You may be right though a latest / greatest Ipnone worth $1000 (sporting features I dont give a damn) makes me uneasy to use on public transportation. Here in NYC such things get snatched from peoples hands on the train along with gold jewlery and other expensive gear. I dont want to attract that upon myself, no thanks. $150 phone which works decently could be stolen too but the hole in the budget is an order of magnitude smaller so I can stay relaxed at least.

Yeah, I used to have a rusty roadbike that looked so unattractive I thought it’s like ontouchable and I found the solution to bike theft. Nevertheless, one day a thick chain was cut and the bike was gone. So, yes, anything gets stolen

> Here in NYC such things get snatched from peoples hands on the train along with gold jewlery and other expensive gear. I dont want to attract that upon myself, no thanks.

Why would you want to live in a place like that? I can't think of a single city in Australia where that would be a concern.

Because it's not always easy to move, especially when you want to be close to family members who may be older.

Also, immigration isn't always trivial. As a European, I would have to jump through multiple hoops to be able to move to AU/NZ, for example.

Whilst I can understand that there will be many people in such circumstances, I suspect the majority are not in them who elect to live in such areas.

As a European, sure. But I'm not suggesting AU/NZ is the only area in the world that is low crime. I'd imagine with a European passport you have access to many countries with low crime rate areas with little effort, no?

> I suspect the majority are not in them who elect to live in such areas.

I suspect the contrary. People seem very keen to stick around family and friends, and tend to prefer to not make major changes. Whenever I suggest such an option (move countries, not necessarily continents), people always seem dismissive. However, I expect this to be somewhat local / culture-based.

The issue is that these areas are usually the big cities where people will tend to flock for the jobs. Sure, their small towns might be quiet, but there's no work there, especially if you want a more "intellectual" kind of job. I'm curious how this will change with the rise of work from home, though. I know many people who've moved out of Paris to random tiny towns thanks to this. So, moves are being made. But crime has been increasing in smaller towns, too...

> I'd imagine with a European passport you have access to many countries with low crime rate areas with little effort, no?

I honestly don't know which countries those would be. Especially since they shouldn't be on a path such that, a year or two down the line, they'd resemble my current country, France, which mostly excludes the rest of the EU.

As regards the passport, it should allow me to move there for an indefinite amount of time, and ideally allow me to work from there. Mostly, an EU passport allows me to visit many places, but not settle (I don't qualify for the "rich people" visas).

Those are fair points. My response was quite flippant and generalised. I do understand people have ties to their homes, but I wonder what level of sacrifice is an acceptable amount.

For me, keeping myself and my family feeling safe (and that safety being based on the reality around me) is a non negotiable.

I completely agree. My point was actually like your bike example.

The phone may not be, in itself, expensive, so a painful loss if it came to be stolen (or otherwise no longer available - say you break / lose it). But since more and more things are tied to it, it can be a giant PITA to lose it. For example, my bank accounts 2FA is tied to it, and they specifically don't allow having multiple phones. If my phone is lost, I have to physically visit a branch office to reset it.