Maryland from Philly (Baltimore, Towson, Parkville: new home, construction, school district)

[Tallybalt]

Rodgers Forge is nothing like Bryn Mawr. It's a rowhouse community of quite modestly sized rowhouses. Nearby Ruxton is a good match for Bryn Mawr.

If he's looking for good public schools in an area with an established, older feel, a housing budget of 450-500K, and convenient to the amenities of Baltimore, West Towson (including Stoneleigh and Anneslie just south of Towson) and Lutherville a bit further north will meet his criteria.

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

I like Philly a lot but there are advantages to here as well.



Good advice. Rodgers Forge would be best if you're looking for Bryn Mawr, also the Stoneleigh and Anneslie areas. If it's in your price range Roland Park and Guilford are exclusive neighborhoods in the north end of the city.

I'll throw Hampden into the mix as well - as it continues to gentrify it resembles a place hitherto unkown to its working class roots. New restaurants all the time.

[philly76er]

Originally Posted by Infinite_heights77

Why you wanna move down here??!! Philly is way better than Baltimore.

Move to the Towson/Rodgers Forge area.

trust me, I don't want to move. Job opp that I can't pass up...I'm following the money. I love philadelphia

[philly76er]

Originally Posted by nifear

just as a FYI... cabs are not as plentiful down here as compared to philly by a long shot.

yep, I know. smaller city = less cabs

I went to Towson University (graduated over a decade ago), so I'm somewhat familiar with that area. gonna be weird being back

[philly76er]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

I like Philly a lot but there are advantages to here as well.


.

what are they? I don't have the best opinion of baltimore from the time I spent there in college. I'd love to have my eyes opened to things I don't know about.

Excited about the move, but definitely some apprehension about the area.

[deeliz]

Originally Posted by philly76er

what are they? I don't have the best opinion of baltimore from the time I spent there in college. I'd love to have my eyes opened to things I don't know about.

Excited about the move, but definitely some apprehension about the area.

You said you went to school at Towson. Towson isn't exactly Baltimore, just as Villanova isn't exactly Philly. Baltimore (the city itself) is the kind of town that you need to immerse yourself in a bit to understand and appreciate.

[philly76er]

Originally Posted by deeliz

You said you went to school at Towson. Towson isn't exactly Baltimore, just as Villanova isn't exactly Philly. Baltimore (the city itself) is the kind of town that you need to immerse yourself in a bit to understand and appreciate.

I hear you. Hopefully I will be able to find something other than dive bars

[KLynch10]

I went to Towson and pretty much ate at the Dining Hall for every meal. Only recently have I discovered all of the ethnic restaurants there pretty much all of which are local. There are certainly chains around the mall, but lots of good little businesses uptown.

[deeliz]

Originally Posted by philly76er

I hear you. Hopefully I will be able to find something other than dive bars

There is plenty of diversity in the bar/restaurant scene and that's one thing that is great about the city. This is a good forum for advice depending on what you are looking for.

[nifear]

Originally Posted by philly76er

I hear you. Hopefully I will be able to find something other than dive bars

I just moved here after being in Philadelphia my entire life, so I can kind of understand where you're coming from.

Baltimore is no Philly... it has its own quirks and style of its own. It seems like you need to spend a little more time seeking out things here, as opposed to Philly where there are tons of bars/restaurants all over the place nowadays. I've found some good spots in this town... some cute restaurants in Mt Vernon and Canton and Fed Hill. Like the above poster said, depending on what your tastes are you will most likely find something you're looking for (except a decent ramen spot... can anyone help me out?!)

I feel like Baltimore is where Philly was 10-15years ago. In the late 90's/early 2000's there was nothing but Bally Total Fitness, a UO, and a children's store on Walnut St, but now that entire strip has become a huge major shopping destination in the city. There was blight all over the city and you didn't think of going past Spring Garden St, much less Girard, but now those areas have tons of activity/people with cafes/shops popping up all the time. There's a lot of promise down here in this town (retailers moving into Harbor East, housing building up) and it's kind of neat living through it again.

[philly76er]

Originally Posted by nifear

I just moved here after being in Philadelphia my entire life, so I can kind of understand where you're coming from.

Baltimore is no Philly... it has its own quirks and style of its own. It seems like you need to spend a little more time seeking out things here, as opposed to Philly where there are tons of bars/restaurants all over the place nowadays. I've found some good spots in this town... some cute restaurants in Mt Vernon and Canton and Fed Hill. Like the above poster said, depending on what your tastes are you will most likely find something you're looking for (except a decent ramen spot... can anyone help me out?!)

I feel like Baltimore is where Philly was 10-15years ago. In the late 90's/early 2000's there was nothing but Bally Total Fitness, a UO, and a children's store on Walnut St, but now that entire strip has become a huge major shopping destination in the city. There was blight all over the city and you didn't think of going past Spring Garden St, much less Girard, but now those areas have tons of activity/people with cafes/shops popping up all the time. There's a lot of promise down here in this town (retailers moving into Harbor East, housing building up) and it's kind of neat living through it again.

Great comp. I lived in Northern Liberties for a while after college (5th and Poplar)...we used Girard, not SG, as our barometer. Anything north of there was scary. Now the Fishtown area is giving people a reason to head north of Girard. Frankfort Hall, Fette Sau, and a number of other cool spots are popping up in that area. I just don't see that kind of stuff happening in baltimore...maybe I'm not looking in the right spots.

I have been to a number of places in baltimore over the last year or so. I just think they are all the same. Dive bars. The Gin Mill, Sharkys, the Raven Inn, kislings (supposed to have the best wings in bmore, which were smothered in garlic and terrible), Mt Washington Tavern (hopefully finished the rebuild soon as I do enjoy this spot), the Curb Shoppe, the kent, hitops, the still, the Crackpot, Little Havana, etc. Not much diversity among atmospheres in these places in my opinion.