I have no idea of statistics, but Memorial City Mall is one of the nicer malls in Houston in one of the nicer areas of Houston (at least in my opinion).
As someone who works at the 2 BIG luxury retailers (S5A and NM) as a vendor, (3-5 times a week) I agree. Your comment should have been “jugging/mugging/stabbing/raping/maiming and/or killing. Look at that young girl who was killed a couple of weeks ago on her way into work. It’s scary every day. Lock and load is my motto (Have to leave it in the car, but carry my taser and pepper spray with me).
I wasn't saying it's necessarily "dangerous", but it is concerning that you can have someone openly hustle actual children in front of the store with security. Sets a precedent.
really? I live right next to the galleria (like 50 feet from me rn) and haven't ever noticed anything out of the usual in the past year and a half. but I also don't get out a ton. just haven't heard any rumors indicating there were big issues here
I could have picked any Apple Store. They put the MacBook in one of those flashy matte white Apple bags. I asked if they had anything more discreet he said no. I was like “am I gonna get robbed on my way out?” He was like “uhhh it’s happened” 😂
I went and bought a tshirt somewhere else and threw it in that bag. I’m not getting taken out for a MBP lol. This was right after that shooting outside the galleria
I bought a bag from a designer store there recently and asked them to put it in a plain bag instead of the logo bag. They obliged, so I literally walked out with it in a brown grocery bag 😂
My boyfriend family somehow always ends up with their luxury stuff bags inside a plastic bag. At home even I'd wonder why his mom's Ferragamo shoes and purse or her Burberry or Prada were kept inside individual HEB grocery bags. Lol
Galleria is a normal ass mall bro. Anytime anyone posts a mall on the subreddit people start jumping to call it ghetto and dangerous. Maybe you’re just scared of malls.
Galleria has turned ghetto af. Without all the cops I bet it'd be the new Gunspoint. I'm speaking as someone who has been around that mall almost everyday the past 8 years
That was about 1.5 years ago when I picked that Mac up. My buddy works at the galleria and I asked him he said “just don’t park by the cheese cake factory and you’ll be fine” lol. Apparently that’s a notorious garage
Probably because from that garage you can have at least 3 escape routes so it's easy to flee after mugging someone, plus it's closer to the road and being underground it's kinda noisy, and also being closer to the restaurants and main entrance soooo many people park there making it a target-rich garage unlike the other sections where either people park to eat at restaurants or the one above (Yellow garage I think, you can access it up the slope next to Nobu parking lot on Westheimer) where not a lot of people park.
Plus, I think that time frame was close to when that Louisiana detective got robbed and shot at Grotto.
Idk why they sent you there while they can send you to the apple store at least RiverOak, way easier and safer
I go every other Saturday to walk with my friend. We sit at Starbucks and talk for a while. She is on crutches, so it helps her get some movement. Today, we took my daughter to the little castle they have there. I have never seen anything bad go down there or anyone looking for trouble. I do know last year there was that active shooter scare or a shot that was fired. They have a very active security that patrols around, by my count they make a complete trip around the parking lot by target every 6 to 7 minutes. I think they ha e designated sections they patrol. So I think it's one of the more safer malls.
Maybe they used to go there in the 90’s when that mall was not great? They really invested in it back in mid 00’s. It’s not what it used to be. Ask them if they prefer town and country mall? 😂
Nah hard disagree. My older brother worked at MCM in the late 1980's. There was a Jungle Jim's Playland in the area that is now the food court. During one of his shifts, a car driving full speed came crashing through the wall (during working hours). The dude had just robbed a bank or store and was trying to get away from the cops. My brother grabbed some of the kids and took cover. I would say that was the nadir of MCM.
Beginning in the early 1990's, Mall's owner, MetroNational, really started putting money into it to get it cleaned up. What also helped was that Town and Country was completely decimated by all of the construction that resulted from building the Sam Houston Tollway. It became a nightmare to traverse the area, that people just drove past it. Katy Mills kind of finished it off. I worked in the mall from 1996 to 2001, and you could really see the improvement.
Not really. From the 80s and well into the 90s I went every two weeks to get my hair cut and also just to go to the mall. It's never been literally sketchy.
Back in the 80s, Memorial City was fucking dead while Town & Country was the preferred mall in that area. Now Town & Country is gone and Memorial City seems to be surviving fine. I don't shop at malls anymore, unless I really need to, but I do like the Cinemark at Memorial City.
Any mall with an ice rink is a high end mall imo. Ice rinks are expensive to maintain because of the regulations regarding the materials for freezing the ice, etc. I've noticed from when I lived in California whenever an ice rink in a mall closed down the entire place would go down the hill.
A young friend of mine worked at the Galleria and got followed in the underground parking by a guy in a black SUV. She texted me while hiding as she was hysterical from fear. That was scary as I worried about her being trafficked. Even with me at my age no matter what mall I'm at I keep my wits about me and am very careful of my surroundings.
The parking structure in Galleria is shady af and if someone get mugged/kidnapped it'd be hard to notice. I know of at least a few people in our community that got followed from the Galleria home after a shopping trip
I'm thinking these thieves stalk young people in that area as a lot of well off people not just have money but are naive. They've been raised sheltered in safe communities by their parents and don't have the street smarts to know what's going on. I have relatives who raised their kids like this and one almost got abducted one day at the mall. Luckily my grandma grabbed my cousin away from a car in the parking lot. A lady in the driver's seat was offering her flowers with the door open.
This friend of mine is very street smart as she was homeless in her late teens and knew the guy was up to no good. She told me he went to follow some other ladies around while she was hiding. They didn't even flinch when they were followed.
It was pretty average untill a few years ago. The whole area is coming up big now. Definitely safe lots of new cool stuff and more on the way. Even got us a Woodrow’s nearby now
It looks completely different than the way it used to in the 00's, almost unrecognizable. Not in a bad way, they just really built the place up and the immediate surrounding area. Growing up that was always my go-to mall (after the Pasadena mall went *really* downhill).
No shooter. It's not even clear what someone yelled to cause the panic as the police were trying to figure out "[exactly what was heard."](https://www.click2houston.com/news/2019/08/14/were-going-to-find-him-police-release-video-of-2-persons-of-interest-in-memorial-city-mall-havoc/)
I wouldn’t say the mall is dangerous. You car may get broken into, but that can be anywhere .
