Help! Need rankings of neighborhoods (Baltimore, Towson: violent crime, houses, to buy)

[watson3]

My wife and I are in our early thirties and we are going to relocate to Baltimore next summer. We are looking for the best place to buy a rowhome. Our criteria (in order of importance) for a neigborhood is:

1. safe
2. walking distance to hip, trendy shopping, bars, restaurants
3. many cultural and neighborhood events
4. good schools

Can someone please rank these areas for us from best to worse:

Canton
Federal Hill/Locust Point
Fells Point
Mount Vernon
Butcher's Hill
Bolton Hill
Charles Village
Hampden
Patterson Park

Also, What general areas are considered to be the most sought after to live? North, South, East or West

[upinflamezzz]

I grew up in the city and can safely say that pretty much all the public school systems blow. If you lived in certain areas, you could send your kids to private schools. I'll try to rank your locations.

Federal Hill is nice and very close to the Harbor if you're into that scene.

Fells Point and Canton are O.K. Close to the Harbor as well, but these are a little over rated in my opinion.

Mt Vernon, Bolton Hill, and Butchers Hill are all O.K. too. They are close to the city, but not to any particular scenes.

Patterson Park is nothing, but Highlandtown. Nothing to shout about.

Charles Village is a trendy spot close to JHU. A little over rated. An artsy crowd.

I'm originally from Hampden and it has changed a bit. There are still your young wiggers like you have in all neighborhoods. It is close to everything, but blending in with locals can be hard at times. Nobody likes to be looked down upon.

I now reside in Medfield, which a very quiet little spot between Hampden and Roland Park. Close to everything as well, but out of the spot light. If I were to move some where but wanted to stay close to the city, I would have to pick Roland Park or Mt. Washington neither of which are on your list.

[Faust]

Originally Posted by watson3

1. safe
2. walking distance to hip, trendy shopping, bars, restaurants
3. many cultural and neighborhood events
4. good schools

Canton
Federal Hill/Locust Point
Fells Point
Mount Vernon
Butcher's Hill
Bolton Hill
Charles Village
Hampden
Patterson Park

Also, What general areas are considered to be the most sought after to live? North, South, East or West

Your criteria is mutually exclusive.

1. There are no areas outside of the city that are walking distance to good, trendy bars and night clubls.

2. There are *no* areas inside the city limits with even "adequate" public schools.

3. Define "safe". "Safe" + "city" means you have to have a pretty loose definition. You can use "violent crimes per 100,000 persons" and my area of the city (Little Italy, Downtown) is one of the safest places to live in the entire state. But because of population density and the nightclubs nearby there have been two shootings and a stabbing within four blocks of my house within the last two years, and hardly a week goes by without multiple car-breakings and the occasional burglary within the (small) community of 600 houses (that is surrounded by several LARGE communities with 30,000-plus residences). But for "Property Crimes" (thefts and the like) it is one of the worst places in the state to live.

The problem is that many people define "safe" as "the town they grew up in that had a population of 5,000 people (a stat that is also true of most suburban "communities"). If three people are killed every year in the 5,000 person community it is a shocker. If 300 people per year are killed in Baltimore - guess what -

... statistically ...

... that makes Baltimore a "safer" place to live.

But it also makes good headlines.

If you have kids and want to send them to public schools - try Towson or Roland Park - outside the city.

Faust

[carolott]

My son attends a public school in Federal Hill and we love it. Not all city schools are bad -- you have to find one that suits you and your child's needs.

[Faust]

Originally Posted by carolott

My son attends a public school in Federal Hill and we love it. Not all city schools are bad -- you have to find one that suits you and your child's needs.

Agreed. Not all "bad" - but if you use what has traditionally been measures of "good" schools vs "bad schools" such as standardized test scores, college acceptance stats, crime statistics - there are virtually no "good" public schools in Baltimore.

Personally, I (strongly) believe that a child's home life and upbringing are a much better predictor of academic and life success than so-called school "quality".

Faust

[carolott]

but if you use what has traditionally been measures of "good" schools vs "bad schools" such as standardized test scores, college acceptance stats, crime statistics - there are virtually no "good" public schools in Baltimore

And this is where you're very wrong.

Using your data, the elementary school in my neighborhood is an excellent school -- not just good. Students received an average 92.5 in math and 95.7 in reading (MSA scores), despite an overwhelming economically disadvantaged student body (89% of the students). The school my son attends received similar scores, albeit with a less-disadvantaged population. For the record, I live in Pigtown -- not necessarily a place you'd associate with academic excellence, but there you have it -- the scores and the students speak for themselves.

There are more schools in the city like these two -- of course it takes some digging to find them. But it's disheartening to parents who send their kids to these schools to hear from people who say there are no good schools in the city. We work hard to make sure our kids have a solid education.