[New Haven, CT]

On 3/7/2018 at 9:02 PM, CBC said:

Glad I stumbled upon this thread and I hope that someone can answer my question or react to my concerns. After reading all those comments and opinions above, I am really still unsure how to assess the safety situation in New Haven. It seems that a lot has been done over the past years to tighten the security measures and increase police forces and patrolling on the streets, but apparently living there still entails a great deal of risk and being constantly vigilant of your surroundings all the time which is psychologically not very healthy in the long run. I've lived in very "unsafe" urban environments in different parts of the world before: Central Europe, Middle East, Southeastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Some of those were plagued by the high risk of terrorist attacks. However because those in reality were almost few and far in between, I could easily go about my daily life in those cities. The picture I have of US unsafe cities is quite different though, given that gangs and shootings were never problems I had or was expected to deal with. And these are two problems that seem to define New Haven in one way or another.  So I guess what I am trying to get at and ask is how much of a risk living New Haven would entail and is it much worse than, say, Boston? Thanks a lot in advance!

I’ve lived in New Haven for two years now and I can honestly answer that it is not that bad here. There is risk involved when living in any city, but I don’t think New Haven is as bad as the reputation it has from years ago. 

I work in the medical school area and live in East Rock. There are many Yale shuttle lines that run through areas of the city and can take you to and from work, and at night they will even take you straight to your door if you ask them to. 

At times there have been incidences of muggings (always off campus) and break-ins, but these are things that can happen anywhere! Also, as you said, there are extensive security measures that Yale takes. I definitely don’t ever feel like I have to be hyper vigilant when I am out with friends downtown or walking around my neighborhood. If you act smart, as one should living in any city, you should be fine. 

Hope this is helpful.