Owings Mills Mall and the area... (Baltimore, Columbia: middle-class, apartment complex, home)

[Danbo1957]

Originally Posted by rudy_d

Malls in general are dying. They've been in decline for years, and the current economic situation is the nail in the coffin for many.

This is true for wealthy cities like Austin as well. We have a 1970's built mall that's now dead - and it is located on 100 acres of very valuable land. The Owings Mills Mall will be redeveloped, but not anytime soon.

I also agree that as Baltimore suburbs go, Owings Mills is a great choice for new residents working at Hopkins.

[jonjj]

There are many malls all over the country in financial trouble; web sites dedicated to that. O. Mills is not alone.

http://www.deadmalls.com/contents.html

[Tallybalt]

It would be handy if you could give us some idea of your income level and background and your expectations from the community you want to live in.

If your husband is a doctor (ie you classify yourself as upper middle class) and you are white/Asian and are not Jewish, and you are looking for a comfortable suburban environment with good schools and convenient shopping with the full range of big box stores nearby, you would probably be happiest living along the I-83/York Road corridor north of Baltimore. Look at Towson, Lutherville, Cockeysville and Hunt Valley. I-83 offers a relatively convenient commute to Hopkins Hospital.

If you are Jewish, you may be happy in Pikesville, which is the center for Baltimore's large Jewish community, with many synagogues and Jewish schools.

Owings Mills is a relatively new area but it does not have the best schools for reasons which I won't get into.

Baltimore is a small metropolitan region compared to others so I wouldn't necessarily place a very high premium on being close to mass transit.

Tell us more about what you want and your family background and we can be much more helpful in advising you on where to live.

[Mom-of-two-tots]

Originally Posted by Tallybalt

It would be handy if you could give us some idea of your income level and background and your expectations from the community you want to live in.

Tell us more about what you want and your family background and we can be much more helpful in advising you on where to live.

He's a physician doing a one year fellowship at johns hopkins hospital, so i'm thinking he'll be making around $50K? We'll be living off of one salary, but we live pretty frugally b/c that's just how life is when you're in residency. We're looking to spend less than $1600 a month for a 2-bedroom managed apartment in one of the surrounding suburbs.

We are a half asian/half american family with two young children, age 2 and 4... We don't want to live in the city, we know that. Husband is worried about traffic to work, which is why we were considering Owings Mills due to the public transportation option.

Regarding the community, we would like something within a few miles to parks, library, playgrounds, nature trails... But I guess you can find that in any suburb. Anyway, we're not too picky. Just want something in a safe place for the family, and a decent drive for the hubbie.

Thanks for everyone's input. And yes, Jonjj, we contacted JHU, and they were very helpful. Just wanted to find out what the locals thought..

[Tallybalt]

Since you do not have school age children, are only in Baltimore for a single year, renting instead of buying, I would actually suggest you look at the neighborhoods of North Baltimore. This is still in the city proper but it is a very pleasant, leafy area with handsome neighborhoods, schools, libraries, parks and many amenities. Quite a few Hopkins post-docs and residents and their families reside in the apartment buildings north of the Homewood campus in Tuscany Canterbury and Roland Park. We joke that half of Roland Park's residents are Hopkins doctors and faculty and senior administrators.

Others live in Mount Washington which has several large apartment complexes that sit on both sides of the city border The advantage of North Baltimore is that other than shopping and dining convenience, you will be within half a hour to Hopkins Hospital. Your husband will be working long hours and outside rush hour the drive from the hospital to Roland Park or Mount Washington is approximately 20 minutes.

If you must not be in the city, Towson is a good area and a popular place for young professional families on the first rung of the career ladder is Rodger's Forge. Cockeysville and Hunt Valley have apartment complexes. The services and amenities including libraries are many.

I have never been fond of Owings Mills and while it will be fine for a year, as an educated and mixed-race family you may feel more at home along the I-83/York Road corridor or in North Baltimore.

Originally Posted by Mom-of-two-tots

He's a physician doing a one year fellowship at johns hopkins hospital, so i'm thinking he'll be making around $50K? We'll be living off of one salary, but we live pretty frugally b/c that's just how life is when you're in residency. We're looking to spend less than $1600 a month for a 2-bedroom managed apartment in one of the surrounding suburbs.

