<p>Ok, something's been worrying me a lot. No I'm not looking to come off as.an over obobsessive, over critical psychopath who is constantly seeking to defame the city, but I'm a bit worried about my safety at Penn. I was accepted to Penn ed but never bothered to read up about Philly as it seemed to be a beautiful city ( still think it is). But after a recent interest in black history, I came across the fact that Philly was in fact an area where black militant organisations like nbpp functioned. Even the demographics show Penn having 43 percentage of African Americans. I'm not being racist but I can't help being worried as an intl student. So my question to you all, do you think my fear of security is misplaced? Or should I indeed be cautious when I go into the city?</p>
<p>Oh and are there any areas as such I should avoid for my own good ? How is the gun control scenario at Philly? Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure as long as you know not to journey into West Philly/stray too far off campus at 3AM you would be fine. Use the walking escort services if you’re really concerned.</p>
<p>From what I hear from current students and family friends working at Penn (also what I expect we will hear at NSO), Penn security does a great job.</p>
<p>I personally wouldn’t call Penn safe (stats back my opinion up btw) but it isn’t too bad provided you’re cautious.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I’ll be sure to avoid west chilly</p>
<p>Philly* looool</p>
<p>For a U.S. urban location, Penn’s university city neighborhood does a great job at not looking “ghetto” or really having any amount of decay. The area seems very vibrant and there is literally a penn security guard on every street corner. I might just be used to not so reputable neighborhoods considering I hail from the midwest where the cities are known for how “tough” their streets can be, (detroit, cleveland, st louis, milwaukee…you get the picture.)</p>
<p>overall, I think it is on par with U-chicago, Columbia, USC, and UCLA. You really shouldn’t be too worried about it, just remain prudent when out and about.</p>
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<p>Well, that would be rather difficult to do since, you know, Penn is in West Philly. :)</p>
<p>I came to the neighborhood in 1968 and lived in dorms for 2 years. Then I moved into the community. I haven’t had problems. I’m careful, but I HAVEN’T HAD PROBLEMS.</p>
<p>The most common crime in the neighborhood is theft of unattended property. That’s the unlocked bike, the open purse in the shopping cart, etc.</p>
<p>Penn security is excellent, but you have to do your part.</p>
<p>Also, Penn has a 43% minority population in the incoming class. That includes a very large Asian component. The African and African-American populations are far smaller.</p>
<p>I worked 3 blocks from Penn for over 13 years. Sometimes we’d go out after work, I’d get back to my car late, etc. I never had a problem. Of course, you have to use good sense in any big city, but as long as you do, you should be fine.</p>
<p>NORTH PHILLY is the place you need to avoid. West Philly is relatively safe; it is very close to Center City. As long as you have a shred of common sense, you should be able to live safely in University City.</p>
<p>When I visited friends at Penn for the weekend, the area around the school was much nicer than I had imagined and there were police cars and officers on bikes around the area. From the people I have talked to as long as you have common sense you should be fine and safe just like any other city. Yeah stay away from North Philly(Temple) now that part is dangerous.</p>
<p>I live in W. Philly past 50th Street and do not find it dangerous at all. I think most of the people who call w. philly / university city ‘dangerous’ are mostly just expressing how uncomfortable they are around black people.</p>
<p>The New Black Panther Party is a joke organization, and not very significant at all. They had that one incident at the polls in 2008, but don’t think they’re any more significant than the Klan and other hate groups. Philly is a big city, and all big cities have crime, but militant black supremacists are hardly anything to worry about.</p>
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UCLA does not belong in this sentence. It is surrounded by beautiful and expensive areas such as Westwood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.</p>
<p>I kind of can’t believe that no one has said this, but when you mention (erroneously, and I know you were corrected) that “Penn is 43% African American,” as part of your safety concerns,are you actually suggesting that you might have to be worried about being mugged by your fellow students?
I think your bigger worry might be your careless stereotyping. I’m not sure where you are from, but you may have to learn a bit not about what areas to avoid, but about what conclusions and remarks to avoid if you don’t want to make a negative impression.
I hope you have a good year at Penn and learn a lot, both in the classroom and out.</p>
<p>I meant pennsylvania has 43 percent african americans. Im least bit concerned abt african americans at the uni, in fact im just worried abt milirant black/white/purple/beige organisations. Futurevpfinance : u took a load off my mind thanks :)</p>
<p>You sound extremely racist. If your not a moron and exercise caution you’ll be fine.</p>
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<p>I just love the irony</p>