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As a person who is potentially moving to Baltimore, I was wondering if I could get some ideas from the locals about the happenings and things to expect in Baltimore. Maybe some things to get started:
The weather (is it as unbearably hot as people say? In winter do people suck at driving?)
The people (I hear they are really friendly?)
The city (good/bad neighborhoods, quality of city services, taxes)
Anyway, those are some of the few I'd like to know about. But if you have anything to chime in that you love/hate about it, let me know.
By the way, are you guys considered northe...never mind.
Let me start by saying that I really, really like Baltimore. I moved here for a graduate program, fully expecting to move back to NC in four years. A year later, and I'm planning to make Baltimore my forever home.
People here are friendly if you are friendly. If you have a chip on you shoulder or harbor (and project) a lot of prejudice, they may not be as friendly. The only negative encounters I've had were with people who were obviously impaired by either alcohol/drugs, mental illness, or both (happens about once a week for me, and I live downtown). I've also noticed that men here are more apt to make comments or catcall women than what I'm used to - I just ignore them.
People suck at driving year round, not just in winter. Red lights are apparently meaningless. Makes me thankful I don't have a car.
I'm from NC - the highest high in the summer and the lowest low in the winter in Baltimore are about the same as what I was used to in central NC. NC has more very hot days, while Baltimore has more very cold days. It is more humid here than I expected, but that goes with the water. Also more snow that I'm used to, but not so much that there is constant snow cover all winter (and last winter was unusual, so my impression is biased). Overall, the climate is pretty moderate with four distinct seasons.
My biggest complaint in terms of city services/logistics is the transit system - it's generally poorly planned, in some ways through apparent incompetence and in other ways intentionally bad to limit transportation of certain groups. There also is a overwhelming sense of inertia in terms of public improvements - there is a certain defeatist attitude that comes out. On the other hand, the business community seems to invest heavily in improving infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of their offices. The businesses downtown send a lot of money to the Downtown Partnership, which pays for landscaping, street and sidewalk sweepers, and trash pick up, among other things.
I've lived up and down the east coast and honestly the mid-Atlantic has my favorite climate. It can get kinda gloomy around winter but I'm fortunate in that I can usually save enough money each year to escape somewhere tropical for a week in February. The summer can get hot and sticky but it's generally tolerable to walk around the city mid-day for a few hours without feeling like you're going to die. People say the drivers here are bad... and they are... but I've spent a lot of time around NYC so their brand of reckless aggressiveness is nothing new to me.
The people are generally pretty nice. Some of the "local Baltimoreans" have a kinda blue collar trashy demeanor on the surface but they usually end up being pretty friendly. The ghetto on the other hand is filled with some of the lowest class, most desperate people in America. The amount of junkies, dealers, alcoholics, beggars, hustlers, and horrible unfit young mothers can be astounding in certain parts of the city (try not to go west of MLK or I-83 unless you're headed to Bolton Hill). A lot of kids growing up in these toxic environments end up turning into criminals or addicts (surprise surprise).
There is a growing contingent of transplants who for the most part are pretty great (the people that come here tend to have a kind of mild-mannered, unpretentious, open-mindedness that's much less common in DC and NYC. There are hipsters, bros, young medical professionals/ scientists, white collar ladder climbers, stroller moms, etc. and most of us seem to have this unspoken bond about living in Baltimore... more specifically about our shared ability to see past all the violence, crime, drugs, and blight and notice just how cool large parts of the city actually are. However, some people will become the victims of crimes they never expected, or they'll have one too many run-ins with low-life's and they'll decide it's not worth it (Baltimore people, particularly the ones that chose to stick it out here, are a much tougher breed than average person that moves to Boston, DC, NYC).
Other points: The property taxes a lousy but the mayor has been lowering them little by little each year and the assessed values of the properties are pretty low so it kinda works out. Rent is cheap for a walkable city.
The tax base here is lousy but is improving year by year. Unfortunately the lack of tax revenues means the city literally can't afford to fix the roads, sidewalks, and other public infrastructure so things can look pretty run down. The city government has been handing out a lot of tax incentives to big developers to try and change the city's public image and grow the tax base. The strategy is working but has caused disputes about equity in certain circles.
As you might be able to guess I work as an urban planner here in the city. I can tell you without a doubt that the city is on slow but steady upswing. Things are changing here and they're all going in the right direction.
As for which neighborhood to choose it's really a matter of personal taste. If you tell the board what you're looking for I'm sure we can point you in the right direction.
Best of luck with all your research!
Last edited by baltplanner; 09-11-2014 at 08:19 PM..
