Living in Inner Harbor? Commuting to UMCP? (Baltimore, Columbia: insurance, loft)

[mookerson]

My wife and I will be relocating to Maryland later this spring so that I can attend UMCP. We would like to be in a more urban (walkable) area, so initially we had planned on living in DC, but have since found out that we must live in Maryland proper.

We have been looking at the Inner Harbor neighborhood for its proximity to the Camden line but have a few questions that hopefully locals could answer a little better than Google searches have been.

Most of the information I can find about the neighborhood is about visiting. I understand it's a more tourist-y area, but can we live there too? Not too worried about game-day traffic or anything like that, but do younger locals hang out in this area? Is it feasible to live in this area without a car?

I was also curious about the commute to College Park. I know the Camden line has a pretty limited schedule. Is taking the light rail > B30 bus > C2 bus or green line my only public transit alternative? It looks like this method takes minimum 2 hours. Is this a realistic commute if I need go to class or get home outside of peak commute times, or do we need to give up on urban living?

Thanks!

[KLynch10]

Do you have a car? It's a really easy drive, 30-40 minutes, rarely traffic.

[mookerson]

We have cars, we weren't planning on bringing them. Between parking/gas/insurance/payments, it became kind of a dealbreaker.

[davecj]

That would be pretty miserable waiting on public transportation to get to college park. I did the drive for awhile and it isn't that bad, just kind of long. There are a number of places to live in the IH like 414 Water St

[goldenage1]

In addition, the College Park campus is so big it's not especially walkable. (You apparently know there's a shuttle bus to get to campus from the Metro stop.) If you are determined to live without a car, I would live in a closer neighborhood like 4-Corners (on the C2 bus line) in Silver Spring or somewhere in Berwyn.

[MrRational]

how frequently do you need to travel to the campus?
That's the deciding factor.

If it's for an undergrad with fulltime schedule... live in CP or Greenbelt.

[kharing]

I would live closer to College Park....Bethesda, Silver Spring or Rockville. I lived in a loft in the Inner Harbor when I first moved here - not much of a neighborhood feel, plus it was kind of sketchy at night.

Regardless of where you choose to live, you will definitely need a vehicle.

[KLynch10]

If you want to live down here, I would recommend neighborhoods downtown near the highway or train like Federal Hill, Otterbein, Ridgelys' Delight, Locust Point, Barre Circle, or the UMD area.

[katydoes]

Yeah I'm going to second that a vehicle is necessary in Baltimore. There IS a lot within walking distance, and most days I only use my car to drive to and from work, but I still need my car whenever I make a large grocery trip (the local Super Fresh has a terrible selection) or shop for anything other than clothes. Honestly I don't think Baltimore has very good shopping options; I find myself driving at least once every other week to Columbia or Towson for basic household goods and pet supplies. On the bright side, you'll have many great restaurants within walking distance (or a short ride on the free circulator).

[mrboltonman]

I have a car too and life without it would be difficult. I work out of the city so it would be a real pain to take public transportation. I also use it to get groceries and do other shopping.

For pet shopping, check out Howl in Hampden.
Welcome (http://www.howlbaltimore.com/Welcome.html - broken link)

It's a nice pet shop.