Apparently, the Obamas chose New York City because they've gotten so used to people trying to break into their house.
I like to deal with things I heard about, ... People are always getting their house broken into around the holidays. That's when the crime rate goes up.
Nobody cared about the riot until they thought it might spill into their nice neighborhoods. Then they got scared and called the National Guard.
No genuine observer can decide otherwise than that the homes of a nation are the bulwarks of personal and national safety and thrift.
Somebody broke into my house once, this is a good time to call the police, but mm mm, nope. The house was too nice. It was a real nice house, but they'd never believe i lived in it. They'd be like 'He's still here!
What advice would I give the average homeowner to protect himself against burglars? Well, the first thing is to keep a light on in the house when you go out. It must be at least a sixty-watt bulb; anything less and the burglar will ransack the house, out of contempt for the wattage.
I risked getting my tyres nicked by going to Robbie Fowler's home in Liverpool!
In Venezuela, when I was living there, crime was growing. You couldn't feel safe anywhere. You couldn't leave your car in the street because it would be stolen. You coun't live in your house if you didn't have a high-security alarm system, because you would be burglarized seven times a week.
There's periods now in our New York residence when I hear the door opening, especially the first couple of years... Anytime I hear that door opening I still think I'm gonna hear her.
Mexican homes as a rule are closed off to the world by high blank walls of yellowish masonry, topped with broken glass to discourage escaladores, or climbing burglars. The gardens and fountains and other delights are hidden, as in an Arab city.
I live in the Hollywood Hills. When I see a cop driving around there, I actually assume that he has my best interests at heart and that he has the best interests of my property at heart. I think if you'd go to Pasadena, they'd say the same thing. And I think if you knocked on doors in Glendale and asked them, they'd say the same thing.
But that was in the days when they expected perils to come from without, and nothing made less sense by that time than a survival room buried in a house itself becoming one big coffin.
We now in the United States have more security guards for the rich than we have police services for the poor districts. If you're looking for personal security, far better to move to the suburbs than to pay taxes in New York.
Having a place to live is a fundamental right and the state must establish a framework that ensures that apartments are affordable.
My whinstone house my castle is, I have my own four walls.
What was the good of having such a fine home if you weren't willing to fight for it?
The American city should be a collection of communities where every member has a right to belong. It should be a place where every man feels safe on his streets and in the house of his friends.
Quality of life actually begins at home - it's in your street, around your community.
