Living in a Bad Neighborhood?

[CraigSca]

I have never lived in a "bad" neighborhood. My wife and I (and our two kids) moved into a town in Delaware 2+ years ago.

Tonight, our next-door neighbor called the cops on two kids/teenagers who threw something at their house. He got his flashlight out - saw them - and they ran. The noise was a huge CRASH, though they haven't found anything wrong with their house (as of yet). The cops came...said they saw some signs of people hanging out in the adjacent property to their house (cigarette butts, etc). My neighbor is in the midst of putting up a fence around their property (we have one already). He has vowed now to get a couple of those floodlights that turn-on when someone's in your yard. I'm thinking about that, as well as purchasing my first gun. My father-in-law is a member of the NRA and has offered to train me in their use (I've never owned a gun before).

I know kids will be kids, but this just pisses me off. You spend an un-Godly amount of $$$ just to be able to put your stake in the earth and then we have these jackass kids doing whatever the hell they're doing. Of course, the wives in the cul-de-sac are all talking now, concerned about the neighborhood we live in (and rightfully so).

Just wanted to vent - you work your ass off in order to afford a nice place and it still doesn't matter.

[stevew]

I would recommend being more proactive if you can. If they're hanging out somewhere where they shouldn't be, then call the cops. Light your house up well, get a security system, etc. At least you have a fence up, that should cut down on the traffic going through/near your yard.

[wade moore]

I grew up in a relatively bad neighberhood. (Dale City, VA for those Washington, DC Area folks). My house itself had about 3 cars broken into via broken windows, we had a brick thrown through the window of our house in the middle of the night (random act of vandalism as far as we know to this day), and had n***** lover scrolled on our sidewalk due to some of the friends I kept.

Outside of me personally we had a couple of gang related drivebys, etc.

Anyway. All that being said, I still felt relatively safe in the neighberhood. All of these events was over the almost 15 years that I lived there, most of it in the last 5 or so of tha time. It was never a viloence riddled neighberhood, but if you were smart enough not to piss off the wrong people and not to get on the wrong persons side, you managed ok. As far as I could tell if you did this successfuly, you may have some vandalism, etc. but you were relatively safe from violence.

Sounds like this may be more like your neighberhood than an inner-city from what I know of Deleware.

Not sure how this helps except to tell you I don't think you should fear too much for you or your family's personal safety.

[caspanky]

That scares me a little bit. To go from kids screwing around in the neighborhood to talking about getting a gun? Seems like a little bit of a reach. I think the floodlights are a good idea, both for kids and should anyone else come by. I also agree about calling the cops on them if they are somewhere they shouldn't be. The gun still seems a bit much though, unless there have been other issues in teh neighborhood that you didn't mention.

[astrosfan64]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I have never lived in a "bad" neighborhood. My wife and I (and our two kids) moved into a town in Delaware 2+ years ago.

Tonight, our next-door neighbor called the cops on two kids/teenagers who threw something at their house. He got his flashlight out - saw them - and they ran. The noise was a huge CRASH, though they haven't found anything wrong with their house (as of yet). The cops came...said they saw some signs of people hanging out in the adjacent property to their house (cigarette butts, etc). My neighbor is in the midst of putting up a fence around their property (we have one already). He has vowed now to get a couple of those floodlights that turn-on when someone's in your yard. I'm thinking about that, as well as purchasing my first gun. My father-in-law is a member of the NRA and has offered to train me in their use (I've never owned a gun before).

I know kids will be kids, but this just pisses me off. You spend an un-Godly amount of $$$ just to be able to put your stake in the earth and then we have these jackass kids doing whatever the hell they're doing. Of course, the wives in the cul-de-sac are all talking now, concerned about the neighborhood we live in (and rightfully so).

Just wanted to vent - you work your ass off in order to afford a nice place and it still doesn't matter.

I had some kids throw things at my house. I live in a middle class to upper class area. It was about 1:00 AM when they did it, but my computer is near the front door. I was up of course, being the computer geek that I am.

I ran out the front door and chased those bastards down the greenbelts, untill they ran into the woods. I screamed at them as I was chasing them, that if I caught them I would whip their ass.

They haven't been back.

[Swaggs]

My wife and I are going through a similar feeling. We live in a pretty nice neighborhood, but someone broke into our neighbors' home a few nights ago, while they were sleeping, and stole some things. Apparently the neighbors left their door open, so it was not exactly a forced entry, but it is still pretty scary. Before this occurence, it would really not worry me to leave my door unlocked over night or be worried if my car was unlocked, but now we feel a little threatened.

Knowing that someone would come into your house, while you are home sleeping, is a very scary feeling.

[astrosfan64]

another good thing is a "dog"

[caspanky]

Originally Posted by astrosfan64

I screamed at them as I was chasing them, that if I caught them I would whip their ass.

This brings back some memories. There was a couple times where my friends and I were chased out of areas that we shouldn't have been in. We weren't vandalising or anything, just checking out the new houses being built. It's amazing how fast you can run with someone threatening to beat you. :cheesy:

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by caspanky

That scares me a little bit. To go from kids screwing around in the neighborhood to talking about getting a gun? Seems like a little bit of a reach. I think the floodlights are a good idea, both for kids and should anyone else come by. I also agree about calling the cops on them if they are somewhere they shouldn't be. The gun still seems a bit much though, unless there have been other issues in teh neighborhood that you didn't mention.

The gun would only be used if someone were to break in the house.

FYI - another neighbor, when seeing the cops, happened by and mentioned that someone had tried to break into his car the other night.