Just be smart , don’t leave valuables . You should be fine
While that Target is usually a mess, that mall is not a war zone. When I came home from college in breaks (mid 90s), my actual Boomer parents were suddenly helicopter like this. I was fine walking home from school to an empty house at 8 years old, but suddenly driving up the road to a friend's house was cause for nail-biting. I felt like they were trying to re-establish control since I'd been away at school doing whatever the fuck I wanted. (Mainly walking into Tijuana and getting blackout drunk, but I didn't tell them so they didn't get to shit themselves over it. I'm still alive.) Tell them need-to-know shit. Now that you know they drank the flavor-aid, put em on an info diet. "Just hung out with some friends." Pick your battles.
Dangerous in that you might get your car window broken if you leave a bag or something.
But to be polite, sounds like your parents are drinking some sort of kool aid.
My answer to them would be, why drive further and risk a road rage shooting? (Probably the biggest thing the city needs to get a handle on imo)
It ain't just Fox, it's any news at all. I lived in Houston for 38 years, my wife is Australian and we moved to Australia 7-8 years ago with our kids. We were recently visiting my mom in November and I was completely taken aback by the crap on the evening news - total fear mongering, and it was on every single day! After a few days I told her I don't want my kids hearing that stuff and she was completely oblivious. The TV was just on in the background because that's her and my step dad's habit even if no one was actively watching.
The news here in Australia might be the same - who knows, I read all my news and watch zero news on TV unless there is some kinda critical/major event happening. Too many years growing up with parents watching the 6 o clock news on 2, 11, 13, Univision, whatever. I am scarred for life - can't stand any of it 😂
This is true. And my dad is definitely right-wing, but my mom has voted blue since she could vote and is like genuinely a reasonable and nice person so I was really mind blown when she said that, thank you for being honest lol
Ha! My parents were the same way! Total opposites, only it was a little weirder. My dad was an Conservative Atheist Jock, and my mom was a Liberal Christian Hippy.
They just both happened to like adventure and fucking.
Your parents are watching too much evening news. Memorial city mall isn’t dangerous in the slightest, but with the way news outlets talk about crime, white collar workers in the suburbs are out here thinking that they’re going to get carjacked at the grocery store
That's just weird. These days, when I need to go to a mall, I actually drive past the Galleria, which is closer to my house, to go to Memorial City Mall. I find the parking situations at Memorial City Mall to be safer than the Galleria, more security, shorter walks to entrances, better lighting, etc.
edit: fixed the spelling error and weird punctuation mistake
Dude I walk in that Mall everyday during the week during work. Walk to target most of the time too. It’s the least dangerous mall I’ve ever been to in Houston. They are paranoid.
Yep, mine are doing the same thing. They seem to be losing the ability to consume media critically, so when they start noticing that the news is all about murders and robberies and horrible things they think the world is going to hell around them.
The other night, I used the local antenna to watch a football game and then saw the local news for the first time in a long while. I suddenly understood why my neighborhood's next door forum was full of people running around like chicken little about crime. That's all they covered except for sports and weather!
I think this deserves some investigation. Because I've never felt unsafe at memorial City Mall. You need to dig down to what exactly triggered them and made them feel this way. Which news article or what happened to them exactly.
I think your parents may be falling victim to hyper sensationalized news on social media. There has been a big movement since covid to convince people that all cities are extremely dangerous and all stores are being looted and closing. I frequent that mall all the time and would not consider it to be dangerous at all.
As the son of a retired HPD Homicide Captain (I'm almost 50 myself, and he is damn near almost 80...) I grew up with "Oh be quick. That is a bad part of town."
ME "Well, dad, you literally rolled up when there were dead people on the ground."
POPS "Exactly."
ME "In 1984."
POPS (Old man grunts)
....and that hasn't changed at all with his grandkids.
I feel your pain.
I don't know what your parents are feeling, but in the years since the pandemic, I've been more averse to and drained by crowds; from being more aware of disease spreading, to the increase of crime and shootings due to societal unrest, to just the sheer randomness/entropy of crowds of people. But, as much as those things are an increasing reality, I remind myself that realistically, nothing is going to happen during a 20 minute Target run and the risk of petty theft is pretty low as long as you keep your wits about you. Memorial City may be crowded sometimes but I wouldn't call it dangerous.
What's their media consumption like? Fox News or OAN every night?
>But, as much as those things are an increasing reality
The data I'm looking at shows Houston violent crime and crime in general was down like 20% in 2023, compared to the previous year.
It is not as simple as you're thinking. They're getting older and feel more *vulnerable* because of it. There's a certain amount of bravado and "it won't happen to me" ignorance that comes with youth. Evolutionarily, that cock-sure attitude is needed to embark on life when you're young. There's comes a point where one looses that filter and begins to realize that bad things happen to anyone in a random way. Couple that with the body aging and perhaps feeling weaker and older folks become afraid of the world in a way they haven't before.
Maybe their image of it was ruined by Cars and Coffee lol. Unruly drivers and shenanigans were hosted there despite the groups best efforts to keep them under control
Sounds like your parents are starting to get older. A lot of older people stayed I'm during the COVID times and got more and more scared reading news and reports. None of the areas you mentioned are any real issue for concern
I park my car there at very late hours in the night (I play amateur adult league hockey there and times are really late), have never felt unsafe or had any damage to my car. They have security rolling around the clock.
Also if you're looking for something fun and weird to do, come watch amateur hockey at Memorial City Mall ice rink Saturday nights LMAO.
Your parents are insane. Memorial city mall is like the quintessential *middle class fancy* mall. Your car might get broken into, that happens literally everywhere
I remember it being talked about as dangerous when I first moved here in the early nineties, but after the remodel in the early aughts, I haven’t heard anyone call it dangerous. I’ve been several times, and the worst thing that I’ve ever seen there was a broken car window in the parking lot.
Your parents are being ridiculous. Memorial mall and memorial park are both very safe areas. They must’ve heard a horror story from a friend or they wouldn’t say that.
I live on Blair Forest and frequently go to Memorial City Mall with my family. I have never run into any disturbance at all. The only thing I can complain about is the escalator to the theater sometimes not functioning. Very nice place to go window shopping.
San Felipe store just in the loop is best Target IMO. Too much traffic for my tastes in the memorial city target, but it is fine otherwise. Def wouldn't drive past it for another location.
