relocation from Phoenix to MD (Baltimore, Columbia: for sale, real estate, apartment complexes)

[MsB23]

Hey guys, I've got another relocation post for you guys!

We are a couple with an 18 month old and we will likely be working in Baltimore or the Rockville (ish) area. It seems that the cost of living will be a little higher (surprisingly) as we are used to paying about $900 for about 900 sq ft in Phoenix & it looks like we'll be paying more than that...

Anyway, we're used to mega crime & traffic (think LA circa 10 years ago), but I'm wondering about what areas you guys could recommend we look where I don't have to be armed walking to my car alone (I'm the female of the couple...)? Also, does anyone have any input on how much daycare costs?

Thanks in advance for your input...I've lived in Phoenix all my life & am a little nervous about such a big change...

[rekuci]

If you have a choice, try to move to the Baltimore area...avoid DC at all costs. I've lived all over MD for most of my life (Montgomery Co, PG Co., rural Frederick Co., and Baltimore Co.), and cost of living, especially in DC area, has gotten completely out of control the last several years. A house that cost $200k in 2001 now costs over $500k and jobs don't pay nearly enough, especially if you happen to work for the federal govt or a non-profit, which are DC specialties.

Our rent was $500 for a ghetto 2-bedroom apartment 1/2 mile from the Baltimore city line (should emphasize *southwest* city line, avoid southwest Bmore at all costs) in the late 90s. It's probably a lot more now since Baltimore is now a suburb of DC and people are flocking there simply because of housing price desperation. Moving to DC, however, made Baltimore look great. The traffic in DC is a few order of magnitudes worse, rents are WAY more expensive. In 2001, our rent here in PG County (1/4 mile from Montgomery County line) was $865 and is now well over $1000/mo plus nearly $300/mo utilities in winter (the $865 rent included heat). Our neighborhood is crime-ridden, we had drug dealers for neighbors last year, and both mine and my husband's cars have been vandalized. There is also an inherent cost-of-living in DC area that I will call "scam fees". People here will scam you at every opportunity. For example, my car was towed for having registration that was expired for one day (we have a term for this around here, "predatory towing"). It cost $200 to get it back with a cracked windshield, and the scam artist towers refused to claim responsibility. A few months later, corrupt ghetto cop pulled me over and wrote me a ticket to get my windshield replaced for the crack, which was $400. It may take different forms, but you will deal with this kind of bulls*** constantly. Rockville may be a bit more higher class (apartments won't be any better, and the apartments in Wheaton have a peculiar tendency to burn down every few months), but it has even worst traffic, same scam artists, and even higher cost of living. There's my DC rant...I have so much more, but won't even get into it.

I'm fleeing this area this summer for Wisconsin and can't wait. I can't see any other option for other young people than to partake in an exodus from this area, once they get sick of the whole $800-per-month-to-share-a-closet-with-3-roommates lifestyle. Oh, and did I mention the weather? Winter is relatively mild compared to more northerly areas but there are usually a couple weeks with highs in the 20s, occasional blizzards. Because of the usual lack of snow, it's just brown and depressing. I personally love the blizzards...until I need to get to work. Snow removal is nearly nonexistent even on major roads. If you're on a small side street, you can easily wait a week or until the snow melts before you can get out. Two days after the Blizzard of 2003, the BELTWAY was still not cleared and they had to use bulldozers to lift the snow off the right two lanes. Let me tell you - I wish I didn't attempt to go to work that day. Thanks to global warming, we've got virtually no snow the last few years, although the summers are pure hell. Perhaps not bad compared to Phoenix, except even in our >$1000/mo apartment, the air conditioner does not work adequately and sucks down over $60/week in electricity, so we don't use it.

Maybe downtown DC is great for some people, but don't forget that accounting for traffic, you might as well be a few hours away if you're in the suburbs. Even 'zipping' down on Metro, it takes an hour for us to get downtown. We rarely bother...it's usually either too hot or too cold to walk around much anyway. As I speak now, we are having a multi-week May heat wave and everything is probably as brown and crispy as Phoenix due to our usual local drought.

[MsB23]

Thanks rekuci...I appreciate your input.

With regard to one of the other threads specifying what type of stuff we potential relocators should include, I thought I'd add a few more details about what we're hoping for.

We are looking to rent for the time being. I've never even been to MD, & my BF is from VA, so he is slightly more familiar with the area than I am. We want to get to know MD before we buy (plus we're broke right now...)

We'd like to keep our commute under an hour.

We are hoping for an apartment/house rental to have at least 2 bedrooms (preferably 3), air conditioning, a dishwasher, & I'd really really like to have a washer/dryer. A toddler makes for a lot of laundry.

We are hoping to keep rent under $1200-$1300 while not getting raped/robbed/shot where we live.

I see that there are affordable places to live in PG county, but have really read nothing good about the area on these forums, save for maybe Bowie or Upper Marlboro...altho I don't know how affordable those cities are.

