I've been to a lot of sketchy places with different jobs. At this point, very little in terms of American ghetto's sketch me out. Somehow though, even the most moderately sketchy place abroad freaks me out. Its like a culture thing I guess. I remember reading up on Lima before I went to Peru, apparently the neighborhood surrounding the airport is really fucked up, and people will see cabs with tourists at red lights, smash the windows and rob the tourists at knifepoint. Apparently its so regular that a lot of cabbies had it worked out where instead of getting shit smashed, they'll pick you up, bring you to a sketchy neighborhood, kick you out to get robbed, drive off, and come back later for a cut. I got picked up by a cab to go to a random place I hooked up through couchsurfing.org at 3 a.m. after a flight. Apparently it was supposed to take about 20 minutes. After about a half hour, we still were in the shanty area. I guess he got lost or something, but he kept going into cul de sacs, stopping for a second, and turning around. Each time I just kind of found buddha and found peace with the fact that sketchy dudes were going to kill me. Luckily, he either genuinely was lost or the guys he worked the deal with weren't there, and I got my to my spot. There probably wasn't any reason to be as terrified as I was, but I've never been so frightened in my life.
When I used to live in the lower bottoms in West Oakland I would regularly get chased down by random people as I skated home from bars or parties, but never got caught, so it didn't phase me. My friend reminded me of it the other day. He said I used to tell him "Yeah, guys try to chase me down late at night when I go home, but their probably just joking around." Apparently he didn't believe they were just joking around at all, but just let it go. One time a little kid, no older than 8, and probably way younger, asked if he could borrow my board when I was skating by the projects that were 2 blocks from my home. I said no, so he started chasing after me with a big old kitchen knife. I would regularly hear gunshots, and one time I saw a dude who had just committed armed robbery run through my backyard with shotgun to avoid the cops. A friend of mine got an odd job digging out a backyard to build a patio in that neighborhood, and while he was digging, he found a human pelvic bone. Rent was cheap and I had a nice miniramp in my backyard that the landlord built and maintained, but it was definitely the sketchiest place I've ever lived. Its apparently gentrifying now, but it wasn't back then. I slept with a sword under my bed despite having bars on every window and the door. I get what it means to sleep with one eye open now, the tiniest little noise would wake me up and have me going straight for the sword.
Though there was a triple shooting/double murder across the street from my house in the mission. It happened while I was at home, and about a half hour later I stepped out and looked to my left and saw one side of crime scene tape. I looked off further to the left and couldn't see where it ended. Then I looked to my right and realized it ended there and I was inside of it. Still nothing compared to living in the lower bottoms in West Oakland.
I've been to sketchier places in the states though, South Central LA is about as sketchy as you would assume. Lots of gang shit. I subbed at a school in Sobrante Park in east Oakland several times, and apparently that's the most dangerous neighborhood in Oakland. I never felt that sketched out there though
Topic: What's the sketchiest place you've been to? (Read 7378 times)