Auckland NZ. Population 1 million plus You can walk almost anywhere in this city at almost any time of day or night without any real certainty of being assaulted - but there are areas where this would be less wise. Assaults can occasionally happen anywhere, and do. We've had one automatic weapon murder in the last 40 years that I can recall. There are gangs who infrequently help each other reduce their surplus numbers but its the sort of thing you can go a lifetime (so far) without encountering. We had a gang/drug related single person non-fatal shooting a few blocks from here a year or two ago and I actually saw the police roadblock, but that's the only one I've ever encountered. In my area we have had a recent sexual attack on a woman, but the chances of this happening to an unaccompanied woman walking alone at night in the nearest 500,000 population nearest me is almost zero. In my previous house the front door was unlocked permanently. In 10 years + we had one unknown and probably somewhat psychiatrically troubled teenager walk in "for a dare". I tore strips (verbally) off the group that had dared him to do it. In my latest home, 15 years odd, the front door self locks but is quite often left ajar or open. No problems so far. Couriers deliver much and often to the somewhat secluded front door and nothing has ever gone missing so far. Basement and back door tend to be left unlocked. basement workshop gets locked when we are out. But the reception to the unexpected has been planned in advance, just in case. May not succeed but ... In recent years we have had a trickle of car breakins in my street and on my property. Helped the Police to catch one - who was silly enough to use the cellphone he stole from our car :-). Happened again recently - only loose change and small items got stolen but it's annoying. The 4 channel video to hard disk card that I bought a few weeks ago is waiting for me to install it and put up a camera or two. (Maybe I'll find out what the neighbour who comes in from the park at the back with a spade when I am out is actually doing ! :-) ). NZ is not known for its gun toting citizens, and I do not own one. My brother in law, a farmer, used to live in a lonely country area. His farmhouse door was also usually unlocked. But two steps back from the door one's hand would fall easily into the open hall cupboard. Callers who provoked this response hopefully wouldn't persist long enough to find out that the shotgun actually wasn't loaded. RM -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.