What can you tell me about living in/around Baltimore?

[Wasteland Knight]

I've been a long time reader of ENWorld, but very rarely a poster. But I have a question, and this seems like a good place to find some answers. I've been interviewing with several companies based just outside BWI airport, and it looks like I'll be receiving offers, which would require me to relocate.

I've lived in New England virtually all my life, and my entire exposure to Maryland has consisted of catching connecting flights at BWI, and travelling to interviews. I don't know anyone from Maryland, so I can't call someone up and ask 20 questions. But I thought there might be some ENWorld regulars from the area who'd be willing to share their experiences about the area.

I'd be interested to hear about any aspect of Baltimore, but I'm most interested in things like good places to live, bad places to live, places you shouldn't be after dark, how hard/easy is it to find gamers, finding apartments/housing, what are the FLGS's, general cost of living, taxes, etc.

Your thoughts would be most appreciated!

-WK

 

[Dungannon]

Don't live in Baltimore. You're much better off living in one of the outlying communities. If you're going to be working around BWI, you're smack dab between D.C. and Baltimore, which means your cost-of-living is going to be higher than what you're probably used to in Dover, NH. The overall area is pretty decent, though, and with two major cities close by as well as the bay you'll rarely be without something to do in your spare time.

 

[Wasteland Knight]

Thanks for the reply!

Don't live in Baltimore. You're much better off living in one of the outlying communities.

Any reccomendations for outlying communities?

 

[der_kluge]

I only have a couple of things to say:

Houses in that area are outrageously expensive.

Drivers from Maryland are some of the worst I've ever seen. Horrible. Just horrible. They are the rudest, nastiest, most wreckless drivers I've ever had the misfortune of driving with. We get them in Richmond from time to time. If we see someone cutting in and out of traffic, and generally just being an ass, my wife and I now automatically assume that they are from Maryland, and we're usually right.

 

[Wasteland Knight]

Drivers from Maryland are some of the worst I've ever seen. Horrible. Just horrible. They are the rudest, nastiest, most wreckless drivers I've ever had the misfortune of driving with. We get them in Richmond from time to time. If we see someone cutting in and out of traffic, and generally just being an ass, my wife and I now automatically assume that they are from Maryland, and we're usually right.

The worst... Well, I take it you've never been to Massachusetts...

 

[cuteasaurus]

Hey now, living in Baltimore isn't that bad. The driving isn't great, but I've noticed that a lot of people on the East Coast have driving that is "how you say..." Not Good. If you're living in town, Mt Vernon, Bolton Hill, and Canton are pretty good. Charles Village is "popular" with the college kids, but petty crime/robbery is kinda a problem. Suburb-wise, Towson and White Marsh are nice and have great malls.

Cost of living is pretty reasonable. From listening to people I know who have purchased houses recently, it sounds like you can get one for not too much money, but since many people are buying houses chances are good you won't get the first one you bid on.

It's best to know someone who can help you navigate the location of your apt/house since the city is "patchwork" with "good and bad" neighborhoods. The city police dept has a website that "tracks" crime and that might be helpful to you... if you can't find it (and want it) I'll see if I can't find it.

I feel like I'm forgetting something...let me know if you have more questions.

 

[Old One]

A lot...

I live N. of Baltimore, but work in N. VA. and have been house-shopping in the Baltimore-DC 95 corridor off and on for the past 2 years. I don't know what kind of housing/employment level you are coming in at, so I will just make some general comments.

(1) Housing is expensive. The closer you get to DC, the more it is. There are still some decent pockets around - Catonsville, Arbutus, Odenton and others - where you can get some reasonable housing and that are very close to BWI, but the prices have skyrocketed in this area over the past 5 years (up close to 100%+ in many areas). You can also look at places in Baltimore City, with Canton being a prime "urban renewal" area...but prices are on the rise there as well.

(2) Housing Selection - Most newer single-family homes (built in the last 10 years) are going to run you in excess of $500k. New townhouses and condos are less ($250-$450k) and older homes (built in the 30s to 70s) run in the high $100ks to $400k plus. Duplexes, fourplexes and rowhouses will generally be less...but need more work.

