Thanks for the geography lesson... I can almost picture it on my mind. It’s scary to think someone from out of town could take an exit... and become a target just because they were unfamiliar with the area.
The I4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando has grown very fast but is dotted with podunk towns that used to be "off the beaten path." Now they're overrun by thugs and criminals due to proximity to a major travel artery.
Take Seffner for example. Seffner used to be sleepy farming community dotted with lakes. When the I4 corridor expansion started in the late 90s, people started buying up tracts of land and building houses. There are parts of Seffner that are still rural, but it's become a bedroom community complete with marijuana grow houses and meth labs. The crime in Seffner has gotten so bad that many of the farmers boarded up their family homes and moved away. I can't say I blame them.
Lakeland's also turned into a bit of cesspool. It was once considered a quiet mid-point stop for a trip from Tampa to Orlando, but now it's one of those areas where you make one wrong turn and you're likely to be shot. It's sad how much transportation hubs, once considered a life-giving artery for an old rural town, are turning towns into ghettos with rival gangs fighting for turf and residents cowering in their homes.