Hey everyone, I am applying to a Doctoral program in Baltimore, and I was wondering what areas of the city are good to look at apartments in, and where a good place to live would be. I am heading down to do a campus tour in a couple of months, and thought I would walk some neighborhoods to get an idea of where to live. I know we have tons of MD brewers, so what areas would you guys reccomend going towards and staying away from.
Good Area of Baltimore To Live in
- Thread starter Donasay
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MikeFlynn74
Well-Known Member
as far away as possible?
Skins_Brew
Well-Known Member
Do you have a car? If so, live in the suburbs.
FireBrewer
Assistant Brewer
Haven't been there in about 14 years.What school, Donasay? Hopkins? University of MD Baltimore?
I lived in [ame="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Catonsville,+MD&sll=39.335658,-76.614532&sspn=0.023334,0.038624&ie=UTF8&ll=39.268145,-76.68766&spn=0.090238,0.154495&z=13&g=Catonsville,+MD"]Catonsville[/ame], just outside of Baltimore for about 10 years and worked in Baltimore City for some time as well. Was born in Catonsville, actually and spent a good bit of my childhood there since my grandparents lived there as well.
Canton, Fells Point and Federal Hill are decent areas but pricey! The area near Hopkins U. and just north isn't bad either.
Aside from that, as Redskins pointed out (which was good advice for a suburban DC Redskins fan
) there are good areas to live in that are a quick hop. So I'll throw out Catonsville, Halethorpe, Arbutus, Linthicum, Elkridge, Hanover, Glen Burnie, Rosedale, Parkville, and Cockeysville for consideration. Besides the Light Rail that runs into Baltimore, you have 295, 83, and 95 making it pretty quick to get into town.
OP
OP
Donasay
Well-Known Member
I am looking at hopkins, and I do have a car, but I prefer to bike or take public transportation. I live in Boston currently and have not driven my car since Thanksgiving, prior to that I had not driven it in about 4 weeks. I like having a car but not driving every day....
I guess the main obstacle now is that I have to learn the neighborhood names, I am going in the spring to take a walk around, so I'll get to see first hand at that time, but just wanted to get a feel for what is out there.
I guess the main obstacle now is that I have to learn the neighborhood names, I am going in the spring to take a walk around, so I'll get to see first hand at that time, but just wanted to get a feel for what is out there.
Good Area of Baltimore To Live in?
As someone that has lived in the "sticks" about an hour northeast of Baltimore...the quick answer is .....None....
As someone that has lived in the "sticks" about an hour northeast of Baltimore...the quick answer is .....None....
Dadrick
Well-Known Member
I went to Hopkins. I assume you will be attending the University, and not at the Hospital. They are totally different areas you don't want to live anywhere near the Hospital. The area within a few blocks of the university is okay, but once you leave that area though it goes downhill rapidly. Baltimore is a very checkerboard city, good areas interspersed with rough neighborhoods. It doesn't take long to figure out where the good areas are if you drive around a bit and explore.
Good luck in your hunt and your Dr.
Rick
(edited to correct horrendous spelling and grammer. I don't need the post police after me)
Good luck in your hunt and your Dr.
Rick
(edited to correct horrendous spelling and grammer. I don't need the post police after me)
Skins_Brew
Well-Known Member
I would seriously consider the burbs. Baltimore City police is pretty crappy too, so even if your in a decent area, you are still under the will of the crappy police. BPD hires just about anyone who wants to be a cop.
schneemann
Well-Known Member
Since you say Doctoral Program, I'm assuming Hopkins or UMAB
If you have a car:
Suburbs:
Linthicum
Severna Park
Odenton
Basic rule for suburbs: Inside the Beltway = Bad, outside the Beltway = OK (the further the better)
If you have no car: Mount Vernon is best, IMO unless you want to pay the stupidly expensive prices of Canton. Stay away from "North Canton". There is no such thing and its really more like "South Highlandtown" which is the epicenter of white trash in America.