(3) Schools - One of the major things driving home prices is school zoning. People pay lots of money to be in better school districts. Right around BWI are Baltimore County, Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County. If you have school age kids, avoid Baltimore City schools like the plague, they are a disaster. Baltimore and Anne Arundel County are hit or miss...sometimes a street within a neighborhood divides one school district from another.

(4) Shopping/Retail - The Columbia Mall and Arundel Mills are the big shopping areas in the BWI corridor (Arundel Mills even has a Medieval Times ). There are also lots of powercenters and strip malls around.

(5) Commuting/Travel - Commuting by car around Baltimore/DC can be...challenging! I-695 (Baltimore Beltway), I-95 (DC/Baltimore Connector), I-295 (another DC/Baltimore connector) and I-495 (DC Beltway) are all very heavy traffic roads, especially during rush hour. A commuter train, MARC, runs from Baltimore to DC, Baltmore has a half-ass Light Rail system and DC has a pretty good Metro, but linkage/coordination between the 3 systems leaves something to be desired. The closer you can get to your place of work, the better you are going to be. Commutes of 1 hour+ each way during rush hours is the norm around here.

(6) Living/Lifestyle - Don't know what floats your boat, but both Baltimore and DC have lots to do. Tons of professional sports (2 pro-football, 2 pro-baseball, 1 pro-basketball and 1 pro-hockey + lots of college sports with U of Maryland (Terps) and the Naval Academy close by. DC, of course, offers all the museums/national monuments, Annapolis is very close if you like sailing/fishing, lots of public parks, biking, etc and Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a fun destination. Also lots of clubs, enterntainment venues, bands...blah, blah, blah.

(7) Gamer Community - Pretty active. We held the first "Terpcon" in Oct 2004 and Terpcon III happens in a couple of weeks. You shouldn't have much trouble scaring up a new game.

Let me know if you have other questions.

EDIT: Missed the part on taxes. Depending on your income level, you will pay ~ 5-6% in state/local taxes in MD, definitely a bump from NH. Sales tax on top of that. MD is a bit more tax friendly than NJ or PA and about the equivelent with VA.

~ OO

 

[diaglo]

The worst... Well, I take it you've never been to Massachusetts...

they are worse in Boston.

i lived in Anne Arundel County for 18 years of my life.
went to school at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and transferred to College Park.
got a job at the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore

used to hang out in Annapolis.


my recommedation for a place to live if you work in Baltimore is Catonsville.

if you work outside of Baltimore. i'd go with Columbia.

 

[jezter6]

As someone who is also new to Baltimore...welcome to town. Scaring up a game shouldn't be much trouble. I'm trying to get into a few of them but I'm finding I have less time than I thought I did.

I live in White Marsh, right off 695 and I-95 about 15 miles N of the airport. It's a pretty nice community, not much in crime...lots of kids though. A townhouse up here will likely cost you somewhere in the 170-225k mark.

Like everyone says, traffic in and around the metro is horrible. I live 7 miles from work and it still takes a half hour, and that's because I take local roads. If I would take the beltway it would be an hour to go 7 miles.

Maryland drivers are second only to jersey drivers. People here are impatient and love to change lanes at the last second without signaling...in a traffic jam where no matter what lane you're in you're still not going anywhere any faster than the 10,000 other people in line. When it rains, don't expect anyone to drive more than 30MPH anywhere. I haven't been here long enough to see snow, but I'm dreading it. Back in PA, it snows quite a bit, and we are used to driving the speed limit without a problem, and coming from NH I bet you know how to drive in the snow too...but don't expect to go anywhere.

There's an odd phenomenon, but people STILL seem to get into accidents when nobody is going more than 10 miles an hour. I don't know how, but it happens to people here. All the time. Every day. Without exception.

There's a nice game store in glen burnie, not very far from the airport. It's hard to find (I passed it 3 times before I finally saw it, and I had a map with directions on it), but it's better than nothing.

As for stuff to do, Baltimore ranks pretty high for me in good stuff. There's inner city/harbor area, fell's point (more bars in a few square blocks than you've likely seen), Baltimore street, and the Rt 40 corridor.

 

[diaglo]

As for stuff to do, Baltimore ranks pretty high for me in good stuff. There's inner city/harbor area, fell's point (more bars in a few square blocks than you've likely seen), Baltimore street, and the Rt 40 corridor.

do they still have The Block?

you can also try this site: http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/services/