Moving to Baltimore... any advice on where to live?

[jjbmsiv]

Well, I'd like to congratulate all of my soon to be co-interns across the country. Like many, it's time for me to make a big move, and my destination is Baltimore (matched at U of Maryland). Anybody living there now, or going to UMMC or Hopkins, and have some info on good places to live? My wife and I are expecting, so I've definitely got safety on my mind. I haven't decided yet about living in the city vs. in a suburb, so info on either would be really helpful. Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[loveumms]

Always a good place to start is rent.com. I would try and start around the zipcode 21201 (which is the hospitals zipcode).

Here are some places that are really close to the campus (within walking distance) since it can be hard to figure it out looking at a map.

The Sail Cloth Factory

The Redwood - this would be one I would seriously consider if you can afford it (real nice)

The Malboro/Redwood Square - I lived in Redwood Square during first year. I really disliked the management and had a lot of problems while living there (a dumptruck that would come at 3am on several mornings ... and was so loud it woke me up, the lady downstairs that must have had a marching band playing all the time, another lady that almost assaulted me in the hallway and finally it just didn't seem secure - some of the homeless people from the streets would roam the halls)

The Atrium - a little further but the rent is a little cheaper. This is close to Lexington Market so it could be considered not safe but, I lived there during second year and really liked it although the management here wasn't all that great either ... lots of changing of employees.

The Greenhouse



I also lived at Spinnaker Bay which is like a mile from campus. VERY, VERY nice apartment complex but extremely expensive. My husband and I wanted to live somewhere nice in the city before we left and decided we could splurge for a year (not a great idea b/c it came back to bite us in the butt) but, it was definitely worth it.

Also, UMB (which is all the professional schools) puts together a very helpful website that gives links to all the places around the campus. Be careful though b/c some of these places are rather far away (won't have an asterick).

This might actually be a better place to start. This will also allow you to view ads for roomates (in some of the townhouses or apartments around the area).

http://www.housing.umaryland.edu/

http://www.housing.umaryland.edu/commercial.cfm is the apartment listings

 

[jjbmsiv]

Thanks a lot! That was definitely helpful, and I'm sure that took some time to put together. My wife and I will look it over tonight.

Right now I think we're leaning towards renting a row home in the city... is it true that rather than going by the neighborhoods, per se, it's really a street to street/block by block thing as far as safety is concerned?

 

[Yachtclub]

I grew up in Baltimore, and loveumms' apartment selections are right on the money. If you're looking to live downtown, The Redwood is definitely the nicest apartment near UMMS and Camden Yards...but if you're looking for a 2 bedroom they start at almost $1400 a month.

Also, I would AVOID living by Lex Market (alluded to by loveumms)...I grew up in Fell's Point and I still am not really always at ease around Lexington Market.

If you're looking for a rowhouse- both neighborhood AND street are important. Canton is probably the nicest place for a young family (although it's getting gentrified and kind of pricey), Fed Hill has some nice, safe areas (and some questionable ones), and Fell's Point is solid as well (caters to a bit younger crowd).

If the suburbs are on the table, Towson is a great place less than 30mins from the hospital.

Good Luck (Go Terps)

 

[loveumms]

Townhouses are a great option. If you are trying to live in Ridgleys then it can def be street by street (the problem is that the streets are oddly shaped and sometimes can be a breeding ground for waiting criminals).

That website has many townhouses.

Baltimore has changed a lot in the past four years. University has build some buildings across MLK which means University police now patrol that area = MUCH safer. I would try and take a trip to see the areas you are thinking ... and stick around after it gets dark to see if it's really safe (you should get a feeling rather quick).

Also, if you are thinking about commuting I would recommend you give the drive a try before you sign a lease. Baltimore traffic can be BRUTAL ... but I hate driving/traffic so maybe it wouldn't bother you.

Good luck. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

 

[jjbmsiv]

Thank you both so much! We're going down this weekend to cruise through, spend the night, get a feel for things... I'll let you know how the trip goes.

 

[CouchPotato]

As far as suburbs go, check out Catonsville, Halethorpe, and Columbia, which are between 10 and 20 minutes away, very safe, and affordable (comparable to what you would pay in the city) if you want to rent.

 

[abcabc]

I used to live in an apartment complex called "Horizon House" in that area. Having lived in and around the Hopkins undergrad campus for years (Charles Village area), I found the Horizon House/Mount Vernon area to be much safer and nicer. My building was nice in that there were many professionals living there, a lot of Hopkins residents (there's a free shuttle bus to JHU hospital from that area).