If you have a car:
Suburbs:
Linthicum
Severna Park
Odenton
Basic rule for suburbs: Inside the Beltway = Bad, outside the Beltway = OK (the further the better)
If you have no car: Mount Vernon is best, IMO unless you want to pay the stupidly expensive prices of Canton. Stay away from "North Canton". There is no such thing and its really more like "South Highlandtown" which is the epicenter of white trash in America.
schneemann
Well-Known Member
Including felons, BTW.
Funny, in the state of MD, felons can't own guns and can't even be a mortgage broker, but they can (could) become a cop in Baltimore PD
bmckee56
Well-Known Member
Lived in down that way for 3 1/2 years. Had to work in Baltimore and DC area and I would advise walking in any downtown areas except the Inner Habor at night and then only with a few other companions.
We had to have an escort to work in the MTA areas around Baltimore even though they had MTA Police everywhere.
I lived in Columbia, MD. it was nice but expensive.
Good Luck!
Salute!
We had to have an escort to work in the MTA areas around Baltimore even though they had MTA Police everywhere.
I lived in Columbia, MD. it was nice but expensive.
Good Luck!
Salute!
jgln
Well-Known Member
Skins_Brew
Well-Known Member
I was going up 95 a while back and saw a billboard in Baltimore that said something like "Move from the back seat to front" and showed some guys in civilian clothes leaning against a police car.
FireBrewer
Assistant Brewer
JLW1974
Member
How many people here actually have lived or currently live in Baltimore to make such generalizations?
I live in Baltimore and know many people going to UM Medical School and Hopkins that live around the Patterson Park Area and Canton. I agree that Baltimore is a checkerboard city. But like any city, you just need to know where/when NOT to go.
Prices in Canton have dropped considerably. Check out Craigslist for some Townhomes to rent out, you would be suprised. I live next to Patterson Park and the area around the park has improved so much in the past 4 years. If you have pets, Patterson Park is much more dog friendly than any other park I know in Maryland.
If you want to vent after long hours of studying, you can easily can walk to the various bars in Canton and off of Broadway (Fell's Point) or take a little taxi ride to Federal Hill or Mt. Vermon. During the Baseball season, buy a $6 ticket to watch the games (even the Boston Red Sox come down and play the Orioles).
Just drive around and see for yourself.
And FYI, John Hopkins is expanding on their downtown medical center (off Fayette and Charles street) which will also attract over 10,000 new professional jobs. So there is also pressure from JH to clean up the surrounding area as well.
PROST!!!
John
I live in Baltimore and know many people going to UM Medical School and Hopkins that live around the Patterson Park Area and Canton. I agree that Baltimore is a checkerboard city. But like any city, you just need to know where/when NOT to go.
Prices in Canton have dropped considerably. Check out Craigslist for some Townhomes to rent out, you would be suprised. I live next to Patterson Park and the area around the park has improved so much in the past 4 years. If you have pets, Patterson Park is much more dog friendly than any other park I know in Maryland.
If you want to vent after long hours of studying, you can easily can walk to the various bars in Canton and off of Broadway (Fell's Point) or take a little taxi ride to Federal Hill or Mt. Vermon. During the Baseball season, buy a $6 ticket to watch the games (even the Boston Red Sox come down and play the Orioles).
Just drive around and see for yourself.
And FYI, John Hopkins is expanding on their downtown medical center (off Fayette and Charles street) which will also attract over 10,000 new professional jobs. So there is also pressure from JH to clean up the surrounding area as well.
PROST!!!
John
Jared311
Well-Known Member
You definitely have to live in Fell's Point so you can walk to Max's on Broadway, the best bar ever!
schneemann
Well-Known Member
Me
I grew up in Linthicum (just outside the Beltway)
I've also lived in Mount Vernon and also lived near St. Paul and North Ave.
Baltimore City has really changed a lot since my family first moved here from KY. I remember when the Inner Harbor was a junkyard, not a tourist attraction. Shoot, Canton was that way until about a decade or so ago. The City has performed miracles in cleaning up.
That being said, all the cleaning in the world isn't gonna clean up the scum that lives in the city (or the immediate suburbs, for that matter).
