Self Defense?

[H-carWizKid]

No offense to anyone here but forget all the macho bullshit.

If you have a knife, someone will have a gun. If you have a gun, the group of kids that tries to jump you will have two guns.

You said that money is an issue an I can respect that. But where or how is money better spent than on your safety and I hate to be a chauvinist but the safety of your pregnant wife.

Life is far too short and precious to even worry one second about bullshit like this. Eat the cost, move on and sleep better at night.

I agree on all points above. Unfortunately it isn't a matter of how we are spending our money as much as it is a matter of what it costs for our household to run. I could drain our operational (accessable) savings to buy out of our lease, and relocate again- but then if we have an issue once the baby arrives we have lost our safety net. Basically I could empty our savings-but then we are in a bad position once the baby arrives- so it is a catch 22.

Based upon our immediate neighbors the area of the neighborhood where we live is mostly populated by professionals that are around our age group (late 20's, early 30's). Our street is quiet, and I haven't observed any of the activity described in my OP. The problem is that just a block over it appears that the area is more depressed- two blocks over there are larger homes, and it is again more affluent. The problem appears to be this swath up the middle where the population is as I described above- less desireable.

Shannon doesn't need to go through that area unless she is getting the car from our rented garage space- so I am now looking for a garage space that is closer to home, or at least on our side of the neighborhood in order to prevent issues. If we stay on our block, I think we are safe and secure.

In order to remedy the situation while I search for a new Garage- I am now going to fetch the car from the garage myself in the morning when I wake up. I can take my bike over and leave it in the garage, and I will return it in the evening to prevent Shannon from being placed in any sort of hazard.

The unfortunate reality of living in a major city is that this sort of thing will always be an issue. Shannon points out that our previous neighborhood wasn't much different since the area between ourselves and the lakeshore was also depressed. The difference is that I never had to walk through that area before since it wasn't on my route to the train, and our garage was in the opposite direction as well, so I never encountered any issues. I was also single then so I wasn't so hyper sensitive about protecting a wife, and now a child (coming in November). I continue to seek opportunities in the South, so hopefully we won't have to deal with raising the baby in the city for very long at all.

I have now re-routed my path to the train, and can use the same route to get to the garage while I search for another storage option.

so here is a question-

Is anyone here living in the south, and working for a company that could use an experienced project manager?

Philip

 

[NSXFRIEND]

You can break your lease via 2 months rent but you can try this..

Have your manager write proposol letter indicating you will be moving and the commute is not within reason, if management refuses pay the 2 months.

The best self defense is offense!

 

[eNeSeX 95T]

So exacly how many shots is it good for? Thats not a bad idea.

2 Shots, but thats all you really need for 1 guy. Fire the first shot then adjust. Its a jelly substance like napalm so its pretty effective.

 

[Ski_Banker]

No offense to anyone here but forget all the macho bullshit.

If you have a knife, someone will have a gun. If you have a gun, the group of kids that tries to jump you will have two guns.

You said that money is an issue an I can respect that. But where or how is money better spent than on your safety and I hate to be a chauvinist but the safety of your pregnant wife.

Life is far too short and precious to even worry one second about bullshit like this. Eat the cost, move on and sleep better at night.

+1
Also, these are the kinds of unfortunate expenses that credit cards are made for. Buying yourself out of this problem shoudn't be much more expensive than purchasing a gun or martial arts lessons anyway.

 

[tosugrad]

Too bad that gangster that is running your fair city only lets CRIMINALS carry guns.

 

[H-carWizKid]

Too bad that gangster that is running your fair city only lets CRIMINALS carry guns.

This is of no consequence- as stated above I won't carry a gun

P

 

[slamstrom]

I had a friend who opt. out on 6 months of a 1 year lease. What he did was talked to the apartment manager, and offer 2 months rent in exchange to opt out of the lease. Don't know if this will work in your scenario, but never hurts to try.

If you are not comfortable with your neighborhood, just put yourself in your wife's shoe. If this happened to her, I am pretty sure sure you would move asap for her safety. Do try talking to your apartment manager first. Good luck.

 

[EuroBoutique]

No offense to anyone here but forget all the macho bullshit.

If you have a knife, someone will have a gun. If you have a gun, the group of kids that tries to jump you will have two guns.

