Considering moving out of WV (Charleston, Martinsburg: apartment, high crime, townhome)

[Silkdashocker]

I've lived in this state my entire life, and most of my family still lives here. But i'm finding that Charleston area has too much crime and negative people for my taste.

My wife has an interview with a marketing firm in Baltimore Thursday, and this just might be our chance to expand our horizons.

What ever happened to Charleston's middle class? Anytime a person wants to play a game of basketball, he has to put himself in the presence of gangsters and low lifes. I realize all of America's cities have these problems. Maybe it's time to find a nicer suburban area to move to?

[Big_Al]

Are you talking about West Side?

[The Village Idiot]

My wife has an interview with a marketing firm in Baltimore Thursday, and this just might be our chance to expand our horizons.

If you want to avoid crime, Baltimore is probably not the place to go. It has a nice waterfront and aquarium downtown, though.

How far from Charleston would you be willing to live?

[NOVAmtneer82]

First of all, I need to quit checking city-data at work! lol...I grew up in Charleston, moved to the DC area 3 years ago after college and haven't looked back. I absolutely loved growing up there but I needed a change, some people can handle living in a small city environment, I just found that it wasn't conducive to what I wanted in life.

I live in Arlington VA about 40 mins from Baltimore and if you are concerned about crime in Charleston then I wouldn't even consider this area. Baltimore averages over 200 homicides a year, compared to about 2 or 3 in Charleston. Many of the closer in suburban areas are also rather high in crime, I know several years ago when I first moved here Prince Georges County MD had nearly as many homicides as DC proper...
That being said it is VERY easy to avoid the areas with bad crime up here, believe me you will know what areas to stay out of!

I love the DC/Baltimore area, there are TONS of young energetic highly educated singles here, the diversity is out of this world, I can go to any local mall and hear dozens of different languages being spoken, cultural opportunities are awesome, I have my choice of dozens of museums in DC, most are free. You can be in the mountains in an hour and a half or on the Bay area of MD in 1-2.

The negatives of the area are INSANE traffic, I'm talking 10 lane freeways bumper to bumper backed up for 20+ miles kind of traffic...I still laugh when anyone tells me I-64 rush hour traffic through Charleston is bad, that is the DC or Baltimore Beltways at midnight. You will also have to adjust to the living costs up here, apartment rents usually start in the around $800 p/month for a one bedroom and that is usually in a questionable area or far out suburb (it will be a LITTLE cheaper in Bmore but not much!) Townhome prices usually start around $250K (again further out) and single family homes are hard to find for under $450K and that will usually be one built in the 70s that needs 100K + in work done to it. The benefit however is that the jobs will pay more, A LOT more in some cases depending on the field.

Good luck to your wife with her interview!

[Silkdashocker]

I've been encouraging my wife that if we stay in WV that we should look into settling in Putnam County or Jackson County and commute to Charleston. Living in some of Charleston's suburbs has it's benefits, but it also has it's downfalls.
I like the neighborhood we live in, but i can't say the same for some of the area's i have to drive through on my way to work.

I hope she gets the job. But there's also a chance that even if she does, we won't have to relocate just yet.

[GottaHerdOn]

Originally Posted by Silkdashocker

I've lived in this state my entire life, and most of my family still lives here. But i'm finding that Charleston area has too much crime and negative people for my taste.

My wife has an interview with a marketing firm in Baltimore Thursday, and this just might be our chance to expand our horizons.

What ever happened to Charleston's middle class? Anytime a person wants to play a game of basketball, he has to put himself in the presence of gangsters and low lifes. I realize all of America's cities have these problems. Maybe it's time to find a nicer suburban area to move to?

Ha ha, you think Charleston has too much crime? So you are moving to Baltimore? ha ha ha ah aha ha hah a ha ah

[OUTLAW304]

i was born and lived in arlington until i was 12 - my dad and mom met there (both from wv) and dad got us out of there in 1975 as he didn't want us going to high school etc there as things were getting a little crazy with crime and all - i've been back to that area and worked a few times and everytime i leave i'm always glad to be back in wv - incidentally i went back to the street i grew up on and it was exactly the same it was really kind of neat to see the tree i planted as a kid still growing there

[Georgia]

I lived in Baltimore for 5 years and grew up in Martinsburg, WV just 65 miles to the west of B'more.
Baltimore has 2 great things you cannot beat. The Inner Harbor and Crabs!
Outside of that it has all the issues you named at a magnification of 1 million times.

Crime in Baltimore is horrible. Baltimore City is second in Maryland to Prince George County in regard to violent crime.

Culture shock, coming from Charleston you will have a culture shock that will require many moons of getting used to, also if you have children you would want to make sure they are in private school, period. The Baltimore school system is one of the worst in the nation.

Taxation. To live in a good area of Baltimore you would want to focus on Howard County Columbia or Bel Air, MD. Then expect to pay north of 400k for an average home with taxation that will double in comparison to your Kanawha base.

Even if your wife gets a job offer. Go to the area and spend a few days, travel around and get a taste. Not the tourist areas, but "all around". Look at the neighborhoods on the weekends, during the day, during the afternoon, and with much caution, the evening hours.

You will be surprised.

[David Kennedy]

Baltimore is nice to visit and I really like the airport..but living there? you're kidding arn't you?
Give Putnam county a real look and find some Saturday church league for BBall...or how about a class at the U and try an intramural scrimmage...

[NOVAmtneer82]

Have any of you besides Georgia ever lived or spent long periods of time in Baltimore? RECENTLY...Although the city and a few inner locales do indeed have a very high crime rate, there are TONS of suburban areas outside of Baltimore proper that offer outstanding living environments. Columbia MD is probably the tops considering its 20-25 miles from both DC and Bmore, there are gorgeous suburban waterfront communities around Annapolis in Anne Arundel County MD.

I have friends who live in Elkridge about 20 minutes outside of Baltimore and it's very nice, housing is rather expensive (by WV standards), a SFH of about 2200 sq ft in the neighborhood goes for the upper 300s, but as I said earlier you make more up here.

Baltimore has several professional sports teams, fantastic restaurants, museums, solid job market, world class medical research facilities, great nightlife, and outstanding cultural diversity. It may not be everyones cup of tea but it is definitely worth checking out if given the opportunity.

If one could ever get bored in Baltimore, DC is a mere 30 miles down the road (or by train). I'm obviously more partial to DC just because I live right across the river however I've always had a good time going up to Baltimore for an afternoon visit.

While I strongly disagree to the notion that crime is high in Charleston let's not criticize people for wanting a change of scenery in their life.