Top 5 Safest & Most Dangerous U.S. Cities to Visit

Top 5 Safest & Most Dangerous U.S. Cities to Visit

Ready to find out which U.S. cities top the charts for safety and which ones land on the other end of the spectrum? In this week’s episode of TravelEssary, we’re diving into the 2025 FBI crime data to uncover the top 5 safest cities and the top 5 most dangerous cities in America.

From big names like Detroit, Baltimore, St. Louis, Oakland, and Memphis (yep, they made the list) to family-friendly havens like Fishers, Indiana; Sammamish, Washington; Johns Creek, Georgia; Newton, Massachusetts; and Weston, Florida, we’re breaking down what makes each city stand out.

Plus, we’re sharing a quick update on our own journey as we transition into full-time travel life in our RV. 🚐✨ If you want to see more behind-the-scenes of our adventures, be sure to check out our TravelEssary YouTube channel.

👉 Tune in, take notes, and let’s explore the safest (and not-so-safe) places across America together.

To take a peak at Misty's book mentioned in the episode, click here - https://a.co/d/gZMCFj8

Transcript

  We're the Essary family and we're exploring America one destination at a time. On today's episode of TravelEssary, we are going to talk about the top five safest and least safest cities in the us. Let's chat.

Welcome and thank you for joining us on this episode as we talk about safety. Now, we've already kind of covered this in another podcast as far as how to be safe, but we're specifically gonna be talking about the top five worst and best as far as safety goes. Some of these on the list. Might be surprising and some of these on the list might be Yeah, I saw that coming.

So, I mean, it's kind of crazy. , Whenever I first, you know, read into the list and everything, I was like, oh, okay, well this is, this ought to be pretty interesting. , But before we get into that and kick off this discussion, we just wanna give just a little bit of update of kind of where our life is and is going.

Yeah. So. At the time of this podcast being released, it is the day before we hit our full time travels. So tomorrow, if you're listening to this on its release date, , we will be full-time travelers. Officially, my time here doing , the eight to five every day mundane job.

Mm-hmm. We will officially be over, uh, sad, bittersweet, and we will be hitting the road adventuring. Just like we talk about in all of our podcasts.

So we are looking forward to kind of ending that chapter in our lives and beginning a new chapter and all the wonderful things that we totally believe are going to happen.

And by doing this, we're also going to be bringing you some, I wouldn't say different point of views as far as like traveling goes. Mm-hmm. Because we're pretty much gonna be traveling exactly the way that we've been talking about over the last four seasons. . But the way we travel is gonna be a little bit different.

Yeah. I can't wait until we're able to share all of that. And again, if you're not already connected to our YouTube, I do highly suggest you go and find that and you subscribe and you do not miss a single video. Because every place that we ever talk about right here on this podcast, we will have vlogs of us being in those cities and in those areas.

Having those experiences, so you, you will not wanna miss out on that.

So today's stats are brought to you by the FBI, dun, dun, dun, the FBI. So whenever you, if you just get on Google and you're like top five anything, you're gonna get a million different results. They're all gonna, because they're pulling data and they're looking at data in such. Different ways. Mm-hmm. I mean, I deal with this a lot in , my work whenever they're like, Hey, , they're looking for, , your permits or your contractors, you know, they're looking to pull data so , they can make, , spreadsheets , or put it out there and.

Some of them want specific things and some of them don't want other things. Yeah. The stats can be based off of different variables, but today we are taking what the FBI, the stats and variables that they have reported. So this is based off of 2025 crime reports from the FBI, and it's based on each city's murder and property crime rates per 100,000 people.

I think it's just a given. The larger the city is, there's gonna be more crime. Well, it's gonna definitely gonna be more chance for crime, whatever happens. But another thing that I wanna put into it is this is reported.

So crime reports, right? This is just the ones that are actually reported. We know that things happen behind the scenes that don't always get reported or cataloged correctly, but this is where we've pulled our information that is more of a national level instead of, you know, one reporter trying to pick out specifics from one or the other.

Yeah. So these stats, to break that down, it's based off of violent crimes and like property theft. . That's what this is all based off today, and we're gonna start with the top five least safe cities in 2025 in the us. We wanna share these stats because I think it's important to be realistic, , to give as much realistic information as possible to our listeners.