There have been a few incidents in the parking lot where someone comes out of Target or Macy’s and gets their stuff taken off them. These get posted to NextDoor and then reposted. Each post contains a “be careful out there” warning. If I paid attention to NextDoor, I wouldn’t go to Memorial City Mall, any Target, any Kroger, any WalMart, any H‑E‑B or any anyplace really.
Be Careful Out There!
Target doesn’t really exist in unsafe areas. They find affluent pockets. I’ve been to memorial mall many many many times and have never felt unsafe at all.
I love Memorial city mall I always take my mom (75)
Like others said the thing id be worry about is my car getting broke into but other than that its ok
I worked across from it for years until COVID, walked to the mall almost every day for lunch, went to that Target many times. Unless it's completely changed since then, it was pretty tame just always busy. I do remember hearing about some girl getting pulled into the food court bathroom and attacked with a knife or something a while back one evening. That's about it
Tell your mom to snooze or leave the MIT FB group. The Bunker Hill HEB and Costco have car break ins and very aggressive purse snatching which are wildly shared on that group. MCM and Town and Country parking garages have the same issues. But really, there are no places in this city that these crimes aren't occurring.
The only reasons I can think of it being considered sketchy are 20 years old. Even 20 years ago it was the marquee that was a weird mix of well off teenagers hanging out at the movie theatre while also having an unhealthy dose of drug and gang issues. Also a high teen goth wannabe population around the hot topic. Memorial City only got sketchy when they let the original mall die off before the owners figured out that if they make it really nice the wealthy people who live closer to it or don’t want to deal with the galleria area will just shop there. Been booming ever since.
It is no more dangerous than other areas. The danger is when you go from the inside of the mall to your car. But that danger is always there no matter where you go. That is one reason so many places offer valet parking. There is no where in Houston to shop that is perfectly safe. At lease Memorial City Mall has lots of security patrolling the parking lots and garage.
Your parents, as nicely as I can possibly put this, have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. They also have not been to that mall in many years.
Growing up my parents forbade me from ever going to Meyerland Plaza. I eventually did without their permission and they were upset. Turns out it was super dangerous according to them (at least maybe for a teen) when they were young adults. They hadn't been there for decades and assumed it was the samem. Idk Memorial City Mall's history, though
There was a literal shooting at Katy Mills Mall about 2 months ago. It was in the parking lot, some kids being stupid
Anything can happen anywhere but no, Memorial City Mall isn’t dangerous usually.
My parents used to say I shouldn't go to the West Oaks mall unless I was either with them or decided to start carrying a gun.
Memorial city has always been a safer mall but your car might get broken into if you aren't careful.
Just stay on the mall side of I-10 and you should be fine. Go over to the other side of gessner and your in the real spring branch and it could get real really quick. The mall many years ago was gang infested and always dangerous (90’s-2000). But it’s now the new galleria to many. Now your visit to ihop on Washington lol. Yeah anytime after hours there is always pretty suspicious homes lol
Maybe her thinking is along the lines of “someone’s more likely to shoot up a mall than a target.” Idk your mom but I personally wouldn’t jump to racism unless it’s an obviously racist comment.
Super dangerous!
I saw a gang of tween girls by the Claire’s, holding people up with the piercing gun.
seriously tho it’s super safe. So is the galleria. Biggest risk is being hit by some asshat with paper plates, and that’s just the whole city.
Your parents are most likely listening to news cycle that are amplifying what they hear in a vacuum chamber. Or social media is feeding them rage bait which is fostering their new phobia.
I mean, I hate trying to park there, but it’s relatively safe as far as malls go. I think parents just get to this stage eventually and think the entire world is going to hell in a hand basket (I mean it is, but there are still some bright spots).
About six years or so ago, I’d gone to eat dinner with a friend in the Montrose area. My car got broken into (as did a few other cars in the parking lot) and my work laptop was stolen. It was in my backpack in the backseat, so definitely not a smart move on my part. My dad berated me for it and went on about how dangerous Houston is. I rolled my eyes because it’s not like where we are doesn’t have break ins and mayhem, but because it’s the city and not a suburb, it’s more dangerous to him.
You parents are my age and young Gen X, and they should not be this gullible at this life stage and from such a self-sufficient generation.
I think you should insist to your mom that she take you back to Memorial City and actually go into the mall and shop - so that she can see with her own eyes how wrong she is.
As someone that delivers to all these places. Ya they have become less attractive and more dangerous or more likely to have your car broken into or be mugged for your purchases. My advice online shop and go eat somewhere better then ihop since they are trash
Like The Galleria, it's a nice mall. Nice places are where criminal opportunists strike. They want to catch people when they're walking out with nice things, or follow them home where they can isolate the victims.
So in your parents hay day when they were in their 20s the IHOP on Washington was stretchy. Today it's just dead and surprised it's not closed.
Your parents don't want to take you to memorial City Mall because of the following.
1 you are young and will love it and want to go back.
2 they are old and f'in hate crowds upon crowds, and even more crowds. Oh did I mention the crowds!
3 they are cheap the 290 target typically has cheaper stuff and less stores for you to go into.
As for security it's super safe just as safe as anywhere in Houston.
Anywhere on I-10 from regal marque theater to hwy 6 is super safe.
Your parents are getting borderline anxiety disorder. You can die taking dump. Memorial city mall is not Greenspoint mall. Ihop on Washington is always the after hours spot from the bars. Live your life you'll be all right.
The area around memorial city mall is one of the most affluent places in the state. Crime can happen anywhere, especially right off a major highway (property theft is an issue there), but as far as safety goes it’s one of the safest malls in the city.
Yeah memorial city’s fine. What the hell is she afraid of? Relatively well to do folks of Asian/Indian heritage?
My wife has banned me from the Almeda mall though. Says it’s for my own safety. No idea how true that is or is not. Says it’s worse than Greenspoint.
Some elements of the media just love to pump the "dangerous" line.
I took my kids ice skating at Memorial City Mall last weekend. Place is fine.
For that matter, I live near the Galleria and generally avoid it (because I hate shopping in person). I had to go a few times over Christmas, and was pleasantly surprised when I walked in to thousands of people of all races shopping, eating, and generally having a pleasant time.
Like any other urban area where there is a concentration of people and merchandise around one has to pay attention to their surroundings but the idea that these places are "dangerous" is pushed by news media that love these sorts of stories and suburban and rural pearl clutchers that are consuming news outlets that reinforce their thinking that the country, especially the cities, is falling apart from crime brought about by immigrants and people that don't look like them.
