Advice on these Balt. Neighborhoods? (Baltimore, Garrison: best neighborhoods, apartment complexes, movers)

[GirlNextDoor]

Hi -- Can anyone give me descriptions of any of these neighborhoods in Baltimore.

Arcadia
Arlington
Ashburton
Beverly Hills
Cross Country
Mount Washington
Original Northwood
Windsor Hills

My husband and I are buying our first house and we were originally considering Harford County. Unfortunately, with my new job, Harford is just too far away. We are looking to spend less than 325,000 but still get something that's decent (townhouse or detached). We understand it is the city, but I don't want to be afraid to drive down my street or check the mail. Also if you have a neighborhood you would suggest that is not on my list I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thanks for you help!

[barante]

Arcadia -- Many Northeast Baltimore neighborhoods have been long undervalued, Arcadia among them. The reason: a fear of racial change due to the aging of residents and signs of decay along such commercial spines as Harford Road. This may be changing. Worth a look.
Arlington -- Once a predominantly Jewish neighborhood of huge frame houses. Its pluses include big houses, big lawns, proximity to the Metro (Rodgers Avenue station). Its minuses include the somewhat iffy nature of nearby Garrison Boulevard, a prostitution track with quite a bit of heroin. There may be compelling values here. On Groveland Avenue, a street of mostly African American homeownes and renters, I once spotted a young white family. They had clearly decided to maximize the value of their housing dollars.
Ashburton -- When this neighborhood was originally developed, not only were blacks barred by Jews as well. By the 1940s it had become predominantly Jewish. Lots of notable people used to live there, including Sen. Ben Cardin. Today it's the home of many black movers and shakers, including former Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, yet it's not where fashionable blacks live (they tend to gravitate to Howard County). Ashburton prices are shooting up, due to long overdue rejuvenation of residents. A handful of whites live here, usually in mixed marriages. Mondawmin Metro is nearby, West Baltimore MARC 10 minutes away.
With a huge modernization drive under way at Mondawmin Mall, shopping will soon improve greatly. A new Target, a new supermarket will be in the mix.
Beverly Hills -- Another long overlooked Northeast Baltimore neighborhood. (see Arcadia). Gov. Martin O'Malley used to live here.
Cross Country, Mount Washington, Glen -- Largely Jewish areas (with a considerable number of blacks in Glen). Mount Washington is pricey, Cross Country (there is no such neighborhood, only a boulevard) is a bit cheaper (and includes several apartment complexes. Glen, which changed into significantly black in the 1970s, is now changing back to lower-income Orthodox Jewish. Glen's anchor is the Jewish Community Center on Park Heights Avenue, a womderful, nondiscriminatory community resource with a terrific health club and indoor pool.
I live in Cheswolde, north of Cross Country Boulevard, and love it. It's quiet. At 8:30 p.m. yesterday I saw a deer cross my street.
If you are interested in any of those neighborhoods, please contact CHAI. It does counseling and offers all kinds of incentives (google CHAI Baltimore).
Original Northwood -- Designed by the Roland Park Company, which also built Roland Park, Guilford and Homeland. Surrounded by less pricey neighborhoods of interest -- Lakeside, Ednor Gardens.
Windsor Hills -- Another neighborhood that went from gentile to Jewish to largely black. Varied housing types, ranging from big Victorian hulks, some in not so good condition, to an occasional rancher and even a log house. Lots of diehards fromt he old days.
All these neighborhoods are good values in my book. Your racial views will determine your tolerance. I'm saying this because prices in Arlington, Ashburton and Windsor Hills would go through the roof, if white home hunters felt more comfortable about those areas.

[barante]

GirlNextDoor -- Please also look at my post, Free Stock Advice. That headline seems to have thrown people off, but it is about neighborhoods, in a roundabout way.

[GirlNextDoor]

Barante -- Thank you so much for all of the information! It is so helpful! I saw in your other post you had mentioned Hunting Ridge which I was also interested in but forgot to add in my list. Do you have anymore details that you could provide about that neighborhood? Thanks again!

