Newbie to Baltimore Surroundings (condos, low crime, living in)

[condogirl]

I live in the suburbs of Washington, DC and I'm seriously considering moving to Bmore. I have mainly checked out areas near the Inner Harbor and fell in love with the Breco condos. Is the area around Holliday Street considered safe? I would be taking the Marc train to DC and walking to the station. Also, I would be living alone and have a lap dog. Would it be safe for me to take him out at night? Honestly I'm a little nervous after reading about crime statistics (as right now I live in the country). Would you recommend this particular area? I have a car and would only drive on the weekends (I plan to garage park). I wanted to get as much feedback as possible before I follow through with this move. Thanks so much.

[jonjj]

The Breco is in a nice building. It's one of the better projects. I say it's fine. Others will differ. My suggestion is to come up and spend some time both day and night before making your decision. Try to talk to the folks that are there to get a feeling for it. I have buddies that moved from DC who opened up a coffee shop right by it and love it.

[baltimore's best]

Originally Posted by condogirl

I live in the suburbs of Washington, DC and I'm seriously considering moving to Bmore. I have mainly checked out areas near the Inner Harbor and fell in love with the Breco condos. Is the area around Holliday Street considered safe? I would be taking the Marc train to DC and walking to the station. Also, I would be living alone and have a lap dog. Would it be safe for me to take him out at night? Honestly I'm a little nervous after reading about crime statistics (as right now I live in the country). Would you recommend this particular area? I have a car and would only drive on the weekends (I plan to garage park). I wanted to get as much feedback as possible before I follow through with this move. Thanks so much.

Why would you move somewhere that concerned you to the point of being nervous doing everyday activities? Just think how you'll be if you have to do something out of the ordinary. Bad move.

[condogirl]

Originally Posted by baltimore's best

Why would you move somewhere that concerned you to the point of being nervous doing everyday activities? Just think how you'll be if you have to do something out of the ordinary. Bad move.

Baltimore Best, I read a lot of the forums before I posted as well as Baltimore's crime statistics on the net. Instead of basing my decision solely on what I was reading, I wanted feedback from people who actually live in the city or know the area. Someone who lives there would know (better than I) which blocks are considered safe. Being nervous comes from all of the negative I have read about Baltimore. Is the city really that bad?

[DivineMsK]

Condogirl -- I am going through the same quandary as you, with the added pressure of expecting a job offer in Baltimore any minute now. I currently live in Arlington, which is not the country by any stretch but also has very low crime rates. That said, there are places where I wouldn't walk by myself at night, even here. Especially as a woman living alone.

I've decided it's important to take this forum with a large grain of salt. There are just some folks who post here who simply do not ever have a single good thing to say about Baltimore (which does raise the question of why they continue to live in the city).

If you approach it like judging figure skating (throw out the highest and the lowest scores) you'll get an overview that's a bit more balanced.

[baltimore's best]

Originally Posted by DivineMsK

Condogirl -- I am going through the same quandary as you, with the added pressure of expecting a job offer in Baltimore any minute now. I currently live in Arlington, which is not the country by any stretch but also has very low crime rates. That said, there are places where I wouldn't walk by myself at night, even here. Especially as a woman living alone.

I've decided it's important to take this forum with a large grain of salt. There are just some folks who post here who simply do not ever have a single good thing to say about Baltimore (which does raise the question of why they continue to live in the city).

If you approach it like judging figure skating (throw out the highest and the lowest scores) you'll get an overview that's a bit more balanced.

I'm not sure anyone on this forum just wakes up one day and decides to write negative things or positive things about Bmore. I think it has more to do with each person's personal experiences living in Bmore. I live here and my experiences have been overwhelmingly negative. I wont chronicle my last three years in Bmore, but suffice to say it hasn't been pleasant. I think that is what people are looking for when they read these posts-real experiences. When something positive happens I'll gladly post that as well. Hey! My car didn't get broken into last night. See? What's unfortunate is that there is a concerted effort to limit opinions on this forum. I acknowledge that some people have wonderful lives in Bmore and they should be allowed to relate those experiences. Likewise, some of us have had very negative experiences and should be allowed to report on those without being asked for copies of police reports or accused of lying. My question is: don't you think there are also some people posting who never ever have a bad thing to say? Keep it real and keep your head down.

[DivineMsK]

Originally Posted by baltimore's best

I'm not sure anyone on this forum just wakes up one day and decides to write negative things or positive things about Bmore.

I didn't say anyone did anything of the kind.

Originally Posted by baltimore's best

What's unfortunate is that there is a concerted effort to limit opinions on this forum. I acknowledge that some people have wonderful lives in Bmore and they should be allowed to relate those experiences. Likewise, some of us have had very negative experiences and should be allowed to report on those without being asked for copies of police reports or accused of lying.

I don't see any evidence of a "concerted effort to limit opinions." There seems to be a pretty good balance, actually. I think there are a sizable number of folks here who are positive about Baltimore while still ackowledging that there are problems, particularly in some areas.

Originally Posted by baltimore's best

My question is: don't you think there are also some people posting who never ever have a bad thing to say? Keep it real and keep your head down.

I did say "throw out the highest and the lowest scores." And I was prepared to agree with you until I thought about it, and realized that I can't think of anyone who routinely posts nothing but sunshine and puppies.

[mrboltonman]

Listen to jonjj, I agree with that.

[baltimore's best]

I did say "throw out the highest and the lowest scores." And I was prepared to agree with you until I thought about it, and realized that I can't think of anyone who routinely posts nothing but sunshine and puppies.

I wouldn't throw out anyone's opinion out of hand. And, I guess YOU are correct. It would be kind of hard to find that many positives.

There are just some folks who post here who simply do not ever have a single good thing to say about Baltimore (which does raise the question of why they continue to live in the city).

No you didn't state that. But, you made it clear.

[baltimore's best]

Originally Posted by mrboltonman

Listen to jonjj, I agree with that.

He's da man. Look at all those posts!