Now, does this mean we're saying not to visit these top five? Not at all. We have visited some of these and plan to visit others. Oh, absolutely. And , it's more like we're encouraging you to be more aware when you're in these cities. Uh, we have a podcast episode we did, I think about two seasons ago, and it's called Safety While Traveling.

Go hit that up. It has, some good points in it, but we just want people to be aware. And then of course, we're gonna talk about the top five safest cities right now in America, because we think that's only fair to represent the best that we have and the worst that we have. Again, just to be, uh, you know, clear, open, honest.

Let's, let's be real. Whenever we're talking about what it's like traveling across America. Yes, because like Missy said, these are not places that we are suggesting you avoid because there are some great parts in every one of these cities that we talk about that are gonna be fantastic., And even beyond just the top five, if you, even if you look at the top 25, that they're great cities, but it could be certain parts inside those cities, right?

That you definitely need to be aware of then there's other places in that city, which are amazing. Yeah. So let's start with our top five. Number five in the most dangerous category is Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. I don't think that comes as a surprise to anyone. I figured it would definitely be in the top 10 somewhere. And that's not saying that Detroit is a bad city at all. I mean, it's kind of like the backbone, of the automobile industry. So, you know, without them, we probably wouldn't be having our cars nowadays. So I guess I don't see it as a surprise because you just hear about it in the news all the time.

You hear about crime in Detroit. All the time. Like here in Texas, our highest crime city is Houston. I think Houston is number 12 in the top, most dangerous cities in America.

There's places in Houston that I would definitely not set foot in. Right. But a vast majority of the city, I mean, is , your average city. Mm-hmm. Figured you have your average crime. So Detroit doesn't really surprise me,

number four. Comes in in Baltimore, Maryland. , That one does kind of surprise me. I don't really know a lot about Maryland, so that one, I just, I mean, I don't have a reference, uh, again, other than just what you would hear on the news, I don't really know anything about Maryland.

We need to visit Maryland. Oh, I, I definitely want to get up north into Maryland for sure in the fall time..  So Baltimore, another really high crime rate. Yeah. Beautiful city though. you know, I can't even picture a single thing about Baltimore in my head.

Like I just, I mean, the main thing is the Baltimore Ravens. They're doing really good this year, so I, I dunno, anything, I dunno, I'm not a sports person. I dunno. So number three is the one that surprised me the most. Number three most dangerous city in the US in 2025 is St. Louis, Missouri.

That one is shocking. Yeah. How many times have you been through St. Louis? Several times now. So many times now have I been through St. Louis and it's really interesting because St. Louis, if you look at the interstates and like how you get from one side to the other north and south and all that kind of stuff like that is a.

Almost the central location in the United States. Yeah. That's why you go through it so much because when you're hauling from one end to the other, , it's always one of the places you go through, whether you're going north to south, east to west, you're going through. St. Louis. Yeah. It's really crazy.

If you gotta cross, it's a good chance , you're crossing at that point and, for them to be ranked so high every time, it's surprise you ever, every time you've ever been through. Did you ever get that vibe that it was a high crime? No, because whenever you kinda roll through, I mean, it's. No, everything looks really clean.

, It looks like one of those southern Midwestern cities. Mm-hmm. And so it doesn't give you like , the hardcore vibe of safe. So you've never felt unsafe? Oh, oh, not at all. No. And , I've stopped at different truck stops. Uh, there, I've stopped at different rest areas in that place. And to me. Out of the top five.

That is definitely the most surprising. But you know, like we said before, maybe there's just parts of St. Louis we haven't been to yet. Yeah. And that's where the high crime is. But yeah, that surprised me. We know so many people who visit St. Louis. Yes. We have friends and family visiting St. Louis this week as we're making this podcast.

Actually, I would've thought that Joplin would've been higher than St. Louis. No Joplin's so much smaller. Well, yes, but the crime break that's kind of over there. Mm-hmm. I mean, 'cause I have been around Joplin where I was like, ah, I need to get out. Was Joplin where you thought someone was trying to come in your truck?

Yeah. When someone, someone knocked on my window and then a truck quickly that night. Mm-hmm. Quickly drove away. So yeah, I'm not, I don't feel too safe in Joplin, but St. Louis I have no issues with whatsoever. Yeah. So, but apparently it is the third wow. Most dangerous city in America right now. Number two, again, I don't know a lot about this city is Oakland, California.

