best neighborhood choice for young-ish urban couple relocating from nyc (Baltimore: condos, safe neighborhood)

[kristinalb]

my husband and i just learned that he is being relocated to baltimore, where his company is based. we love new york very much and we wanted to stay here (or perhaps in boston, where we went to school) permanently. but, we can’t get out of it and must move by march.

i’ve spent some time in the baltimore, and i liked it, but i don’t have a great handle on the city.

the neighborhoods that seemed appealing on my visits were federal hill and mount vernon. i have not been to charles village, which i have also heard i nice.

when we speak to people who live in the area, most suggest we move to the suburbs. we are, however, committed urban-dwellers and have no interest in that. i understand that baltimore will be different and less dynamic than new york and that a car will be necessary for many things. but we’d like to keep our lives as much the same as we can. we value walking, public transport, parks, good food shops, good restaurants, museums, theatre, live music and the feeling of being in a vibrant location. we would like these to be as much a part of our baltimore lives as possible.

safety is obviously a concern, and we would like to be in a safe neighborhood. we are not, however, daunted by the run-of-the-mill city existence and certainly do not feel that diversity is a bad thing. i understand that i can’t go running around at 3am alone and that cars do sometimes get broken in to…but that’s pretty much true anywhere.

can someone help me by pointing out some pros and cons of the neighborhoods i’ve mentioned (and maybe fill me in on neighborhoods i’m yet unaware of?)

thank you and sorry so long!

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

As a former NYer and New Englander, I can tell you that Baltimore is going to be a change. First of all - abandon any hopes of public transit. It's mostly terrible. The light rail and metro subway are OK if convenient for you at all. Buses follow only the schedule the driver wants to. It has taken me 3 hours to travel 6 miles.

Federal Hill has sort of a frat-boy presence (and no parking) on the weekends, but it's nice enough. The walk to the light rail station by the football field is not to be made alone at night.

Charles Village is very nice and reasonably safe. There's two good pubs (the CVP is one of the best neighborhood spots around), a Barnes and Noble and other Johns Hopkins-induced amenities. The further east toward Greenmount Ave or south of 25th street are less safe. A lot of unscrupulous landlords list their North Ave-area properties as Charles Village. They aren't. PS - North Ave is an absolute no-go, day or night. Charles Village has a very active neighborhood association and neighbors generally look out for one another. However, the only transit is bus.

Hampden/Woodberry is sort of quirky and, in parts, very quiet. I live there and like it quite a bit for safety and walkability. Depending on where you live, the light rail isn't a very long walk. You're also right next to Druid Hill Park, which is huge and beautiful (also contains the Md. zoo).

Mount Vernon is pretty nice, too, though it's a little too busy for me. It is one of the few residential neighborhoods that has decent access to both of Baltimore's rapid transit lines, which is decent. Mt. Vernon/Royal and Bolton Hill areas afford you the greatest chance to walk.

The Fells Point and Canton areas are very popular as well. Lots (LOTS) of bars, limited parking in places. The areas south of Patterson Park have undergone quite a bit of much-needed gentrification over the years.

Anyway, I hope that helps. Don't sell your car just yet - you will absolutely need it here. Transit is terrible and has just been subject to a massive budget cut which is causing unplanned route cancellations, etc. The MTA doesn't care about the rider at all.

A bus rider driven to drive -- baltimoresun.com

Despite that, this is a great city. It just takes some getting used to (and patience).

[kharing]

I just moved here in July - originally from Boston. I think the transit system is decent and the bus system is WAY better than Boston's. Granted there could be more lines added but for the price I think it isn't as bad as people say it is. I don't have a car, live downtown and honestly love taking public transportation. It takes getting use to (one of my favorite bus trips....the #35 to White Marsh) - I take cabs alot and order large grocery items online - but having a vehicle in this city seems like more of a financial headache.

I also think the MARC train is great - I use it for my trips to DC. I also recommend Megabus - I just came back from a day trip to NYC and it costed me under twenty bucks roundtrip.

One last thing...I still am deciding whether to use Zipcar if I do find the need to drive. I wish they had cars located downtown, not just at the Hopkins campus.

[ltong1009]

It depends on where your jobs are, but I recommend looking at Butcher's Hill, Fells Point, Mt. Vernon, Ridgley's Delight, Upper Fells Point, Patterson Park, and Otterbein. We live in Butcher's Hill, near Patterson Park. It is a very easy bus ride or 1 mile walk to downtown, 3 blocks to the park, 3 blocks to the bars/restaurants in Fells Point. Larry

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

kharing is right - the transit is, at least, cheap. MARC to washington doesn't run on weekends, though, and the state is cutting runs.

