Relocating to Baltimore (condo, violent crime, buying a home)

[lilchoc]

I'm relocating to Baltimore within the next couple of months. I will be working in downtown Baltimore and will have to occassionaly commute to downtown DC as well. I checked out a condo on the 2500 block @ Eutaw Pl. I'm not familiar with Baltimore at all and any information about the neighborhood would be appreciated.

[jonjj]

I am pretty sure the 2500 block is in Reservoir Hill.

Reservoir Hill Improvement Council

The area has been going through extensive gentrification. Eutaw Place is a great street, probably one of the best in the neighborhood. The homes there are unreal--beautiful. The area to the west of it still has some issues and crime is a factor.

[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, 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.

[bawlmer]

Originally Posted by lilchoc

I'm relocating to Baltimore within the next couple of months. I will be working in downtown Baltimore and will have to occassionaly commute to downtown DC as well. I checked out a condo on the 2500 block @ Eutaw Pl. I'm not familiar with Baltimore at all and any information about the neighborhood would be appreciated.

Do youself a big favor and do not live in Baltimore City. There are plenty of places surrounding the city, Anne Arundel County for example, where you will be much safer and the government services are better. Do some research and you should conclude the same.

[jonjj]

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, 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.

Good point rudy---I was actually considering buying a home in Reservoir Hill. The homes there are spectacular in size and features. But I soon realized I would still have to drive anywhere to buy groceries, etc. That area has great potential but still needs retail and more convenience. I really do think though that Reservoir Hill has the potential to be a fantastic neighborhood and I think the city does to considering all of the money they are pumping into it and promoting it.

[lolavanatta]

i disagree with Bawlmer - if you are already working IN the city, live in it so you don't have to worry about awful, waste-of-life commutes. there are some nice areas that have as much crime as any suburb: federal hill, fells point, canton, harbor east, little italy, brewers hill, locust point, butchers hill, bolton hill - these are great city neighborhoods within walking distance of everything you need + you'll get the "best" of baltimore city living...

[bawlmer]

Originally Posted by lolavanatta

i disagree with Bawlmer - if you are already working IN the city, live in it so you don't have to worry about awful, waste-of-life commutes. there are some nice areas that have as much crime as any suburb: federal hill, fells point, canton, harbor east, little italy, brewers hill, locust point, butchers hill, bolton hill - these are great city neighborhoods within walking distance of everything you need + you'll get the "best" of baltimore city living...

Sounds very appealing, however, the reality doesn't match the romanticized version of the "best of Baltimore." I live in (Upper) Fells Point, by Patterson Park and have endured numerous crimes, including the shooting of a police officer in Patterson Park and a shooting virtually outside my door last July. There are people who bury their head in the sand and are unaware of their surroundings, and there are those of us who are engaged and demand a better life. By pointing out the reality of Baltimore living, maybe residents will also demand more of their city government. Until then, my advice is stay away.

[ginbelt]

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

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]

[rudy_d]

Thanks for insider's view, ginbelt. I didn't mean to disparage Res. Hill--it's one of my favorite neighborhoods in Baltimore and probably offers a better investment opportunity the the more-gentrified neighborhoods, where home values stand don't have much room to rise. My comparison to Bolton Hill was based solely on the fact that it's nearby and on observations of more trash, blighted properties, and loitering in Res. Hill. I think it's definitely has great potential, but I'm not sure that it would be the best place for someone who's unfamiliar with Baltimore and is looking for convenience in city living.