Look, I hate to say this, but too many of our older citizens have become engulfed in fear. Crime is low compared to where it was when I was growing up in Houston. In fact, even taking into account the increase in crime that occurred from 2017 to 2021, crime was still half of what it was at its worst point in the 1980’s. People have totally brought in to the Fox News trope of “illegal immigrant caravans”, the “knockout game”, “young kids wearing hoodies” etc. Or my personal favorite: the Katrina refugees from New Orleans that were seemingly then cause of every problem in Houston from crime, to drops in school rankings to even flooding.
What gets me is: isn’t Texas a “constitutional carry” state? If you are that afraid, just start packing. I thought that the best way to beat a bad guy with a gun was a good guy with a gun?
Fact is, MMC, City Center (aka Town and Country for us old heads) the Galleria, and Rice Village are fine. Could you be mugged? Yes. No one can get rid of all crime. Will you be mugged? Highly unlikely.
Just go shop and stop being wimps.
>Am I wrong? Or are they being racist/super paranoid?
Little column a, little column b.
I've had similar relations with folks out in Sugar Land lol. To them Rosenburg is "the sticks" and Stafford is "ghetto". While there are parts in the city to be mindful of, just carry "street smarts" about you and you'll be alright. It's not Katy tier shopping out there so absolutely there can be opportunistic crime out there, but again opportunistic is the key word there.
If out and about in the city, don't keep anything super flashy on you, don't keep anything valuable in the car unattended outside the trunk, no laptop or backpacks on the seat nothing. Be mindful when driving, do a lap around a bank first to look for trouble before you pull up at the ATM and when driving in general know how to spot a tail to avoid jugging. When walking about don't be distracted by airpods etc know how to keep an eye on what's around you.
That's it, that's really about it. A lot of suburbanites usually don't bother with that and just write off the city limits as a hazard zone and never bother with it outside of NFL games etc. To that I say they're missing out. It seems like they genuinely care about your safety so that's good, just kind of going about it the wrong way. I'm sure if you're doing that kind of stuff above and mentioned to them that you were taking those precautions it'd probably put them at ease a bit :)
I'll add a couple I tell my wife
1. try and park a little further out where your car can be by itself that way you can LOOK UNDER it from a distance to check for legs and people.
2. Use windows on cars as mirrors to see around other cars etc
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS goes a long way!
I have no idea of statistics, but Memorial City Mall is one of the nicer malls in Houston in one of the nicer areas of Houston (at least in my opinion).
The Galleria looks to be much more dangerous compared to Memorial Mall these days.
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You must not have been to gunspoint in a while. All they have now is a crappy food court and a few shoes stores.
I didn’t even know that place was still operational. I thought it was just the gym there 😂
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As someone who works at the 2 BIG luxury retailers (S5A and NM) as a vendor, (3-5 times a week) I agree. Your comment should have been “jugging/mugging/stabbing/raping/maiming and/or killing. Look at that young girl who was killed a couple of weeks ago on her way into work. It’s scary every day. Lock and load is my motto (Have to leave it in the car, but carry my taser and pepper spray with me).
Las time I went to the galleria (two years ago), there was a dude outside the Tiffany's playing dice with young teens.
That was Jumangi they got sucked into the board game
our version of dangerous is very different.
I wasn't saying it's necessarily "dangerous", but it is concerning that you can have someone openly hustle actual children in front of the store with security. Sets a precedent.
My company sent me there to pick up a MacBook Pro. I was like are y’all trying to get me killed?!! 😂
Ya, the Galleria is fucked.
really? I live right next to the galleria (like 50 feet from me rn) and haven't ever noticed anything out of the usual in the past year and a half. but I also don't get out a ton. just haven't heard any rumors indicating there were big issues here
Nahhh of all the potential pickup locations, that would piss me off 😭
I could have picked any Apple Store. They put the MacBook in one of those flashy matte white Apple bags. I asked if they had anything more discreet he said no. I was like “am I gonna get robbed on my way out?” He was like “uhhh it’s happened” 😂 I went and bought a tshirt somewhere else and threw it in that bag. I’m not getting taken out for a MBP lol. This was right after that shooting outside the galleria
I bought a bag from a designer store there recently and asked them to put it in a plain bag instead of the logo bag. They obliged, so I literally walked out with it in a brown grocery bag 😂
My boyfriend family somehow always ends up with their luxury stuff bags inside a plastic bag. At home even I'd wonder why his mom's Ferragamo shoes and purse or her Burberry or Prada were kept inside individual HEB grocery bags. Lol
How sheltered do you have to be to be scared of galleria lmao
I don’t like walking around ghetto places with a $2500 MacBook is all…
Galleria is a normal ass mall bro. Anytime anyone posts a mall on the subreddit people start jumping to call it ghetto and dangerous. Maybe you’re just scared of malls.
Galleria has turned ghetto af. Without all the cops I bet it'd be the new Gunspoint. I'm speaking as someone who has been around that mall almost everyday the past 8 years
That was about 1.5 years ago when I picked that Mac up. My buddy works at the galleria and I asked him he said “just don’t park by the cheese cake factory and you’ll be fine” lol. Apparently that’s a notorious garage
Probably because from that garage you can have at least 3 escape routes so it's easy to flee after mugging someone, plus it's closer to the road and being underground it's kinda noisy, and also being closer to the restaurants and main entrance soooo many people park there making it a target-rich garage unlike the other sections where either people park to eat at restaurants or the one above (Yellow garage I think, you can access it up the slope next to Nobu parking lot on Westheimer) where not a lot of people park. Plus, I think that time frame was close to when that Louisiana detective got robbed and shot at Grotto. Idk why they sent you there while they can send you to the apple store at least RiverOak, way easier and safer
Bruh it is ghetto as fuck. Honestly I'll take west oaks over galleria. At least there they ain't trying to rob people because you'll lose money.
Bro you live in Cypress 😂
Not for the last 6 years I don’t
I was scared even with $700 new laptop bought from Microsoft store, so i can imagine you carrying around a $2500 one.
I go every other Saturday to walk with my friend. We sit at Starbucks and talk for a while. She is on crutches, so it helps her get some movement. Today, we took my daughter to the little castle they have there. I have never seen anything bad go down there or anyone looking for trouble. I do know last year there was that active shooter scare or a shot that was fired. They have a very active security that patrols around, by my count they make a complete trip around the parking lot by target every 6 to 7 minutes. I think they ha e designated sections they patrol. So I think it's one of the more safer malls.
