British Girl moving to Baltimore, where should I live? (Cumberland: apartment, to rent)

[remstone]

OK, with Brixton as a reference point ...

There aren't tons of cheap urban neighborhoods here that offer good services and don't tend towards ... sketchy. I'm thinking places like West Philly, many parts of Chicago, some sections of Brooklyn are good comparisons for Brixton. In Baltimore it seems like the neighborhoods really need to get gentrified before you see the shops and services. Alternately stated there aren't true bohemian areas.

Mount Vernon is probably the easy recommendation. Maybe Station North, the fringes of Charles Village, or right downtown (West Side) could work. That's a 3 mile north-south axis that should leave you with easy commuting and good access to train or airport. I can't tell if you're looking more for a diversity of public experience or private interaction. If you're looking less for services you can walk to and more for a mix of good people then I can recommend Reservoir Hill. You could also head to the Harford Road corridor in northeast Baltimore for good public and private but it's much less urban and not exactly diverse. And Hampden certainly has some charms but it's hardly diverse.

The conservatives that jumped on you might be a bit annoying but they have a point - you're quite unlikely to have people inflict their views on you around here. If someone wants to do that it's more likely to happen at work, and probably not so much in the IT field.

[britishgirl29]

okay more information....
I work from home mainly, and tend to pop in to the Companies rather than have a office there. So I need a property to rent initially then buy if in the right area.

I have a dog who needs exercise
Have to have at least one large room for work, I have 8 monitors set up at present and could do with more.

3 + bedrooms, one for me, one for guests (a soon as I land I will be plagued with the great and good wanting to visit Baltimore-it is Simon David to blame, the Wire is huge in the UK). And finally one for my clothes, I have a lot of clothes, Shoes, Handbags-tragic but I do.

Large Kitchen, with Dining space and preferably two reception rooms, one formal and one for the TV.
Also need Utility area for washing machine etc.

I am prepared to sign a 12 month lease.

As I work from home, it can be isolating so a neighbourhood where I am likely to meet people would be great, I like Greek, Italian, Spanish, Argentinian, Turkish and Ertirean food, and am very stomach orientated.

I also ride horses in London, which I am sad to leave but my sister is delighted to be able to say that she has horses now. Obviously purchasing a horse is too much a commitment to start but some stables would be great. I also rowed for my College at University so are there Rowing Clubs in Baltimore (okay I am being lazy I should just google it). I am a member of a rowing Club in London, so it would be nice to continue this.

My friend in NY has looked over my Health Insurance and said that it is Excellent, so being British My family Doctor is 5 minutes away on foot, My father is a Dentist, and says I should go to a Mr Tigani in Washington (sadly not much help if i am in pain in Baltimore). So close to good services would be great.

Thanks again

[ToneGrail]

Well if you want to be around your fellow liberal-voting bretheren, the Broadway East and Coldstream-Homestead-Montabello neighborhoods would welcome you with open arms. Also check into Sandtown-Winchester, or any of the quaint neighborhoods along North Ave east of Greenmount.

All those areas are monolithically Democrat. Nary a Republican to be found. Great place to take a nice stroll after dark. Heck you may even be warmly greeted by your friendly neighborhood "corner street vendor". So you should make sure to carry some cash in case you might want to browse their wares. Oh yeah, thanks to Maryland's strict UK style gun control laws, these neighborhoods are some of the safest in the world. Welcome to Baltimore, truly a place where you'll never need to look over your shoulder out of fear of getting shot at by criminals!

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by britishgirl29

I work from home mainly
need a property to rent initially then buy if in the right area.
I am prepared to sign a 12 month lease.

3 + bedrooms, one for me, one for guests... one for my clothes,
one large room for work
Large Kitchen
Dining space
two reception rooms, one formal and one for the TV.
Also need Utility area for washing machine etc.
a dog who needs exercise

I also ride horses... some stables would be great.
I also row
close to good services would be great.

where I am likely to meet people would be great,
Greek, Italian, Spanish, Argentinian, Turkish and Ertirean food

Almost everything you want can be found in one of the bigger homes in one of the older neighborhoods north of the city.

Poke around in here:
21209 Homes For Rent — Trulia.com
21210 Homes For Rent — Trulia.com
21204 Homes For Rent — Trulia.com
21093 Homes For Rent — Trulia.com

When you and your dog want more room and if you get something to row with you'll find lake Roland convenient
Robert E. Lee Memorial Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Real group rowing isn't terribly far away The Baltimore Rowing Club



hth

[cmacf1]

Originally Posted by ToneGrail

Well if you want to be around your fellow liberal-voting bretheren, the Broadway East and Coldstream-Homestead-Montabello neighborhoods would welcome you with open arms. Also check into Sandtown-Winchester, or any of the quaint neighborhoods along North Ave east of Greenmount.

