Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you're safer there than here. Multiple victims in shootings in the U.S. this week at a Wal-Mart, a nursing home, etc.

Damn, I was totally planning on a summer vacation in a Red State visiting all the best Wal-Marts and nursing homes. Guess I'll have to cancel.

Yes, because mass shootings don't happen in blue states. Oh, wait, Sandy Hook.

Also, risk of terrorist train attacks is less than Metro fire.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't even think of not going if I had had something planned. I'd never travel internationally on such short notice though.

Even if you are actually IN a city where a terrorist attack occurs the odds of you dying are extraordinarily low.

There are 177,000 people in brussels, only 30 died. So there was a .000169% chance of you being killed in Brussels yesterday. Still pretty freaking low.

AS a former math teacher, I'm going to call you on your math skills. That would be a .0169% chance of dying, 100 times what you claimed.

Anonymous wrote:I think you're safer there than here. Multiple victims in shootings in the U.S. this week at a Wal-Mart, a nursing home, etc.

Damn, I was totally planning on a summer vacation in a Red State visiting all the best Wal-Marts and nursing homes. Guess I'll have to cancel.

We just cancelled our trip to Europe as well this week with two kids and I agree - I would have said we would totally go except when it was time to decide for my family, I decided it wasn't worth the stress on our vacation. We cannot possibly stay away from the recommended places in the St Dept travel alert - tourist places, public transportation, so we are going somewhere else.

I think you're safer there than here. Multiple victims in shootings in the U.S. this week at a Wal-Mart, a nursing home, etc.

I am going to 2 of those (but not Belgium) for work in a few weeks. I'm not too worried.

I was considering attending and presenting at a conference in Amsterdam this summer and would be travelling just with my 11 year old. There is a "substantial" risk of a terrorist attack in the Netherlands. Apparently their intelligence is aware that "Netherlands" is frequently mentioned in terrorist chat rooms. Just seems to me that an international conference with attendees around the world would be a sitting duck. Then there is the hassle of standing in long lines to go through multiple security checks at all the tourist places. I'm a single parent and don't want my child to become an orphan. I don't know, the idea of being in a large gathering of international attendees at a conference center in a country that has a substantial risk of a terrorist attack doesn't seem to be the smartest thing to do. Before I rule it out completely, I am going to look up whether there are several other international conferences in Amsterdam around the same time - if so, then the risk is lower. If this is the only one, I won't be attending. It's a little different when you are actually faced with the decision and when you have a dependent.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I would go. We live in Europe and travel between cities and countries is a way of life. Between work and vacation we will be in six countries in the next 2-3 months. Our spring break is next week and we have friends going to Paris, London, and everywhere else. I have work colleagues who were in Brussels airport the day of the attacks. Life doesn't stop.

On the one hand you can't predict or prevent something like this. Terrible accidents and violence take place in all settings, especially in the US. I feel safer in Europe in many ways because gun violence and violent crime is very low where we live -- almost nonexistent. But we do remember to stay vigilant. I don't talk on my phone when I'm walking so I can pay attention to my surroundings. If I see a person or a situation (like an unattended bag) that gives me pause, I move away. If I get a funny feeling about anything I move away. None of this happens often but you have to patent ion and also listen to your gut.

Sorry - was trying to type "pay attention"

Yes, I would go. We live in Europe and travel between cities and countries is a way of life. Between work and vacation we will be in six countries in the next 2-3 months. Our spring break is next week and we have friends going to Paris, London, and everywhere else. I have work colleagues who were in Brussels airport the day of the attacks. Life doesn't stop.

On the one hand you can't predict or prevent something like this. Terrible accidents and violence take place in all settings, especially in the US. I feel safer in Europe in many ways because gun violence and violent crime is very low where we live -- almost nonexistent. But we do remember to stay vigilant. I don't talk on my phone when I'm walking so I can pay attention to my surroundings. If I see a person or a situation (like an unattended bag) that gives me pause, I move away. If I get a funny feeling about anything I move away. None of this happens often but you have to patent ion and also listen to your gut.

The big difference between safety in Europe vs the US has been discussed extensively in the last two days. To sum up:

1. Europe lacks a Central Intelligence Agency (like we have in the us), and to be blunt, European countries aren't equipped to share intelligence and information effectively (as evidenced by the arrest and deportation of one of the terrorists in turkey and the EU's failure to detain him despite a clear warning from Turkey).

2. Europe is much closer to the Middle East and is easily accessible--unlike the US which is on the other side of the globe and has tighter entry requirements. If terrorists could access the US on foot, by car or by train like European countries, we'd be screwed.

Those are the key talking points from generals and security experts from the US and Europe that I've heard in the last two days. Makes sense to me.

Islamic State threat in Europe ‘more urgent’ than feared, security chief warns

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/european-security-chief-warns-of-threat-from-a-community-of-5000-suspects/2016/03/24/71877cc4-f12e-11e5-a2a3-d4e9697917d1_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_brussels-6pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Anonymous wrote:We're supposed to be in Paris next week. As of right now we're going BUT we've selected St. Thomas as a backup if anything else goes down between now and Monday.

Chances are, we'll just stay away from the city and do the country side if we still go.

Just pointing the personal jet in a different direction?

Yes! we are just finishing up spring break in Europe, and I would stay longer if we didn't have to be back for school. We did tweak a few plans & cut out a few unnecessary day trips via train but we've stuck to our plans for everything else.

I agree that I would avoid Brussels right now because of the crisis, not because of safety. Just like I wouldn't have wanted to be a tourist in NYC in late September 2001, not because I would have been afraid to be blown up, but because the city was still not running full speed and was full of tanks and armed guards.

Anonymous wrote:We are travelling to Netgerlands to see the tulips and I was not worried until now. I did not know they are a high-risk country

It's not. I mean - it's high risk that you will get high, eat a lot of snacks and possibly fall into a canal.