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I actually think Detroit has more major cities closer by than Baltimore:
Four hour limit outside Baltimore nets you 1)Richmond, 2)Hampton Roads/Tidewater, 3)Pittsburgh, 4)DC, 5)Philadelphia and 6)NYC.
Four hour limit outside Detroit nets you 1)Chicago, 2)Toronto, 3)Buffalo, 4)Cleveland, 5)Columbus, 6)Indianapolis, 7)Cincinnati, 8)Grand Rapids. Add 22 minutes more, and you also net 9)Pittsburgh.
Plus, if you want to count some midsize cities Kalamazoo (330,000), Flint (400,000), Fort Wayne (400,000), Lansing (500,000), London Ontario (500,000), and Toledo (600,000).
I don't think there will ever be anything slated between Detroit proper to Toronto. You will have to connect on the Light Rail to go downtown to the border, than take the bus across the border, then get off at the Windsor train station. They are building a new bridge - I know it would be too much for planners to think about adding a rail line on it...sigh....
You're right. I guess it's a bit of a toss-up when you're weighing how close the other cities are (in Baltimore's case, Philadelphia and DC are very close and quite large) and how many cities there are--the overarching point being that neither is isolated.
It'd be amazing if there were better border crossing procedures and Via Rail actually did cross through Windsor to Detroit as one continuous line from Quebec City out to Chicago via Montreal, Toronto, and Detroit. Also if the line that went through NYC also went through that patch of Canada. Planning!
You're right. I guess it's a bit of a toss-up when you're weighing how close the other cities are (in Baltimore's case, Philadelphia and DC are very close and quite large) and how many cities there are--the overarching point being that neither is isolated.
It'd be amazing if there were better border crossing procedures and Via Rail actually did cross through Windsor to Detroit as one continuous line from Quebec City out to Chicago via Montreal, Toronto, and Detroit. Also if the line that went through NYC also went through that patch of Canada. Planning!
I find it hard to believe but true that you can drive across the Baltimore Metro area from the Philly Metro area to the Washington Metro Area in an hour (51 miles as the crow flies.)
I actually think Detroit has more major cities closer by than Baltimore:
Four hour limit outside Baltimore nets you 1)Richmond, 2)Hampton Roads/Tidewater, 3)Pittsburgh, 4)DC, 5)Philadelphia and 6)NYC.
Four hour limit outside Detroit nets you 1)Chicago, 2)Toronto, 3)Buffalo, 4)Cleveland, 5)Columbus, 6)Indianapolis, 7)Cincinnati, 8)Grand Rapids. Add 22 minutes more, and you also net 9)Pittsburgh.
Plus, if you want to count some midsize cities Kalamazoo (330,000), Flint (400,000), Fort Wayne (400,000), Lansing (500,000), London Ontario (500,000), and Toledo (600,000).
Yeah Detroit has a couple more 1M+ metros within a four hour drive. If you count midsized cities though, Baltimore has Wilmington, Harrisburg, Allentown/Bethlehem, Scranton/Wilkes Barre, etc. close by as well as smaller regional destinations like Annapolis, Ocean City (MD and NJ), Rehoboth Beach, Cape May, Atlantic City, Shenandoah, the Poconos, etc.
Detroit, by a meter. Been there a few times...it reminds me of brooklyn back in the day with its isolation and bombed out buildings, abandoned factorys and stray dogs walking the street. Barbed wire fences, urban prairies, and sidewalks that look like a bomb was detonated on them.
I've never been to Baltimore, but have been to Detroit many times for music festivals. It looks like a war torn 3rd world country. I'd be surprised if Baltimore was even close to Detroit in this category.
Sidenote: Detroit is awesome for photography for all the ruined and older abandoned buildings
I've never been to Baltimore, but have been to Detroit many times for music festivals. It looks like a war torn 3rd world country. I'd be surprised if Baltimore was even close to Detroit in this category.
Sidenote: Detroit is awesome for photography for all the ruined and older abandoned buildings
Baltimore and Philadelphia also have thousands of abandoned buildings.
Detroit. Baltimore is not nearly as desolate as Detroit, it has plenty of help being within the DC-Boston corridor, isn't bankrupt, and Baltimore doesn't have the "abandoned" feel Detroit, and other Midwestern rust belt slums have.
That said, efforts are definitely under way in gentrifying the slums of Detroit.
Edit: Forget abandoned buildings, another category Detroit trumps BMore in is vacant lots. Tons more in Detroit without question.
Last edited by CCrest182; 09-08-2019 at 10:36 PM..
Yes both these cities have horrible slums but I think Detroit is in worse overall state then Baltimore.more abandoned land more abandoned houses and just looks terrible in certain areas. I wouldn’t feel safe driving an armored tank through some of those areas at night.
Detroit. Baltimore is not nearly as desolate as Detroit, it has plenty of help being within the DC-Boston corridor, isn't bankrupt, and Baltimore doesn't have the "abandoned" feel Detroit, and other Midwestern rust belt slums have.
That said, efforts are definitely under way in gentrifying the slums of Detroit.
Edit: Forget abandoned buildings, another category Detroit trumps BMore in is vacant lots. Tons more in Detroit without question.
I agree. As a person whose profession is working with vacant buildings in Baltimore, what always strikes me is that most of the houses that have been abandoned are either still standing vacants or rehabbed and reoccupied former vacants. The number that has been demolished is relatively small when compared with Detroit, etc. A brick rowhouse can sometimes survive decades of abandonment and still be brought back.
Not only is Baltimore not bankrupt, it ran a secret surplus in the current year's budget. I don't think the politicians want anyone to know that because it would drive demands for major cuts in state aid. The city should have cut taxes instead of keeping the surplus under wraps.
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