83: Is Europe actually safer than the U.S.?

Is Europe really safer than the U.S.—or does it just feel that way?

In this episode of Move Abroad, we break down one of the most common (and loaded) questions I get: Is Europe actually safer than the U.S.? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no—it depends on how you define “safe.”

We’ll look at real-world data and personal experiences to explore safety through multiple lenses:

• Gun violence and violent crime
• Healthcare access and affordability
• Transportation and traffic deaths
• Political and social stability
• Everyday emotional and cultural safety

You’ll learn how Europe and the U.S. compare when it comes to both statistics and quality of life—and what those differences might mean for your move abroad.

If safety is a top concern for you, Don't miss this episode.

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Website: jordangiberson.com
Instagram: @jordan.giberson

Transcript

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So whenever we're thinking about, is Europe safer than the US from a statistical standpoint, yes. Generally Europe is safer in terms of gun violence, traffic incidents, healthcare access, and social stability. But that doesn't mean that it's perfect or that it's right for everyone. Hey, my name is Jordan Giberson. I'm a Texas girl living and thriving in London. The best thing I've ever done? Moving abroad, hands down. And I'm passionate about helping others do the same. Are you curious about finding a job abroad? You're in the right place, friend. I'll teach you the tried and true secrets of how to make moving abroad a reality for you and how to live a fulfilling life once you get there. We'll cover topics like choosing the best visa for you, how to get a job offer in another country, how to get over your fear of moving abroad, and how to live a life you love once you get there, this is The Move Abroad Podcast. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Move Abroad Podcast. In today's episode, we're going to be tackling a question that I get asked all the time, which is, is Europe actually safer than the US? And while it seems like it might be a very simple yes or no question, it's actually a lot more nuanced than that. So we will look through several examples such as crime and healthcare, transportation, politics, and just everyday quality of life. And then we'll also include some real world examples and statistics to help us understand what's really going on in terms of safety between Europe and the United States. So let's go ahead and get started. First of all, what does safe even mean? So let's define what safety means first. When people say is Europe safer, they might be thinking of things like gun violence, mass shootings, street crime, natural disasters, access to healthcare, political and social stability, and just feelings of personal safety walking home at night, for example. So here's the thing, Europe and the US may both be considered safe by global standards, but the day-to-day experience of that safety can be radically different between the two. So let's start looking at one of these examples that we just mentioned, which is gun violence and crime. This is one of the most significant safety concerns in the US that a lot of people who are not in the US are like, whoa, that is insane. So to give you an example of a statistic on gun violence and crime in 2023 the US had over 48,000 gun related deaths, which includes homicides and suicides. So that's about 13 gun deaths per a hundred thousand people. Compare that to countries like the UK, which had gun deaths of 0.2 per a hundred thousand. So instead of 13, it's not even a whole person, it's 0.2 gun deaths per 100,000 people, and most of Europe falls into that same range. The US also experiences more mass shootings than any other developed nation that's more than 600 in 2023 alone, according to the gun violence archive. And in terms of violent crime, the US had a violent crime rate of about 4.7 per 1000 people. But in Europe, the number is a lot lower. For example, France is around 1.3. Germany's is 0.6, and Spains is 0.9 per 1000. So it's like around one or less than one, whereas the US is 4.7 for every 1000 people that have violent crime. But in terms of petty crime, not violent crime or gun deaths, but in terms of petty crime, European cities with a lot of tourism like Rome, Barcelona, and Paris are known for pickpocketing. So for instance, Barcelona is often ranked one of the top cities in the world for petty theft, especially on public transport. So in Europe, you're more likely to have your phone stolen, but far less likely to face a violent assault or a shooting like you might in the United States. I remember whenever I was in Europe, recently I was in Barcelona and I was holding my phone like with my right hand on top of my phone, my left hand, like firmly gripping on the bottom of my phone while I was talking to my mom while I was waiting for a friend to arrive at the Airbnb. And I was like gripping my phone super tight and like in a corner, making sure that no one could come behind me because I was so nervous about my phone getting stolen. Whereas that's something in the US that you don't have to worry about as much that petty crime or someone you know, in Europe you might hear of people doing magic tricks and trying to steal someone's wallet or purse secretively. Whereas in the US you don't have to worry about that as much, but you do have to worry about the violent crime more in the US and gun deaths more in the US than you would have to in European countries. So again, in Europe you're more likely to have petty crime, like getting your phone stolen, but you'll be a lot less likely to face a violent assault or shooting. So let's transition a little bit into talking about healthcare as a safety net, and how healthcare is really overlooked whenever we think of safety. In the US, 40% of adults say that they've delayed or avoided medical care just due to the cost, but medical debt in the US is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US so a lot of people are worried about medical costs and don't get medical care. So that is something that we do have to think about in terms of safety and keeping your body healthy and safe and living long. That's the whole point of whenever we think about places that are safe, we want to be living long, living a good healthy life where we don't worry. Whereas in contrast, most European countries have universal healthcare or highly subsidized systems. So you don't have to worry about being bankrupt or delaying medical care like you might in the US because the costs are so much higher in the US. For example, in the UK, residents don't pay out of pocket for doctor's visits, hospital care, or ambulance services because of the national healthcare. Whereas in the US you would be paying an arm and a leg to be able to pay for hospital