Submitted by f1sh98 t3_y2jbjv in ColumbiaMD
Comments
telmar25 t1_is4kd9f wrote
This Wallethub “safest cities” ranking uses a strange definition of “safe”. Only about 25% of this ranking has to do with crime. Otherwise it’s about things like road quality, unemployment rates, COVID vaccinations, and natural disaster risk. Look at their methodology. Honestly I think it’s mostly (effective) clickbait - how many times a year do I see this headline? And how many rankings do you think they do across the US where other cities are number 1? I wouldn’t put any stock in this ranking.
Wx_Justin t1_is4p79a wrote
25% may be about crime, but the crime statistics are given relatively higher weights. If you look at the "Home and Community" section, COVID, crime, and traffic fatalities are included, but most of the weight is placed on violent crime. Columbia is also #1 in this specific section, so we must be doing something right when it comes to crime.
telmar25 t1_is4pps0 wrote
To get 25% I roughly added up the weights of all the crime-related individual items in their “methodology.” So crime is only 25% of it overall.
I’m not making a point about Columbia crime… I live here and have a fairly good idea where things sit. But this WalletHub thing is kinda silly.
Wx_Justin t1_is4q5c6 wrote
All of the crime-related fields actually add up to over 50% of the weight for that section.
I do agree that it would be better to see a full report rather than summary statistics, however.
telmar25 t1_is4qq57 wrote
I hear you, it’s good that we are first in that section and probably indicates that we are doing something right with regard to crime. Still the point stands, about 25% or thereabouts of the weight of this overall ranking is about crime, and the WalletHub thing is kinda clickbaity and misleading.
micmea1 t1_is6v5tt wrote
Seems eerily similar to how Sykesville keeps winning "coolest town in America" awards from various websites and magazines.
Cyrix2k t1_is8add9 wrote
Gr8WallofChinatown t1_isewdwy wrote
Coolest town in america yet still has a business openly showing the SS…
(Google southern states sykesville)
ProudBlackMatt t1_is391x4 wrote
Do you think cities can reach a point where the water is flooding in faster than people can bail it out? I'm a millennial in IT and while I know many friends who live/have lived in Baltimore their goal is often to have kids in a couple years and move out into the counties after spending a few years bar crawling. They pay taxes and spend money at local small businesses but it doesn't feel like the kind of organic growth the city needs long term.
I have lived in MD for less than 10 years and Howard county for 7 with a single year in Baltimore so my perspective is pretty skewed. Kind of feels like some of the city's greatest challenges are geographic. People who want a place to raise their kids with great schools can move 10 miles away and Baltimore also has to compete with D.C. for people who want to live in a city.
telmar25 t1_is4lqi1 wrote
Agree. However that pattern is true in basically every city, which is why cities skew young. There are a large number of powerful factors driving families with kids to suburbs: lower crime, better public schools, larger houses for the money, more land for the money, more convenience for driving and shopping, and lower overall taxes are some of the biggest ones. Cities have to succeed in spite of that, and usually that’s because of appeal to young people, social activities, general appeal of sights/activities/restaurants, and convenience to work. I do think for all its faults that Baltimore is still much more appealing than Columbia for many people 5-10 years out of college. And while DC is even more appealing, that’s where price differences come into the equation.
fergiethefocus t1_is3iczy wrote
In b4 conservatives allege that the stats are fake (with zero proof whatsoever), yet if Kittleman were in charge with the EXACT same stats they'd rave about how Republicans are "tough on crime"