Apartments for less than $800?? (Baltimore, Towson: real estate, apartment complexes, car insurance)

[jeremy ryan]

Hi, I'm a long time lurker and first time poster. I've been considering moving to the Baltimore area for a little while and recently was offered a position working in North Baltimore and am really excited to be in a new city!

I'm coming from Toledo Ohio which has some of the cheapest real estate in the country (my parents home is 2400 sqft and is worth about $150k in a nice neighborhood) so the sticker shock on housing prices is intense! My fiancee recently graduated with a teaching degree and she seems to think this area will be a good place to find a job, but in the meantime I have to support us both on about $40k. She should be able to pick up a retail job making a small hourly rate but not enough to cover all her bills let alone the student loans she now owes on and I have to pick up for her.

With all that said and done, I really was wondering if there were any areas (even surrounding areas since we don't mind commuting) that were relatively safe and offered 1 bedroom 600+ sqft living spaces for under $800/month? Based on the research I've done I did locate some apartments that started for less than $800 but they are either studio's or in parts of the city I have been told I don't really want to live. Our requirements are really low for the moment as we are used to not having entertainment options within walking distance and until she gets a full time job we will be using this time mostly to get a feel for the city and where we would to be once we get settled in.

Thanks for any direction you can give us!

[psu1983]

I was in your shoes a year and a half ago. I'll suggest two places to you: Kenilworth at Perring Park and Doncaster Village. Both are complexes, and you should be able to find what you're looking for ($800 or less). They are located in Parkville, between Towson and White Marsh, and have easy access to North Baltimore. The area is relatively safe for Baltimore. Hope that helps.

Keep in mind, most apartment complexes are the same. You get what you pay for. Don't expect paradise - you're going to have thinner walls, chilly in the winter and sometimes a little noisy, but definitely tolerable.

[CuriousMD]

Why doesn't she get a job teaching here in MD? She would definitely make a decent amount of money so it's not all on you.

[jeremy ryan]

Originally Posted by DJ Pioneer

I was in your shoes a year and a half ago. I'll suggest two places to you: Kenilworth at Perring Park and Doncaster Village. Both are complexes, and you should be able to find what you're looking for ($800 or less). They are located in Parkville, between Towson and White Marsh, and have easy access to North Baltimore. The area is relatively safe for Baltimore. Hope that helps.

Keep in mind, most apartment complexes are the same. You get what you pay for. Don't expect paradise - you're going to have thinner walls, chilly in the winter and sometimes a little noisy, but definitely tolerable.

Thanks for the suggestions, and we understand that you can't expect miracles.

Originally Posted by CuriousMD

Why doesn't she get a job teaching here in MD? She would definitely make a decent amount of money so it's not all on you.

That is the plan and she has applied to a few counties and plans to apply to more, but their are no guarantees she will get an offer for the upcoming school year. Regardless she plans to get a retail job or bar tending job to make some money to make it easier for us. If she can find something fairly quickly we may be able to up our budget for housing to close to $1000 but that would be tops until she lands a full time teaching gig.

[psu1983]

Another thing is car insurance. I found out when I first moved here that rates are much lower in Baltimore County - actually I checked into it and could say that I pay roughly half of what I would pay living in the city, which is equal to about $1,000 savings annually.