Relocating to Baltimore and scared as hell!!!! (Columbia, Ellicott City: real estate, housing)

[1coolgyrl]

My job is relocating me from Houston to Baltimore and sent me out there last week to check out the area and find a place to live. I am now more lost than I was before I went there! The area is soooo sketchy. One block would look awesome and two blocks across was a ghetto scene. I'm looking to rent and it seemed like every unit i saw was either in a bad area or missing amenities that i consider basic like a dishwasher, or a bathtub. I dont think my budget of $1100 for a 1 bdrm is too bad. I'm a single 26yr old with no kids and want to be close to all the action (i.e. restaurants, theaters, night spots)
Please, someone tell me where I should live or if I should avoid Baltimore all together and choose suburban living (which would kinda sucks cause i'm single )

ANY advice you have would be DEEPLY appreciated!!!

[inspectorg]

The burbs are not all that boring, I believe..guess it depends where you work.
The greater Balt. area takes in quite a bit of variety..Towson has the college
(Towson Univ.) and looks pretty quaint and safe. Baltimore County probably your best bet if checking rentals / real estate...could go to their County Police website and likely check the block or neighborhood you're looking at.
Good luck hunting..if you're looking at apartments in Cockeysville area..look at Briarcliff (North) .. a relative lived there a year /friends, and never had a problem..quiet..but plenty of younger people/mixed ages around. Off I-83..get used to a 30 min (+/-) commute unless you find a great location/neighborhood.

[spleen]

I don't know much about the city except that it does depend on the block, one block can be horrible and unsafe and the next not that bad. I like the suburbs myself. Catonsville is outside of Baltimore and is a nice area. Columbia might be another possibility but the commute would be longer than Catonsville. Ellicott City might be yet another possibility. Best of luck on your move!

[oceanguy2821]

As a 5 year resident of Baltimore, I have only one thing to say. Watch out. Be sure to find a good neighborhood, even if it is too expensive. Even places like hamden, woodlawn, and fells point are raft with crime, drugs, and prostitution. As a five year resident of Hamden, one of Baltimore's supposedly up and coming neighborhoods, I still battle with drug sellers outside my front steps, prostitutes laying used condoms and needles in my alley, and numerous break ins and thefts. The city government is notoriously currupt, even more so than other cities. People warned me about moving into Baltimore but I needed a place to stay. If I had to choose again and I had to move to this city I would choose either a place around Roland ave or the burbs like Towson, Timonium, or Hunt Valley. Forget about west or east surburbs around baltimore, especially around Pulaski and Eastern avenues. Stay north or go south to columbia.

Baltimore City is a very violent place, even if it does not seem so at first glance. People come into the inner harbour and say how nice it is but they have no idea of the crime, curruption, and decay that lies underneath all the sparkling business buildings. Be very cautious of the police as they will not hesitate to arrest you for simply walking down the street (be picked up for drug selling or buying), sitting on a door step (they will say you were loitering), or even drinking any type of alchoolic beverage outside your residence (and I mean outside of the four walls of your home and not on your land or porch). I know of lots of innocent people who have been picked up for simply taking a walk in daylight, standing at a corner waiting for a bus or ride. Just because you might not be a criminal or drug dealer doesnt mean you wont end up in Baltimore's dentention centers. This no lie or exaggeration.

Another thing, watch out for your neighbors. If they dont like you, they will make your life a living hell. This is especially the case if you own property. If you run afoul with your neighbors because you are of a different class, race, religioun, or just have a different style of dress then they will harrass you continuously. I have experienced this myself and know of others that moved into the city who are upper income residents that somehow did not meet the traditional blue collar working resident or were not caucasian. Residents can call the sanitation or environmental department have the city give you tickets for everything imaginable from leaking faucets, too many pets (i think you can have only two--not sure), grass higher than 6 inches, plants that look anythiung like weeds and many plants, even expensive flowers are considered by the great Baltimore city officials to be weeds, and any cracks in your walk or porch flooring. Even cracks in your walls, bricks, ceiling, roof can get you a ticket. The officials ride around in white cars and write out tickets based on neighbors who call in offenses. I have a neighbor does this to me as I have flowering plants that officials deem to be weeds even when I prove they are not. Of course you have to go down to court and prove this, missing a day of work. So stay super clean and neat and try to get along with your neighbors even if you have to act like them.

Also, watch out for problems with city workers and the trash pickup. On trash pickup they may or maynot take your trash. If you trash is too heavy, smells, looks funny, or anything, the trash guys may or may not take it. If they dont, you have to immediately come home in take it to a trash depot. If you dont your neighbors will call the city and you will get a sixty dollar ticket. If the trash people take the lid of your trash can you will get a ticket if you do not instantly come home and put it back on. Get my drift?

Another problem is the blantant racism in Baltimore. This is especially the case in parts of east and in Woodlawn, Hamden, and south Baltimore. Much has changed but there is still much racism going on. If you are not of caucisan not hispanic descent then you might have trouble, especially at night. I know of people have been beaten, stabbed, called racist names because they were not caucasian. I have friends that are black, hispanic, and immigrants who have had these experiences.

To sum all these great vitures of Baltimore, if must live anywhere in B'more look at northern Baltimore around Roland Ave and St Charles St. They have the most wealth and least crime. Beyond that, look at Towson (northern Towson), Timonium, Lutherville, and Hunt Valley. These burbs are minutes away from the city and offer the best of the area. They are compatible to good living areas around other cities like DC or Philadelphia.

