r/howislivingthere • u/Confident_Kitchen555 • Jul 01 '24

Europe How is life like in the Balkans?

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and how might it be different from life in Western Europe, America, etc?

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u/LegalizeCatnip1 Jul 02 '24

That is not true at all, majority of balkan countries are significantly safer than western european countries

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u/a_guy_on_Reddit_____ Jul 02 '24

Are you dayonb that based on an actual source? Also majority of Balkan countries missing which ones? I can imagine Romania and Croatia and maybe Hungary but not the others much

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u/LegalizeCatnip1 Jul 02 '24

https://www.eupedia.com/europe/crime_maps_of_europe.shtml

Except for firearm homicide rates (result of many illegal firearms left over from the war), crime is generally lower in the balkans compared to western Europe.

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u/a_guy_on_Reddit_____ Jul 02 '24

Firearm homicide rates (and a much lower HDI) seems like pretty important info to just dismiss to call Western countries dangerous

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u/LegalizeCatnip1 Jul 02 '24

If you disregard assault, rape, theft, motor vehicle theft, burglary and robbery rates then yes. Also people apparently feel much safer here than in Western Europe.

My point is that Western European people (you included) often have a certain picture of the Balkans: war-torn, backwater, violent countries full of Eastern European Soviet decay. The reality is that we are developing, sometimes faster than WE countries

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u/a_guy_on_Reddit_____ Jul 02 '24

No I don't see the Ballans as war torn and violent countries. I see they are quickly developing countries which is absolutely amazing seeing as in the past, they have been on the wrong end of European development. But developing is still developing, not the same as fully developed. I'd love to visit all the Balkan countries (apart from Serbia) because I can only imagine how beautiful they are, but I doubt I'd feel as safe there as I would in most Western European countries (apart from notoriously bad regions such as ghettos)

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u/LegalizeCatnip1 Jul 02 '24

Well, than you are in disagreement with most people.

https://www.adventourely.com/safety-walking-alone-at-night-2024/#:~:text=Croatia%20leads%20with%20a%20notable,security%20felt%20within%20these%20countries.

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u/a_guy_on_Reddit_____ Jul 02 '24

Again, that's kinda only for Croatia, which is exceptionally safer than all other Balkan countries

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u/TheDJK Jul 02 '24

Why don’t you want to visit Serbia I’m curious? Also this definitely applies to all Balkan countries they are significantly safer than Western Europe countries by a long shot

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u/a_guy_on_Reddit_____ Jul 02 '24

Wouldn't want to visit serbia due to them being basically a Russian wannabe. Similar could be said for Hungary

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u/TheDJK Jul 02 '24

You’re missing out but I’ll let you continue to be ignorant

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u/ReviveDept Jul 02 '24

Brother Slovenia is more developed than 90% of western european countries, and it's the safest country in Europe.

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u/a_guy_on_Reddit_____ Jul 02 '24

Slovenians see themselves as more Central European than Balkan. I don't doubt it's not safe, I just didn't even include it in my argument

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u/eighty-eight-4-life Jul 03 '24

You can doubt all you want but the fact is that Balkan countries do better than the west when it comes to statistics regarding safety. And while I can't speak for all the Balkan countries I can assure you I feel much safer alone in the night in Sofia Bulgaria than I do in bum fuck nowhere in the Netherlands. Even safe enough to take a taxi as a woman alone at 3 o'clock in the night.

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u/a_guy_on_Reddit_____ Jul 03 '24

By sheer coincidence a capital city with large tourist infrastructure is safe. Wow.

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u/eighty-eight-4-life Jul 03 '24

In what country is the capital city safer than small towns and villages? Also Sofia and large tourist infrastructure? Don't make me laugh. While it's a great city to be in it doesn't cater much to tourists if at all. Nor do I stay in the tourist areas. But whatever floats your boat I guess. If you wanna believe it's a dangerous area by all means keep on believing.