baltimore

[Lala]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some very general information. My husband is considering doing a fellowship in Baltimore, and I really know nothing about the city (other than the fact that it apparently has high crime rates!) If anyone has ever lived in Baltimore, I would greatly appreciate any insight or advice you may have. I'm interested in anything you have to share about Baltimore including ideas about what neighbourhoods to live in if we were to move there, cost of rent, public transit system, culture etc. By the way, we do not have any kids, so that allows us to be more flexible in terms of the type of area we'd be open to living in. We do have a dog, so I'd ideally like to live somewhere where I felt safe walking around! Anyway, if anyone has any general thoughts or info, I'd love to hear it!
Thanks!!!
L

[ides]

I'm sure others will give their input. My experience is pretty limited. I spent two weeks in Baltimore last year when dh had an away rotation at Shock Trauma. I liked it. It had a lot of charm - well parts of it. There are bad and good areas. There is a high rate of poverty and a lot of downtown is shuttered. You definitely need a car. There is public transit- a light rail, subay & buses. I took the light rail one time and it was pretty okay. In my opinion the subway & light rail are pretty limited. You wouldn't want to rely on it solely as your method of transport. Oh, they have Potbelly sandwiches there too I felt it was a place I could live.

[JC76]

My husband and I both went to grad school in Baltimore and I lived there for a few years afterwards for work as well. This was around 1998-2003. I really loved it while I was there (despite the city's flaws) and in the few trips we've made back there since then we've found that it's only gotten better. I've lived in Baltimore, NYC, and Philly and I would happily move back to Baltimore.

There is a high crime rate and there are several areas of the city that are extremely poor and dangerous. However, I think that's true for any city and you just have to educate yourself regarding how to live there safely.

What I loved most about Baltimore is the fact that there are some really beautiful, quaint areas near the harbor. It had a terrific restaurant scene which I understand has only gotten better. And a very diverse range of other social outlets, bars, lounges, pubs, etc. Inner Harbor is fun and a great place to take family when they come to visit. Plus you're really close to D.C. in the event you want to spend time in a larger city.

Re: places to live... When I was in grad school I lived in the Mt. Vernon area which begins a few blocks directly north of Inner Harbor. It's where the Peabody School of Music is and is considered the "gayborhood." Lots of great little shops, cafes, etc. Felt safe, supermarket within walking distance, easy access to lots of nightlife. A little more pricy than some of the other neighborhoods. After that I moved over to an area called Butcher's Hill which is a more residential neighborhood located right between the neighborhoods of Fells Point and Canton. I found it to be very affordable and a very good central location. Plus I was only blocks away from a huge park where I could let my dog run, workout, etc.

I went to the School of Public Health at Hopkins so my entire circle of friends were pretty much health care related, whether at Hopkins or Maryland. While I never lived in those areas myself, I knew a lot of people worked at either hospital who lived in both Canton and Federal Hill who also loved those neighborhoods. Safe and relatively affordable for the city. If you're working at Maryland, then Federal Hill would be closer than Canton, but really, the city isn't that big and you'd have a reasonable commute living in either place. Both neighborhoods have a lot of character, great restaurants, pubs, good vibe, safe, etc.

If affordability is more of an issue, I also knew people who lived close to the Johns Hopkins main undergrad campus which is in the north part of the city and is a more affordable neighborhood. Also, there are some residential neighborhoods north of the city off of Rt. 83 which are more affordable and still a relatively easy commute into the city.

Good luck with your decision. Like I said, I'd move back to Baltimore in a heartbeat. It has it's pro's and con's like any city, but overall I think is terrific.

[Sheherezade]

What she said. We lived in Federal Hill for 4 years during residency. We were residency poor, had two babies during the time period and lived on his income alone. We still consider it one of our best neighborhoods ever.

[DCJenn]

Native Marylander here. I spent nearly every weekend of my college life in Balto, worked there and my room-mate from college lives there. I'd live there in a heartbeat but alas, that's unlikely to happen.

What everyone else has said is true- Baltimore got slammed during the crack days and has a pretty big heroin problem but no worse than any other major East Coast city. There are great historical neighborhoods and if you don't know anything about the War of 1812, look it up- because that war shaped forever how the city thinks about itself. (Baltimore saved the day- it was over Ft. McHenry that Francis Scott Key saw the Star Spangled Banner yet wave- he was being held hostage on a ship in the harbor.)

Jenn

[Lala]

Wow, thanks to all of you for such amazing information! If we do end up moving there, I'll certainly have to look into the neighbourhoods you guys mentioned. I'm really glad to hear that there are live-able areas within the city as I'm not a big fan of suburbs. Right now, my husband is a couple years away from fellowship time, but he has to apply in the next year, so he's narrowing down his choices. Again, I really appreciate all the info. I am new on this website, and I think it's amazing!

Hi- I live in Baltimore currently (DH is at Hopkins for med school). I was a little worried about it before we moved it- but if you find a good neighborhood, it's really a pretty great little city! We live in Federal Hill, which I love. Other good neighborhoods in the city include Mt. Vernon, Canton, Fells Point, and Locust Point. The city is great to live in if you don't have kids- you're right in the center of everything and you can walk or take public transport pretty much anywhere.

We bought a house, but I know when we were looking at places to rent, we had a hard time finding anything less than ~$1200-1600/month- plus parking and utilities. For that reason we ended up buying, because the mortgage was basically the same as the rent.

I work in D.C. and usually drive but I can also take the MARC and the DC metro to work. Baltimore has a great system too- a free bus (the circulator) and a metro, which is small but my DH takes it because it stops directly at Hopkins.

It is a city with some crime so you do have to be aware- don't leave anything (no change, no GPS holder, nothing) in your car, and it may help to have some pepper spray with you. But honestly, at least in our neighborhood, I see women out all the time with dogs, even if it's dark outside. You just need to stay alert and figure out where the neighborhoods go from good to bad- and they can change in a block.

Baltimore is close to both DC and Philly, and only a $20, 4 hour bus ride to NYC- we've been enjoying exploring all the big metropolitan areas around us.

If you'd like a more suburban feel, Columbia is a good place to look- but we found it even more pricey than Baltimore.

Please let me know if you have any more specific questions!