Working class Irish/Italian/European neighborhoods in and around Baltimore (Dundalk: cheap apartments, school)

[delivery not digiorno]

Hey there! I'm a half Irish half Italian working class guy from Brooklyn, NY. I grew up in a working class old school neighborhood, with a close knit community where most working people were tradesmen, cops, firemen, a few city workers, small business owners (my grandparents and parents ran a corner store grocery for instance) etc. between gentrification, an influx of new immigrants, and people moving away and dying my area and most NY 'hoods like mine are on their way out. I am curious to know if any of the older east coast cities (I couldn't ever live on the west coast, or Midwest) still have thriving working class areas that are not declining/gentrifying etc. Baltimore is a smaller city with less hype surrounding it than say NYC or something so I am figuring that it has not been as throughly yuppified (this is a GOOD thing!).

Basically I am looking for a place in the area that's an old school working class place, where people have thick regional accents, work blue collar jobs etc. a little gritty is fine but not somewhere really dangerous lol.

It doesn't have to be in the city itself but also in the surrounding county is fine. I once drove through the area on I-95 on my way back to NYC from Myrtle Beach and got off the highway to get some food in a town that fit the bill pretty well, however I cannot remember the name of it lol.


What are some old school working class neighborhoods in the area? Especially an area with a strong Irish or Italian presence. I work on cars so I can live anywhere and I am scouting the Bos-Wash for a new place to call home, thanks!!

[oneworld25]

You might be interested in the Dundalk area of Baltimore County. However, its has been having its own issues do to deindustrialization. You might also want to check out Curtis Bay in the city, though I imagine that area is having some of the same issues as Dundalk. And while I can't say for sure, I'd imagine most of the folks in these communities are of Scotch-Irish descent since many of their ancestors are from Appalachia.

[delivery not digiorno]

Originally Posted by oneworld25

You might be interested in the Dundalk area of Baltimore County. However, its has been having its own issues do to deindustrialization. You might also want to check out Curtis Bay in the city, though I imagine that area is having some of the same issues as Dundalk. And while I can't say for sure, I'd imagine most of the folks in these communities are of Scotch-Irish descent since many of their ancestors are from Appalachia.

Thanks! What about Brooklyn Park? I looked at the demographics, did a street view on Google and saw some cheap apartments on CL and it looks as if it fits the bill..I know it's in a different county but it looks pretty dense and not very suburban..

[Calvert Hall '62]

You're living in the past, like when the Sparrows Point shipyard was in business. Recalling the 1950s, Canton was overwhelmingly Polish and definitely working class. My paternal grandparents settled there on Hudson St. Don't recall an overwhelmingly Irish 'hood, although Highlandtown was well-represented with Irish along with Germans. A number of Germans on my maternal grandparents' block in the 300 block of S. East Ave. worked at the National and Gunther breweries nearby, LOL. Little Italy was obviously Italian until the younger folks moved out leaving only the elderly. There was another Italian enclave in Highlandtown near the Our Lady of Pompeii church. Just east of Highlandtown was Little Greece. Not sure about Pigtown in south B'mo but think it was a diversified Euro-American mix, as was Hampden. I don't think there was any dominant Euro culture on the west side but could stand corrected. The wealthier peeps whose kids could afford lacrosse sticks were WASPS as well as Catholics and lived in Govans and points north.

[BMoreIsAwesome]

Brooklyn Park is in the city.

Baltimore has Little Italy. (I'm half Italian/Irish too)

[Calvert Hall '62]

Originally Posted by BMoreIsAwesome

Brooklyn Park is in the city.

Baltimore has Little Italy. (I'm half Italian/Irish too)

Thought that Brooklyn is in the city but Brooklyn Park is in AA county.

Brooklyn Park, Maryland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[OptimusPrime69]

These types of neighborhoods you're describing are on the decline nation-wide....not just in NY.
I grew up in a neighborhood like that in Philadelphia. Mostly Irish and Italians.... close knit, very Catholic, etc... working class, however in Philly same thing is happening as is NY..... Newer immigrant groups doing what the irish and italians did generations ago.... that era is over im afriad...

[BMoreIsAwesome]

my mistake, thanks Calvert Hall, I get them mixed up sometimes

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by oneworld25

You might be interested in the Dundalk area of Baltimore County. However, its has been having its own issues do to deindustrialization. You might also want to check out Curtis Bay in the city, though I imagine that area is having some of the same issues as Dundalk. And while I can't say for sure, I'd imagine most of the folks in these communities are of Scotch-Irish descent since many of their ancestors are from Appalachia.

For what it is worth, Scots-Irish and "native" Irish are not the same ethnicity. Scots-Irish were border people from the Scottish/English border that went over the Ireland as settlers and irregular militia type fighters against the "native" Irish. They were nearly entirely Protestant and started to settle the American backcountry in the mid 18th century.

"Native" Irish are what we would call the "Irish" today. Catholic, largest immigration waves in the mid to late 19th century, pushed out by the potato famine, "need not apply" type discrimination in America.

[Infinite_heights77]

*My ex was Brooklyn (East New York), Henry Hill's old neighborhood. Unfortunately, what you're describing is quickly fading in the past.

"..between gentrification, an influx of new immigrants, and people moving away and dying my area and most NY 'hoods like mine are on their way out..."

*This too, is taking place in Baltimore, Philly, New Jersey and other strong ethnic enclaves and communities. It's quite sad and depressing if you ask me. The young people don't want to hold onto their grandparents estates, businesses, traditions and etc..

Originally Posted by delivery not digiorno

Hey there! I'm a half Irish half Italian working class guy from Brooklyn, NY. I grew up in a working class old school neighborhood, with a close knit community where most working people were tradesmen, cops, firemen, a few city workers, small business owners (my grandparents and parents ran a corner store grocery for instance) etc. between gentrification, an influx of new immigrants, and people moving away and dying my area and most NY 'hoods like mine are on their way out. I am curious to know if any of the older east coast cities (I couldn't ever live on the west coast, or Midwest) still have thriving working class areas that are not declining/gentrifying etc. Baltimore is a smaller city with less hype surrounding it than say NYC or something so I am figuring that it has not been as throughly yuppified (this is a GOOD thing!).

Basically I am looking for a place in the area that's an old school working class place, where people have thick regional accents, work blue collar jobs etc. a little gritty is fine but not somewhere really dangerous lol.

It doesn't have to be in the city itself but also in the surrounding county is fine. I once drove through the area on I-95 on my way back to NYC from Myrtle Beach and got off the highway to get some food in a town that fit the bill pretty well, however I cannot remember the name of it lol.


What are some old school working class neighborhoods in the area? Especially an area with a strong Irish or Italian presence. I work on cars so I can live anywhere and I am scouting the Bos-Wash for a new place to call home, thanks!!