You said that money is an issue an I can respect that. But where or how is money better spent than on your safety and I hate to be a chauvinist but the safety of your pregnant wife.

Life is far too short and precious to even worry one second about bullshit like this. Eat the cost, move on and sleep better at night.

Weapons won't solve any problems, it will only encourage them to challenge you and be better prepared. I don't care how tough you think you are or how you can handle a person. Even the strongest man in the world will go down with one bullet. Plus SAFETY is your number one concern so why fight back???? You do want to be around to see your kid grow up right?

A stun gun will work the first time but you can bet they will be back to get revenge later. Since you live in the neighborhood, that won't solve anything. If you do pull a gun and end up killing someone, even if they are at fault, you lose trust me.

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago but by college I bought a loft on Lake St. near I94/Randolph so I know the Chicago neighborhoods quite well. In general it's pretty safe but those areas you are talking about are notorious for crime and with the housing projects not far away I would not even consider living there with a pregnant wife in town!

My freshman year I commuted between Naperville and IIT (35th / Cermak) in the southern part of Chicago. I must have witnessed at least a few robberies and even a lady who threw her kid out a window.

I think you are taking the wrong approach here. Before you think of self defense, I would think about M OV I N G.


rk

 

[H-carWizKid]

Weapons won't solve any problems, it will only encourage them to challenge you and be better prepared. I don't care how tough you think you are or how you can handle a person. Even the strongest man in the world will go down with one bullet. Plus SAFETY is your number one concern so why fight back???? You do want to be around to see your kid grow up right?

A stun gun will work the first time but you can bet they will be back to get revenge later. Since you live in the neighborhood, that won't solve anything. If you do pull a gun and end up killing someone, even if they are at fault, you lose trust me.

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago but by college I bought a loft on Lake St. near I94/Randolph so I know the Chicago neighborhoods quite well. In general it's pretty safe but those areas you are talking about are notorious for crime and with the housing projects not far away I would not even consider living there with a pregnant wife in town!

My freshman year I commuted between Naperville and IIT (35th / Cermak) in the southern part of Chicago. I must have witnessed at least a few robberies and even a lady who threw her kid out a window.

I think you are taking the wrong approach here. Before you think of self defense, I would think about M OV I N G.


rk

You may want to consider reading the rest of the thread.

Thanks for the guidance.

P

 

[TURBO2GO]

I think pepper spray is one of the best, non-lethal weapons to use. It allows you to keep a safe distance and works on multiple attackers. It fits in your pocket. It gives you time to run away. I had an incident a while back that made me carry one full time for years. The only time I used it was on a loose junkyard dog that leapt at me. And even then, it worked.

I think being prepared is always important. You don't need to be Macho, but you don't want to be stupid and unprepared either. Perhaps you will move and feel safe, but it never hurts to be prepared for a scenario that may come up. How much time and energy you put into it is your choice.

I never wanted to carry a gun either and never saw it necessary. However I would say it is good to have a weapon of some sort (whatever you are comfortable in using) with you, it is good to know hand to hand combat. You will hopefully and probably never need any of them, but it will make you more prepared "just in case".

A good pepper spray can shoot 10 feet easy. It can spray multiple people. It's a small can. It's non-lethal. It is $20 for a good one, I'd invest in one for yourself and one for your wife. Practice with it a couple of times. The first instinctive reaction you may get is an "I don't want to carry and worry about these things" from your wife. That reaction, is one of un-preparedness. In time, carrying my can of pepper spray was no different than carrying my wallet and my car keys. I always had three items in my pockets. 4 years later it probably saved me from being torn apart by a rottweiler. After a week or so your wife will no longer view the can as this ominous reminder of danger, it will just become invisible to her. It will be no different than lipstick. Until the one day she may need to reach for it. Do you understand what I am trying to say? That mental state of distress that comes when thinking about weapons is the first thing that has to go. It will allow you to be calm when they do come. There are also some good videos that teach personal safety, you can buy them online. It's an hour of your time that will better prepare you. You should probably watch them, just as much as you should learn basic CPR. You have more to worry about now than yourself, and your wife has more to worry about than herself. Don't let fear keep you from being prepared. If you have to swim one day, its better to have familiarized yourself with water first.