Living with Crime in Baltimore (Mount Vernon: affordable apartments, insurance, mover)

[Mover54]

I am considering moving to Baltimore from the west coast mainly for family and cost-of-living reasons. Having lived in Philadelphia for over 20 years I am familiar with sketchy neighborhoods and crime but actually find Baltimore to be cleaner and friendlier. But recent articles about the crime surge there are alarming. Just how bad is it for a resident living in the downtown area not far from the harbor? If you are a woman walking around during the day say on Calvert or Light Street are you actually in danger?

[warriorjoek]

From what I've observed, you should be OK around the downtown area. May need to use caution at night but during the day you shouldn't see any problems. Calvert and Light St's are pretty well traveled during the day so the chances that violent crime happening around there is minimal. It all comes down to basic street smarts.

Note, I don't live in Baltimore but work there and see the best and worse parts of the city during both day and night time hours. I'll let the folks who live there give their opinions.

[debold4215]

Originally Posted by Mover54

I am considering moving to Baltimore from the west coast mainly for family and cost-of-living reasons. Having lived in Philadelphia for over 20 years I am familiar with sketchy neighborhoods and crime but actually find Baltimore to be cleaner and friendlier. But recent articles about the crime surge there are alarming. Just how bad is it for a resident living in the downtown area not far from the harbor? If you are a woman walking around during the day say on Calvert or Light Street are you actually in danger?

It isn't just the violent behavior that constantly gets the medias attention that is the problem. Some Baltimoreans are very angry and repeatedly do things to others just for the hell of it. My family has lived in Baltimore for 50 plus years and we have seen a significant increase in violent and non violent crime in Baltimore. My brother has been robbed twice at gun point on our front porch. His best friend was shot. Our cars have been broken in to repeatedly. My brother and myself have had our cars beaten with bats, leaving significant dents. The area you mentioned might be alright if you are south of the court house near the inner harbor, but crime is spreading all over the city. I don't believe the powers to be are interested in changing criminal behavior in Baltimore. It is big business here. Despite the rapid increase in crime in Baltimore judges have decreased their incarceration rate by 43%. Good luck if you are expecting a change in criminal behavior in Baltimore City. You might try one of the counties which are less tolerant of crime.

[redd1skng]

Walking around that area during the day you'll be amongst many and will be fine. Walking around that area at night use the same caution you would in any city. At night stay out of neighborhoods you're not familiar with, i.e. parts of East and most of West Baltimore. If you survived Philly you'll be fine in Baltimore.

Not minimizing or discounting debold4215 experiences but I've never had those experiences, so....

[ktaadin]

Originally Posted by Mover54

I am considering moving to Baltimore from the west coast mainly for family and cost-of-living reasons. Having lived in Philadelphia for over 20 years I am familiar with sketchy neighborhoods and crime but actually find Baltimore to be cleaner and friendlier. But recent articles about the crime surge there are alarming. Just how bad is it for a resident living in the downtown area not far from the harbor? If you are a woman walking around during the day say on Calvert or Light Street are you actually in danger?

Depends where you mean by downtown near the harbor. To be frank, I would not recommend living in the true downtown area, especially farther west near Howard Street, Lexington market etc. It's not awful, but the quality of life is low, the amenities don't measure up to better areas of the city, and safety is marginal.

Harbor east is very nice, for example, and there are other areas near downtown such as fells point or Mt Vernon that I'd recommend over the actual inner harbor area.

[designer_genes]

Originally Posted by ktaadin

Depends where you mean by downtown near the harbor. To be frank, I would not recommend living in the true downtown area, especially farther west near Howard Street, Lexington market etc. It's not awful, but the quality of life is low, the amenities don't measure up to better areas of the city, and safety is marginal.

Harbor east is very nice, for example, and there are other areas near downtown such as fells point or Mt Vernon that I'd recommend over the actual inner harbor area.

I agree with this assessment.

The true downtown area can be downright deserted at night and therefore kind of sketchy to walk around by yourself. But, near the water (you mentioned Light St) is totally fine, even at night (unless it's really late) because there is significant foot traffic.

Like the poster above, I'd recommend Fells Point or Mount Vernon over the actual harbor area as far as where to actually live. Apartment complexes in Harbor East and right on the Inner Harbor are outrageously overpriced for the most part, so if cost of living reasons are part of why you're moving, you may want to steer clear. You can get much better bang for your buck without compromising safety elsewhere. I think either Fells or Mount Vernon would be your best bet as far as affordable housing, but also having easy access to the waterfront neighborhoods. Canton wouldn't be a bad choice either if you prefer a more residential neighborhood. Fells and Mount Vernon have more "hustle and bustle," which is good for restaurants/night life, but Canton is a little more low key and still close by. Depends on what you're looking for!

[North Beach Person]

Y'all know that it's not just being a direct victim of crime but the costs you pay even if you never are.

Increased insurance costs for property and cars, the need for an alarm system in your home, the drag on property values, middle class families fleeing the public school system. Those are just the obvious things I could think of while waiting for dinner to be ready, there are likely more obvious and subtle ones.

[Infinite_heights77]

Some Baltimoreans are very angry and repeatedly do things to others just for the hell of it

On top of the already extensive mental health problems Baltimoreans exhibit on a daily basis. It's a formula for destruction.

Originally Posted by debold4215

It isn't just the violent behavior that constantly gets the medias attention that is the problem. Some Baltimoreans are very angry and repeatedly do things to others just for the hell of it. My family has lived in Baltimore for 50 plus years and we have seen a significant increase in violent and non violent crime in Baltimore. My brother has been robbed twice at gun point on our front porch. His best friend was shot. Our cars have been broken in to repeatedly. My brother and myself have had our cars beaten with bats, leaving significant dents. The area you mentioned might be alright if you are south of the court house near the inner harbor, but crime is spreading all over the city. I don't believe the powers to be are interested in changing criminal behavior in Baltimore. It is big business here. Despite the rapid increase in crime in Baltimore judges have decreased their incarceration rate by 43%. Good luck if you are expecting a change in criminal behavior in Baltimore City. You might try one of the counties which are less tolerant of crime.

[Infinite_heights77]

Harbor East = young, white and wealthy
Farther West (Howard Street, Lexington market etc) = young, old, black, poor and dysfunctional

[L in sobo]

I live in the south end of Mt Vernon. I would not recommend the downtown area (Inner harbor to the boundary of mt Vernon). Mt Vernon is north of Franklin street- and I live a few blocks north of the boundary. (I think? correct me if I am wrong?)

I have to say I love it here. Wonderful restaurants. Affordable apartments. You can walk around at night if you are careful and walking during the day is no issue. It is lively and a nice mix of residents. There has been a ton of new development too- Brewhouse 16 just opened up and it is fabulous. Plus the Mt Vernon marketplace, Streets market on Charles. Those are two new markets/grocery stores. The architecture is stunning and I eat lunch or read in the park at the Washington monument. Really- I cant believe more people dont want to live here. A ton of new apartment buildings are going up so the density will increase soon.

I have lived a few other areas in the city and this is my favorite by far.