MD looks beautiful. I am excited to get out of the dust & smog & live someplace where green stuff actually occurs *naturally*! I'm just a little nervous about finding the right place!

Thanks again

[hokiejane]

I would second the notion of trying to hit the B'more area vs. DC. I fled Montgomery Co. back in the late 80's, and even though some of the sprawl and traffic has followed me up here, I haven't ever regretted it. I knew I'd never be able to afford a single family house down there, and am on my second one up here.

In general, the further away you get from DC, the cheaper it gets. If you end up with jobs in B'more, consider heading north of the city...Carroll Co., B'more Co., Harford Co. Rockville is a little more problematic, but again, heading north will save you some money if you can stand the commute down I270.

The winters here aren't bad, but the summers are brutal. It's a kind of heat I'd never felt before moving here. It's like being in a sauna.

Good luck.

[BWATSONMD]

Don't believe everything you see on TV!

You didn't mention (I don't think) where you'll be working, but you can absolutely get a rental home for what you're looking to spend, as long as you're not expecting to live in the poshest areas of town. I'd also recommend the areas north and east of Baltimore city.

Specific areas to check out that might have something in your price range:
* Mount Washington (in/just outside Baltimore City; the Bonnyridge Apartments are very family-friendly and may have townhomes)
* Parkville (just north/east of Baltimore; a little blue collar, but a great area)
* Cockeysville/Timonium (more sterotypically suburban, north of Baltimore)
* Charles Village (in the city near Johns Hopkins University; more urban, with pockets of very upscale and very poor, but with many young families)
* Arcadia/Hamilton/Lauraville (northeast side of the city; still some urban issues, but many young professional families and more house for your dollar, even with rentals)

Avoid, if possible:
* Canton--what you can afford there, if anything, won't be worth it, and the best parts aren't really family friendly
* The south sides (including southeast/southwest) of the City--some of the neighborhoods are great, but some are very high crime (makes me sad--I grew up there)
* The suburbs just south and just west of the city can be a little sketchy (Brooklyn, Randallstown, Pimlico)

Weather:
* Beautiful, amazing springs and falls--which are too short
* Humid summers that will teach your kids to love snowballs and make you grateful you're close to so many beaches (advantage of an apartment/townhouse community: the pool!). For this reason, DON'T CONSIDER ANY PLACE WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING.
* Mild, dry winters with the occassional blizzard, just for fun. Please note: at the first mention of potential snow, every grocery store will be emptied of milk, bread, and toilet paper. We keep waiting for an apocolyptic snow that never comes...
* Baltimore is protected to the west by the Blue Ridge Mountains, so we rarely get violent storms (tornados are incredibly rare and hurricanes generally miss us) But it makes the weather unpredictable, so learn to keep umbrellas handy--which you may never need.

Other things to love about Baltimore:
* steamed crabs (just ask any native to show you how to eat them)
* major league baseball and football give you something to cheer for
* amazing arts organizations (Center Stage, the Baltimore Symphony, the Opera, a thriving small theater scene)
* wacky, offbeat, friendly natives who call you "hon" and don't mind if you ask them where they got their beehive hairdo
* our former mayor/now governor is really hot (and may actually be a decent guy)
* 3 hours to the mountains, 3 hours to the ocean, and 20 minutes in any direction gets you out of the concrete and into fresh air.

Good luck on your move!

A Balmer Native, Hon!

[MsB23]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the input!

As far as where we'll be working, my BF is hoping to get a job in Rockville, but there are also possibilities in the Annapolis/Baltimore area. We are both computer folk & will be looking for technical jobs, so we will likely be working in one of the major cities.

I'm worried about the areas he's looking for apartments for us, tho. Most of what he's really interested in is in PG county, east of DC & SW of Baltimore in areas like Hyattsville, Riverdale, Capitol Heights, Bladensburg, Landover, Oxon Hill, etc. I'd rather go further north, & have tried to talk him into Frederick or Columbia/Ellicott city. Since I've become a mommy, I've gotten to be more safety-minded, for some reason...haha He keeps telling me that it can't be all bad, but I'm nervous...

[inkymonk]

I moved to Baltimore ten years ago to be with the love of my life......from California. I can't wait to move back West! Can't handle the humidity, it's awful. We live in a little community within Balto City called Mayfield, still a nice little community and very accessible to anywhere. I can say this for Mayfield.......we've never had our house broken into, never had our car vandalized......not too many problems at all. The people that live here are mainly professional and the houses are neatly maintained. Mayfield is just one of those little "pockets" in the city that is overlooked, for the most part and it's still fairly affordable. Mayfield has several churches, one with a really good school attached (St. Francis) and a HUGE (and very green) sports playing field that would put anywhere else to shame. And they are revamping Lake Montebello which is right up the street and putting in bike paths, etc. I'm moving because my kids live out West and I don't get to see my grandchildren as often as I'd like to (and the humidity issue). <grin> Our house is for sale, by the way.

