There is a large portion of the US that thinks all our cities look like Gotham from Tim Burton's 1989 version of Batman. Non-city dwellers don't understand that cities have gotten continually safer and are generally nice places to live.

A small anecdote: I know someone from Norfolk, VA who was visiting Massachusetts. He was very concerned that he would be shot if he walked around Charlestown (the Boston neighborhood) which is insane. There's a lot wrong with Charlestown (gentrification, Sullivan Square, New Rutherford) but Irish gang wars don't make the list and probably haven't for 20-30 years.