[barante]

I am reposting and expanding my comments on Hunting Ridge:
I don't understand why there is hardly a mention of Hunting Ridge here. Terrific houses, close to Leakin Park, a truly amazing urban forest.
Come to think of it, there are plenty of other Edmondson Avenue neighborhoods that merit consideration, ranging from Ten Hills to Academy Heights.
With the redevelopment of the old Uplands Apartments, the market has to soon re-evaluate all these neighborhoods.
Back to Hunting Ridge. When the federal government redlined Baltimore and some 230 other U.S. cities in the mid-1930s (thus giving its stamp of approval on lending discrimination), just a dozen Baltimore neighborhoods qualified for the best rating. Roland Park didn't make it, because the feds thought its houses, some dating as far back as to the 1890s, were too old. The same company's Guilford, Homeland and Original Northwood did make the list, though, as did Hunting Ridge. The reasons cited by the feds: new, good quality housing and restrictions that barred not only blacks but Jews as well.
I mention all this only to underscore the quality of construction.
Today's Hunting Ridge is an integrated neighborhood that is often overlooked because its proximity to Edmondson Village. There is nothing really wrong about EV, except that it has a terrible reputation among whites because it was a case study in aggressive blockbusting that led to a wholesale racial change in EV within one decade.
Unlike EV, all Hunting Ridge houses are individual houses. I have often driven around the area, but I have never been inside any of those houses. Among current notables residing there are Mayor Sheila Dixon, state Sen. and mayoral hopeful Jill Carter, Washington Post's White House correspondent Michael Fletcher, and the American Civil Liberties Union's Susan Goering.
By today's standards, Hunting Ridge houses are not that big. But they are big enough and merit a look, if you are interested in buying in Baltimore.
I know nothing about the school situation there. But there is a wonderful Episcopal Church nearby, I am told.

[beach08]

Originally Posted by GirlNextDoor

Hi -- Can anyone give me descriptions of any of these neighborhoods in Baltimore.

Arcadia--NO
Arlington
Ashburton-NO
Beverly Hills
Cross Country
Mount Washington
Original Northwood--NO
Windsor Hills- NO

My husband and I are buying our first house and we were originally considering Harford County. Unfortunately, with my new job, Harford is just too far away. We are looking to spend less than 325,000 but still get something that's decent (townhouse or detached). We understand it is the city, but I don't want to be afraid to drive down my street or check the mail. Also if you have a neighborhood you would suggest that is not on my list I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thanks for you help!

Harford is not to far to commute to Baltimore. I live in Abingdon and have for 11 years... I am relocating to the West-Coast, but I have never had a problem commuting to Baltimore. (Occasional problems on 95-as far as true jams) Believe me its worth the ride for the safety factor.
I have a 4 level TH in Abingdon, more details PM me

[nanlev]

Hi there,

My husband and I just purchased a home in Original Northwood and it's a beautiful neighborhood with a very active community association. They have socials and I feel like the better you know your neighbors the more they look out for you and vice versa. They had a community open house a couple of weeks back and there were a handful of homes on the market. 21218 is the area code if you want to check it out on Realtor.com or homesdatabase.com. I will say that most homes may be out of your budget, but if you can affford to be a bit flexible, you may just find something.

The neighborhood is also very ethnically diverse which is nice to see.

Also, Beverly Hills/Ashburton has some cute homes, we never made it that far, because we fell in love with Original Northwood, but you may want to check it out.

Mt. Washington, cute but was way out of our price range.

You should check out their community sites too. Original Northwood's is originalnorthwood.org. They also have townhomes in Original Northwood, not sure what they are priced at.

Not sure about the remaining neighborhoods you mentioned, the ones above were the ones we were targeting. I've heard Arcadia is nice.

Best of luck!
Nancy

Originally Posted by GirlNextDoor

Hi -- Can anyone give me descriptions of any of these neighborhoods in Baltimore.

Arcadia
Arlington
Ashburton
Beverly Hills
Cross Country
Mount Washington
Original Northwood
Windsor Hills

My husband and I are buying our first house and we were originally considering Harford County. Unfortunately, with my new job, Harford is just too far away. We are looking to spend less than 325,000 but still get something that's decent (townhouse or detached). We understand it is the city, but I don't want to be afraid to drive down my street or check the mail. Also if you have a neighborhood you would suggest that is not on my list I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thanks for you help!

[barante]

Nancy,
Congratulations on your new home. May you be happy in Original Northwood, as you undoubtedly will be.

[nanlev]

Thanks Barante, we're very excited and a bit nervous, especially me with all the negativity on this forum about living in Baltimore City, but we're going to give it a go. We couldn't be happier with the neighborhood, everyone kept talking it up to us while visiting the area.

Originally Posted by barante

Nancy,
Congratulations on your new home. May you be happy in Original Northwood, as you undoubtedly will be.

[balto charlie]

Originally Posted by barante

I am reposting and expanding my comments on Hunting Ridge:
I don't understand why there is hardly a mention of Hunting Ridge here. Terrific houses, close to Leakin Park, a truly amazing urban forest.

I have to agree w/ this post. I think it's one of the best neighborhoods in Balto. A real nice mix of older homes. Quaint streets. There's a great bike trail that goes all the way to the inner harbor and Fort McHenry. Charlie