Whilst I can understand that there will be many people in such circumstances, I suspect the majority are not in them who elect to live in such areas.

As a European, sure. But I'm not suggesting AU/NZ is the only area in the world that is low crime. I'd imagine with a European passport you have access to many countries with low crime rate areas with little effort, no?

> I suspect the majority are not in them who elect to live in such areas.

I suspect the contrary. People seem very keen to stick around family and friends, and tend to prefer to not make major changes. Whenever I suggest such an option (move countries, not necessarily continents), people always seem dismissive. However, I expect this to be somewhat local / culture-based.

The issue is that these areas are usually the big cities where people will tend to flock for the jobs. Sure, their small towns might be quiet, but there's no work there, especially if you want a more "intellectual" kind of job. I'm curious how this will change with the rise of work from home, though. I know many people who've moved out of Paris to random tiny towns thanks to this. So, moves are being made. But crime has been increasing in smaller towns, too...

> I'd imagine with a European passport you have access to many countries with low crime rate areas with little effort, no?

I honestly don't know which countries those would be. Especially since they shouldn't be on a path such that, a year or two down the line, they'd resemble my current country, France, which mostly excludes the rest of the EU.

As regards the passport, it should allow me to move there for an indefinite amount of time, and ideally allow me to work from there. Mostly, an EU passport allows me to visit many places, but not settle (I don't qualify for the "rich people" visas).

Those are fair points. My response was quite flippant and generalised. I do understand people have ties to their homes, but I wonder what level of sacrifice is an acceptable amount.

For me, keeping myself and my family feeling safe (and that safety being based on the reality around me) is a non negotiable.