So Oakland, California. So I do know a little bit about this because the Oakland Raiders used to be there before they came. The las Vegas Raiders. Okay. NFL team. But also know that several gangs mm-hmm. Originated from Oakland. Oakland. Oh, I did not know that. So, so I guess they're still there then.

It's still a high gang area. Yeah. I guess they're still kind of prominent in those areas. ,

oh, well keep that in mind when visiting Oakland. Yeah. And number one. I don't know if it really surprised me. Aspects of it did, and then aspects of it doesn't, you wouldn't think that this location is of kind of what the state that it's in, it's currently the most dangerous city, and then it's location of where it is geographically , that it would be this prominent.

Mm-hmm. You know, this high up on the list. And so I think it's really weird that. You know, first off, it comes in at number one. 'cause I would've never pictured it at number one, right in the top 10 for sure. And it's a city that we've driven through. Oh yeah. We've said a lot about it. Okay. We, we have to just say it.

We need to say it. Okay. So it's Memphis, Tennessee. Tennessee. We love you. Okay. We, we really do. , This isn't our knock on you, but we hate Memphis, but we, we don't like Memphis for real. We're just kidding. And, you know, it has nothing to do with the crime. Of why we dislike Memphis so much, which apparently is an issue.

Apparently it is issue. We personally have never had any, , you've never had any issues going through Memphis, have you? So as far as transportation, as far as talking with other people that. Our professional drivers. Mm-hmm. , They all state you do not wanna stop in Memphis, which is the same thing they say about Chicago.

Well, which Chicago didn't even make our top five. You don't wanna drive through Chicago. Oh, okay. Because of the traffic. And I went through the traffic at like eight o'clock at night and there's a lot of people there. Mm-hmm. But they specifically say you do not wanna stop. In Memphis. In Memphis, yes. You want to keep on going, at least get to the outskirts of Memphis.

So after doing this research, you know what they're saying is pretty valid then? Yes, apparently there is some issues with. I don't even wanna say that it's gang related, but apparently there is a high rate of crime in Memphis, A violent crime. Oh, actually has the highest homicide rate currently in America.

Wow. Yeah. I mean, some of these other ones, we can definitely say, you know, Hey, there's probably gang relations going on. Oakland was definitely one of those, it's very, very surprising that none of these are state capitals because there are some state capitals out there that I would envision that would be on, , at least the top five. Mm-hmm. You know, , I guess , they're further down.

Maybe some of 'em are in the top 10 or in the top 25. But these are all very large cities, right? Very large cities. Now, they're not the largest cities, right? In the United States, actually, if you compare them with the top 10 largest, , it doesn't mean the largest are the most dangerous because in fact, some of the larger ones are not on this list.

Mm-hmm. This is per 100,000 people. It's the percentage of that crime rate, you know, compared with its population. , So large doesn't always mean unsafe. Or more dangerous. There are some that definitely compare to others.

But it doesn't really surprise me that Memphis is on there just because of all the horror stories that I've heard from it and all the other places. Well, , I haven't heard all the things that you have heard. , You know, I just have , the one time I've been to Memphis and it was awful. So it's awful.

It was literally the worst highways I've ever seen. Through Memphis. Yeah. Like we were on major interstates in Memphis and it was like pothole City. There was trash everywhere. Yeah. It's definitely out of every large city I've ever been in and I've been in some of the largest in America. It was definitely the most rough looking, I guess, is the correct.

Verbiage. Yeah. And it's not like we're gonna knock off Tennessee like any of these. We're not gonna knock off the state, and we're not even gonna knock off the cities. Well, we live in Texas and we still have Houston, so Yeah, because we're definitely gonna visit all these places, but knowing this information, when we go to those places, , we're gonna be a little bit more cautious.

Yeah. With that being said, for those of you who do travel to Memphis and you have positive experiences and places that you like, . Let us know what those are because we're always willing to try something like we don't have good. Thoughts on Memphis, but if you say, no, it's because you haven't done this.

You haven't been here, let us know because we are willing to give that a shot. We are not closed-minded when it comes to traveling and things like that. We will keep an open mind. I, I would love to see. A good part of Memphis. Yeah. I would love to see the best side. Yeah. Of, of any city. It doesn't matter what it is.

