Relo to Baltimore (Greenbelt, Beltsville: to rent, house prices, safe area)

[gregthemax]

Considering a job in Beltsville, MD. Current thinking is living in Baltimore (Downtown, Inner Harbor, Federal Hill, etc) and commuting via MARC and/or auto. Office is not too far from Greenbelt stop. Would be grateful for any input regarding the quality of my thinking, e.g. dumb, good idea, or any insights you might care to offer. I'm a city kid at heart and Baltimore strikes me as a much more livable place than DC area. Not to mention cost of living.

[sobo16]

There are pros and cons to living in DC vs. Baltimore. Living in DC offers many more options for social life and jobs, etc. And your commute would be shorter, but it comes at a price. You would have the option of taking the DC metro's green line out to Greenbelt. Baltimore is grittier but has more character. It also feels smaller. The cost of housing is cheaper, and there are some nice, mostly safe areas along the waterfront.

I recommend taking a day to explore each city to get a feel for what they are like. And do a lot of research into rents or house prices in the neighborhoods in which you are interested. Bottom line, both cities can offer a decent urban experience. Some people prefer DC, some people prefer Baltimore.

Federal Hill would be a great choice if you lived in Baltimore. You could walk to Camden Station and catch the MARC Camden Line, which passes through the Greenbelt stop. The MARC train isn't bad, but it can make for a long day. And your options are somewhat limited if you need to get home in the middle of the day (though in an emergency you can take the Penn Line because of MARC's cross-honoring ticket policy):

http://mta.maryland.gov/services/marc/schedulesSystemMaps/Camden_Jan10.pdf (broken link)