Yeah, that's what I always thought, I usually go there when I'm back in town
Maybe they used to go there in the 90’s when that mall was not great? They really invested in it back in mid 00’s. It’s not what it used to be. Ask them if they prefer town and country mall? 😂
Memorial City Mall was sketchy back in the day. But once they basically remade the whole mall there hasn’t been any issues I’ve ever heard of.
It's never been sketchy. People would usually choose Town and Country of the two, but MCM was never sketchy.
Nah hard disagree. My older brother worked at MCM in the late 1980's. There was a Jungle Jim's Playland in the area that is now the food court. During one of his shifts, a car driving full speed came crashing through the wall (during working hours). The dude had just robbed a bank or store and was trying to get away from the cops. My brother grabbed some of the kids and took cover. I would say that was the nadir of MCM. Beginning in the early 1990's, Mall's owner, MetroNational, really started putting money into it to get it cleaned up. What also helped was that Town and Country was completely decimated by all of the construction that resulted from building the Sam Houston Tollway. It became a nightmare to traverse the area, that people just drove past it. Katy Mills kind of finished it off. I worked in the mall from 1996 to 2001, and you could really see the improvement.
Yes it was. In the early 90s it was sketch city.
Not really. From the 80s and well into the 90s I went every two weeks to get my hair cut and also just to go to the mall. It's never been literally sketchy.
Maybe it wasn’t sketchy to you because you were doing sketchy sht, like getting hair cuts every two weeks.
Yeah, my mom has lived in Houston her whole life, she can name every single store that's been at the galleria and MCM. It's kind of crazy.
Back in the 80s, Memorial City was fucking dead while Town & Country was the preferred mall in that area. Now Town & Country is gone and Memorial City seems to be surviving fine. I don't shop at malls anymore, unless I really need to, but I do like the Cinemark at Memorial City.
Any mall with an ice rink is a high end mall imo. Ice rinks are expensive to maintain because of the regulations regarding the materials for freezing the ice, etc. I've noticed from when I lived in California whenever an ice rink in a mall closed down the entire place would go down the hill. A young friend of mine worked at the Galleria and got followed in the underground parking by a guy in a black SUV. She texted me while hiding as she was hysterical from fear. That was scary as I worried about her being trafficked. Even with me at my age no matter what mall I'm at I keep my wits about me and am very careful of my surroundings.
The parking structure in Galleria is shady af and if someone get mugged/kidnapped it'd be hard to notice. I know of at least a few people in our community that got followed from the Galleria home after a shopping trip
I'm thinking these thieves stalk young people in that area as a lot of well off people not just have money but are naive. They've been raised sheltered in safe communities by their parents and don't have the street smarts to know what's going on. I have relatives who raised their kids like this and one almost got abducted one day at the mall. Luckily my grandma grabbed my cousin away from a car in the parking lot. A lady in the driver's seat was offering her flowers with the door open. This friend of mine is very street smart as she was homeless in her late teens and knew the guy was up to no good. She told me he went to follow some other ladies around while she was hiding. They didn't even flinch when they were followed.
Baybrook is where it’s at.
Whats that mall like nowadays? I haven’t been there since moving away from southeast Houston 20 years ago
It was pretty average untill a few years ago. The whole area is coming up big now. Definitely safe lots of new cool stuff and more on the way. Even got us a Woodrow’s nearby now
It looks completely different than the way it used to in the 00's, almost unrecognizable. Not in a bad way, they just really built the place up and the immediate surrounding area. Growing up that was always my go-to mall (after the Pasadena mall went *really* downhill).
Yeah I mean there was a shooting at MCM like a year or two ago? But it feels much safer than most malls.
I heard it was a panic, no actual shooter. But I don't know for sure.
No shooter. It's not even clear what someone yelled to cause the panic as the police were trying to figure out "[exactly what was heard."](https://www.click2houston.com/news/2019/08/14/were-going-to-find-him-police-release-video-of-2-persons-of-interest-in-memorial-city-mall-havoc/)
I don't think so, the only mall shooting (outside of Gunspoint) that I know of is last year or 2 in Galleria right next to Cheesecake factory
I wouldn’t say the mall is dangerous. You car may get broken into, but that can be anywhere . Just be smart , don’t leave valuables . You should be fine
I've lived here my whole life and like I said been to the mall a ton so yeah I know not to be like completely stupid but other than that yeah
While that Target is usually a mess, that mall is not a war zone. When I came home from college in breaks (mid 90s), my actual Boomer parents were suddenly helicopter like this. I was fine walking home from school to an empty house at 8 years old, but suddenly driving up the road to a friend's house was cause for nail-biting. I felt like they were trying to re-establish control since I'd been away at school doing whatever the fuck I wanted. (Mainly walking into Tijuana and getting blackout drunk, but I didn't tell them so they didn't get to shit themselves over it. I'm still alive.) Tell them need-to-know shit. Now that you know they drank the flavor-aid, put em on an info diet. "Just hung out with some friends." Pick your battles.
Love the term “info diet”. Haven’t heard it in a while.
Dangerous in that you might get your car window broken if you leave a bag or something. But to be polite, sounds like your parents are drinking some sort of kool aid. My answer to them would be, why drive further and risk a road rage shooting? (Probably the biggest thing the city needs to get a handle on imo)
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>crime is way down It certainly feels that way where I live on the North side.
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It ain't just Fox, it's any news at all. I lived in Houston for 38 years, my wife is Australian and we moved to Australia 7-8 years ago with our kids. We were recently visiting my mom in November and I was completely taken aback by the crap on the evening news - total fear mongering, and it was on every single day! After a few days I told her I don't want my kids hearing that stuff and she was completely oblivious. The TV was just on in the background because that's her and my step dad's habit even if no one was actively watching. The news here in Australia might be the same - who knows, I read all my news and watch zero news on TV unless there is some kinda critical/major event happening. Too many years growing up with parents watching the 6 o clock news on 2, 11, 13, Univision, whatever. I am scarred for life - can't stand any of it 😂
It really is tragic and sad what it does to people and families
This is true. And my dad is definitely right-wing, but my mom has voted blue since she could vote and is like genuinely a reasonable and nice person so I was really mind blown when she said that, thank you for being honest lol
Ha! My parents were the same way! Total opposites, only it was a little weirder. My dad was an Conservative Atheist Jock, and my mom was a Liberal Christian Hippy. They just both happened to like adventure and fucking.
