[OT] Baltimore Maryland

[kylekornkven]

Hi everybody. Sorry for the OT post, but I thought I would ask here since we have such a great community.
The question: Is anyone here from Baltimore, MD? I may have a job opportunity there coming up soon and I wanted a little bit of information on that area. What is cost of living like? What are the bad parts of town? etc. Any information you might give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kyle Kornkven

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I'm actually from Washington, DC, but I've been to the Charm City a lot and I can at least make an attempt at an answer.

The cost of living seemed nominal. I would attempt to get a town house in Butcher's Hill. The area is seeing a bit of a Rennissance and the area is gentrifiying. You would stand a good chance at making money on the house with some improvements. That said, parking is a pain. I like the area by the waterfront, but that is expensive.

There's a toll just south of the city, so unless you feel like shelling out $2/day take care if you decide to live in the 'burbs.

... but obviously, you'd want to check with a realtor instead of some internet geek.

 

[Saba Taru]

How to answer that...

I work in Baltimore, but I live about 30 mins south of it. My boss lives about 20 mins north of the city (can't remember the city name, but I can find out if you're interested). Parts of Glen Burnie aren't bad to live in, then there's Severna Park and Annapolis only a relatively short distance away. I'm not sure what's west of the city, but there's nice places north and south for certain. Personally, I wouldn't live in the city if I were you. I work inner city (which is most of Baltimore) and it's not a... er.... happy place to be without a police escort. If you're a little more specific, I can try to help out more.

 

[herald]

I found Annapolis to my liking. Cost of living seemed reasonable and I the people there really cool. I however live in Florida. (I used to go up there to work at the Maryland Ren festival. One of the finest fairs around.)

 

[Voadam]

I used to live in Catonsville, just West of Baltimore off of Route 40.

I never went into the city much but here is what I remember: Good zoo, and great donuts from Lexington Market. John Waters home town, big ships at the harbor, driving and parking was a pain as was public transportation. There are economically depressed and higher crime areas of the city to avoid.

 

[rayners]

I grew up in Baltimore, and am living in Ellicott City now (about 20-ish minutes west of town).

I personally wouldn't live in downtown Baltimore (mostly because all the places I would prefer to live are way out of my price range). Mid to uptown Baltimore, on the other hand, are great places to live. Charles Village (where I grew up) is a nice area, as long as you don't mind living in a college (Johns Hopkins) neighborhood. Roland Park and Guilford are also very nice, but a little more pricey.

Outside of Baltmore, I don't have too much experience with. Towson, north of town, always seemed pretty cool. Columbia and Ellicott City (in Howard County, southwest of the city) are great too, but cost of living in Howard County is above the norm. Though, in my personal opinion, it's worth it.. Columbia tends to be a tad on the expensive side, but Ellicott City is right on the outskirts of Columbia and much cheaper.

 

[Desdichado]

John Waters' home town? Wow, is that a claim to fame or what!

 

[smetzger]

Cost of living is on par with most of the mid-east. DC, Northern Va, and NYC are higher. But then Baltimore costs more than say El Paso or most of the South (sans Atlanta).

I suggest going to http://www.monster.com and looking at their salary calculator to compare between your present location and Baltimore.

Unless your single and want to party every night live in the burbs.

Music scene is good, lots of stuff in town and nearby to do. Near DC and Philly. Not too far from the beach. Not to far from the mountains.

 

[AegisEversoaring]

Hi,
I live in Reisterstown, a suburb northwest of Baltimore. I was born and raised in the town. I don't spend a whole lot of time actually IN the town itself, my gaming friends, job, family are all located in the surrounding suburbs.
Baltimore is a port city, with lots of things to see and do there. Good libraries, some museums, the National Aquarium (a title shared with the one in DC), pro sports, some great restaurants, and the local music/club scene is improving (not on the scale of DC/New York, though).
Baltimore is also a "blue collar" city, lots of working class folk doing their biz in the local factories, warehouses and such. Baltimore also suffers from the same issues that large urban centers have: crime, drugs, blight. There are bad neighborhoods, and good ones, lower-income neighborhoods, and higher income ones.
If you are looking for a place to live, the further away from the city you live, the better the situation. The exceptions are the inner city neighborhoods of Mount Vernon/Bolton Hill, Federal Hill, Roland Park (all fairly nice places to live if you can afford it). Outside of the city, Towson, Owings Mills, White Marsh, Reisterstown, Catonsville, and Linthicum are some of the nicer places to live, while you might want to avoid some of the neighborhoods like Dundalk, Middle River, Essex, Woodlawn, Parkville, and Glen Burnie. In each community I've listed as "avoid", there are exceptions to the rule. Mind you, this is the opinion of a life-long Baltimore resident!
As far as gaming goes, there are a few local gaming stores, located all about the city, most of which are in suburbs.
If you want any more specifics, send me an email, and I'll fill you in even further on my home town...

Aegis

 

[fba827]

I've been to Bmore frequently - different suburbs of it have different "appeals" (or lack there of)... I gotta say though (and this is just my opinion) ... some of those areas are, shall we say, uncomfortable to be in ....

I can't name off areas as well as some of those who have lived there (rather than just frequent there) but if it's possible, I'd suggest going around the area and just seeing what parts you are comfortable in and wouldn't mind getting a place in (maybe after you come down this way for work, you stay in a hotel/motel for about a week while you search around the area). In terms of residence (unless you _really_ like the city) you'd probably be better off in a house/apartment/place just outside of the city itself. Just depends on how much of a commute you want, I guess.

(I know that's not much help, but just my rambles )

As a frame of reference, I live about an hour away from Baltimore and am up there maybe once or twice a month to visit friends/relatives/inner harbor/etc.