I mean, we've seen the worst now we wanna see the best. Yeah. And there's other cities that I thought were gonna be on this top five that don't show up. That's what I was gonna ask you, like what are you surprised is not here. I'm not gonna lie, I am surprised Chicago's not on this list, Chicago's one, but I've heard that the crime rate in Chicago has been declining since 2022.

So, , I'm surprised that Brooklyn isn't on the list. La la I was surprised about la Now it is in the top 20. I, I did see it in the top 20, but it's not in the top five. Yeah, I figured that. As large as , they are especially, and this is not a knock against la, but . It's another one, kind of like Oakland.

A lot of gangs originate from la. Mm-hmm. That I would just imagine as large as it is, right, as big as it is, that it would definitely make the top five, you know? , I was surprised looking at the top 20, the only Texas city I saw and there was Houston. I was a little surprised that Austin and Dallas weren't in those as well.

Well, or, , what's up? San Antonio is the one that I would actually think of. No. El Paso's kind of going up. No. What's that one we visited? For your work conference, and I said this was listed in one of the top five most dangerous places in Texas.. So I was surprised that none of those places were even in the top 20. Right. . Because just the personal experiences we have had in those places. But yeah, and , that's the news that we get the most is, you know, around Texas, you know, well just, you know, Austin, San Antonio.

We personally have experienced some crime and issues in a lot of those places. Yeah. And you hear the stories of people that live locally of mm-hmm. You know, , they take their work truck up there for, . Seminar or something like that, and then their work truck gets broken in or stolen.

Mm-hmm. And all their stuff is gone. So yeah, I think the top five that we just mentioned, I'm gonna go through 'em real quick. Number one, Memphis, Tennessee. Number two, Oakland, California, number three, St. Louis, Missouri, number four, Baltimore, Maryland, and number five, Detroit, Michigan. They are the ones that have the highest rates of violent crime.

Currently reported. Reported I, yes. You gotta clear that up. Yeah. Reported. Reported, that's correct. I mean, there is a lot of time that crime does go unreported. , Before we get into the top five best places? Safest. Safest places, safest. Not the best. As a matter of opinion, , it's really interesting as we kinda went through this list and as we did a little bit more research, because we've never heard of any of these places.

Oh, wait, I, I wanted to say so. With Detroit, Michigan, number five. There were two other cities that also hit number five this year. They were kind of tied with Detroit, , on violent crime, but they didn't have as much property crime, so they didn't hit number five, but it was New Orleans, which doesn't surprise me.

Okay. That's nope, doesn't surprise me at all. And then Little Rock, Arkansas, which totally surprised me. So I have heard stories there. I mean, the truckers are not. They don't say, you know, abandon that, don't ever stop there. Mm-hmm. But there are some stories out there for sure. Okay. So I'm glad we're having this conversation.

Yeah. Because you know I have Little Rock as one of our stopovers Yes. Right in the middle of Little Rock and it's , one of those places that it's beautiful. It's so, I'm hoping the place we're going in is like a safer area. It's a safer area. Yeah. So if you live in Little Rock and we come and visit.

And you're one of those bad people, just leave us alone while we're there. No, no. Um, what, what I looked up where we're saying it looks absolutely beautiful and I'm very excited about, I think Arkansas is a beautiful state. Yeah. So I just, yeah. So anyway, those two also. Kind of tied for number five. Yeah. I mean, I could, I can, yeah.

Unfortunately I can see Little Rock. And I have no surprise about New Orleans. We actually no, no longer go through New Orleans. Yeah. For personal reasons, but they, they have a bypass loop for a reason. Yeah. Been there, done that. Don't wanna do it again. Okay. So let's go into our top five. Safest cities in America.

And so we had to do some research because, uh, we had never heard of any of these. Never heard of any of these. Right. And you're going to get that. Whenever you look at any top five best places to visit or whatever, you're probably not going to, I imagine any of them. Why we've never heard of them is because they're not always on the news.

They're not on the news because, you know, the news only covers the negative. Only reports the bad stuff, right? , Hardly ever. You get positive stuff on media these days on any form of media, right? And so we want to put that positive out there. I think that is a fair balance because yes, we have dangerous places in America.

We have places where you know, you, you need to be on your guard more. You need to be aware of your surroundings. You need to make sure you do your research. But you know what? We also have very. Immaculate and safe areas as well. I, I think it's fair to discuss everything that there is to offer. Absolutely.

