Living in Baltimore City (Towson: crime, house prices, neighborhood)

[naustin]

Having lived in Baltimore city before, I would like to share with you my experience. I lived in the Kenilworth area off The Alameda. Trash in trash cans or neatly bagged got picked twice a week and on time. I would say about 80% of my neighbors kept their lawns in a good condition some applying weed/feed regularly. Neighbors failing to attend to their lawns or keeping their houses in a presentable manner got a visit from the environmental people from the city or a firm word from the neighborhood association which met monthly. In place also was an informal neighborhood watch system. My house was regularly empty for most of the summer while I am away without any incident. House prices in the neighborhood averaged between 85K and 150K in 2005 having risen to between 150K and 220K even now. At no point did I feel unsafe though I excersied caution when coming home late at night. Though predominantly a black neighborhood it had quite a number of whites as well. However not all was rosy. Though police patrols were regular, at times some young people hang out at some of the local shops. Though they were largely minding their own business, they did at times looked a little intimidating especially if you were white. For this reason it was quite common for many in the area to shop in either Towson/Joppa road. As I was led to believe that the public schools were bad, I never had kids in the neighborhood public schools . For me this may well be reflective of the proportion of students who are having a hard time studying and not a reflection of the school environment itself. Of course I could be naive here. No nightlife in the immediate vicinity but one could always go downtown or to towson. Overall, Kenilworth, Baltimore city was and still is a good place to live. Yes parts of the city may have problems with crime but there are still many good places too within the city. And they could even be a lot better especially if the public schools could ensure a safe and viable study environments within.

[Zippy7fo]

Originally Posted by naustin

Having lived in Baltimore city before, I would like to share with you my experience. I lived in the Kenilworth area off The Alameda. Trash in trash cans or neatly bagged got picked twice a week and on time. I would say about 80% of my neighbors kept their lawns in a good condition some applying weed/feed regularly. Neighbors failing to attend to their lawns or keeping their houses in a presentable manner got a visit from the environmental people from the city or a firm word from the neighborhood association which met monthly. In place also was an informal neighborhood watch system. My house was regularly empty for most of the summer while I am away without any incident. House prices in the neighborhood averaged between 85K and 150K in 2005 having risen to between 150K and 220K even now. At no point did I feel unsafe though I excersied caution when coming home late at night. Though predominantly a black neighborhood it had quite a number of whites as well. However not all was rosy. Though police patrols were regular, at times some young people hang out at some of the local shops. Though they were largely minding their own business, they did at times looked a little intimidating especially if you were white. For this reason it was quite common for many in the area to shop in either Towson/Joppa road. As I was led to believe that the public schools were bad, I never had kids in the neighborhood public schools . For me this may well be reflective of the proportion of students who are having a hard time studying and not a reflection of the school environment itself. Of course I could be naive here. No nightlife in the immediate vicinity but one could always go downtown or to towson. Overall, Kenilworth, Baltimore city was and still is a good place to live. Yes parts of the city may have problems with crime but there are still many good places too within the city. And they could even be a lot better especially if the public schools could ensure a safe and viable study environments within.

Thanks for the info....I wish more people were like you and posted positive experiences in Baltimore instead of the same negative garbage I always read or hear about. Baltimore has so much potential and I hope people can start to see it...