This apartment complex was on 1101 N. Calvert St, 2 streets parallel to St. Charles St. 3-4 blocks to Penn Station, affordable rents ($885 all inclusive for a HUGE 1 bedroom), walking distance to a lot of Mt Vernon restaurants and bars. I think it's walking distance to UMD also. The zip code was 21201. There was a 7-11 that you could enter from the lobby of the building, open till late for late night meds/milk/coffee. Pool on the roof, BBQ/patio area downstairs, and covered parking.

http://www.southernmanagement.com/communities/index.cfm?id=HH

I've lived in different apartments/row houses for the past 9 years in Baltimore and NY, and this apartment was the best I've ever lived in. After I moved out, they even refunded my rent for the 3 days early that I moved out, even though my lease was signed through those 3 days.


There's also a few other nice buildings on that southern management website.

Good Luck! The only negative thing I can say about living in Baltimore for 7 years is that my car got broken into 2-3 times - but each time it was my own fault for leaving things easily viewable.

 

[MDrugger]

I'm live in Baltimore now, but I actually stole this from the EM thread
-- posted by El Chivo

Assuming you want to be near the hospital, and are willing to drive, here's my .02: (I lived in B'more and worked at Hopkins for a year and a half in 05 - 06)

"Safe" in Baltimore and "safe" in Eau Claire Wisconsin have different meanings.

Getting Eau Claire quality safety within 20 mins of Hopkins will be a little bit of a challenge. The best place would probably be Roland Park, which is sort of the posh part of Baltimore proper, but you can find some reasonably priced apartments. Also check out the apartment buildings just north of the Hopkins undergrad campus (Homewood) on Charles and University. One HUGE advantage of these is that you can take a free shuttle from Homewood to the medical campus. This will save you time and hassle on parking.

Charles Village, the neighborhood to the East of Homewood, is Baltimore safe but definitely not Eau Claire safe. This means that you hear about people getting held up for their wallets in your neighborhood (through the JHU police bulletin), but chances are it never happens to you. This is where I lived while in Bmore. Also on the shuttle route. Lots of nice apartments at rates cheaper than the neighborhoods mentioned above. You will have rats in your alley the size of cats, but you've already decided to move to Baltimore, so maybe part of you will find this aspect of "roughing it" vaguely romantic. I did for about 9 months.

Also in the category of "Baltimore safe"-- Fells Point and Canton. Both these neigborhoods have lots and lots of bars. Canton is a bit further from Hopkins. You'd have to drive, but it wouldn't take long at all. Canton is sort of a yuppie magnet. Fells point is actually walking distance to Hopkins. Depending on how tough you look, you might decide that it is best to walk to Hopkins from Fells. (Maybe a mile or two, through the hispanic section of town, which is cool, but also through a couple of blocks that qualify as sketchy even in Baltimore--some pretty rough projects nearby.) Canton, on the whole, is safer and more expensive than Fells.

I have to go study the retina, but here are two more suggestions:

Federal Hill--also a big party scene, but more of an established/moneyed part of downtown than Canton and Fells. Pretty safe.

Mount Vernon--sort of the museum-y district. Cool restaurants and clubs in addition to the stodgy museums. Really wonderful architecture. This is my favorite part of Baltimore because the buildings are really wonderful. My wife says your car might get broken into here, but that is true for all of these neighborhoods except Roland Park. Also on the shuttle route.

One last one (if you're still reading): Hampden. Hipster Baltimore. When I was there this was morphing into a hipster neighborhood, which means that in a few years it will be a yuppie beighborhood. It had been/is a "working class" (read "working class" as a euphemism) white neighborhood. Pretty cheap rents, pretty short drive downtown to the hospital. A strip of old bars (professional drinkers) and funky new bars (professional hipsters). You will be accosted by at least one coked out Hampdenite per week if you live within two blocks of The Avenue.

Price Comparison: Roland park = Fed Hill > canton = Fells = Homewood north > mount vernon > charles village > hampden.

I would pick Mount Vernon. Really close to the hospital, on the shuttle, reasonably safe, nice apts. Fun places to hang out.

I'm going to go send this to a travel publisher now. . .

 

[jjbmsiv]

Well, we found a huge 1350 sq ft apartment for around 1000 dollars in owings mills this weekend. It's not exactly the closest thing to UMMC, but my wife likes the idea of living in the suburbs- safe, quiet, stores all a 5 minute drive away... thanks for all the input, guys! It was definitely helpful for me to realize that living IN the city wasn't what I wanted.