And you're going to find, as we describe these cities to you, they all have pretty much the same common denominator in them. Okay. And I'm gonna let you, I'm gonna, if you can't figure it out, by the time we get to like number three, it's like Mike can't figure it out before we even start. They probably, I'll fill you in at the very end.

Well, I do imagine they all have a lower population. I did not look up their actual population populations. Okay. But I'm talking about specifically location. So number five and the top five safest is Fishers, Indiana, which is. A suburb of Indianapolis, which is crazy because that's in the top 20 of the most dangerous.

Yes. And Indianapolis is a destination place. Mm-hmm. , You want Indy 500, that's where you're gonna go. Yeah., You want to go watch the Colts, or sometimes there's the Super Bowl that goes on there. I mean, they have a lot of entertainment value that happens in Indianapolis, and Fisher is just one of those that's located not too far from.

From Indianapolis. Yeah. And that's why we say, just because we're saying a city is dangerous, we're not saying don't visit there because there are parts, there are good aspects to every single city in America. So Fishers, Indiana, have you been through Fishers whenever you were trapping to Indianapolis? I have not.

,. It's not on the interstate. Okay. So when we go through Indiana next year, we might have to stop by. We might have to, we might have to , get off the interstate, get on a little, , highway. Mm-hmm. , And travel over there. We can go to Hamilton County and go find them. Okay. So number four.

Number four. So number four I can't pronounce. So, um, please go ahead and laugh. Don't get mad though. Samish, Samish, Washington. I'm gonna spell it for those of you who have no clue what I'm trying to say. 'cause I, for those that can help us pronounce it. 'cause I do imagine, I am pronouncing it wrong. I understand when people come to Texas and they butcher some of our names, so I, I am imagine, I am saying, saying this wrong.

S-A-M-M-A-M-I-S-H samish, I, I don't, I can't think of another way to say it. In Washington. Yeah. Samish. That's how I would, I would pronounce it. That's, unless you just get rid of the A and then it's just samish. Well, that doesn't sound, that would make sense. I mean, yeah. Not to do you know King County? Any kind of disfavor or anything about pronouncing it wrong?

Sorry. I've actually gone north and, there's some difficult cities to pronounce, but granted we also live here where we have sine and . By reading it would never say, just looking at ine. You would never say sine. So I totally understand. I totally get it. They have their own little thing.

, But this is a little beautiful upscale neighborhood, , that is a suburb of Seattle. Wow. Which is another, you know, a high on the list. Dangerous city. Yeah. It's one of those that I would, so that's what you're gonna tell me. These are all gonna be parts like very close to some of the most dangerous, aren't they?

They're gonna be close to the most dangerous, especially in the top 25. And they're all gonna be suburbs. Wow. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, that just says so much. , There's no one location that's just, don't ever visit that one location in America because there are parts. So that gives me hope for Memphis.

Absolutely. There's gotta be some city around Memphis. There's gotta be somewhere in or around Memphis. You guys let us know where we should visit for Memphis, because I, that's in a decent, because we're gonna be travel time very close to it next year. Yeah. I would love to find a positive aspect of Memphis.

Okay. Number three. , Johns Creek, Georgia. And I love Georgia. Oh my gosh, yes. Georgia is beautiful state within itself. So is this a suburb of the A TL? So it is northeast of Atlanta Uhhuh. So it is a suburb of Atlanta. . , It's 25 miles from downtown. Wow. , And that is like way up there in the high crime.

And so I think that was number like 10 in the top 10 was Atlanta. Yes. The most dangerous. They have one of the top rated schools in the state in Johns Creek in Johns Creek, Georgia. Mm-hmm. That, I mean, it's just. Everything that I've read and everything that , I've seen is just beautiful.

I mean, , there are parks and recreations, there are opportunities. , They're right there on the Chattahoochee River, which is just a really great place. I mean, anyone , who knows anything about country music, Chattahoochee River is spoken about all the time.

But I love Georgia. I love Georgia. It's my favorite state so far that we have visited, , that I have visited. I haven't been to all the ones that you have been to yet. I know, but I'm saying visited, like we actually went to, well, I just love like all the giant peach orchards. Yeah. , And then right in the middle of 'em are these big white colonial style housings. Yes. If we're gonna take a beautiful, a steak in a hole. Mm-hmm. Georgia's definitely in the top three for sure. Without eating and from what we've experienced, extremely friendly people.