Why would even compare Baltimore to New York or DC in any way shape or form??! I've come to notice in post like these, it's this "well, thank god its not like New York or DC" type attitude. The people are nice, loving, violent, dangerous, psychotic, introspective, retrospective, ignorant, stupid and hateful wherever you go, in any city you dwell..Baltimore is no different.
"mild-mannered, unpretentious, open-mindedness.."
*Nothing grand noble about this in my humble opinion! Some of us feed off the vine of sophistication, conservative and pretentious and (non) mild-mannered (which equates to me as being too nonchalant).
Last edited by Infinite_heights77; 09-12-2014 at 07:44 AM..
"Some of the "local Baltimoreans" have a kinda blue collar trashy demeanor on the surface but they usually end up being pretty friendly."
*Some??!! You are being waaaaayyy to generous with your words my friend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by baltplanner
I've lived up and down the east coast and honestly the mid-Atlantic has my favorite climate. It can get kinda gloomy around winter but I'm fortunate in that I can usually save enough money each year to escape somewhere tropical for a week in February. The summer can get hot and sticky but it's generally tolerable to walk around the city mid-day for a few hours without feeling like you're going to die. People say the drivers here are bad... and they are... but I've spent a lot of time around NYC so their brand of reckless aggressiveness is nothing new to me.
The people are generally pretty nice. Some of the "local Baltimoreans" have a kinda blue collar trashy demeanor on the surface but they usually end up being pretty friendly. The ghetto on the other hand is filled with some of the lowest class, most desperate people in America. The amount of junkies, dealers, alcoholics, beggars, hustlers, and horrible unfit young mothers can be astounding in certain parts of the city (try not to go west of MLK or I-83 unless you're headed to Bolton Hill). A lot of kids growing up in these toxic environments end up turning into criminals or addicts (surprise surprise).
There is a growing contingent of transplants who for the most part are pretty great (the people that come here tend to have a kind of mild-mannered, unpretentious, open-mindedness that's much less common in DC and NYC. There are hipsters, bros, young medical professionals/ scientists, white collar ladder climbers, stroller moms, etc. and most of us seem to have this unspoken bond about living in Baltimore... more specifically about our shared ability to see past all the violence, crime, drugs, and blight and notice just how cool large parts of the city actually are. However, some people will become the victims of crimes they never expected, or they'll have one too many run-ins with low-life's and they'll decide it's not worth it (Baltimore people, particularly the ones that chose to stick it out here, are a much tougher breed than average person that moves to Boston, DC, NYC).
Other points: The property taxes a lousy but the mayor has been lowering them little by little each year and the assessed values of the properties are pretty low so it kinda works out. Rent is cheap for a walkable city.
The tax base here is lousy but is improving year by year. Unfortunately the lack of tax revenues means the city literally can't afford to fix the roads, sidewalks, and other public infrastructure so things can look pretty run down. The city government has been handing out a lot of tax incentives to big developers to try and change the city's public image and grow the tax base. The strategy is working but has caused disputes about equity in certain circles.
As you might be able to guess I work as an urban planner here in the city. I can tell you without a doubt that the city is on slow but steady upswing. Things are changing here and they're all going in the right direction.
As for which neighborhood to choose it's really a matter of personal taste. If you tell the board what you're looking for I'm sure we can point you in the right direction.
There is a growing contingent of transplants who for the most part are pretty great (the people that come here tend to have a kind of mild-mannered, unpretentious, open-mindedness that's much less common in DC and NYC. There are hipsters, bros, young medical professionals/ scientists, white collar ladder climbers, stroller moms, etc. and most of us seem to have this unspoken bond about living in Baltimore... more specifically about our shared ability to see past all the violence, crime, drugs, and blight and notice just how cool large parts of the city actually are. However, some people will become the victims of crimes they never expected, or they'll have one too many run-ins with low-life's and they'll decide it's not worth it (Baltimore people, particularly the ones that chose to stick it out here, are a much tougher breed than average person that moves to Boston, DC, NYC).
I would say this is very good representation of the transplant experience here in Baltimore. I am originally from the NYC metropolitan area myself and I have indeed found that the attitude is much more laid back than the white collar cities of NYC and DC. And like the above poster said, I love the awesome mix of people I find here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mpheels
Let me start by saying that I really, really like Baltimore. I moved here for a graduate program, fully expecting to move back to NC in four years. A year later, and I'm planning to make Baltimore my forever home.
