Baltimore's Greatness (Frederick: section 8, for sale, cliquey)

[Tom Lennox 70]

Stormcrow, I wasn't really that focused on the accents, but the entire feel and the pace of life is completely different. Besides I could care less about Brooklyn and their accents....what really turns me off is that snotty Long Island ("Lwong Island") accent.

Also a lot of what makes Baltimore and other NE cities feel depressing is the weather that is cold and dreary for those long winter months.

[vivo]

Originally Posted by Terrapin2212

Stormcrow, I wasn't really that focused on the accents, but the entire feel and the pace of life is completely different. Besides I could care less about Brooklyn and their accents....what really turns me off is that snotty Long Island ("Lwong Island") accent.

Also a lot of what makes Baltimore and other NE cities feel depressing is the weather that is cold and dreary for those long winter months.

I'm guessing LI and
brooklyn accents have some salient similarities.

[vivo]

anyway when do u learn where u go for grad school? what sem did u apply for?

[callsitlikeitis]

Originally Posted by guest2

You left 20 years ago. Can you truly comment on Baltimore with integrity? Let me make a pre-emptive response to those who are still here, but can't find the will to leave and are mostly still here because of their own inertia:

Isn't this conversation becoming embarrassingly cliched? I'll refer you back to the quote from the Hopkins student: "[the important thing is] helping to improve Baltimore rather than wasting precious time criticizing it".

Rather than complain, why not try to comprehend the problems you witness. The drug culture is a formidable social force. As formidable as any social contract based on law and order. For that reason, it is not going to be an easy problem to deal with. Flippant generalizations provide about as much social benefit as the drug-dealing being derided. Solving the problem aside, having empathy for Baltimoreans (they are still human beings) who live with drug addiction, or just live in the neighborhoods most burdened by this phenomena shouldn't be so hard. It might take getting off your couch and actually interacting with people. If you refuse to do that, then at least, from your couch vantage point, expose yourself to sources of information like David Simon's and Ed Burn's "The Corner". For those who haven't reached for a book in ages, HBO has produced an excellent and moving mini-series based on that book.

Since life is too short and not particularly feeling sorry for the criminals who robbed me of my feeling of safety in my own home, I solved the problem for myself and got the heck out of Balto. I'm no Mother Theresa.

[guest2]

Originally Posted by callsitlikeitis

not particularly feeling sorry for the criminals who robbed me of my feeling of safety in my own home, I solved the problem for myself and got the heck out of Balto. I'm no Mother Theresa.

callsitlikeitis, good for you! It makes no sense to live in a place that either makes you feel oppressed, or feeds your negative outlook on life. Still, Baltimore gives much more than it takes.

[upinflamezzz]

I feel like the minority race in Baltimore. The U.S.A. is 70% white and Baltimore is 70% black. I feel out of place a lot of places I go. Also, a word to the wise. Do not ever get arrested in Baltimore City because Central Booking is out right ridiculous.

[rudy_d]

> Obviously not all US cities are losing population. NYC is stable if not growing and places like Phoenix or other sun belt cities are growing rapidly. Even in Maryland places like Frederick, Westminster, Rockville, etc are growing quiet rapidly. There is no such thing as an "average" US city. <

Phoenix and other sun belt cities are not cities in the real sense--they're constantly expanding suburbs that cover huge areas. New subdivisions sprout up and are gradually incorporated into the city proper. Baltimore has strictly defined boundaries that were determined many years ago. The population in the city may not be growing (although the population loss seems to be easing) but it certainly is in the greater metropolitan area. Anytime I see rankings of cities, I think it's unfair to compare Baltimore and other older cities with these sprawling no-places.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by vivo

anyway when do u learn where u go for grad school? what sem did u apply for?

I'm applying to both pharmacy and dental school right now. I got invited for an interview next month at the University of Maryland pharmacy school in Baltimore City. I really want to get in so I don't have to apply to other pharmacy schools though the notion of spending 4 more years on the East Coast, and in a dreary, decaying war zone city like Baltimore, a place even illegal immigrants don't want to go to, is depressing.

For dental school I'm also applying to Maryland, as well as schools in West Virginia, Virginia, Texas, Nevada, Nebraska, and Florida.

[Tom Lennox 70]

And Baltimore just physically looks depressing. All the concrete, gray, brownness, etc. At least in Phoenix or Raleigh everything looks nice and brand new. Unless its the historic charm like San Francisco or Savannah or Charleston, might as well rebuild everything. Nothing "charming" about brick rowhouses or old factories and warehouses. I still stand by my comment that the Dominos Sugar sign and building, and the Power Plant, should be demolished and replaced with glass and steel skyscrapers. Plus everything east of Interstate 95 too. That would be a real makeover for the city.

[guest2]

Originally Posted by Terrapin2212

And Baltimore just physically looks depressing. All the concrete, gray, brownness, etc. At least in Phoenix or Raleigh everything looks nice and brand new. Unless its the historic charm like San Francisco or Savannah or Charleston, might as well rebuild everything. Nothing "charming" about brick rowhouses or old factories and warehouses. I still stand by my comment that the Dominos Sugar sign and building, and the Power Plant, should be demolished and replaced with glass and steel skyscrapers. Plus everything east of Interstate 95 too. That would be a real makeover for the city.

Terrapin2212, you're so perceptive and thoughtful. I'm sure you'll be bringing this to your dentistry practice. And I hope it will be in Phoenix.