Kharing is also right about megabus to NY - what a bargain!!!

[ginbelt]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

PS - North Ave is an absolute no-go, day or night.

I'm sorry, but this just is not true anymore. Parts of North Ave are coming back...have already come back. The part right around the intersection of Charles and North has Joe Squared Pizza, Load of Fun studios, and now the Windup Space, all right there smack dab ON North Avenue. A guy is busy rehabbing the Parkway Theater there too. Due to the overwhelming, always-buzzing popularity of the 1700 block of N. Charles Street, which is literally one block down from North Avenue (Charles Theater, Tapas Teatro, Zodiac Restaurant, Club Charles, etc), foot traffic has started venturing up onto North Ave for the venues I mentioned earlier. It's a lot safer than it was now, I would go there at night and I've been there many times during the day, never had a problem.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Okay Ginbelt - you've named 1 block of the 10-mile North Ave. Crossing North ave on st. paul, Maryland, howard or Charles (for the very popular and fun 1700 block) is certainly safe- but moving laterally is still not advised, in my opinion.

I've walked along North ave from the light rail station to Charles and 20th many times to get to the Chinatown bus - it is not a route I would want my mother to take without escort.

The "MICA" corner of Howard/North is definitely coming along. Joe Squared has good pizza and beer but slow, disinterested service (as with most hipster establishments). Good live music, too. Hopefully the whole corridor will benefit.

So yes, one block of North Ave is coming along ... but west of Howard and East of Charles, it is still one of the most dangerous east-west routes in the city, and probably the nation (moreso than Edmondson Ave, I would argue).

Just trying to be honest for these nice folks who are moving to our city.

[kristinalb]

thanks for all the info! i will check out the neighbors listed. fells point seemed very touristy when i visited. is that impression correct? looking at the map, i think that i may have been in both otterbein and federal hill on my last visit, thinking i was in federal hill the whole time. i must look into that neighborhood.we definitely plan on getting a car. my husband will work on pratt street downtown. i have no idea of my plan yet. hopefully at least one of us can walk or bus to work.

[jonjj]

kristina,
If you look at the top of the thread, many neighborhoods in the city are listed. Think about the specifics of what you want and maybe we can be more helpful. I lived in Boston before moving here and I actually think Bolton Hill reminds me the most of that city. But, Butchers Hill and Patterson Park have similarities as well. The closest thing to NYC ( and that is a long-stretch) would be the Mt. Vernon neighborhood or downtown living in one of the condos. One other area I think you may like would be Brewers Hill along the waterfront in southeast Baltimore.

[kinkytoes]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

Okay Ginbelt - you've named 1 block of the 10-mile North Ave. Crossing North ave on st. paul, Maryland, howard or Charles (for the very popular and fun 1700 block) is certainly safe- but moving laterally is still not advised, in my opinion.

I've walked along North ave from the light rail station to Charles and 20th many times to get to the Chinatown bus - it is not a route I would want my mother to take without escort.

The "MICA" corner of Howard/North is definitely coming along. Joe Squared has good pizza and beer but slow, disinterested service (as with most hipster establishments). Good live music, too. Hopefully the whole corridor will benefit.

So yes, one block of North Ave is coming along ... but west of Howard and East of Charles, it is still one of the most dangerous east-west routes in the city, and probably the nation (moreso than Edmondson Ave, I would argue).

Just trying to be honest for these nice folks who are moving to our city.

Exactly. That area has a lot of awesome things, but I would also agree that it's still gritty. If they WANT grit, that's fine, otherwise, there are safer places to choose to live. North Avenue DOES have the Village thrift store and our somewhat-dingy Korea town which I think are really cool. I have walked through the area for authentic Korean food and 70's clothes and collectibles at great prices but I would not let my mom walk there by herself, either.

I agree with some of the other suggestions for very safe, walkable and clean areas that have nice amenities : Charles Village, Mt Vernon, Federal Hill, Canton, Bolton Hill etc. They can visit and walk around to see which areas they like the best. All of those areas have restaurants, cleaners, gyms etc. within walking distance.

It's nice to have a car in MD, though because there are lots of natural areas in the state that you may like to visit on weekends.