General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A friend of mine is moving out of the USA later this week. [View all]DFW
(54,850 posts)Here in Germany, there are many areas with huge organized crime clans. There are certain areas of Duisburg where Lebanese crime clans rule the place to the extent that cops don't even go in there unless in groups of 20 or more, and armed to the teeth and in military style armored vehicles. In other areas, it's the Romanians, the Albanians or the Serbs (or others), sometimes even bands of former German mercenaries or ex-military with friends still "on the inside" with access to weapons. Unarmed theft is rarely pursued here as a crime. If you get robbed and no firearm was used, you are usually S.O.L here. A friend of ours who recently retired from the BKA, the German FBI, said that if you don't want to get robbed, try your best not to look like it would be worthwhile for someone to try. Own a fancy car? Don't wash it too often. Have nice stuff in your house? Make sure it isn't easily visible through the windows. We know a woman who is a little off, emotionally, and counts as a "messy." Her place was once broken into, and the burglar(s) never went further than one meter inside the front door. They probably figured another gang had already been there that night.
In Berlin, there was one gang (Serbian, as it later turned out) that broke into houses and apartments they thought might be worthwhile. They tried to break in when no one was home, but if they made a mistake, they killed whoever they found, so as not to leave witnesses. One time, they got sloppy, and left their victim barely alive. That is how they got identified and caught. They used weapons, so they went away for a long time.
Portugal is geographically far from the worst of the organized gangs, but not entirely immune. As one of the poorer western European countries, it has its share of crime, too, if not as bad as elsewhere. One thing most of Western Europe does NOT have, at least, is a large force of armed cops whoare too quick to use their guns on unarmed civilians. THAT, at least, is almost unheard of.
Oh, and one last thing: good luck with learning Portuguese! It is a Romance language, and farily easy to learn to read, especially if you know some Spanish. BUT--the way the prounonce it, especially in Portugal, will drive you nuts. Oddly enough, Brazilian Portuguese is usually easier to understand for the uninitiated. The country DOES have some wonderful scenery, is relatively affordable, and, thanks to MANY billions of euros of German taxes poured into their development, way more modernized than the primitive place I first visited in 1980. I did have a nice time walking around with my (then-) wife-to-be and getting decent meals for $2. THAT is over and done with. But the food is still decent, and it is way more affordable than most of the rest of western Europe. I do not know how local infrastructure is. I only know parts of the country as a visitor, not what a resident could tell you.