Baltimore or D.C.??Advice? (College Park, Greenbelt: apartments, rentals, insurance)

[citychic17]

I just lost my job in Chicago and in my job search have found some opportunities in D.C. I currently am negotiating an offer in Largo, Maryland and would need to bi-weekly work at the Baltimore office.
Can anyone provide advice for a single girl who loves cosmopolitan life on the option of living in Baltimore. I am aware of the commute times and I would want to take pubic transportation for the weekly commuting. I really would prefer to live in D.C. but the cost of living is making me hesitant. I also haven't found any apartments that have any architectural details (at least in my budget of $1100-1300) I have seen a few cool ones in Baltimore for around 900 for a one bedroom, but need to see where the neighborhoods are. I have looked at Mt. Vernon and Canton.
Would it be worth it to live in Baltimore alone for the lower cost of living or live with roommates in D.C?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[mekka]

If you must... I would search apartmentratings.net to search for tenant feedback to some of the older managed properties. I would also check out Baltimore's City Paper online. That's where I found my first two city apartments while living there... Fire places, exposed brick; cathedral ceilings etc.

I would read some of the other posts regarding baltimore regarding safety and whatnot. City of Baltimore, Maryland Police Department - Interactive Geographic Display of Crimes (http://141.157.54.34/bpdmaps/police.htm - broken link)

I personally, would prefer DC, but baltimore does have a pretty good social scene/nightlife and is trying to change its image...(not quite there yet)

City of Baltimore, Maryland Police Department - Interactive Geographic Display of Crimes (http://141.157.54.34/bpdmaps/police.htm - broken link)

Live in Baltimore - Home

Personally, since you have to work between largo and baltimore; I would try someplace midway that gives you access to both bmore and dc. Maybe columbia which people say is nice but expensive. I don't know many other areas outside of baltimore to refer you to.
Good Luck

[terryandtouey]

mekka gives some really good advice. I agree.

Keep in mind the availability of public transit, both for your commuting and for nightlife. Largo is on the Metro system, but I don't think it's on the MARC system (which connects DC/Balt). One reason so much of the DC area is expensive is Metro accessibility. MARC has been trying to improve its schedule, but originally was ridiculously limited to rush hours only. How much of public transit in a Balt or DC neighborhood is limited to busses and are they reliable, frequent and safe?

You'll find maps, schedules, etc. at websites for the Maryland Transit Admin. and the Washington Metro.

DC Craigslist is now heavily used by landlords to advertise apartments, especially for smaller buildings, single units (apts in single family homes) and shares. You might find some good listings there. The same is true for the Washington City Paper online.

Takoma Park and College Park are not too far from Largo, are on the Metro system, and still have affordable pockets.

Greenbelt has been getting a lot of positive comment and has both Metro and MARC access, but it is outside the Beltway, slightly longer time to get to the action downtown.

Good luck!

[lscalder]

Stay Away From Baltimore. Please Its Starting To Become Very Violent Due To The Fact Every County In Maryland Is Pushing All There Crimes To Baltimore.

[RoadTripGurl]

try Arlington, you may be able to get a one bedroom in your price range.

[smash731]

oh my gosh live in DC or Greenbelt. If you are mostly going to Largo you do not want to be coming from Bmore unless you want to spend most of your life transferring trains and buses. Visit and try it! My preference would be Baltimore (I'd take Canton over Georgetown any day of the week )but not if you're working in Largo.

[Marylandborn]

Let's remember that there is a different between Baltimore County and the city of downtown Baltimore. There are plenty of nice places to live in Baltimore County or Anne Arundel County. The downtown Baltimore area can be dangerous. My wife and I live in Millersville just outside of BWI airport. It is a nice area, good schools. I work in Arlington, VA. For citychic17, I would use the apartment finder at Washingtonpost.com to look for a place in Anne Arundel county. We found that by moving outside the beltway, our insurance rates dropped, we were able to get a bigger place at a lower price, and gas prices were lower as well. Good luck Citychic17

[Rmx Christina]

Millersville is a very nice place to live and that general area should have some nice rentals and sales. Anything within this general area of AA county should give you easy access to the train station for your commute.

[lululoo]

noooo baltimore! stay far away. dc is more expensive, but you get what you pay for to some extent. crime in baltimore is outta control, racism is frightening, and whole parts of town are basically condemned, boarded up buildings. one of my best pals lives in hamden, which is a cute neighborhood, but even so is very block to block safety-wise. i am not typically an alarmist about safety, but i wouldn't advise my dog to live in b'more.

[123 repeater]

Wow. I had to register & respond to all this ignorance about Baltimore. (You guys are watching too much of Ed Norris &The Wire) First though, her name is "city girl" so I doubt she wants to live in Millersville or Greenbelt. She wants to live in Baltimore or DC like her post says.
If she chooses Baltimore, because she's a young single professional- there's a 99% chance she will end up in a neighborhood along the water like Federal Hill, Canton, or maybe Locust Point or Fell's Point. All the crime happens in neighborhoods aways from the water. Baltimore is almost like 2 or 3 cities in one, depending on where you live. People that live in Canton & Federal Hill have no reason to stray into the ghetto neighborhoods because they have shopping, bars, whole foods, sports leagues etc all within walking distance. I live in Canton and its safter than the subrurban town of Greenbelt, yet its in a major city.
Baltimore has a much better social scene & better bars than DC which seems to be geared towards political interns and wealthy people. Cost of living in Baltimore is much cheaper than DC too.