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I live in Baltimore, just got back from a weekend trip visiting Cleveland. I was struck that, apart from the midwest vs east coast location, Cleveland reminded me more of Baltimore than any other city I've visited.
1) Similar size (both metro area, and the 'feel' of the build environment downtown)
2) Situated right along a waterfront that's pretty important to each city's identity.
3) Similar older, industrial feel
4) Blue collar, kind of quirky culture. Inexpensive COL
5) Strong tradition of old cultural institutions (orchestra, performing arts, etc)
6) Both have a significant presence of large medical centers (JH & Cleveland Clinic, respectively).
7) Similar basic terrain of low, forested hills.
I've heard that Baltimore and St. Louis are very similar to each other, so it doesn't surprise me that Baltimore and Cleveland are also. Both have that post-industrial flavor and sometimes you'll see Baltimore categorized as a Rustbelt city on the East Coast.
Their actual cultures are quite different...BMore is a mix of Appalachian, Southern and Northeastern, while Cleveland is Midwestern with a white ethnic identity similar to a New York, Philly or Chicago.
Otherwise, I agree they share many similarities.
Their actual cultures are quite different...BMore is a mix of Appalachian, Southern and Northeastern, while Cleveland is Midwestern with a white ethnic identity similar to a New York, Philly or Chicago.
Otherwise, I agree they share many similarities.
Isn't 61% of Cleveland's population nonwhite?
I'm surprised no one has really mentioned that similarity with Baltimore.
No doubt there are similarities, but Baltimore and St. Louis are even more similar.
--Metro area populations are nearly the same size (excluding DC)
--Both straddle the North and South
--Both are independent cities, completely separate from their suburban counties
--Similar demographics
While the architectural qualities of Baltimore and St. Louis are quite distinct from one another, they are certainly more similar than Baltimore and Cleveland (St. Louis is a solidly brick city from end to end; Cleveland is not).
Cleveland doesn't have rowhouses like St. Louis and Baltimore. Cleveland's zenith was from about 1870-1950. Baltimore and St. Louis' were earlier, and that is somewhat reflected in the architecture.
However I do agree with the fact that both likely have
Similar topography/terrain, rolling hills, forests, waterfront.
Fantastic cultural and historical venues that can compete/beat cities/regions that are way larger.
Postindustrial areas which capture the fascinating industrial history of the area, but also have a lot of high crime areas within the city itself.
Both are very, very underrated, both from the outside, but perhaps even more from the inside, by those who haven't really ventured anywhere else to compare (or even to see all that their city has to offer, for that matter).
Sense of community/blue collar brotherhood/die hard for sports teams, and in general. Pretty loyal/gritty places.
Baltimore of course is quite a bit more expensive, but compared to the region it is in it is not that expensive, and it has a fantastic location for business professionals and where it is situated. Cleveland, with it's fantastic metroparks system, and land swaths dedicated to agriculture near to the city, offers unique natural preserves perhaps at a higher percentage than Baltimore. Both are great places overall.
One interesting thing not mentioned up until now is that Baltimore and Cleveland are pretty similar in terms of both Jewish life in general and Orthodox Jewish life in particular. Their Jewish communities have been more traditional than most other American Jewish communities for a real long time, and their Jewish populations are each pretty close to 100,000 - Cleveland at 80,000 and Baltimore at 95,000. Both of these cities have very large Orthodox Jewish populations, Cleveland at around 10,000 (both yeshiva-world* and Modern Orthodox**) and Baltimore at around 20,000 (mainly yeshiva-world, though some Modern Orthodox too). And both cities have very famous yeshivas (religious Jewish men's seminaries) - Telz in Cleveland and Ner Israel in Baltimore.
*yeshiva-world - ultra-Orthodox but not Hasidic - aka black-hat, yeshivish, "Lithuanian"
**Modern Orthodox - Orthodox but not ultra-Orthodox, more modern-looking and -acting
I know all of this, because I'm Modern Orthodox, I have lots of connections in Cleveland (my mom originally being from there), and I have some connections in Baltimore.
Cleveland doesn't have rowhouses like St. Louis and Baltimore. Cleveland's zenith was from about 1870-1950. Baltimore and St. Louis' were earlier, and that is somewhat reflected in the architecture.
However I do agree with the fact that both likely have
Similar topography/terrain, rolling hills, forests, waterfront.
Fantastic cultural and historical venues that can compete/beat cities/regions that are way larger.
Postindustrial areas which capture the fascinating industrial history of the area, but also have a lot of high crime areas within the city itself.
Both are very, very underrated, both from the outside, but perhaps even more from the inside, by those who haven't really ventured anywhere else to compare (or even to see all that their city has to offer, for that matter).
Sense of community/blue collar brotherhood/die hard for sports teams, and in general. Pretty loyal/gritty places.
Baltimore of course is quite a bit more expensive, but compared to the region it is in it is not that expensive, and it has a fantastic location for business professionals and where it is situated. Cleveland, with it's fantastic metroparks system, and land swaths dedicated to agriculture near to the city, offers unique natural preserves perhaps at a higher percentage than Baltimore. Both are great places overall.
One critical difference is that Baltimore is not only more expensive than Cleveland, it has a much more dynamic metropolitan economy that, to some extent, caries over to the City itself. For example, per capita income is 54% higher in Baltimore City than it is in Cleveland ($29,449 vs. $19,137 - 2016 Census 1-year estimates)
Location: Midwesterner living in California (previously East Coast)
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Cleveland's population of non Anglo/German Whites is significantly higher than Baltimore's, while its Black population is smaller and not as deeply rooted historically speaking. Those demographic differences are pretty important factors on the cultural "feel" of the city.
The other attributes listed by the OP are pretty good points though. Both cities do feel more blue collar.
However, the St. Louis comparison to Baltimore is interesting, but still missing key pieces. St. Louis has three cultural heritages with profound impacts on it. German, Black, and French (in that order). Baltimore's German heritage is not felt in any tangible way and French influence is non-existent.
The most visible White influence on Baltimore is in the form of Appalachian migrants who moved to the city and helped give birth to the "Bawlmer" accent.
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