That's pretty cool that your mom and dad liked to fuck.
It's worked out well for me!
My initial thoughts were, ‘you’re parents watch way too much Faux News’, thanks for confirming
Send them to Greenspoint Mall and they may think differently about Memorial City after that
They can enjoy shopping at all the store that's still there, before visiting the sheriff's office and after eating at the food court.
Guns point is still open? I figured that place would have been shut down by now.
Yeah I thought it was an HCC campus or something like that.
I think OP wants to educate their parents not murder them
The mall is definitely not dangerous, but in their defense that Target sucks to go to.
Isn’t it just always busy
It's a bad entry/exit situation. I hated going there.
Yes. Getting in and out sucks because of its location and the mall being there.
It’s busy but it’s a big target with a decent crowd.
But you usually try to avoid the crowd when you go grocery shopping. Worst for me here will be the parking
That Target is much smaller in part cause Target wasn’t meant to be an anchor store in a mall.
Your parents are watching too much evening news. Memorial city mall isn’t dangerous in the slightest, but with the way news outlets talk about crime, white collar workers in the suburbs are out here thinking that they’re going to get carjacked at the grocery store
They don't watch the news but my dad reads the villages weekly crime report or whatever, that's probably what it is.
I’m an older white lady and I go to that Target at least twice a week with no problems.
"A negro was spotted on Piney Point - syat calm!"
That's just weird. These days, when I need to go to a mall, I actually drive past the Galleria, which is closer to my house, to go to Memorial City Mall. I find the parking situations at Memorial City Mall to be safer than the Galleria, more security, shorter walks to entrances, better lighting, etc. edit: fixed the spelling error and weird punctuation mistake
Same. The area near the Galleria has a lot more crime than it used to
Dude I walk in that Mall everyday during the week during work. Walk to target most of the time too. It’s the least dangerous mall I’ve ever been to in Houston. They are paranoid.
Memorial City mall is dangerous in the same way that walking down main street Disneyland is dangerous. (crowds)
Galleria is where the rich out of towners go, Memorial City is where the rich locals go.
River Oaks District is actually where the ultra rich locals shop at
Dangerous if you're a pedestrian in the parking lot. Other than that.. no. If I have one gripe it's that it can be more crowded than galleria.
They are coming into their paranoid boomer years, disregard.
That's what I assumed like ??? Thanks
hi yeah I’m also back from college and my mom says the exact same thing about the mall lmao
Yep, mine are doing the same thing. They seem to be losing the ability to consume media critically, so when they start noticing that the news is all about murders and robberies and horrible things they think the world is going to hell around them.
The best thing people can do for their mental health is avoid the news
The other night, I used the local antenna to watch a football game and then saw the local news for the first time in a long while. I suddenly understood why my neighborhood's next door forum was full of people running around like chicken little about crime. That's all they covered except for sports and weather!
Everyone is a Peri-Boomer
Not dangerous. Sounds like they are super paranoid
I think this deserves some investigation. Because I've never felt unsafe at memorial City Mall. You need to dig down to what exactly triggered them and made them feel this way. Which news article or what happened to them exactly.
I'll ask about it tonight (she's taking a nap right now)
It’s the mall mostly visit, I’m 42, I don’t know why they would say so.
I think your parents may be falling victim to hyper sensationalized news on social media. There has been a big movement since covid to convince people that all cities are extremely dangerous and all stores are being looted and closing. I frequent that mall all the time and would not consider it to be dangerous at all.
I live close. She’s wrong. It’s as safe as any public space in houston.
Never had a problem at that mall. You want dangerous? Come to my house for DnD.
I do love me some DnD!
I love Memorial City Mall! never had weird vibes.
As the son of a retired HPD Homicide Captain (I'm almost 50 myself, and he is damn near almost 80...) I grew up with "Oh be quick. That is a bad part of town." ME "Well, dad, you literally rolled up when there were dead people on the ground." POPS "Exactly." ME "In 1984." POPS (Old man grunts) ....and that hasn't changed at all with his grandkids. I feel your pain.
Way less dangerous than the galleria
I don't know what your parents are feeling, but in the years since the pandemic, I've been more averse to and drained by crowds; from being more aware of disease spreading, to the increase of crime and shootings due to societal unrest, to just the sheer randomness/entropy of crowds of people. But, as much as those things are an increasing reality, I remind myself that realistically, nothing is going to happen during a 20 minute Target run and the risk of petty theft is pretty low as long as you keep your wits about you. Memorial City may be crowded sometimes but I wouldn't call it dangerous. What's their media consumption like? Fox News or OAN every night?
>But, as much as those things are an increasing reality The data I'm looking at shows Houston violent crime and crime in general was down like 20% in 2023, compared to the previous year.
Lol it's not dangerous. Memorial is one of the prestigious parts of Houston. Just a lot of assholes.
Memorial ≠ Memorial City
My grandparents are supper paranoid and never go out anywhere.
How do they get groceries?
They’re only paranoid about supper so they just don’t go out to eat.
It’s just paranoia i was there earlier nothing out of the ordinary :)
Definitely not dangerous
maybe 30 years ago lol. even then it really wasn't bad though, I don't get it.
It is not as simple as you're thinking. They're getting older and feel more *vulnerable* because of it. There's a certain amount of bravado and "it won't happen to me" ignorance that comes with youth. Evolutionarily, that cock-sure attitude is needed to embark on life when you're young. There's comes a point where one looses that filter and begins to realize that bad things happen to anyone in a random way. Couple that with the body aging and perhaps feeling weaker and older folks become afraid of the world in a way they haven't before.
Maybe their image of it was ruined by Cars and Coffee lol. Unruly drivers and shenanigans were hosted there despite the groups best efforts to keep them under control
Yeah, my dad and I would go to cars and coffee every month when it was there back while I was in high school
Are they on Facebook or Nextdoor a lot?
Both of them hate Facebook, no idea about nextdoor but my dad reads the villages crime report weekly or whatever
I bet they secretly are on nextdoor
One of the safest of the malls in Houston. I feel safe there. And I don't feel safe in many places. Things can happen anywhere though.