Nice people. Yeah. , They have a very rich history. In the South, a very controversial history, but it is, full of uniqueness and interesting facts and I mean. I love driving down the highways of Georgia. Yeah, no, they're beautiful.

They're beautiful. So Johns Creek, great job. You came in at number three. Number two. You can do better though. 'cause there's a number two. Yeah, there's a number two is Newton, Massachusetts, Newton. Newton, Massachusetts. I never can't say Massachusetts. Massachusetts, yep. But so a surprise.

It is a suburb of Boston. Oh, but Boston's not. Actually really high in the crime. I don't, is it not? I don't even, I didn't even see it in the top 20. Good job. Boston. Yeah. Way to stay up there. Way to stay clean. I think Boston is one of those, just like Chicago, since like 2022, the crime rates , in some of the ones that used to be very high, high violent crimes have been declining.

And then you have other places that are rising. So that's awesome. I mean, because Newton's only seven miles from. From Boston? From Boston, I think Boston, which makes it really nice. Think Boston. Yeah. They haven't had the violent crime that they had like in the nineties and stuff like that. Yeah. That's when we would hear about all the crime.

And one of the cool things about Newton is its nickname, it's the Garden City. So if you're looking for like gardens and looking for flowers and stuff, like apparently this is the place to go. Hmm. So we're definitely gonna have to get up there to Newton when we get around the Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston area, and check them out.

, Okay, number one, safest city in America right now in 2025. Now wait a minute before you get to this. . I didn't think that this state would have it. I thought it would be another state. I didn't think this one would have the top one. Like I would never expect , the safest city, I'm not gonna lie to be in any of the outer states from Washington to California, Texas, Florida, up the coast, and along the borders.

I would not expect. Any of the number ones to be in it, I would expect the number one to be centrally located in the or secluded somehow. Yeah. In the states that have like the least amount of population. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Like North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming. Yeah. So I was, I was really surprised on this one, especially the location that it's at.

So, number one is Westin Florida, west Florida is coming in. Wait, why is it close to Miami? No. Orlando? No. Okay. What, what state? Fort Lauderdale. But that's not up there on the high crime area. It's not up there. But as far as like a destination place mm-hmm. Besides Miami and Florida, it is a very popular Destin.

It's a very popular destination. So I figured like the people that are traveling in either there would be crime from the local towards them to the tourists or people coming in would do the crime against , the locals that are there. Okay. So I was very surprised that they are right off . The western edge of Fort Lauderdale.

Okay. So, , way to go Western. Yeah, they have the Everglades, , different neighborhoods, of course, dining activities, everything to go along with , your typical Florida suburb type area. , But they are a very large and well-planned community with a focus on aesthetics. That's the main thing. Aesthetics, do you know, safety and amenities?

When I was looking at all of the top five, . All five of them. It mentioned things about it being absolutely beautiful. Mm-hmm. And listen, I'm gonna get a little, uh, psychological on you right now. Okay. Is that where we're going? Yes. I'm not saying that your surroundings like have everything to do with who you are and what you're and in your community, but it has a lot.

Has a lot to do with it. Has a lot. Like, just think of your home. Okay? When your home is clean and organized, it gives you such. A peace of mind, which I talk about in my book. If you wanna go check that out, I'll push in the show links. Okay? Uh, just gotta do that little plugin right there. But , when your space around you is clean and it's got the feng shui, it's organized.

It gives you a clarity of mind. It makes you feel more calm, like everything about it. But when you walk into your home and it's full of chaos and it's cluttered, and it's unorganized and that causes stress and it causes anxiousness and it causes you to like snap easier or you're gonna be more frustrated quicker.

I think it's the same with our communities when the community itself. Puts their tax dollars and puts their, you know, whether they're volunteering to do cleanup, whatever it is into their community and , really make a beautiful, functional space. I think it has a big impact. On the people of that community.

I think it's a pride thing as well. 'cause you walk around the community as a whole, not necessarily the municipality or something, but a community as a whole has taken pride in saying, we want to stay clean. , We wanna offer our kids the best. If anyone who comes in. For a visit, we wanna make sure that they're treated very well.

Mm-hmm. , I think it's, it's also kind of a little pride thing. Like, hey, you know, especially Westin you're the number one right now. Other cities are gonna be vying for this. Yeah. They want to reach this and all five of talked about how they put a lot of. Effort into beautifying their communities.

