I'm moving to jakarta

Joejoe, like every other place in the world Jakarta has its good points and bad points. Jakarta is very crowded, polluted, full of noise, full of traffic and chaos. However, criminal attacks towards westerners are few and the streets are far safer than my home town in England. The taxis are fine if you stick to bluebird and Express. Public Transport is a mix of OK to no. But you learn that along the way, which is part of the fun of moving to a new country.
Search through the posts for Jakarta as your questions have been raised before.
If you are careful in your home town then why be different here?

its ok no problem bradder....jakarta now safe...

yes safe, but dont show off to much in public transportation.

Halo JoeJoeBassett! welcome to Jkt,
well public transport like Transjakarta is safe, because i get used to see foreigners use it too.
but a note,  just keep an eye to your things carefully just in case

greets,
Debby.

Overall Jakarta is rather safe as long as you do not flaunt your wealth. I have only encountered one situation where a guy was hiding in the boot of a taxi and came out behind with the knife to rob, but that happens 10 years ago where the economic situation is still bad.
One year in Jkt, I am safely travelling around in Ojek, Taxis, bajai and it is very comfortable and safe.
Nothing much to worry about. Have fun in Jkt

You are fine in general. And like other big cities in any country, some parts of Jakarta are not safe. Bluebird and Express are very safe. I took them all the time I was in Jakarta. Mostly, Indonesians are very nice to westerners. Some of them might take advantage of you, but if you ask help, they'd be willing to help you, especially when you are in a smaller city, like Malang

Joejoebassett wrote:

I'm a white American male, is it safe for me there to walk the streets , take cabs, public transportation. I have read so many mixed reviews??? Thanks for anyone's help

Hey Joe, yes it is safe to walk on the streets in Jakarta. Jakarta is a big city. You will be just fine. Sudirman street, Jaksa street, Kuningan etc. as for taking cabs, use blue bird or express taxi. Take silver bird and white horse if you want premium ones. They are good taxi companies. As for public transportation, we do not have any proper public transportation. So I would not advise you on that one, although if you go from Blok M to Kota or any station in between , just for that line 1, you may use busway. The busses on that line are the best and safe. Some expats take that line many times.

And one thing very important is to smile to people here. They are happy with expats give nice faces and try to some words in Bahasa.

I could show you and some other members, some nice areas in town.
Cheers