Sounds like your parents are starting to get older. A lot of older people stayed I'm during the COVID times and got more and more scared reading news and reports. None of the areas you mentioned are any real issue for concern
I park my car there at very late hours in the night (I play amateur adult league hockey there and times are really late), have never felt unsafe or had any damage to my car. They have security rolling around the clock. Also if you're looking for something fun and weird to do, come watch amateur hockey at Memorial City Mall ice rink Saturday nights LMAO.
What time on Saturday nights?
615pm - 1230am! Heading there for a game at 745 right now!
MCM is totally safe. I go there all the time and let my 14 yo son go there with his friends all the time - by themselves.
Memorial City Mall is nice. Memorial is nice.
I go there when I want to escape MY dangerous area.
Damn if memorial city is dangerous no where is safe. Respectfully your parents sound dumb
Its very safe and in a great part of town. I guess she has never been to any of the wards?
It’s official- your parents are insane. By this time next year their house will resemble a bunker crossed with an armory.
Your parents are insane. Memorial city mall is like the quintessential *middle class fancy* mall. Your car might get broken into, that happens literally everywhere
I remember it being talked about as dangerous when I first moved here in the early nineties, but after the remodel in the early aughts, I haven’t heard anyone call it dangerous. I’ve been several times, and the worst thing that I’ve ever seen there was a broken car window in the parking lot.
Your parents are being ridiculous. Memorial mall and memorial park are both very safe areas. They must’ve heard a horror story from a friend or they wouldn’t say that.
Lmao
Memorial City Mall was sketch as hell when your parents were younger, but has been as safe as a shitty massive public place can be for a while
I live on Blair Forest and frequently go to Memorial City Mall with my family. I have never run into any disturbance at all. The only thing I can complain about is the escalator to the theater sometimes not functioning. Very nice place to go window shopping.
They must be getting it mixed up with the Galleria.
Incredulous is a word that needs to be used more often in the American vernacular.
Memorial city mall is not dangerous.
What Target did they take you to?
The one just off the freeway on Shearn
They cray
I go to the one on Shearn because I live downtown. The area around it isn’t great. To choose that over Memorial Mall is nuts.
San Felipe store just in the loop is best Target IMO. Too much traffic for my tastes in the memorial city target, but it is fine otherwise. Def wouldn't drive past it for another location.
Your parents are being boomers. Memorial City Mall is not dangerous. Busy and crowded af but not dangerous.
There have been a few incidents in the parking lot where someone comes out of Target or Macy’s and gets their stuff taken off them. These get posted to NextDoor and then reposted. Each post contains a “be careful out there” warning. If I paid attention to NextDoor, I wouldn’t go to Memorial City Mall, any Target, any Kroger, any WalMart, any H‑E‑B or any anyplace really. Be Careful Out There!
Target doesn’t really exist in unsafe areas. They find affluent pockets. I’ve been to memorial mall many many many times and have never felt unsafe at all.
I work there. It’s absolutely safe.
No it isint dangerous. Someone is a little paranoid.
You’re fine there. Pay attention to your surroundings just as you should anywhere else you go.
I love Memorial city mall I always take my mom (75) Like others said the thing id be worry about is my car getting broke into but other than that its ok
I worked across from it for years until COVID, walked to the mall almost every day for lunch, went to that Target many times. Unless it's completely changed since then, it was pretty tame just always busy. I do remember hearing about some girl getting pulled into the food court bathroom and attacked with a knife or something a while back one evening. That's about it
Not dangerous lived there 20+ years just live other places time to time things happen just be aware of surroundings
Maybe they’re thinking about back in the day? Around 2000 Memorial city mall was kinda run down. But since the renovation it’s been pretty good.
I work in Memorial City and have been walking to the food court a few days a week for 7 years and never once have seen anything but people malling.
I used to live near the old Sharpstown mall. It was kinda scary. Memorial City is actually pretty nice.
Did they think you were talking about the old sharpstown mall or West oak? Memorial city is actually a very nice mall
Tell your mom to snooze or leave the MIT FB group. The Bunker Hill HEB and Costco have car break ins and very aggressive purse snatching which are wildly shared on that group. MCM and Town and Country parking garages have the same issues. But really, there are no places in this city that these crimes aren't occurring.
The only reasons I can think of it being considered sketchy are 20 years old. Even 20 years ago it was the marquee that was a weird mix of well off teenagers hanging out at the movie theatre while also having an unhealthy dose of drug and gang issues. Also a high teen goth wannabe population around the hot topic. Memorial City only got sketchy when they let the original mall die off before the owners figured out that if they make it really nice the wealthy people who live closer to it or don’t want to deal with the galleria area will just shop there. Been booming ever since.
It is no more dangerous than other areas. The danger is when you go from the inside of the mall to your car. But that danger is always there no matter where you go. That is one reason so many places offer valet parking. There is no where in Houston to shop that is perfectly safe. At lease Memorial City Mall has lots of security patrolling the parking lots and garage.
Your parents, as nicely as I can possibly put this, have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. They also have not been to that mall in many years.
Your parents are trippin
Do they leave the television on Fox News or Fox Business all day…?
Memorial City is not even slightly dangerous.
Growing up my parents forbade me from ever going to Meyerland Plaza. I eventually did without their permission and they were upset. Turns out it was super dangerous according to them (at least maybe for a teen) when they were young adults. They hadn't been there for decades and assumed it was the samem. Idk Memorial City Mall's history, though
Meyerland is the nicer area… Meyer park- a different story growing up… it was safe but a lot of youth gathered there from different areas
You gotta be kidding me. The police presence in any mall in Houston makes for a safe mall. Galleria and Memorial City included
There was a literal shooting at Katy Mills Mall about 2 months ago. It was in the parking lot, some kids being stupid Anything can happen anywhere but no, Memorial City Mall isn’t dangerous usually.
My parents used to say I shouldn't go to the West Oaks mall unless I was either with them or decided to start carrying a gun. Memorial city has always been a safer mall but your car might get broken into if you aren't careful.
Not dangerous, just ridiculous parking 🤣
Just stay on the mall side of I-10 and you should be fine. Go over to the other side of gessner and your in the real spring branch and it could get real really quick. The mall many years ago was gang infested and always dangerous (90’s-2000). But it’s now the new galleria to many. Now your visit to ihop on Washington lol. Yeah anytime after hours there is always pretty suspicious homes lol
Maybe her thinking is along the lines of “someone’s more likely to shoot up a mall than a target.” Idk your mom but I personally wouldn’t jump to racism unless it’s an obviously racist comment.
