RateMyStudentRental Blog

Blake just wrote an excellent article called "A Safe Home is a Happy Home (well, it helps anyway)" with some very insightful tips on not getting your stuff stolen. His post mentions that Flint is consistently in the top 5 most dangerous cities in the US. Now, to be fair, there are some that say you should take these rankings with a grain of salt. But, as Blake's article mentions, we have seen many of our friends get their stuff stolen, so I thought I'd tell a couple funny (in a tragic sense) stories of our friends who found themselves no longer in possession of their possessions.

The Opposite of a Parting Gift: the Parting Take-Away

I have this one buddy, whose name escapes me at the moment, who decided after a year of going to school in Flint, that it wasn't for him anymore. He had just been accepted into another school elsewhere that started a few weeks after Kettering's semester. So a few weeks in, he packed up his stuff, ready to move out Sunday, but decided to first have one last hurrah Friday and Saturday night. It was like his last week of break all over again. But this was something more. It was like "no worries" partying coupled with a "screw you, Flint" attitude.

Unfortunately, he didn't plan on Flint answering right back to the screw you part. When he got back from partying Friday night, he found that his house had been broken into. His desktop computer, which he had all nicely packed and stacked, was gone, along with his guitar. He had unwittingly done half the burglar's job and made everything he owned easy to haul out of the window and back to the thief's evil lair (that's how I imagine thieves to be, don't you?).

Needless to say, his attitude for Saturday's night of debauchery had changed from "screw you, Flint" to "drown my sorrows in alcohol." Tough break, but such is the stigma of Flint.

At least the Thief Smells Good

Sometimes, you just have to wonder what was going through someone's head... I have another really good friend, Jim, who had an interesting experience getting his house broken into one night.

It's not hard to imagine the panic that goes through one's mind and takes control of your senses when you come home to realize that your sanctuary has been broken into. But try to imagine the confusion when you are filing the police report, and giving answers like this:

Police: Sir, what is the most valuable item missing from the house?
Jim: Um, that would be the Xbox (aside: this is pre-Xbox 360 era)
Police: No laptops, computers, or jewelry were stolen?
Jim: No sir, all of that is still there.
Police: Was anything else stolen?
Jim: Yes... my deodorant.
Police: I'm sorry?
Jim: My Old Spice deodorant was stolen.
Police: Um, are you sure you didn't just misplace it?
Jim: Yes, and you can definitely tell the burglar was in the bathroom. He stole my deodorant.
Police: And what was the value of this deodorant?
Jim: Well, it was less than half used. Probably $2 I guess...

Looking at the bright side though, at least the burglar would smell good for when he invited his hot date over to his evil lair to play his new Xbox. Only in Flint.