[Emilyy]

Hey Oceanguy, I agree with you on a lot of this stuff. I live in Hampden too, and am disgusted by the used needles and condoms left all over. Its amazing that prostitutes have such free range, especially on Falls Road near Union Ave. I see them leaning into the police cars and talking and laughing with the cops all the time, so its obvious the police are not interested in stopping this.

In spite of all this going on, you're right that the city is out to get property owners. We've gotten several tickets for the plants in our yard, for having trash in our yard (a dining room table that was set out for the city to pick up on bulk trash collection day, which the city did not pick up for some reason), and for animal waste (we clean our yard DAILY...it is the first thing we do when we get home from work. Apparently if you let your pets into your own yard, you are expected to clean up after them immediately) We went to court on several of these and lost.

Also, if you buy a home, and there are cracks in the sidewalk in front of your home, you are required to pay the city directly to fix them. We got a letter about this a few months ago.

Great to know that prostitutes can operate freely but I can't choose my own plants for my backyard.

[oceanguy2821]

Hi Bambi! Its great to see someone having the same problems! I kept thinking it might just be my own problem but its good to see its real. I am sorry to hear about your problems though. I am thinking about trying to fight two tickets recently recieved for trash not picked up the day before and plants that are not weeds (bamboo actually). I keep feeling amazing that drug dealers, like the ones in the crack house down the street from me , operate blazenly with nightly deliveries yet we get fined for having trash can lids off our cans. I just don't understand the priorities of this city. I do see positive parts to the city but the negatives are too much sometimes. I like the people and the heritage but I just wish I could figure out what its going on with the city government. They spend millions on new slogans yet cant run decent schools for the children.

Anways, its great to meet a fellow neighbor!

[omalleysux]

hey coolgrl,

Baltimore city really and truly sucks. Homeowners are screwed by the mayor, the police are corrupt and MEAN - did I mention useless? 911 doesn't work - in an emergency situation with my mother having a potential heart attack it took 20 minutes to send an ambulance in which the two workers were RUDE to her, many of your neighbors won't know how to read while others will be junkies and hookers. There are several folks like me who landed here from other places - but I have yet to hear a transplant wax philisophical about this place - almost everyone talks about getting back out.
This city really, really sucks. Go to the suburbs. Towson seems fun and has a lot going on. Stay out of the city. You will be really sorry. COme in and visit and save yourself much heartache, potential violence (and if raped or robbed the cops will treat you like **** - what is that about?), and some sanity. Baltimore city is a **** hole.

Hope it helps. Good luck.

[rgreco8818]

Everything you see posted about Baltimore is correct, that's the main reason we're getting away from here and heading for the southwestern area of Illinois. Baltimore city & Maryland will tax you to death and you'll receive precious little service for your money in the city. Crime in the city is totally out of control. Baltimore's murder rate is worse than that of New York city. And, yes, you can be arrested for doing nothing. I used to love going downtown to the inner harbor or to attend a concert but now you trip over dealers, walkers, homeless and worse. Parking is a joke in the city. The streets are dirty, and full of wheel breaking potholes. The transit system sucks...go on line and read the Examiner, a new newspaper in town. Oh, yeah....if you live in the city you will pay MORE for your auto insurance too. Then there's the cell phone tax Baltimore city imposes on it's citizens. These folks are right on, however, I beg to disagree just a bit that Towson and Hunt Valley are the best area's. White Marsh has a lot to offer also. Nice housing, decent Baltimore County schools, shopping, entertainment, eateries and open space. Then there's the waterfront in Bowley's Quarters, Millers Island, and so on. Housing prices are a good deal higher here than they are in the midwest and west. Be prepared for the shock of your life if you are looking for a decent single family home. I wish you lots of luck. We're leaving.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by rgreco8818

Everything you see posted about Baltimore is correct, that's the main reason we're .... leaving.

Hey sis, welcome to city-data. I thought you'd like to see this thread, that's why I sent you the link, glad you chimed in, as I've you talk in such terms as these other folks.

Glad to see you're getting out of there, our home town isn't what it used to be when we were kids back in the 1950's. We're glad we left the DC area for Colorado Springs - what a great place to retire to, everyone here is friendly, taxes are reasonable, scenery is the best and housing is half the price of Northern Virginia.

Now, if we can just get our other two sisters on here, we could have a family re-onion....

s/Mike

[MegaJoy]

Originally Posted by 1coolgyrl

My job is relocating me from Houston to Baltimore and sent me out there last week to check out the area and find a place to live. I am now more lost than I was before I went there! The area is soooo sketchy. One block would look awesome and two blocks across was a ghetto scene. I'm looking to rent and it seemed like every unit i saw was either in a bad area or missing amenities that i consider basic like a dishwasher, or a bathtub. I dont think my budget of $1100 for a 1 bdrm is too bad. I'm a single 26yr old with no kids and want to be close to all the action (i.e. restaurants, theaters, night spots)
Please, someone tell me where I should live or if I should avoid Baltimore all together and choose suburban living (which would kinda sucks cause i'm single )

ANY advice you have would be DEEPLY appreciated!!!

Fells point is a good location near Baltimore Inner Harbor Is a cool place for someone your age to live. I do not know the price of the apartment in Fells Point...Also there are many apartments near The Inner Harbor in B'more. I think Fort McHenry is also a good location--Fort McHenry in Baltimore Maryland is home of the Star Spangled Banner.