A visitor from Boston has expressed a desire to relocate to Ghana after an early-morning walk in Accra with his friend, who has already moved from the United States to the country, left him impressed by its peaceful atmosphere.
Recounting the experience in a video shared on social media, the Ghana-based man said his friend, who previously attended the University of Memphis, had visited him in Ghana and suggested they take a walk around their neighbourhood at about 3:30 a.m.
According to him, his friend had initially gone for a walk at about 11:00 p.m. and later sent him a message suggesting that something about the area’s calmness seemed unusual.
“At 3:30 a.m. in the morning, he said, ‘This place is too smooth. It’s too… they’re hiding something,'” the narrator recalled.
His friend subsequently suggested that they take another walk at that hour, with the narrator agreeing that they might discover something different.
“So I said, ‘You’re probably right, because I’ve never walked that early in the morning, and we’re probably going to see some things that they’ve been hiding all this time,'” he said.
However, their walk initially revealed nothing unusual. Instead, they encountered people cooking, going about their activities and exchanging greetings.
The visitor was reportedly impressed by the atmosphere, telling his friend that he could understand why some people from the United States wanted to retire in Ghana.
Their experience took an unexpected turn when they spotted about five or six young men approaching them.
The narrator said he immediately suspected that the group might be preparing to rob them and began discussing with his friend how they would defend themselves if attacked.
“Now, here it is. This is what we’ve been waiting to see. They’re probably going to try to rob us,” he recalled telling his friend.
He said he suggested that they move close to their car and prepare to fight if the young men attempted to surround them.
“What I’m going to do, and I told him, I said, ‘I’m going to hit the first one, the meanest-looking one, first. Then you hit the next guy,'” he recounted.
But as the group approached, the two men were met with an unexpected greeting.
“Then, like 10 feet away, they said, ‘Good morning’,” he said.
The two returned the greeting and watched as the young men continued walking without incident.
The narrator said the encounter left his visiting friend even more impressed. Comparing the experience with what he believed could have happened in Memphis, he said: “If I were in Memphis, they catch you outside at 3:30 in the morning. That’s guaranteed. Five young men, you’re going to get robbed or worse.”
His friend subsequently expressed his desire to relocate to Ghana.
“You know, that’s why I think I’ve got to move here because it’s unbelievably peaceful,” the narrator quoted him as saying.
What Do Official Figures Say About Security in Ghana?
While the encounter offered the visitor a positive impression of Ghana’s security environment, official figures show that armed robbery remains a public safety concern.
The National Development Planning Commission’s 2024 National Annual Progress Report recorded 1,203 armed robbery cases in Ghana in 2024, down from 1,455 in 2023. Greater Accra accounted for 329 cases, the highest number recorded by any region.
The report also recorded a decline in murder cases, from 614 in 2023 to 550 in 2024.
In March 2026, the Ministry of the Interior also announced that the Criminal Investigations Department had recorded 1,142 armed robbery cases during the period under review, representing a 5.1 per cent decline from the previous year. The Ministry did not specify the exact dates covered by the figures.
The figures provide a broader picture of the country’s security situation, but they also underline why one positive encounter should not be taken as evidence that crime is absent.
Social Media Reactions
The man’s account has generated mixed reactions on X, with some users welcoming the visitor’s apparent interest in relocating to Ghana, while others responded with humour or questioned the assumptions behind the encounter.
Pappy Kay Snr (@pappykaysnr) welcomed him but jokingly cautioned him against bringing firearms into the country.
“Come and settle for greatness. Please don’t bring ur guns. Let the peace be upon us,” he wrote.
Lau Rosales (@laurjig) highlighted the contrast between the visitors’ initial fears and the unexpected outcome.
“The jump from expecting a robbery to wanting to move there is so real. That’s the Ghana effect,” the user commented.
Quame Chris (@quamechris), however, questioned why the visitors had assumed the approaching young men intended to rob them.
“You get to someone country and the only thing for you to think is let’s go find some thing bad so we can tell people this country is full of bad people,” the user wrote.
BROOKszn (@BROOKey4v) suggested that the young men were simply heading to work.
“3am dem dey go kanta chaleeee hardworking boys ooo,” the user remarked.
The exchange has prompted conversations about Ghana’s hospitality, public safety and appeal to visitors. For the Boston visitor, an ordinary greeting during an early-morning walk appears to have made an extraordinary impression.
