The issue here is that this place was so good for so long, and then the fall happened in just a few years. The local criminals would rob you and then walk away. The newcomers rob you and then stab or shoot you to death even if you follow their instructions to the letter.
Here the extreme crime is confined to the city itself. Head out to the nearby suburbs and exurbs, and things are quiet as the housing values are out of reach of the bad guys here. They're also out of my reach. :)
The first beheading here shocked the entire area. The level of violence is at a big city level. The answer for me is that I go out almost only during daylight hours, and for the first time in my life, am looking for a way out.
With my home town it was meth. When I left for the service my home town was a typical mid-west town with it's little town problems. By the time I retired and returned there, meth had infested and ruined the place.
Not as bad as what you are dealing with, but we moved. We may move again because urban sprawl is now making its way toward us and the writing is on the wall.