money belt?

Money belt is the safest way, but you could also put your passeport in a locker unless you want it on you.

quote:
money belt?

Pardon my ignorance.. but I guess I need to learn somewhere. Is this something that goes under the clothes? I’m sure my fitted shirts would love that one.. lol.

Also, is it wise to not keep ID on you? Seems to me like I’d have to keep my passport with me, right? I will have an apartment there because I am studying in Florence, so I’m just trying to work around having ID on me.

If you have an apartment, you can probably leave it there. If you don’t want to carry a purse, put it in your pocket or put it under your clothes, there’s really nowhere else is there?

Well, just think at what you’re doing with your money and ID’s when your’re going out at your place. There is no big deal if you have an appartement. Leave the passeport there and bring your money with you to the club. Bring an ID, but it can be something else than your passport even if usually you are not asked for it in Europe. I’m sure you ‘ll find a way to manage this situation when you’ll get there.

I suggest sticking it under your fitted shirts… some men are attracted to women with weird body formations! Mabye you’ll get lucky

I always wore my passport in one of those money belts (which I would wear around my hips if I was wearing a skirt or loose pants… they get really sweaty on your stomach)… unless of course I was going out dancing. Then I left it in my hostel, in a locker. As secure as money belts are most of the time, I didn’t imagine that going out with it while I was drinking and dancing was a good idea. My brother had some foreign girl that had been hitting on him get him really drunk and try and get it, but before he left to go out with her he left it with me, which was probably a good idea.

Hi!
I don’t know if you’ll want to do this to your clothes, but I’m going to sew pockets on the inside of my pants. If the pants are loose and already have pockets, sew smaller pockets inside the ones already there. This prevents pickpockets really well, especially if you’re at a club were it would be really easy for pickpockets to hit people.
I would not recommend leaving your money at a hostel. even if it’s locked up, a padlock will not deter theives.

You don’t need your passport on you at all times so you can leave it at your apartment, but I do recommend taking an ID of some kind. I don’t think I look under 18 but I did get carded in London. Fortunately, I had my US driver’s license on me.
As for what to do while at the clubs… when I lived in Chicago and had no pockets, it all went in the bra. If there was no bra and I was wearing boots, I put it in the boots. If there was no bra and I was wearing strappy sandles I put everything in a thin cloth pouch and pinned it to the inside of my pants/skirt.

I always carried it in a money belt that I wore under my clothes at the small of my back, so it wouldn’t show.

BUT… I just got back from Costa Rica, where my friend and I were mugged while walking back to our hotel in San Jose. The muggers held us up at gunpoint and knifepoint and stole our obviously visible bags and belongings. But they also knew what they were doing and they frisked us thoroughly looking for money belts or hidden valuables.

Luckily, I’d heeded the advice of the owner of our hotel that day, and left my money belt with my passport locked in the safe of the hotel, as did my friend. It was VERY lucky we’d done this, because our flight home was early the next morning. I lost my license, medicare card, credit card, bank card, camera, all kinds of things… but my passport was safe. Whew.

Bottom line: a money belt is good protection against pickpockets. It’s useless against muggers or more persistent thieves. Whenever possible, lock your passport and some emergency cash and valuables in a safe, and carry only what you absolutely need on your body.

In places where you need ID, take a less important and easily replaceable piece of ID like a student card or an International Driving Permit with you instead of a passport. In places where you need to carry a passport because of police checks, leave the original locked away and carry a photocopy.

Random crime can happen to anyone anywhere – I wasn’t alone, was in broad daylight, and was watching my stuff. It’s not the end of the world but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

segacs – glad to hear you didn’t lose much and that you are ok!

Thanks, Redkat.

ooh scary story about the mugging!

glad ur ok

i have known girls to put stuff in their bras..

i wouldnt carry much cash anyway and id divide it up if possible
those money belts are very conspicuous
ok in winter but not for tight summer tops

i carried a small bum bag all the time
or id get a little satin over the shoulder bag to keep my stuff in while dancing
keep ur passport in a locker at ur place of accommodation ..keep a spare pic and a photocopy of ur passportand all other documents
dont keep everything in one bag

if i ever withdrew big amounts id find somewhere to take my shoe off and slide the notes inside my inner sole