moving to west baltimore (rental, work, hospital)

[movinsooon]

im moving to west baltimore and it kind of scares me. i normally wouldnt move there but i cant afford my rent anymore and need a really cheap place. i have a 15 yr old son and daughter but im really not here for everything that people want like schools crime ect cause im moving there no matter what i just sort of want to know what im up against

[carolott]

Where in West Baltimore are you thinking of moving?

[movinsooon]

i saw a place on west fayette street

[westsideboy]

I am no expert on Baltimore, but I find this website very informative
http://www.burgersub.org/shootings.htm
It is a map of all of the shooting that have taken place in Baltimore this year. The same website www.burgersub.org also has a map of murders. According to the map W. Fayette St., well....looks not so great. If you are east of MLK Blvd., their are only a few shootings. West of MLK, the story is very different. I doubt the school system in that area is very good either. Good luck.

[carolott]

I live west of MLK and it's fine here. Yes there's crime -- there's crime in every city. Nine times out of ten, if you're not involved with drugs or other criminal activity, the crime doesn't affect you in a direct way.

You might want to take a look at Hollins Market/Union Square for reasonably-priced rentals. I looked at that area before we moved to our house, and I'd still consider it -- the architecture is beautiful, and you'd have some great neighbors!

[movinsooon]

thank you all for the info so far and yes i will be on the west side of MLK, and also i am not involved in any type of crime neither is my daugher thank god and my son is hangin in there i fear hes goin down the wrong path but lots of boys his age are in jail somewhere and he has never been in big trouble before. Anymore suggestions?

[FlipperX]

I grew up around Harlem and Carey and I never had any problems except on Poplar Grove, Edmondson, Etting&Gold and maybe down in the bottom where Lex Terrace and Murphy Homes used to be. The East side is where I had the most problems with young thugs, right across from Johns Hopkins hospital to the north a few blocks.

[movinsooon]

thanks thats good to hear anybody else?

[FlipperX]

Watch out for the south side of West Mulberry too, Go walking down one of them alleys or side streets and youd think you were on another planet with the dark denizens of the underworld, look like zombies down in there.

[barante]

Things change. And this is one neighborhood in the midst of changes. Does it have crime? Yes. Does it have drugs? Yes. But with the University of Maryland having finally crossed the MLK, things are improving.
We used to live on Union Square for 11 years. It was fine, until we got tired of pouring money into a stately Victorian, built in 1857, which needed constant work.
When we moved to Union Square in 1989, the Hollins Market area had (1) a first-class German bakery (Rudy's); (2) an eclectic semi-Mexican eatery (Mencken's Cultured Pearl); (3) a good pizzeria. One by one all of those went belly up. So did Gypsy's, a chaotic but enjoyable neighborhood restaurant.
We've been back now a couple of times and see promising signs of comeback. At Arlington and Hollins, there is a first-rate bistro operated by a transplanted Mississippi lady. Good food, cheap prices. Meanwhile, lots of new stuff is on the horizon, including a Vietnamese restaurant.
Because of the encroaching UMd, it's a new day in this area, including Poppleton. The baddies are being pushed out. It will take time but it will happen.
A good way to get an introduction to this neighborhood is to visit the May 27th Sowebohemian Festival around Hollins Market. Zany, zany, zany. But you might just like it.