LA and Baltimore compared (Pasadena, California: middle-class, condos, high crime)

[Olia]

Does anyone have experience living in both place - LA and Baltimore near UCLA and Johns Hopkins? Since my family is not from US we have very little experience on how it would be living in those areas, but now we have to choose. Reading general info online doesn't help much - you can find both nasty and nice things about those cities. The only thing that helps so far was to talk to people. Even it is very personal, people do have very good points and ideas. Since we have a 3 year old boy we are really concerned about safety and education.
So if you would have a choice of going either to Baltimore or LA where would you go? Or if you live in Baltimore why would you like to go somewhere else?

[jonjj]

I would stay right in Baltimore. I have not lived in LA but I have been there numerous times visiting friends. I am not impressed with LA except for the coastal areas like Santa Monica, etc. In terms of safety, the area around the Hopkins campus is fine and expanding quite a bit. There are lots of families in Charles Village and it is a nice neighborhood to call home. LA lacks character. There are pluses and minuses to both locations and it would be up to your own interest to decide which is best.

[Dolemite]

I have never lived in either but I can give you some general things to think about. The climate - totally different in each place. Where are you coming from? If you are coming from somewhere tropical without much of a change in season then you would feel more at home in LA. Baltimore will have distinct seasons with snow/ice/cold in the winter. City landscape - Baltimore (I assume) is an older city built on a European model with business district, commercial, residential all inter-mixed. A walkable city where one could actually live without owning a car. LA is a new America type city with a huge business district surrounded by sprawl. You basically have to drive everywhere. So if you are coming from say somewhere like Southeast Asia you'd probably like LA better, but if you are coming from Northern Europe you might like Baltimore better.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by Olia

Does anyone have experience living in both place - LA and Baltimore near UCLA and Johns Hopkins? Since my family is not from US we have very little experience on how it would be living in those areas, but now we have to choose. Reading general info online doesn't help much - you can find both nasty and nice things about those cities. The only thing that helps so far was to talk to people. Even it is very personal, people do have very good points and ideas. Since we have a 3 year old boy we are really concerned about safety and education.
So if you would have a choice of going either to Baltimore or LA where would you go? Or if you live in Baltimore why would you like to go somewhere else?

I'm from Maryland and I'm applying to dental school in both Baltimore and Los Angeles (UMD and USC) so this is relevent for me too. preferrably I would go to neither. It depends who you are. Both cities are being torn apart by crime and drugs. I would not like to live in either but if I must choose I'll say Los Angeles.

Baltimore has a national reputation for being one of the most dangerous, decayed cities. Los Angeles also resembles a Third World city if you leave the nice parts. (Beverly Hills and Orange County are not in the city of LA.) But there are more nice areas in LA than Baltimore, which is a ghetto/slum outside of the inner harbor area.

Los Angeles has a large number of illegal immigrants and as we all know where there are illegal immigrants there is high crime, low education levels, a lot of ignorance, gang warfare, drugs, poverty, etc. At the same time Baltimore is so depressed as is that even illegals do not want to go there.

Weather wise, with the obvious exception of earthquakes, Southern California wins hands down. Maryland's winters are very long and cold. Very drizzly and can snow sometimes, the grayness really gets to me. Los Angeles has a lot of sunshine and warm weather and its close to the beach and personally I would prefer to see palm trees on the way to work rather than rusting factories, boarded up homes, power plants, and shipyards and warehouses. The gray weather contributes to the depressing feel of Baltimore.

It also says a lot when Baltimore upholds the Dominos Sugar factory as a landmark (plus the Power plant) when these two should have been demolished 10 years ago and replaced with shinier buildings. Now I support historical preservation, but for things worth preserving. The Dominos sign is not a lovely New Orleans or Charleston mansion or a San Francisco victorian home. Its an ugly eyesore and an old decayed industrial facility. Its about time Baltimore became a modern city.

Also says a lot when people talk about Los Angeles in the same conversation they talk about Las Vegas, Miami and Honolulu when people talk about Baltimore its in the same conversation as Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Newark, and Pittsburgh. Now since you're from out of the country, all of these cities are embarassments to our country filled with crime, gangs, and urban decay. And miserable weather.

I'm not from Baltimore but I'm from 40 miles away. Baltimore is one of the most crime-ridden cities in the nation. If you want a more "cosmopolitan" or "sophisticated" place go to LA. Los Angeles as a bigger city is also more fast paced in its lifestyle and traffic is horrendous. Baltimore has less traffic problems.

