Moving to Baltimore from WV (Mount Vernon: apartments, crime, neighborhoods)

[arkein1982]

Hello everyone,

first of all I want to thank you for taking your time to read this and apologize if some of my questions have already been answered in the forum. I have been reading several threads bust just got a grip of general ideas and, honestly, I am kinda concerned about how save neighbourhoods and city areas are. Some of those threads were written back in 2006-2009 and I am guessing the situation must have changed now.

I am originally from Spain and have been working and studying in West Virginia these last two years. Now, after graduating I have found a job at JHU Homewood Campus and have started planning my moving there. I have never visited the city and coming from a small town and from Europe makes it even more difficult to know what to expect.

My boyfriend and I are planning to move there this coming July to get started and touch base before I start working in August. So far, from the info I have gathered, one of the areas that could suit us best would be Mount Vernon or Canton (close to JHU?). I don't have a car so I would like to use the public transport. How safe and reliable is it? I have read about the JHU shuttle, is it just for students? I would also appreciate any information related to walking distance areas to Homewood Campus and apartments.

This is going to be a great change for me since I am used to living in small cities and not having to worry about safety issues. Any advice will be welcome.

Thanks again.

[remstone]

The neighborhood immediately surrounding JHU Homewood is Charles Village. There are certainly amenities to walk and it's pretty safe, but far from a urban feel of some big cities. Mount Vernon is a more interesting neighborhood with many more restaurants and activities, and probably a bit more crime but not at problem levels. It would be very convenient on the JHU shuttle (which is just for students/faculty) and possibly for walking. Canton is a fine neighborhood near the water but not particularly close to Homewood, and with pretty difficult/long connections via public transport if you were only wanting to go that route.

Public transit is pretty safe though we hear about a sensational crime now and then. Unfortunately the metro (single line) doesn't serve that many places, the light rail serves less, and you'd be heavily reliant on the bus if you really wanted to explore. The bus system gets pretty poor marks for reliability and on-time performance, and many don't like the feel of the system, which is to say some of the fellow patrons (and often unruly students). The free Circulator bus is a good bit nicer but only has two routes at the moment.

If you've never been here it'll be hard to say what places you'll want to go to regularly, but reliance public transit here probably won't make it easy. I'd think that should push you to locating somewhere on the axis from Charles Village south through Mount Vernon to downtown. It has some of the most interesting and walkable areas, plus shuttles, buses, and taxis.

[KLynch10]

The area around homewood is great, and some of the prettiest urban neighborhoods anywhere. Might be a good place for someone that has never lived the city life. There are cool things to do, but not as much as a Canton or Mt. Vernon. If you want to walk to work and live in a cool mellow place I suggest Charles Village. If you want the action of downtown and want to live around many bars, young people, festivals and sports leagues, I suggest Canton, Fells or Fed Hill. Each are really safe too!