Migrating to Baltimore! Questions: (Mount Vernon: appointed, apartments, rentals)

[noshoes]

Hello all!

This is my first time using city-data, so please bear with me.


My best friend and I are two female 20somethings who graduated from an arts college in Seattle. We've been here for 6 years and are ready for a change.

We're considering moving to Baltimore because neither of us have ever lived there (I'm from Detroit, she's from Seattle) and we're both intrigued by what we've been hearing.


So I guess I'll start with my questions:

Which neighborhoods should we look at? I've heard good things about Mt Vernon. We're both *****, very artsy and looking for a place to meet new, likeminded people. We have one car between us, so walkability is necessary. Safety is, of course, a concern. But we're both used to the general rules of living in an urban environment.

We currently live on Capitol Hill in Seattle, to give you an idea of what we're used to (if you've been here, that is).


How easy is it to find employment in an artistic field? Internships, major galleries, art organizations, etc...


What are the most exciting/experimental things happening in the arts community in your city?


Do you have any good vegetarian joints?


On Capitol Hill, in Seattle, our 1 bedroom apartments rent for about 900-1100/mo. How do Baltimore neighborhoods differ?



Thanks SO MUCH in advance.

[davecj]

I'm not that up to speed on where Baltimore is in the arts but the Lyric Opera House, the Hippodrome theatre and the Walters Art Gallery are all top notch and relatively close to one another.

I am however up to speed on rentals. You'll find most rentals start in the $1000-1200 range and go way up from there. In Mount Vernon there are currently two MLS listed rentals under $1200.

It sounds like you would like the Mount Vernon/Charles Village/Bolton Hill side of Baltimore. Characterized on the west side of Baltimore but not that west side that everyone knows of. Plus they are all within walking distance of MICA (MD Institute College of Art) plus the previous cultural centers I mentioned.

You may even want to go all the way down to Washington Village (Pigtown) and Barre Circle. They are both a bit south of the previous areas but tend to be less expensive.

If I can be of any help finding rentals, feel free to shoot me a PM or contact me at David.Jacques@LNF.com Our rental service is free for tenants as the landlord pays us but you get the benefit of our representation.

[KennyP]

Mt. Vernon is the way to go. I think you'll be happiest there. It's definitely the closest to home you're going to find in Baltimore. Canton would be good as well.

That said, I think if you two hail from Seattle and Detroit you're going to like Baltimore. It's very similar to both cities. It's very down-to-Earth like Seattle. The people have very similar casual attitudes. Spend a lot of time outside, weather be damned, have lots of dogs.. are a little weird.. and so forth. There's a decent punk scene, but you'll be somewhat disappointed in the rest of the live music choices. Artsy types will have plenty to do. There always seems to be some kind of fair or showing of something cool. You may be disappointed at the scope, and availability of some of the other things you're used to though. Seattle has a lot more variety of things to do.

The downtown/city in Baltimore has a LOT more to do than downtown Detroit.

Greektown is very similar to Federal Hill, but Baltimore has 3-4 more areas just like that, and all are fairly nice, and safe when compared to far West or North-East Baltimore. All are much, much safer and more fun than anything in Detroit. Much easier to get to as well. You're not getting in a car and driving down the Lodge like in Michigan. You can cab to just about anywhere from just about anywhere in Baltimore for less than $20 and buses are readily available. By the way, I lived in downtown Detroit, right across from the RenCen for 2 years.

[jonjj]

Originally Posted by noshoes

Hello all!

This is my first time using city-data, so please bear with me.


My best friend and I are two female 20somethings who graduated from an arts college in Seattle. We've been here for 6 years and are ready for a change.

We're considering moving to Baltimore because neither of us have ever lived there (I'm from Detroit, she's from Seattle) and we're both intrigued by what we've been hearing.


So I guess I'll start with my questions:

Which neighborhoods should we look at? I've heard good things about Mt Vernon. We're both *****, very artsy and looking for a place to meet new, likeminded people. We have one car between us, so walkability is necessary. Safety is, of course, a concern. But we're both used to the general rules of living in an urban environment.

We currently live on Capitol Hill in Seattle, to give you an idea of what we're used to (if you've been here, that is).


How easy is it to find employment in an artistic field? Internships, major galleries, art organizations, etc...


What are the most exciting/experimental things happening in the arts community in your city?


Do you have any good vegetarian joints?


On Capitol Hill, in Seattle, our 1 bedroom apartments rent for about 900-1100/mo. How do Baltimore neighborhoods differ?



Thanks SO MUCH in advance.

Well, there's the Creative Alliance:

Creative Alliance at The Patterson, art, humanities and community education in Baltimore, Maryland.

American Visionary Art Museum:

American Visionary Art Museum

Those are just two off the top of the head. You may want to check out the City Paper on line to get some ideas:

Baltimore City Paper

For Capitol Hill, the Mt. Vernon neighborhood would fit the bill. But LiveBaltimore has lots of options for artists:

Live in Baltimore - Home

They have a walk-in on Charles Street if you are here.

[Michael21214]

Baltimore is pretty sad for vegetarian food, but Yabba Pot (Charles Village) and One World Cafe (near Johns Hopkins University, Homewood Campus) are good.

Creative Alliance (Highlandtown), Load of Fun Studio (Station North, near MICA) and Windup Space (Station North) are great for artsy events.

Joe Squared (Station North) is great for pizza and before/after artsy events, good vegetarian possibilities there.

[dfredward]

Noshoes, I'm interested in hearing more about why you're keen on Baltimore. I've lived in lots of cities across the country; moved here for work, left Baltimore for other places, and chose to move back here. I really like Baltimore: it's affordable, people are friendly, there are very nice sections, I love the waterfront, etc.

Having said that, I don't think I would enjoy Baltimore nearly as much at your age and without having first experienced other cities - the obvious being NYC, LA, SF, San Diego, Chicago, Boston, and many other places. Perhaps you're well traveled and have visited many different places. It's just odd to me that you're so gung ho on Baltimore. I wonder if there's more of a story to this, and if you'd care to share.

[mrboltonman]

Hampden has a lot of quirkiness that might interest you. There is the Ave with a lot of unique shops and it's close to Charles Village. I really like these areas.

Mount Vernon and Bolton Hill are nice areas too and are right next to each other. Mt. Vernon is pretty active with restaurants, bars, a few shops, and other things to do. Bolton Hill is more of a residential neighborhood in the heart of the city and is part of MICA's campus. The architecture is amazing in both areas. Public transportation (Metro, Light rail) is great here.

I would also check out;
Highlandtown
Butchers Hill
Patterson Park
Canton
Fells Point
Harbor East
Federal Hill
Locust Point
Woodberry
Mt Washington
Belvedere Square

[ToneGrail]

I would recommend Charles North or Charles Village. That's where the bulk of the artists and musicians live. It's also where MICA (the art school) is located. You'll fit right in. There are also many art and music collectives down there. The only drawback is that it's close to some really bad neighborhoods.

[J-CityRelo]

Check out Hamden, it's artsy and there are lots of things within walking distance and as long as you have bikes you'll be fine to get around the city. There are lots of interesting local music and fun neighborhoods, but I would consider Mt Vernon and Hamden the artsiest. You'll find some of the artsiness of Seattle here.

I'm originally from B-more and desperately miss going to local shows and listening to 89.7 (radio) the crisp fall weather and even Baltimore accents (never thought I'd say that!)... but I digress. You'll love it, go for it!