Quote:
Originally Posted by rudy_d
There is a lot of beautiful architecture in the neighborhood, and it has experienced a renaissance in the past few years. Druid Hill Park is nearby, which is a nice place to jog and bike. However, I think crime is more of an issue than you would find in the Bolton Hill neighborhood to the south
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Well, as someone who lives in Reservoir Hill, and regularly reads the Bolton Hill bulletin board (where folks are in the habit of detailing and alerting about every crime that occurs), my thoughts are that it all depends about what kind of crime you're talking about. Violent crime? If you're not a part of the drug trade, I can assure you that you will be safer in Reservoir Hill. I haven't heard of anyone who has been mugged up here, but it seems to be quite common in Bolton Hill. Bolton Hill is sort of an oasis sitting right in the middle of a (mostly) economically depressed area, and it is viewed as "easy pickins" by the criminals in the surrounding areas. Thus, they are targeted more for crimes such as muggings, house breakins, etc. The crime we do have more of is drug dealing, for sure. If living around the corner from active drug dealing is something you can't imagine or handle, then Reservoir Hill is probably not the neighborhood for you. But it's often said that neighborhood safety is often "block to block" in Baltimore (things can change radically in a one or two block radius), whereas the gentrificiation in other cities covers larger contiguous areas. The good news is that there ARE parts of areas that many would view as "ghettos" (like Reservoir Hill) that are fairly safe, clean, and quiet. I'm not going to pretend that some magical forcefield "bubble" covers my own block, but I can truthfully state that in 8 years of living here full-time, I've never had a breakin, never been mugged, never been a victim of anything worse than my car being broke into once or twice -- and as anyone who goes into the city can tell you, that can and does happen everywhere and anywhere. It happens just as much, if not more, in the more affluent neighborhoods, actually. So we have more drugs, and more of a trash problem. But if you get on a good solid block with a high homeowner-to-absentee owner ratio, it can be a very nice place to live, because you can get more house here for the dollar than in Bolton Hill. But do your homework -- drive the block in question both day AND night, check out how it seems at different hours. I personally believe that Reservoir Hill itself isn't really a true "neighborhood" per se, but really a collection of smaller sub-neighborhoods. The good ones are the historic districts on the eastern and western edges. It's the inner core that has the most blight and, not coincidentally, absentee
ownership.
I do agree with the person that one glaring negative about Reservoir Hill is and has been that there isn't anything in the way of walkable shops or stores, which is one of the main reasons for living in a city in the first place. But on my more optimistic days, I do believe that is coming. Slowly, but coming. Whitelock street, which bisects the neighborhood, is already zoned for businesses, having been the business center of the neighborhood for years and years until it was all razed back in the early 90's. So, one day it will be ripe for building there -- once a critical mass of people with means moves here. I can't wait for the day that we have a nice bagel shop, cafe, video store, maybe even a restaurant opening here. The day is coming...
and there are a still quite a few vacant houses despite all the rehabs. I don't live there, but probably the biggest downside I see to the neighborhood is the lack of services within the immediate area. You would probably have to drive to another neighborhood to go to a restaurant, bar, grocery store, etc.[/quote]