[Leslee Borman]

Good Luck with your move to Maryland! As a Real Estate Agent in Maryland I can tell you, you and your family can live in a great place in your price range. My brother lives downtown and I walk alone all the time with no fear! However, working in the city, you may want to leave the city to live! You may consider some places like Columbia, Northern Anne Arundel County or even Carroll County. I used to work in the city and commute from Annapolis 40 min. tops! Call me with your rental wish list and I will email you listings! 443-618-3004

[rekuci]

"areas like Hyattsville, Riverdale, Capitol Heights, Bladensburg, Landover, Oxon Hill, etc."

Ok...the only thing I have to say to this is STOP NOW!!! You have just named some of the absolute worst, festering crime pits in the entire region, possibly the entire country. If you are going to rent a typical garden apartment, please stop and think about this decision, since it's the apartment complexes that always have the worst crime (some of the quieter single family neighborhoods are probably at least livable). Although then again, if you check out the neighborhoods I'm sure you'll see for yourself. These places make the area I live now (Beltsville) look great.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by rekuci

If you have a choice, try to move to the Baltimore area...avoid DC at all costs. I've lived all over MD for most of my life (Montgomery Co, PG Co., rural Frederick Co., and Baltimore Co.), and cost of living, especially in DC area, has gotten completely out of control the last several years. A house that cost $200k in 2001 now costs over $500k and jobs don't pay nearly enough, especially if you happen to work for the federal govt or a non-profit, which are DC specialties.

Our rent was $500 for a ghetto 2-bedroom apartment 1/2 mile from the Baltimore city line (should emphasize *southwest* city line, avoid southwest Bmore at all costs) in the late 90s. It's probably a lot more now since Baltimore is now a suburb of DC and people are flocking there simply because of housing price desperation. Moving to DC, however, made Baltimore look great. The traffic in DC is a few order of magnitudes worse, rents are WAY more expensive. In 2001, our rent here in PG County (1/4 mile from Montgomery County line) was $865 and is now well over $1000/mo plus nearly $300/mo utilities in winter (the $865 rent included heat). Our neighborhood is crime-ridden, we had drug dealers for neighbors last year, and both mine and my husband's cars have been vandalized. There is also an inherent cost-of-living in DC area that I will call "scam fees". People here will scam you at every opportunity. For example, my car was towed for having registration that was expired for one day (we have a term for this around here, "predatory towing"). It cost $200 to get it back with a cracked windshield, and the scam artist towers refused to claim responsibility. A few months later, corrupt ghetto cop pulled me over and wrote me a ticket to get my windshield replaced for the crack, which was $400. It may take different forms, but you will deal with this kind of bulls*** constantly. Rockville may be a bit more higher class (apartments won't be any better, and the apartments in Wheaton have a peculiar tendency to burn down every few months), but it has even worst traffic, same scam artists, and even higher cost of living. There's my DC rant...I have so much more, but won't even get into it.

I'm fleeing this area this summer for Wisconsin and can't wait. I can't see any other option for other young people than to partake in an exodus from this area, once they get sick of the whole $800-per-month-to-share-a-closet-with-3-roommates lifestyle. Oh, and did I mention the weather? Winter is relatively mild compared to more northerly areas but there are usually a couple weeks with highs in the 20s, occasional blizzards. Because of the usual lack of snow, it's just brown and depressing. I personally love the blizzards...until I need to get to work. Snow removal is nearly nonexistent even on major roads. If you're on a small side street, you can easily wait a week or until the snow melts before you can get out. Two days after the Blizzard of 2003, the BELTWAY was still not cleared and they had to use bulldozers to lift the snow off the right two lanes. Let me tell you - I wish I didn't attempt to go to work that day. Thanks to global warming, we've got virtually no snow the last few years, although the summers are pure hell. Perhaps not bad compared to Phoenix, except even in our >$1000/mo apartment, the air conditioner does not work adequately and sucks down over $60/week in electricity, so we don't use it.

Maybe downtown DC is great for some people, but don't forget that accounting for traffic, you might as well be a few hours away if you're in the suburbs. Even 'zipping' down on Metro, it takes an hour for us to get downtown. We rarely bother...it's usually either too hot or too cold to walk around much anyway. As I speak now, we are having a multi-week May heat wave and everything is probably as brown and crispy as Phoenix due to our usual local drought.

lol...good luck with that move to WI...if you are complaining about Baltimore weather....you will need lots and lots of luck in Wisconsin. When its 0 degrees, windy, under gray skies....enjoy....and I am talking dark dray skies from December-May. May is spotty.....June through end of Sept is great weather. Oct-Dec is a nice but cool fall. There is a bitter cold winter, and no Spring.

Baltimore is nowhere near as brown as Phx.

Very miserable person who will be very miserable in WI.