care or pay for an ambulance, or even just to pay for a normal doctor's visit. So while emergency care is technically available in the US, affordability is a very real barrier to actual safety when it comes to thinking about healthcare and making sure that you can get taken care of and if and when you need healthcare. Another aspect of safety I feel like often gets missed is public transportation, walking and urban safety. Your environment shapes your experience of safety, especially how you move through it. So let's compare something like traffic related deaths. The US has about 12.7 traffic deaths per a hundred thousand people. Whereas in the EU, the average is 4.7 per 100,000 people. So instead of 12.7 for a hundred thousand people, it's 4.7 per for a hundred thousand people. So it is a lot safer in terms of traffic related deaths. Sweden and Norway are among the safest in the world with rates closer to 2 per 100,000 people. This ties into just the infrastructure in general. So European cities are built around walkability and public transportation, whereas in the US, outside of cities like New York City or DC public transportation is a lot less reliable and it's not really existent, if we're being honest. Whereas you really need to have roads and cars and you have the potential risk of car accidents, which could be quite deadly. Pedestrian deaths in the US has risen sharply as well with over 7,500 deaths in 2022. The largest number in over four decades. So a lot of pedestrians are unfortunately getting run over and passing away. I don't know why that's gone up so much more in the past few years, but apparently we have a lot more crazy drivers on the road in cities like Amsterdam or Copenhagen, you can bike or walk almost everywhere, and statistically you are more safe doing it. So let's shift a bit and talk about the political and social stability now when it comes to your safety. Now let's talk a little bit about the political and social stability when it comes to safety in the US versus Europe. Now I found this super interesting. The Global Peace Index ranks countries based on levels of violence, crime, militarization, and political instability. As of 2023, 8 of the top 10 most peaceful countries in the world were in Europe, Iceland, Denmark, Ireland, Austria and Portugal are at the very top. The US ranked 131 out of 163 countries, which is crazy. That's lower than countries like Rwanda, Haiti and South Africa. I was really surprised. I love South Africa. I think it's one of the best places in the world. I love Cape Town so much, but I was shocked to find out that South Africa was ranked as being more peaceful which than the United States, which again was ranked 131 out of 163 countries. So it is more towards the bottom of the list. The bottom of the barrel. Whereas most European countries are ranked at the very top, a lot of the European countries they're like literally all at the top of the list. So there's also some social unrest to consider as well. In the US the increasing polarization and frequent protests can create uncertainty or fear for some people. So as a bit of social unrest to consider when it comes to safety, whereas Europe is not immune to protests or political shifts. France and Italy have had their own turmoil, but statistically, there is greater trust in public institutions and fewer incidents of large scale violence like you might find in the United States. Moving on to our next section, which is the emotional and cultural safety. This is a lot harder to measure, but it's also worth discussing about how safe you feel on a day to day basis. In 2023, the Gallup poll said that only 44% of Americans said they feel safe walking alone at night in their own neighborhood. This is contrasting in Norway there is 79% of people that feel safe, 77% in Spain and 74% in Germany. So the US as 44% say they feel safe, but in European countries it's a lot closer to 75 to 80% instead of 44%. That said, the cultural safety also really depends on language barriers, whether you're a part of a marginalized group, your age, your gender, and perhaps your socioeconomic status. It really depends on what neighborhood you live in. It really depends on the city that you're living in. So this just really does depend on how safe you might feel. But I would say that some Americans feel more relaxed abroad. You know, there's a slower pace, there's more trust in public systems. There's less paranoia, perhaps in general. Others might feel isolated, misunderstood, or frustrated, trying to navigate a new bureaucracy once you move abroad. But a lot of safety is very personal. It's shaped by what you believe, what you fear, and how adaptable you really are. So whenever we're thinking about, is Europe safer than the US from a statistical standpoint, yes. Generally Europe is safer in terms of gun violence, traffic incidents, healthcare access, and social stability. But that doesn't mean that it's perfect or that it's right for everyone. You really need to feel safe depending on your own personal experiences, your expectations, and what you're looking for in this next chapter of your life. So whenever we think of safety, again, just kind of in summary, we think about gun violence, mass shootings, street crime, natural disasters, access to healthcare, political and social stability, and just feelings of personal safety as we're walking home at night. Those are some of the main categories I would say are relevant for our conversation about safety in the US versus Europe. So again, yes, Europe really is safer in general, but it really does depend on the neighborhood you're living in and the city that you're living in. So it does depend, on you and on things like language barriers, your age and your gender and things like that as well. But I would say again, in general, Europe is a lot safer than the US and we did explore some of those statistics that do kind of prove that as being right. But I will also say that whenever I'm in Texas, whenever I'm in Austin, I do feel pretty safe. I don't feel unsafe. So, whereas in London, there's some neighborhoods that I'm like, eh, not my favorite. But in general, I do feel really safe in London, to be honest. But there are some neighborhoods where I'm like, eh, like probably shouldn't be walking around here at like 1:00 AM, 2:00 AM at night alone. But yeah, i'd say that's kind of a quick overview of safety in Europe versus the United States. If you are wondering where in Europe might be a good fit for you, then feel free to go take my free quiz. That's at Jordangiberson.com/quiz. It's designed to help match you with a European city that's based on your lifestyle preferences, values and yes maybe your safety concerns as well. So anyways, that is it for me for today's episode. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Move Abroad podcast. I'll catch you here again next week, same time, same place. I'll catch you then.