People here are friendly if you are friendly. If you have a chip on you shoulder or harbor (and project) a lot of prejudice, they may not be as friendly. The only negative encounters I've had were with people who were obviously impaired by either alcohol/drugs, mental illness, or both (happens about once a week for me, and I live downtown). I've also noticed that men here are more apt to make comments or catcall women than what I'm used to - I just ignore them.
People suck at driving year round, not just in winter. Red lights are apparently meaningless. Makes me thankful I don't have a car.
I'm from NC - the highest high in the summer and the lowest low in the winter in Baltimore are about the same as what I was used to in central NC. NC has more very hot days, while Baltimore has more very cold days. It is more humid here than I expected, but that goes with the water. Also more snow that I'm used to, but not so much that there is constant snow cover all winter (and last winter was unusual, so my impression is biased). Overall, the climate is pretty moderate with four distinct seasons.
My biggest complaint in terms of city services/logistics is the transit system - it's generally poorly planned, in some ways through apparent incompetence and in other ways intentionally bad to limit transportation of certain groups. There also is a overwhelming sense of inertia in terms of public improvements - there is a certain defeatist attitude that comes out. On the other hand, the business community seems to invest heavily in improving infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of their offices. The businesses downtown send a lot of money to the Downtown Partnership, which pays for landscaping, street and sidewalk sweepers, and trash pick up, among other things.
The assessment of the weather above is accurate. I am from northern New Jersey (more firmly in the "northeast") and I don't find the weather to be terribly different. A little bit hotter in the summer, and less snow in the winter (but still just as cold). As was hinted at above, last winter was particularly bad and I was endlessly amused by how poorly Baltimore deals with snow, which means they clearly aren't used to it.
But, I would also agree with the above post regarding the drivers and the transit system, which when taken together are probably my biggest complaint about Baltimore. I do have a car here because I live in Patterson Park and work at Johns Hopkins (East Baltimore Campus). It is technically close enough to walk (about 30 mins) and I have walked on nice days before, but I work a lot of late nights and so I like driving to work so that I don't have to worry about walking back by myself at night. The drivers are pretty bad here. And this is coming from someone from New Jersey! And public transit leaves a lot to be desired, hence why I need my car. There is essentially no public transportation to Patterson Park and Canton, which is a shame because those are two neighborhoods that are very popular amongst transplants and young professionals, especially those working at Hopkins. If there was reliable public transit between Patterson Park and Hopkins or Patterson Park and downtown, I would use it all the time. There is a single metro line that runs between Hopkins and Owings Mills that I have found useful sometimes (going downtown straight from work, for example), but almost no one uses it. There is also the Charm City Circulator, which is actually a very nice free bus system that I used to use all the time when I lived right next to the East Baltimore campus, but again, it only serves limited areas of the city, so if you live in a place where it doesn't go, you're out of luck. There are plans and rumors floating around of expanding the Circulator, which would be a very welcome change.
All of that said, even though the drivers themselves are pretty bad, I do actually find Baltimore to be a pretty drivable city. The roads don't get as congested as larger cities like NYC, DC, and Boston and since Baltimore is pretty small in comparison, you can get from one place to another in the car pretty quickly. Parking is sort of a nightmare, but you get used to it.
Like mpheels, I moved here for graduate study and I really wasn't sure whether I would love Baltimore or hate it and I have been pleasantly surprised so far. I have really come to love this city. There are so many hidden gems here that are uniquely Baltimore that you can just stumble upon if you do enough exploring. In other cities, sometimes I feel like I can't escape the tourists or the congestion, but in Baltimore you definitely can. Unlike a lot of other cities where people work and leave, Baltimore is a city where a lot of people have roots and families stay here for generations and I find that pretty cool.
How do Bmore people deal with Hurricanes? Are they a big deal?
We don't get hurricanes. We usually get the remnants of for tropical cyclones, or a little rain and wind when the storm grazes the coast, but other than that, we don't get direct hits from hurricanes.
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And public transit leaves a lot to be desired, hence why I need my car. There is essentially no public transportation to Patterson Park and Canton, which is a shame because those are two neighborhoods that are very popular amongst transplants and young professionals, especially those working at Hopkins. If there was reliable public transit between Patterson Park and Hopkins or Patterson Park and downtown, I would use it all the time. There is a single metro line that runs between Hopkins and Owings Mills that I have found useful sometimes (going downtown straight from work, for example), but almost no one uses it. There is also the Charm City Circulator, which is actually a very nice free bus system that I used to use all the time when I lived right next to the East Baltimore campus, but again, it only serves limited areas of the city, so if you live in a place where it doesn't go, you're out of luck. There are plans and rumors floating around of expanding the Circulator, which would be a very welcome change. 
