glasgow not rumoured to be the murder capital of the UK!!.

 

I guess there are good and bad in any city but if you look at a recent survey for the best cities to live in the world Adelaide is in the top 10 and that must be based on facts. No Uk cities were anywhere near.

[Guest Amelia&Fred]

Hello

 

We lived in Glasgow before moving to Adelaide.... it makes me laugh to think Glasgow would ever be placed as "safer" than here!!!! crazy.... Both myself and my husband have lived all over the world... including some rough spots and Adelaide is a joy!

 

You'll find no buckfast here!! Some suburbs might have issues and yeah apparently avoid Elizabeth - we live in the city and nooo problems so far... We were told about a rough pub in the city so we went to check it out and laughed... the northern england/glasgow style rough would kill Adelaide in a fight haha...

 

Amelia and Fred

http://www.funkeldink.com

[Guest Deb17]

Please dont take this as an open can of worms but PLEASE can you give us some pros and cons of living in Adelaide... I have also been hearing of the dangers of the CBD and that you cant walk through it at night.... I have, however, heard the complete opposite.... We are looking to move to Aldinga Beach - I have had messages from some of you before advising this is a good area since we want a beach lifestyle not too far from the city but in the less expensive end of the price range since we are pretty strapped for cash!!!

 

Thanks again Freaking out!!!

 

I'm currently living in Aldinga Beach and it's definitely the safest place I've ever lived in. We came from Birmingham and I've lived in Hertfordshire too, and there is no way I would set foot outside the door once it got dark there. Here, I go out for a walk most evenings, on my own, sometimes just after sunset, and never feel threatened or as if I have to keep looking over my shoulder. There are always plenty of kids out playing in the street too and in the parks on their own, so you know it's got to be pretty safe.

And I have to admit the beaches at Aldinga and Silver Sands are absolutely brilliant. Such fresh air and the views of the hills...come on over and appreciate it. Even I have to say it's beautiful.

[Guest The Angus Clan]

Have to say I work in Glasgow and have never felt comfortable as seen some situations just walking the few hundred yards from the station to the office and that is broad daylight so hate to think after dark. Is Glasgow not rumoured to be the murder capital of the UK!!.

 

I guess there are good and bad in any city but if you look at a recent survey for the best cities to live in the world Adelaide is in the top 10 and that must be based on facts. No Uk cities were anywhere near.

 

Hi there - good to see you on PIA! Yes, Adelaide is in the top 6 cities in fact! (according to my reseach for SA sponsorship!). Crime or no crime, Adelaide has to be better than the UK?!

[Guest macu68]

I think that most of the endless surveys we guide our lives by are conducted by statisticians who have never actuallly lived (may have visited, not the same as living there in my opinion) in the cities that they offer opinions/facts on.

[Guest Libby1971]

I have tried to remain detached from this thread as the concept makes me irritated and I haven't even read it. Now I have and no longer keep quiet...

 

If Glasgow is safer than Adelaide, then the person who wrote that drivel should live in Glasgow and see how long he lasts. About a nanosecond in comparision to Adelaide.

 

But SSP is right when she says that Adelaide is no Utopia. Adelaide has its fair share of issues to deal with. However, they are not on the same scale as in the UK, and certainly not in Glasgow. Lighting is poor wherever you are in Adelaide, and I don't like walking round in the dark at the best of times.

 

Only you can make the decision at the end of the day. You are going to find good and bad areas wherever you live, and when you get here you might find yourself living in an area you hadn't considered but in the meantime don't worry about it. Aldinga is lovely and we were thinking of that area when in the UK. However, we got here and found this area and the rest is history.

 

London doesn't bother me, perhaps because I have family there, spent time as a child there and visit it often. My OH on the other hand does not feel as relaxed as I do there and so senses more potential nastiness than I do. I don't sense it and don't find it either.

 

If your friend wants to destroy your dream, then I would go all out and stamp all over theirs It isn't fair although I am sure what has been said is only because they love you and don't want to see you go.

 

Libby