# Areas with low crime



## highlandbob (Feb 25, 2015)

Hi all
We are retiring soon and researching where to locate a home. We currently live in an area of Scotland where we leave our doors and cars unlocked with very low crime and don't really want to move to somewhere we don't feel as safe. 
Having read of some of the crime problems in Southern Spain I wonder if there are any areas left where the crime is still low and in an area far enough south to have a mild or warm winter.
Bob


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

That's a very hard question to answer. 

I feel totally safe, my children stay out until late and there's never been a problem. Drinking is not an issue either - never seen a drunk on the streets.


There are many places like this in Southern Spain (in fact most are like that I would suggest).

Yes, there are bad areas just like in UK or even Scotland p)


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Yes there is, where we live crime is almost unknown, we live on the small Canary Island called El Hierro. No bars on the majority of windows, cars unlocked, engines left running, some people do not lock house doors.

The down side we are somewhat isolated and well off the beaten track.
There are few tourists, three other U.K. residents.

Winters are not allowed here neither are raging hot summers.

If you are still interested there are photos on the link below.


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## highlandbob (Feb 25, 2015)

Got to be mainland as we have two dogs and will keep a house in the Uk so we have to be able to drive there.


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## mena vasconcelos (Jun 15, 2015)

highlandbob said:


> Hi all
> We are retiring soon and researching where to locate a home. We currently live in an area of Scotland where we leave our doors and cars unlocked with very low crime and don't really want to move to somewhere we don't feel as safe.
> Having read of some of the crime problems in Southern Spain I wonder if there are any areas left where the crime is still low and in an area far enough south to have a mild or warm winter.
> Bob


Please check The Azores
All the nine islands of the Azores Archipelago are volcanic origin and are located roughly between 37° and 40° north latitude and 25° and 31° west longitude, with the island of Flores marking the westernmost border of the European continent. 244,780 people (2008 data) live in the 2,325 sq. of this island territory, which is part of the Portuguese state and constitutes the Autonomous Region of the Azores.

The islands of the archipelago are divided in three geographical groups: the Eastern Group, comprising Santa Maria and São Miguel, the Central Group, including Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and Faial, and the Western Group, composed by Corvo and Flores. The Azores, along with the archipelagos of Madeira, Canary Islands and Cape Verde, constitute the biogeographic region of Macaronesia, a name which means "fortunate islands" for those who live there and visit them.

Positioning systems find the nine islands of the Azores in the North Atlantic, scattered along a 600 km stretch of ocean from Santa Maria to Corvo, approximately between 37° and 40° north latitude and 25° and 31° west longitude. According to 2011 data, 246,772 people live in this island territory that covers 2,325 sq.km, distancing 1,815 km from mainland Europe (Portugal) and 2,625 km from the North American continent (Canada).
A great place to live if you like peace and nature.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

You can settle in an area with low crime rates.....then one day a deranged drifter, professional thief or desperate druggie picks on_ your_ house...and suddenly, for you personally, it's no longer a low crime area.
Crimes of all kinds can happen anywhere. Murders happen in dozy villages where people leave their doors open, cars unlocked and so on.
Of course an inner-city area with high levels of poverty, addictions, transient population , is likely to have a higher crime rate than a sleepy suburb. The poor suffer the most from crime. But I'm guessing you're not planning on moving to Las Ramblas in Barcelona or Las Tres Mil in Seville.
We live in a fairly affluent street on the edge of a quiet village. Almost every house, ours included, has been broken in to, although in our case we neglected basic security - after all, we were only out to walk the dog for thirty minutes...
So wherever you choose to live, you will still need to take basic precautions, just in case.

I once read about the Jewish playwright Bernard Kops, whose mother moved the family during the Blitz from the heavily-bombed East End of London to a quiet Yorkshire village. One night shortly after their arrival, a German bomber returning from a raid on Manchester was chased by RAF fighters and decided to jettison its remaining bomb to gain speed and height.
The bomb landed on the front lawn of the Kops' cottage....


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

highlandbob said:


> Got to be mainland as we have two dogs and will keep a house in the Uk so we have to be able to drive there.


We had a friend who lived here, he used to drive here from Scotland, he arrived here in the Autumn and returned in the Springtime, he only had one dog though, but had a cat too, they came with him and his wife.

There is a regular ferry service from the Canary Islands to the Iberian peninsular, and other ferries from Europe to the U.K. We are at the moment contemplating the same journey perhaps for next year.

So it can be done, however few arrive this way, in fact few arrive at all, and that is how we have retained our Canarian culture and charm


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

rd400e said:


> hi new to this forum,'' The bomb landed on the front lawn of the Kops' cottage'', is i am afraid an apocryphal tale that was discredited a good few years ago, but like they say in journalism ''never let the truth get in the way of a good story''.
> QUOTE
> 
> It's a story told by Bernard Kops himself in his autobiography 'The World is a Wedding'.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Nowhere is crime-free. Opportunistic thieving happens everywhere, especially since the economic crisis and the chronic unemployment. Even in my peaceful little village, where everyone knows everyone else, there are burglaries and petty theft.

You can tempt fate by leaving your doors and windows unlocked, or your bag on the back seat of the car or unattended on the beach, or you can be sensible and take the same precautions you would anywhere else. Those bars on the windows of Spanish houses aren't there for decoration, they are there so you can leave the window open without someone climbing in!

The good news is that violent crime - mugging etc - is very rare. I feel totally safe walking alone at any time of the day or night.


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