Yes. Almost every single one of them have some type of description of how beautiful it is, how their main focus is all about their schools public safety and community events . So , they're attracting people in through the beauty of it. I do get that.

Through generations and , you know, there are different cultural mindsets and different aspects of America, even from city to city. Oh yeah. That it is, it's hard to change the mindset, , of an entire population of people for sure. Whenever it goes from generations to generations. I do understand there are places where you try to beautify it and then the community destroys it.

I think that's something that has to be changed slowly. Over time, starting with the younger generation, as young as possible to instill , you know, I think of, , here in Texas they started the Don't Mess with Texas and it was about keeping the highways clean, right? And they started that with us when we were very young children in school.

We learned about that in elementary ages. And I think if you instill that into your community. And work on continuing that. That's something that you could build over time in the mindset of the population. I know there are , cultural spots throughout America where it's like destruction is more.

On the mind then appreciating the beauty of their community. I do get that., You know, even parts of Dallas, there are beautiful parts of Dallas, north Dallas. You know, I, I think it's, it's great and we love visiting, but Southeast Dallas is a whole different area and it's not somewhere we enjoy visiting.

, We actually have had quite an experience one time in southeast Dallas that we don't wanna, you know, relive ever again, but. It's even in a pocket of one community. There are different mindsets, I believe. , But yeah, I think having pride in your community makes a big difference. And I think when that community puts effort into beautifying itself, it makes a big difference on the population.

Yeah, I mean, because it definitely has to be a whole city mentality, so Right. it's gotta be the people and the community itself. Yeah. Like the people of that community and then like the government and the volunteers and all of the beautification ran groups and things like that. Yeah. You, you gotta run everything to.

For, for one final goal in mind. You just can't all just do your own thing and run out. , I've been a part of different municipalities and I've been a part of different communities and seeing how they worked Oh, yeah. You and seeing how are part of the beautification in our community. Mm-hmm. You're a part of that board and seeing how.

It makes a difference. Certain areas are absolutely stunning and then other areas are dilapidated or ran down, and then the amount of focus that goes into those places to build it back up to , what it once was. Mm-hmm. Because it was beautiful at one point in time, and you just have to change , that mentality and that mindset and.

Together with all the support and everything that's out there that can help a community grow as far as grants and everything else, it's totally doable. . And like you said, a lot of 'em, they have pockets around, oh, they're absolutely beautiful, that are the complete opposite. And it's like maybe they just need to communicate more with the people who, who have the safer aspects. Yes. And things like that. But then again, I do understand when things are ingrained in a culture, it is hard sometimes of a culture of that community to.

Get them outta that mindset. I, I think of this documentary I watched the other day of India, , which we know is one of the most polluted. Polluted Yes. At Buffalo countries in the world. And, um, , in the larger cities, especially like you're wading through trash on the side of the road like it, there's a lot of trash.

Well, in recent years they have done this huge. Countrywide, event, I forgot what it's called. Something clean India or something like that. But , they're spending millions of dollars, not just on the cleanup, but on like rebranding the country and. Teaching the younger generations, like I was talking about in schools, about the importance of environmental safety and , pride in your community, things like that, which had not been taught in the past.

So they understand, okay, if we start this from a young age and we build upon it, then we have hope. And I think that that can go for anywhere. Absolutely. That can definitely go for anywhere. So those that are in the top five as being the worst. Now everyone knows everyone that has listened. You know what to look for, what to watch for if you end up in one of those situations.

Yeah, just keep your eyes open., Don't just, you know, avoid the places, don't avoid the places because. They do have aspects of greatness and absolutely we're gonna find that in Memphis. One day. One day we're gonna find it. But those places that are in the top five safest places, congratulations.

Yeah, y'all did a fantastic job, man. Congrats to your community. That's, that is really hard to do. You're making me wanna like add all five of these stops to our list. Like I want to like go check out these top five safest cities. I mean there, there's gotta be something to do. In all of these places because if there wasn't anything to do in these places, no one would live there.

And so it really wouldn't be in the top five.  So always remember no matter where you are, no matter how you're traveling, to always just be aware of the location that you're in. To stay safe.

Mm-hmm. Because , everyone wants to return home and we want you to return home. So be safe in doing so. Have a great time in your travels and we will see you on the next one.