USAPinoy

The latest results from CQ Press on the safest American states for 2008, out of 50 states, here are the 15 most safest states :

No 1: New Hampshire

New Hampshire is ranked No. 1 for the first time thanks to impressively low crime across the board. It boasts the nation’s lowest murder rate and second-lowest aggravated assault and burglary rates.

No. 2: Maine

The Pine Tree state has been ranked in the top three each of the past 15 years. It has the lowest assault rate in the U.S.

No. 3: North Dakota

After dominating the Safest State list for the past decade, the Peace Garden state suffers its lowest ranking since 1996. Its rape rate is mainly to blame.

No. 4: Vermont

It’s nice to know there are some places left in the world where folks don’t have to live under lock and key. Vermont was the safest state in 2003 along with 1994 & 1996.

No. 5: South Dakota

As one of the safest states to live in, South Dakota suffers from a shockingly high incidence of rape, but ranks in the top 5 in all other categories.

No. 6: Wyoming

Wyoming is a great example of a state with low income and low economic growth that does not fall prey to major crime.

No. 7: Montana

Some credit Montana’s low crime rate to the high level of gun ownership. Since most criminals are looking for easy targets, this may keep some in line. The Treasure State has lowest burglary rate in the country.

No. 8: Iowa

The Hawkeye State pulls in the No. 8 ranking for the fourth year in a row thanks to above average scores in all six crime categories.

No. 9: Idaho

Idaho is a regular on most of the best places to live lists published from various media venues, thanks to its much touted city, Boise. But they need to work on that rape statistic.

No. 10: Wisconsin

Wisconsin consistently ranks well below the national crime average.

No. 11: Connecticut

Connecticut is the state where many New Yorkers relocate when it’s time to raise a family and give in to the hour-plus commute to the Big Apple. A plus: low levels of assault, burglary and rape

No. 12: Rhode Island

The Ocean State improves four spots this year to score the second best gain after Washington state thanks to strong rankings in all categories except auto theft

No. 13: Utah

Home to one of the safest cities in America, Orem, the Beehive State maintains its No. 13 ranking that it also held last year.

No. 14: West Virginia

West Virginia is seeing an influx of commuters from the Washington D.C. metro region (including Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland) for its low crime rate and more affordable land and housing.

No. 15: Virginia

The Old Dominion State improves one position for the third year in a row and holds its best ranking since 2001. It has low crime in all categories except burglaries where it has the fifth worst rate in the nation.

I am in California and of the 50 states, it is ranked America’s 38th safest state.

I am seriously thinking of  moving out now.

See also : Link: Safest State Ranking

Yesterday I nearly fell off my chair when I checked my FICO score through my credit card website. This website continuously monitors and updates their client’s FICO score thru Transunion so monthly I get to see my credit score.

When I saw that my FICO score has been updated for April 2008, I nervously clicked the link but I was so shocked when I saw that my score, which was really excellent, dropped about 97 points! I was really upset about it that I hastily enrolled to a credit score monitoring site to give me an idea on how bad my credit scores are now and how I can prevent it from going down even more.

Through that credit monitoring site, I learned that credit scores drop due to a number of reasons. One reason is that when we apply for too many credit loans in a certain period of time. This, of course, would also result to too many inquiries in our credit because everytime we apply for credit card, auto refinancing, home refinancing, the creditor makes an inquiry about our credit. Even applying for an apartment lease gives them a reason to pull up our credit. Another reason that credit scores drop is when we have high balances in our loans.

The reasons mentioned above were the exact reasons why my credit score plummeted. It was entirely my fault because I became reckless with applying for loans. I didn’t know before that these things will make my credit suffer. I was not “credit-savvy” since I am newbie in this credit score stuff.

I am very unhappy with what happened to my score  but what else can I do but to be calm and learn from this mistake. Anyway, there is still time to repair the damage done to my credit and pretty soon, maybe about three months, I will have an excellent credit score again.

So to my friends who are new to the USA, be very careful when you apply for credit. Whatever it is, if it’s not that urgent , don’t apply for it.

I’ve been here for about three years already but there are still things that I just miss from the Philippines like …

• the sound of rain in the roof.. sabi nga, walang ganyan sa States. Here in America, you cannot hear the sound of rain maybe because of the thick insulations in the ceiling but if you do hear it, you better check it out since it could be the sound of hale that you’re hearing.
• the sight of people from all walks of life making their way through the murky floodwater. sa Singalong Manila, konting ulan lang, ung kanto namin, baha na….where we’re at here in Cali, it rarely rains. if it does, it’s not much to cause a flood..
• the endless typhoons kaya laging instant holiday. Oh i know this is not good for the poor people who are living in the streets and everything, but still, admit it sometimes we like it when it’s “bumabagyo” coz it’s so nice to just cozy up under the blanket and just sleep and sleep …
• My Mom and my siblings .. I miss Len, my youngest sis, kasi pasaway. My ate, my brothers Ryan and Jun ( Jun was here recently so I got to see him). Miss ko Mama ko coz we can spend the whole day just talking, discussing anything under the sun, sometimes we would have a misunderstanding though who misunderstood who is the question hehehe..I also miss my nephews and nieces, my aunts and uncles..mga kapipinsanan, mga kapitbahay..
• Divi and all the malls like SM and Robinson in Makati , Manila and Ortigas. Miss ko mga sale dyan…
• the jeeps, the taxis and the buses…
• our alalay or dakilang househelp, kahit pagod na smile lang si Ate G., na minsan nauuna pa kumain sa min or maligo or nauuna pang magpabeauty sa nanay ko
• the koreanovelas, si Cholooooo na cutie !!! si Jodie. si Jun sa Winter Sonata ba un? Ung ALL ABOUT EVE. walang ganyan dito, kung meron man,walang subtitle or dubbing na English..
• our small store, where you encounter all kinds of people, mga barat, mga presko, mga mataray na kasing taray ng tindera …
• all kinds of daing .. coz here of course you know , they abhor the smell of the daing, whatever kind that is..
• ang pagkain ng mani sabay inom coke habang nood ng TV ang buong pamilya..habang papalit palit ng channel kasi di magkasundo kung ano ba ang dapat na panoorin.. basketball, fear factor or telenovela …
• ang pagkain ng shawarma na hate na hate ko ang amoy nung buntis ako pero nung hindi , go talaga sa Harrison Plaza para lang bili ng shawarma..
• Goldilocks pulvoron, anything from Goldilocks, from JOlibee, from Max hay naku, endless list ito ng mga favorite kong kainan…
• my Mom’s fried rice. she has this way of cooking where she minces the garlic, saute it till golden brown. then ibubudbod nya un sa fried rice. grabe ang sarap , di malagkit so unlike my fried rice here. super love ko ang fried rice ng mama ko..
• the neighborhood kasi alam mo kung ano ang pinag-aawayan or pinag uusapan ng kapitbahay mo or kung ano ang ulam nila (kasi naaamoy mo)
• ang talipapa sa na sobrang lapit sa bahay namin. No need to travel at lagi pang fresh ang mabibili mo..
• I miss the Philippine fruits like our super-sweet carabao mango, our “latundan” bananas, the “langka” atbp…

Hay Pilipinas, kahit ganyan ka, miss pa din kita and I will always be proud of you, of my roots wherever I will be. Kaya wag nilang matahin ang ‘Pinas, love ko yan..

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