[Joe]

the other day near my work a kid got shot and killed because he was spray painting someones house. dont be like that

[stevew]

Sounds like the Stick-up kids are back in bloom. At least look into pricing a home security system, they probably aren't as expensive as you think.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by George W Bush

the other day near my work a kid got shot and killed because he was spray painting someones house. dont be like that

Spray-painting Cheney's house is never a good idea.

[Lathum]

There is goiing to be crime everywhere and kids are going to be kids. I understand your frustration but if something thrown at your house or the neighbors house is the worst thing to happen you should probably consider yourselves lucky.

[CamEdwards]

Craig,

I know you said that you were thinking about getting a gun in case someone broke into your home. Before you do that (and I'm sure your father in law's said something similar) you need to really think about whether or not you are prepared to use it. A gun becomes a liability when a break in occurs if you're going to have second thoughts about using it.

Also, if you do get a gun, get a gun safe as well. If you are worried about break-ins, there's a much better chance that one will happen while you're not around. Make sure the thief won't have easy access to your gun.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

My wife and I are going through a similar feeling. We live in a pretty nice neighborhood, but someone broke into our neighbors' home a few nights ago, while they were sleeping, and stole some things. Apparently the neighbors left their door open, so it was not exactly a forced entry, but it is still pretty scary. Before this occurence, it would really not worry me to leave my door unlocked over night or be worried if my car was unlocked, but now we feel a little threatened.

Knowing that someone would come into your house, while you are home sleeping, is a very scary feeling.

Wait... physically open, as in a window being open, or just unlocked?

[Eaglesfan27]

I've been thinking about these same issues as we are now home owners and about to move into our new house this week. It's a very nice neighborhood, but as you mention, no area is really ever safe. As Cam mentioned, I've been debating if I'd ever be able to use a gun if we bought one. My wife is sure she could, but I don't know if I could. We are definitely going to get a gun safe if we do get one. However, for now, we just got a very good alarm system installed and flood lights. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Desnudo]

From cigarette butts in an empty lot to a gun? I don't get it. Buying a gun because you're angry seems incredibly stupid. Kids will be kids. If it really bothers you that much, move to a gated community.

[Shepp]

All of the things that have been mentioned here, gettting a dog, floodlights, and even a gun, are good measures to consider in home defense. Probably the best thing however, is organizing your neighbors for a neighborhood watch.

Nobody knows who is supposed to be in the neighborhood better than the people who live there. If you see someone suspicious, call the police. When you call the police give a good description of the people and what they are doing. After a few days or weeks of being rousted whoever is hanging out will move on to somewhere they'll get less attention.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

Spray-painting Cheney's house is never a good idea.

SI

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Wait... physically open, as in a window being open, or just unlocked?

The door was left unlocked. Which really does not surprise me much because they seem to always have a lot going on and seem a bit forgetful. We have called them before to let them know that one of thier car doors was open and that they left their child safety seat on the ground outside their car (without the child ).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by George W Bush

dont be like that

Exactly. Don't wait until the little bastard starts painting shit.

[Greyroofoo]

"Kids are going to be kids" is a load of bull.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

Craig,

I know you said that you were thinking about getting a gun in case someone broke into your home. Before you do that (and I'm sure your father in law's said something similar) you need to really think about whether or not you are prepared to use it. A gun becomes a liability when a break in occurs if you're going to have second thoughts about using it.

Also, if you do get a gun, get a gun safe as well. If you are worried about break-ins, there's a much better chance that one will happen while you're not around. Make sure the thief won't have easy access to your gun.

Cam,

I've looked all over for NRA training courses and finally my father-in-law, who's been using guns for years, said he'd train me how to use it. I am fully aware that having a gun in the house, and not knowing how to use it would, at best, render it useless and at worst get someone killed. It's a huge responsibility, and I am fully aware that I need training in order to handle it safely.

We've also been discussing how to store it - it has to be available, just in case, yet completely unavailable, just in case. A catch-22.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

From cigarette butts in an empty lot to a gun? I don't get it. Buying a gun because you're angry seems incredibly stupid. Kids will be kids. If it really bothers you that much, move to a gated community.

I had been thinking about getting a gun for about a year now.

As a follow-up to last night, here's what precipitated everything - there was a loud crash at the neighbor's house. He got a spotlight out and saw what looked like to be a few people in his backyard. When he put the spotlight on them he heard of the persons say, "Oh shit!" and start running. The cops were called, they checked the area and found no damage, but did find a drink at the neighbor's swingset (which was not there's) and cigarette butts in the adjoining woods. No offense, but if I have people trespassing on my property past 11pm on a Friday night, I have every right to protect myself. While that doesn't mean I'm going to start taking potshots at people, that does mean I will defend my property in case that loud noise just happens to be MY window and someone's trying to get into MY house.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I've looked all over for NRA training courses and finally my father-in-law, who's been using guns for years, said he'd train me how to use it. I am fully aware that having a gun in the house, and not knowing how to use it would, at best, render it useless and at worst get someone killed. It's a huge responsibility, and I am fully aware that I need training in order to handle it safely.

Cam was not talking about just KNOWING how to use it, but also about being WILLING to use it. If the gun safety training you do get doesn't emphasize "Don't point a gun at anything you don't want destroyed" and you don't agree 100%, you don't want/need a gun. If you are going to pull it on someone, be ready to follow through and use it and deal with the consequences. If you aren't, or you are unsure, you're going to put yourself in far more danger than if you had never pulled it in the first place.

[CamEdwards]

CraigSca,

I'm sure your father in law's giving you good advice. I just have to chime in, ya know.

[CraigSca]

Understood, Gstelmack. The only time I would use the gun is if I felt my family was in imminent danger. If that is the case, I don't think I would have any problem firing a weapon.