Christmas comes but once a year. While the winter holidays are a great time to exchange gifts, visit your family and eat some great food, it’s also a time of year when crime rates peak and paranoia starts to settle into the lives of citizens across the country. There are some winter destinations that travelers will want to avoid, this holiday season.
Here are the five most dangerous cities, during the winter holidays:
#1. Detroit, Michigan
Detroit has gained a really bad reputation throughout the years. One of the scariest things about Detroit, is that it’s not just the city of Detroit that is prone to Christmas crime. The entire suburban area of Detroit and other areas of Michigan all have very high crime rates as well. Tons of crime and bitter cold winters make Detroit a bad place to visit during the holidays.
#2. Oakland, California
San Francisco is a beautiful, laid back city with a great night life and atmosphere. A quick trip across the Bay Bridge into Oakland and you’ll see how drastically different life is, however. Oakland is one of the most violent cities in the entire country. The violent crime and murder rates in Oakland are well above the national average, making life in the Bay area much more difficult than it should be.
#3. Stockton, California
Stockton is consistently ranked as one of the worst cities to live in, in the whole country. Not only are job rates and morale down, but there is an almost unthinkable amount of crime. Violent crimes and robberies in Stockton are both above the national averages, and it’s pretty safe to assume that both of those numbers will climb during the winter months. Stockton’s not a good place to live, and it’s one of the most dangerous cities in the whole country, especially during the holidays.
#4. Cleveland, Ohio
Let’s face it, after LeBron left the Cavaliers, things went completely downhill in Cleveland, one of Ohio’s most populated cities. With over 1,300 violent crimes and almost 800 robberies per 100,000 people, Cleveland isn’t just one of the most violent cities in the country, but it’s also one cities that’s most prone to residential heists. If you live in Cleveland, you should strongly consider getting a new or used alarm system. If you don’t live in Cleveland, don’t visit until the holidays are over.
#5. Newark, New Jersey
Just across the Hudson River from New York City, Newark has always had a bit of a little brother mentality to it. Unfortunately, it’s crime rates are one of the things that make Newark inferior to the Big Apple. Although local law enforcement is striving to clean the city up from its crime ridden ways, it still has a long way to go. If you’re thinking about heading to New York for the holidays, don’t plan on making a trip across the river. You could end up regretting it if you do.
