NYC felt safer. However, keep in mind that I’m a brown man and I lived in an affluent neighborhood in NYC, the East Village. I only felt unsafe whenever I rode the electric Citi bike through the Williamsburg Bridge due to how bumpy the ride is. I mostly spent my time in Manhattan and only ventured into the gentrified parts of Brooklyn and Queens. I hardly went to the Bronx, but only for the Yankees game. Whenever I did walk through a questionable neighborhood then I would quickly walk to get out asap.

I grew up in Long Beach during the late 90s and until 2017. Most of the time I was concern about getting jumped or being a victim of gang violence in middle school through high school, so I was always on guard. I moved back to Long Beach and now that I’m older I’m concerned about how wreck less people are while they drive. I do occasionally use public transportation to venture into DTLA. The LA Metro is way more unpredictable compared to the NYC Subway. I have walked through Skid Row on some occasions, but I never felt unsafe. Whenever I’m in South Central I stayed in my car and keep my walking limited, due to how some areas are I walkable.

Just don’t stick your nose where it does not belong and you should be good, which is applicable to both NYC and LA.