Baltimore's crime statistics speak for themselves. More murders than Detroit, more robberies than Detroit, I'm sure more violent crime than most other major cities. It should be rather obvious, considering the crime rates, that the general level of *****ebaggery in Baltimore is higher in Baltimore than other places, too.
FireBrewer
Assistant Brewer
Go back one page.
Not according to the FBI:
United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You haven't been down to DC much then.
schneemann
Well-Known Member
I think the stats I had found were older. Either way, as the URL you posted shows, Baltimore's crime is 2nd highest in the nation and illustrates my point perfectly.
You haven't been down to DC much then.
Actually, I go to DC more often than I go to Baltimore. I very much prefer DC to Baltimore. I'm not saying it doesn't have its own $hitty parts and $hitty people, but I much prefer it over Baltimore. I only go into Baltimore to go to Orioles games.
DC has vast swaths of area in which it is indistinquishable from a warzone and where even the criminals don't feel safe. Baltimore really doesn't have a lot of that anymore - at least not to the scale that DC has. But what Baltimore doesn't have are the very many good areas that DC has. Baltimore just has this general blanket of $hittiness to it that envelopes the city and its immediate suburbs.
Baltimore also lacks the cultural diversity of DC. Baltimore's "cultural diversity" is limited to "White Trash", African Americans, and illegal immigrants all of whom create their own "melting pot of $hit" and which doesn't actually contribute anything to the culture of the city other than to drag it down.
SSRider
Well-Known Member
HaHa, I spent my bachelor party at nightshift.
As far as Baltimore goes, I didnt really like going there more than I had too. My brother was a Detective with the State troopers up there and hearing the stories he told kept me away. I went to the bars in fells point a few times, and visit my buddy at UMBC, but if it were me I would definitely live outside the city.
jpsloan
Well-Known Member
I moved up into this area from New Orleans, and I found a lot of similarities between Balmers and NOLA. Both are really old cities with really old street layouts made more for horses than cars. Both have really old buildings, and that "checkerboard" quality where one block is really nice, the next is terrifying.
A friend of mine once referred to Baltimore as "the unwiped a$$hole of the Mid-Atlantic". I found that to be a touch extreme, but the city is certainly a rough place to be after dark.
I currently live about 45 minutes west of Baltimore, just east of Frederick. There's lots of great rural living between Frederick and Baltimore if you want to commute down I-70.
A friend of mine once referred to Baltimore as "the unwiped a$$hole of the Mid-Atlantic". I found that to be a touch extreme, but the city is certainly a rough place to be after dark.
I currently live about 45 minutes west of Baltimore, just east of Frederick. There's lots of great rural living between Frederick and Baltimore if you want to commute down I-70.
FireBrewer
Assistant Brewer
jpsloan said:
+1
Most of the comments from those who say the whole city's a ****hole, crime-ridden, etc. are based largely in fact that they've never spent an appreciable amount of time IN any major city.
I lived by Baltimore for 10 years, I worked IN Baltimore for about 8 of those years. And I worked in some of the worst, run-down areas of the city. And I'm still here.
It's like any other major city: if you're stupid, you're going to run into trouble.
schneemann
Well-Known Member
That's painting with a pretty broad brush, IMO, and frankly unless you know the people personally, its also a hasty generalization.
I doubt there've been any comments in this thread as strong as mine and I GREW UP HERE. I've also lived in Brooklyn New York and DC. From my past work in the music industry, I've been to literally every major city east of the Mississippi River and all of the largest cities west of it.
Regardless of whether any of the commenters have directly lived in a major city, the statistics speak for themselves:
http://www.baltimorekidsdata.org/documents/Success_School.pdf
http://www.baltimorekidsdata.org/documents/Safe_in_Fam_Comm.pdf
(even more: Baltimore City Data Collaborative - Information on children and families in Baltimore, Maryland)
FireBrewer
Assistant Brewer
You mean like your comment?
Nice brush you have there.
Yay. I was born in Baltimore, grew up northeast of Baltimore (and just outside in between).
For the OP's sake, can we get back on topic now?
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