Moving to Baltimore are with family (Secretary: real estate, low crime, buying a house)

[plimpington]

Hi,

My wife and I (with our two young children) are considering moving to the Baltimore area. We're looking for good schools and low crime. I'll be going to Johns Hopkins Hospital daily, but a bit of a commute is OK. I know nothing about the area and am hoping for some suggestions to start looking. We'd be interested in buying a house in the $225k to $275k range.

Thanks
Plimpington

[barante]

I'm not sure about the education piece, a terribly difficult dilemma here. But you could do far worse than look at Lauraville, maybe six miles northeast of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Nice leafy streets, big houses with lawns, well within your budget. The area is coming back and rejuvenating. An eclectic collection of civically involved families.
Now to the school piece: I know a real estate guy who lived in Lauraville. He was Jewish but sent his kids to a Catholic school in the area.
Here is a link:
The Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville a CDC in northeast Baltimore
This link contains everything you need -- from events calendar and neighborhood newsletter to real estate listings for various NE Baltimore communities. Of the many available, I would personally prefer Lauraville, Arcadia, Beverly Hills.
Because of the ups and downs of the housing market, you should have quite a bit of flexibility in negotiating price.

[JaBradshaw]

I good place in that price range might be hard to come by in the Baltimore area. Just curious, where are you moving from?

[barante]

I was reading a newsletter and I thought this might give a valuable insight to the Lauraville communities. Very impressive!

****

Director's Message

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the Board of Directors of the Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, Inc. They are a group of talented and dedicated local residents seeking to create positive change in Northeast Baltimore. I am delighted to be a part of their team.

Osborne Dixon-- Board President and resident of Morgan Park Osborn works in the financial services field.

George Frazier-- Vice President, Commercial and a resident of Mayfield George is a realtor with Long and Foster.

Kathleen Rogers-- Treasurer and resident of Waltherson Kathy works in the budget office of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution.

Hedy Droski-- Secretary and resident of Arcadia Hedy is retired from the Baltimore County Public School System.

Dawna McGlynn-- Lauraville Representative Dawna is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Patricia Zimmerman-- Director At Large Patty is Assistant Vice President of Slavie Federal Savings Bank.

Rachel Wallach-- Director at Large and Lauraville Resident Rachel is Associate Director and Co-founder, Baltimore Community School Connections.

Rebecca Crew-- Director at Large and resident of Beverly Hills Rebecca is an architectural historian.

Robert Pipik-- Director At Large and resident of Arcadia Bob is a community development professional.

Ned Worth-- Director at Large and President of the Beverly Hills Improvement Association Ned is a financial services professional.

Luis Hernandez-- Director At Large and resident of Arcadia Luis is a realtor with Keller Williams.

Anthony Mezatasta-- Beverly Hills Representative Anthony works for the Mattel Corporation.

Peat Biby-- Director At Large and resident of Waltherson Peat is a community development professional with NeighborWorks America.

Will Coulhour-- Director At Large and Lauraville Business Association merchant Will has a barber shop in the 5100 block of Harford Road.

Nicole Selhort-- Lauraville Business Association Representative Nicole owns the Red Canoe Children's Book Store and Coffee Shop.

The board meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7PM at the Red Canoe. We have active and lively discussion that direct our efforts in residential and commercial revitalization. If you would like to know more about the board or the work of the Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, Inc. feel free to call me at 410-444-9188, or write lorrie@greaterlauraville.com.

[kristina1116]

Hi have you guys moved yet?

[carolott]

Lauraville is a cool neighborhood -- my coffee roaster is located in Lauraville right across from the Safeway...which, by the way, is a really nice Safeway even though it's an older one. There's also a cute children's bookstore in Lauraville. Beautiful older homes with yards -- I'd live there in a heartbeat if I wasn't so heavily invested in my own neighborhood.

[southbalto]

$225k to $275k range.......

How about Oakenshawe? check it out on livebaltimore.com

[carolott]

Oh -- I didn't see that you have two small children. My coffee roaster and his family live in Lauraville and they have small kids, one of whom attends a city public school. They're very happy there!