European young couple moving to Baltimore or to Washington (real estate market, rental)

[carolott]

Originally Posted by helenejen

Am I missing something or is DC not exactly the safest city? For both Baltimore and DC, it depends on where you live in the city.

And as for population decline, DC has also suffered population loss, though both Baltimore and DC have recently enjoyed an increase.

No, you are correct. DC isn't the safest city -- in fact, I was a crime victim several times while living in DC...haven't had any problems living in Baltimore. Funny how that works.

[Streetchie]

CarolOtt wrote "haven't had any problems living in Baltimore."

Really Carol? Your house hasn't ever been broken into in Baltimore?

[carolott]

Originally Posted by Streetchie

CarolOtt wrote "haven't had any problems living in Baltimore."

Really Carol? Your house hasn't ever been broken into in Baltimore?

Twice, in fact, and I've been here almost eight years. Both times the intruder was stopped at the door -- they never made it over the threshold. Nothing was stolen.

Compare that to being robbed at gunpoint (with the gun being held to my jaw....I can still feel it to this day) on the street once...and robbed with a knife jammed into my ribs once....and having my apartment not only broken into but completely ransacked as well...slammed into a wall and groped by a drunk... well, gee, you wonder why I like Baltimore a lot better? Those things all happened within a 5-year period of living in two so-called "good" neighborhoods in DC. No, sorry if I can't get on the "Baltimore is worse" bandwagon after living in DC. Oh wait -- my bike was also stolen off my front porch...a $600 Cannondale I had locked and chained. I forgot about that. That happened in DC, too. One of those "good" neighborhoods again.

Part of the problem with living in DC is that I never got to know my neighbors. They were unfriendly at best, and downright snobby and rude the rest of the time. One of my neighbors was robbed by a group of men and pistol-whipped within an inch of his life, and I was one of the few neighbors who tried to help the poor man. In my neighborhood that would have never happened -- we band together here, we all know each other...even if by sight and not by name...and we look after each other. That's what makes Baltimore such a great city -- you have the opportunity to make some wonderful connections with people who take the time to care. I never found that in DC, not at all.

[DC's Finest]

Crime in Baltimore and DC is comparable. But I think Baltimore has more crime across the city as a whole than DC. DC's crime rate has been dropping over the last ten years and some of its shady neighborhoods are gentrifying at a faster rate.

Carolott,

Why would you leave a $600 dollar bike on your porch in any city? Would you leave your purse or a lap top on the front seat of a locked car. You have to be a lot smarter than that.

As for the cities, they are totally different. I will never bash Bmore because I really like the place. It's a BIG change of pace from DC. It's so laid back and down to earth. It's funny, how they are so close but so vastly a part in so many ways.

[Streetchie]

Carol, I didn't know about all the hassle you had in DC. That's aweful!! It shows that both cities have a long way to go in the crime fighting dept. However, I would say that your earlier statement about not having any problems in Baltimore would be a bit misleading.

[carolott]

Originally Posted by Streetchie

Carol, I didn't know about all the hassle you had in DC. That's aweful!! It shows that both cities have a long way to go in the crime fighting dept. However, I would say that your earlier statement about not having any problems in Baltimore would be a bit misleading.

I guess it depends on how you define "having a problem". Nothing was taken, nobody was hurt, nothing bad happened. I'm very much a city person, and I guess I'm a little more accepting of the Big Three of city life -- trash, crime, and noise. Can't handle those three at all? City life is definitely not for the....picky. LOL.

[Streetchie]

The way I look at it is....can't handle the Big Three, move to a better city. Seriously, we should all be able to live our lives without threat of home invasion. Geeez! But maybe I'm just picky.

[steller]

Hay ElleneanParis if your white try Fells Point or Little Italy you will find that whites live on the harbor in sections like Canton,Fells point,Little Italy,Fed Hill.If your black try the Mount Vernon area which is a mixxture of both Italian,Irish,German and African American very diverse area Mount Vernon is.

Hay don't worry about crime in Baltimore most people that don't live here talk allot it is not a dangerous city.I have lived In Baltimore the city is as safe as any other city as long as you stay in the good areas then you will be fine.Most crime in the city is between gangs you will not be harmed.Gangs don't go around killing people gangs kill each other thats it you are safe in Baltimore as you would be in France.Don't be scared by what other people say you will be ok in this city and will find many things to do and to see.Baltimore is a great city with great people it's not to far from Washington Dc or Annapolis so it is most likely best place to live.It's also about 3+ hours from New York and 1 hour 30 mins from Philly depending on traffic.

[ElenaenParis]

Hi from Paris,

I'm not searching de safest place in the world but I don't want to be frightened everytime neither....
I have been living in Barcelona for six years and in Paris for five years and I haven't had any problems about crime but I do know that they exist also in Europe (and ever more than you think). My sister has been broken-in in a little and safe city but not me in a big, insecure city as Paris..... it's the life !!!
My question is about Baltimore, and the possibles places for living (I've got Mount Vermon, Fells Point and Harbour East from your answers) and the american way of live, before moving in.
Thank you !!!

[vivo]

Originally Posted by ElenaenParis

Hi from Paris,

I'm not searching de safest place in the world but I don't want to be frightened everytime neither....
I have been living in Barcelona for six years and in Paris for five years and I haven't had any problems about crime but I do know that they exist also in Europe (and ever more than you think). My sister has been broken-in in a little and safe city but not me in a big, insecure city as Paris..... it's the life !!!
My question is about Baltimore, and the possibles places for living (I've got Mount Vermon, Fells Point and Harbour East from your answers) and the american way of live, before moving in.
Thank you !!!

yeah I think those r the best suggestioins. the three so called gentrified yuppie neighborhoods are fells pt, federal hill(just south of the inner harbor' if u r at the harbor just walk south on light st and it's right there I believe). harbor east is a new neighborhood with some big development going on. I guess that would be like a rich chic urban neighborhood. i don't know what to compare it to in dc or ny. mt vernon isn't quite gentrified yet but is still a decent neighborhood to my knowledge. I never lived in Baltimore. it's the best neighborhood to live in of the ones i mentioned (and maybe the besst overall) if u want access to the crappy mass transit baltimore has to offer. anyway. the architecture is nice, has some mantions. has a cultural district including peabody conservatory. i guess more for an intellectual than the other neighborhooods. don't know if there if nuisance crime is more of a problem there than the other neighborhoods i mentioned. also be sure that the place u look at is actually in the neighborhood that it is advertised to be in. because of the attractiveness of say federal hill an ad may say it's in federal hill when it's not. I hope all my statements are correct. I'm guessing some parts of mt vernon are better than others. The main drag is Charles Street. If u go south on charles street you will get to federal hill.
there's a new arthouse cinema that opened up in harbor east called landmark theatres mt vernon has an arthouse theater just north of it as well. not as nice as the landmark. but of course has some advantages vs landmark.
harbor east and fells point border each other. best of luck on your search!!

mount vernon cultural district:

http://www.mvcd.org/

fells point:
http://www.fellspoint.us/