All those areas are monolithically Democrat. Nary a Republican to be found. Great place to take a nice stroll after dark. Heck you may even be warmly greeted by your friendly neighborhood "corner street vendor". So you should make sure to carry some cash in case you might want to browse their wares.

British girl - I'm embarrassed about a bunch of these replies you are getting. There are nice people in the Baltimore area, many of whom are liberal, many of whom are not liberal. Please look at crime maps before you take any advice here. For example, ToneGrail has led you to some very questionable neighborhoods (see crime map Midway-Coldstream, Baltimore, MD Neighborhood Crime Map, Statistics, Alerts and Reports .) Perhaps he was kidding around, but you are looking for reliable information. Fells Point, Canton, the areas south and north of Johns Hopkins University, Hampden, Federal Hill - these are all areas where I would steer a professional woman your age. I live in Catonsville which is in the county. I wouldn't steer you here, but here's a horse farm here where people take riding lessons and keep horses.

[KLynch10]

Please completely ignore Tone Grail, that is a bad attempt at Satire that someone from England has no chance of understanding.

There is much rowing and horseback riding in Baltimore. Our upper class is super preppy. North Baltimore into the county is some of the most notorious horse farms in the country.


The Baltimore Rowing Club

[jrh0341]

Actually tonegrail's response was pretty funny, but its humour (<-- yes that spelling was for the op. jk) that only someone from here would get.

Honestly, Baltimore will work for you, but I don't think its going to give you quite the experience you are looking for. I'd say D.C. would be a MUCH better fit for the lifestyle you are looking for, IE a diverse, urban NY, San Fran, London type location where you can walk a three blocks from your door and be socializing with people from all over, but of course that's VERY far for you.

Take a look at Annapolis maybe. Its not that far away, and its supposed to be pretty interesting.

As for the intial conservative religious nuts, its REALLY not like that. Most of America is really not like that. WHen you go venturing into DC (if you really like a decent nightscene you WILL) you are quite likely to run into just as many idealistic young liberals (some of whom are equally obnoxious, IE the college kid with outspoken ideas but little to no supporting knowledge of what they speak of) but I'm off on a tangent. (That and I was subjected to the opposite. A 2 year stint in Central California, around Monterey and Santa Cruz. Yeesh. Serious crunchy hippie territory.)

Anyways, the area you were previously in is not typical of the mainstream. Food for thought: the places you were before are literally part of a strip of states in the U.S. that is broadly known as "The Bible Belt" so that should say something. Just keep an open mind and you'll be surprised I assure you.

I'm a 30 yr old guy who will be moving into the same Baltimore area in about a month. We may just bump into each other on the social scene. Who knows?

PS: If you really want to get a good feel for what to expect from the rest of us mainstream Americans, don't listen to the Guardian, just listen to TopGear's Jeremy Clarkson. (yes, still joking.)

[Zea mays]

Re: westsideboy, ToneGrail — perfect examples of why she likes to avoid right-wing Republicans. Who would not? She evidently is a proper, intelligent young lady.
I hope she likes Baltimore should she choose to come.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by Zea mays

Re: westsideboy, ToneGrail — perfect examples of why she likes to avoid right-wing Republicans. Who would not? She evidently is a proper, intelligent young lady.
I hope she likes Baltimore should she choose to come.

Because we don't like to be publically insulted because of our political affiliation?

If you or Britgal wants to go on-line and start insulting people based on group affiliation, then you should expect some backlash. My comment was rather short and tongue-in-cheek. Britgal got the joke, apparantly you didn't.

[Tinawina]

I don't think Britishgirl was attacking anyone. Once she mentioned where she previously lived I think everyone got where she was coming from. That had to be quite the culture shock.

Anyway, the particular brand of, er, passionate conservatism you ran into is not that common in many large east coast cities. Some people may feel that way but they would not be quite so strident about it in polite company because they would know there is a good chance some people in the room do not agree with them. There are some parts of the country that are very extreme red or very extreme blue where it is just assumed everybody thinks one way, so in those places it is very easy to feel bullied if you are not like everyone else. I don't think Baltimore is one of those places.

You'll probably meet Republicans you like, liberals you hate, and vice versa. There's going to be a big range of opinions out there, and some people may surprise you. Good luck!