We are a half asian/half american family with two young children, age 2 and 4... We don't want to live in the city, we know that. Husband is worried about traffic to work, which is why we were considering Owings Mills due to the public transportation option.

Regarding the community, we would like something within a few miles to parks, library, playgrounds, nature trails... But I guess you can find that in any suburb. Anyway, we're not too picky. Just want something in a safe place for the family, and a decent drive for the hubbie.

Thanks for everyone's input. And yes, Jonjj, we contacted JHU, and they were very helpful. Just wanted to find out what the locals thought..

[BillH]

I have to echo the comments above. I would not recommend Owings Mills. It is an area in decline. The subway goes to some of the worst neighborhoods in Baltimore and that crime and element ends up in Owings Mills. The subway in Baltimore is not that great.

I-83 traffic is not super bad, especially compared to anything in California. I would also recommend Mt. Washington/Roland Park or Towson. And BTW, more Asians live in the Towson/Lutherville area, although it is still a relatively very small percentage.

Also seeing that you are a medical resident, i would not want to rely on the very unreliable subway-- plus how will you get home at night after it shuts? It often has track problems and long delays. Parking in Baltimore is really not that bad, again esp. compared to California.

[barante]

We live in Cheswolde, a neighborhood off Greenspring Avenue, north of Mount Washington, south of Pikesville. Very happy here. Ours is largely Orthodox Jewish neighborhood with a citizens patrol that was at least in the beginning run by an Israeli commando!
There are a number of apartment complexes around Cross Country Boulevard and Greenspring. I know several Asian medical professionals with families live there.

[Danbo1957]

The OP asked about Owings Mills for a for year residency. If she were to want to chose an area to live for the nexrt ten years, then I would also promote the northern suburbs (outside the loop along either York Road or Falls Road). But, a lot of Hopkins personnel do live in the Owings Mills area - and many do use the subway from there to Hopkins Hospital.

[jonjj]

Originally Posted by BillH

I have to echo the comments above. I would not recommend Owings Mills. It is an area in decline. The subway goes to some of the worst neighborhoods in Baltimore and that crime and element ends up in Owings Mills. The subway in Baltimore is not that great.

I-83 traffic is not super bad, especially compared to anything in California. I would also recommend Mt. Washington/Roland Park or Towson. And BTW, more Asians live in the Towson/Lutherville area, although it is still a relatively very small percentage.

Also seeing that you are a medical resident, i would not want to rely on the very unreliable subway-- plus how will you get home at night after it shuts? It often has track problems and long delays. Parking in Baltimore is really not that bad, again esp. compared to California.

Odd. Now the subway is unreliable? Other than our recent blizzards, the subway has been perfectly fine for me for many years. But then again, I ride it daily so maybe I don't know what I am talking about.

[nurider2002]

Having lived in or around Owings Mills for many years, I have never understood the bad reputation it consistently receives on this site. Honestly, I have never known anyone who has been a victim of any crime in Owings Mills, not vandalism, car theft, nothing. Not to say there is no crime, crime is everywhere but, OM routinely gets knocked as a suburb "in decline" for what reason? Another poster suggested that an educated multi-cultured family might be more comfortable in the Hunt Valley area??? Owings Mills is the most culturally diverse area I've lived in--Asian, Russian, Black, Jewish, gay/lesbian, middle eastern--it's extremely diverse here. As far as education, most of my neighbors are professional--doctors, scientists, engineers, etc. And yes, the subway does travel through poor areas of the city and ends at Owings Mills. I'm not sure why this is a bad thing? I routinely take the subway downtown when I want a night out and don't want to worry about driving after having wine with dinner. I have never experienced any problems on the subway. I will say that there are a lot of racist attitudes about Owings Mills and cannot help but wonder if much of the bad reputation OM recieves is actually more about the fact that we have a large black population here. Owings Mills is not perfect--there is too much construction, too many chain restaurants and not enough small business. But it is not an unsafe area, it is not an uneducated population and cultural diversity is flourishing here.