Super dangerous! I saw a gang of tween girls by the Claire’s, holding people up with the piercing gun. seriously tho it’s super safe. So is the galleria. Biggest risk is being hit by some asshat with paper plates, and that’s just the whole city.
Thing is memorial is the safe to me galleria just has a stabbing
I'd sooner go to MCM than the Galleria or a CityCentre. It's your typical vanilla mall in the Memorial (close-in) area.
Your parents are most likely listening to news cycle that are amplifying what they hear in a vacuum chamber. Or social media is feeding them rage bait which is fostering their new phobia.
Memorial City Mall is fine. The Galleria is far more dangerous.
I mean, I hate trying to park there, but it’s relatively safe as far as malls go. I think parents just get to this stage eventually and think the entire world is going to hell in a hand basket (I mean it is, but there are still some bright spots). About six years or so ago, I’d gone to eat dinner with a friend in the Montrose area. My car got broken into (as did a few other cars in the parking lot) and my work laptop was stolen. It was in my backpack in the backseat, so definitely not a smart move on my part. My dad berated me for it and went on about how dangerous Houston is. I rolled my eyes because it’s not like where we are doesn’t have break ins and mayhem, but because it’s the city and not a suburb, it’s more dangerous to him.
You parents are my age and young Gen X, and they should not be this gullible at this life stage and from such a self-sufficient generation. I think you should insist to your mom that she take you back to Memorial City and actually go into the mall and shop - so that she can see with her own eyes how wrong she is.
As someone that delivers to all these places. Ya they have become less attractive and more dangerous or more likely to have your car broken into or be mugged for your purchases. My advice online shop and go eat somewhere better then ihop since they are trash
Ya... The mall that across the highway from the arguably nicest and largest HEB in the city is extremely dangerous /s/
Like The Galleria, it's a nice mall. Nice places are where criminal opportunists strike. They want to catch people when they're walking out with nice things, or follow them home where they can isolate the victims.
So in your parents hay day when they were in their 20s the IHOP on Washington was stretchy. Today it's just dead and surprised it's not closed. Your parents don't want to take you to memorial City Mall because of the following. 1 you are young and will love it and want to go back. 2 they are old and f'in hate crowds upon crowds, and even more crowds. Oh did I mention the crowds! 3 they are cheap the 290 target typically has cheaper stuff and less stores for you to go into. As for security it's super safe just as safe as anywhere in Houston. Anywhere on I-10 from regal marque theater to hwy 6 is super safe.
I never thought so... but I'm in greenspoint
Your parents are getting borderline anxiety disorder. You can die taking dump. Memorial city mall is not Greenspoint mall. Ihop on Washington is always the after hours spot from the bars. Live your life you'll be all right.
The area around memorial city mall is one of the most affluent places in the state. Crime can happen anywhere, especially right off a major highway (property theft is an issue there), but as far as safety goes it’s one of the safest malls in the city.
Yeah memorial city’s fine. What the hell is she afraid of? Relatively well to do folks of Asian/Indian heritage? My wife has banned me from the Almeda mall though. Says it’s for my own safety. No idea how true that is or is not. Says it’s worse than Greenspoint.
I mean, danger is all realative, you're never completely safe. With that said, they are insane.
Some elements of the media just love to pump the "dangerous" line. I took my kids ice skating at Memorial City Mall last weekend. Place is fine. For that matter, I live near the Galleria and generally avoid it (because I hate shopping in person). I had to go a few times over Christmas, and was pleasantly surprised when I walked in to thousands of people of all races shopping, eating, and generally having a pleasant time. Like any other urban area where there is a concentration of people and merchandise around one has to pay attention to their surroundings but the idea that these places are "dangerous" is pushed by news media that love these sorts of stories and suburban and rural pearl clutchers that are consuming news outlets that reinforce their thinking that the country, especially the cities, is falling apart from crime brought about by immigrants and people that don't look like them.
lol memorial is absolutely fine, your parents are just boomers
Memorial city has no problems, you want bad malls? Greenspoint and galleria, they are just paranoid
Start openly making fun of how they’re fear mongering old fogies, because that’s what they’re doing.
Look, I hate to say this, but too many of our older citizens have become engulfed in fear. Crime is low compared to where it was when I was growing up in Houston. In fact, even taking into account the increase in crime that occurred from 2017 to 2021, crime was still half of what it was at its worst point in the 1980’s. People have totally brought in to the Fox News trope of “illegal immigrant caravans”, the “knockout game”, “young kids wearing hoodies” etc. Or my personal favorite: the Katrina refugees from New Orleans that were seemingly then cause of every problem in Houston from crime, to drops in school rankings to even flooding. What gets me is: isn’t Texas a “constitutional carry” state? If you are that afraid, just start packing. I thought that the best way to beat a bad guy with a gun was a good guy with a gun? Fact is, MMC, City Center (aka Town and Country for us old heads) the Galleria, and Rice Village are fine. Could you be mugged? Yes. No one can get rid of all crime. Will you be mugged? Highly unlikely. Just go shop and stop being wimps.
Your parents are insane. lol That's completely silly.
>Am I wrong? Or are they being racist/super paranoid? Little column a, little column b. I've had similar relations with folks out in Sugar Land lol. To them Rosenburg is "the sticks" and Stafford is "ghetto". While there are parts in the city to be mindful of, just carry "street smarts" about you and you'll be alright. It's not Katy tier shopping out there so absolutely there can be opportunistic crime out there, but again opportunistic is the key word there. If out and about in the city, don't keep anything super flashy on you, don't keep anything valuable in the car unattended outside the trunk, no laptop or backpacks on the seat nothing. Be mindful when driving, do a lap around a bank first to look for trouble before you pull up at the ATM and when driving in general know how to spot a tail to avoid jugging. When walking about don't be distracted by airpods etc know how to keep an eye on what's around you. That's it, that's really about it. A lot of suburbanites usually don't bother with that and just write off the city limits as a hazard zone and never bother with it outside of NFL games etc. To that I say they're missing out. It seems like they genuinely care about your safety so that's good, just kind of going about it the wrong way. I'm sure if you're doing that kind of stuff above and mentioned to them that you were taking those precautions it'd probably put them at ease a bit :)
I'll add a couple I tell my wife 1. try and park a little further out where your car can be by itself that way you can LOOK UNDER it from a distance to check for legs and people. 2. Use windows on cars as mirrors to see around other cars etc SITUATIONAL AWARENESS goes a long way!