Now where would I ideally live? North Carolina and Virginia (excluding Northern Virginia) is the nicer version of Maryland and Nevada/Arizona/Utah/Idaho are the nicer versions of California. In these places you have a lower cost of living, you can afford a bigger house with a bigger yard, and there is less traffic, crime, gangs, illegal immigrants, visible poverty, etc and people tend to be friendlier.

Texas and Georgia are also ideal places to raise a family. Low cost of living, healthy economy, and good moral values.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Oh yeah and actually in either city you should put your son in a private school. Baltimore City has the worst school system in Maryland. LA County schools is filled with illegal immigrants and money is wasted to help these illegals. And many illegals don't pay taxes so that really drags the finances down.

I know Baltimore has some good private Catholic schools (McDoughagh for example...sorry for the spelling). LA should too....but private schools are always expensive.

[jonjj]

I have lived in Baltimore City for over 20 years and have never been a victim of crime. I walk to work and usually walk or take mass transit home from work. I walk on weekends and ride my bike through many parts of the city. As far as crime goes, if you play with fire you get burned. I watch who my friends are and stay away from areas with potential problems. I am also careful when walking at night. LA also have crime issues like any other city but I think if you are not involved with criminals you are safe. 99 out of 100 times, the people who are victims of crime are usually directly involved with criminals or the crime is related to someone in your family. That is the same for any other city also.
In terms of weather, I am not a heat guy. So if you like lots of hot, dry days with little rain, shoot for LA. I do think if you find a place along the ocean in LA, the weather is gorgeous year-round with warm days and cool nights. You will not even need air-conditioning. But, go about 3 miles inland and wow-the heat can blast you at times, especially in the summer months. A lot of folks love the heat so if that is your thing, go for it. I prefer the change of seasons and Baltimore has beautiful springs and autumns with mild winters. Again, summers in Baltimore are hot and humid and I usually step out at that time, taking my vacation to a lake up north or weekends in the mountains or ocean areas.
One particular comment I read stated that Baltimore is a "third-world city". It is obvious that the person who wrote that has not traveled outside of the US to much. I have been to many South American cities and also some in Asia that I guess would be classified as third-world. Baltimore does not come close to the poverty or other issues that afflict those places.
The Domino Sugar Plant is still used and has a large-working force. It is representative of old industrial architecture and it many not appeal to some who lack knowledge in that field but I personally love it. Others must like it also. As an example, the Ritz-Carlton chain of hotels and condos which is pretty expensive is building a huge complex practically next to it along with tons of other new residential/commercial space. I love riding my bike by it and watching the ships come in to load up. It is a working harbor so it is not all yachts and sailboats.
Finally, I have to say that their are many citizens of the US who still have issues regarding minorities or immigrants. They feel slighted by them and run in fear or disgust. I happen to love the diversity. My neighborhood has wealty and middle-class white, black and Latino families with many gays, singles, professionals, and also poor folks who are trying to have a better life.
So the choice is yours. Both LA and Baltimore along with any other urban center in the US have crime, poverty, immigrants, diversity, etc. They both also have many postive great neighborhoods with lovely people to get to know. Oh, and one more thing: The above commenter mentioned Texas as having strong moral values. Just two words regarding that: George Bush. hehehe

[balto charlie]

Hi Olia: Right down my alley. Born in LA, moved away at 8 YO then returned after college for 3+ years. I also visit family often in LA. Lived in Baltimore for 37 of the last 40 years. Also spent 6 years in Utah.
These 2 cities are almost different. WLA never felt like a city to me, more like a crowded suburb. LA is totally car dependent, young people oriented(teens-30 something), really expensive, great weather, horrible pollution, generally good job market, horrible traffic. West LA(UCLA neighborhood) is very very expensive but very very nice, except for the traffic, lots going on in the immediate area(movie, bars etc). Baltimore is semi car dependent, mass transit throughout the city is fair(at best) but very good if you go to DC, more family oriented(lots of folks have lived here their entire lives, fair weather(great spring and fall but summer humidity sucks), air quality is much better, not as expensive as LA, decent job market, traffic is fair(no where near as bad as LAs(you have to go to DC for trafffic that bad). JHU neighborhood is very nice. Lots of trees, beautiful older homes(some huge, some townhomes). areas to look at include Guilford and Homeland at the high end, Charles village in the middle and Hamden at lower end. Not as much going on in the JHU area but there are stores and movies etc but not the huge crowds of West LA.
Safety: I think WLA is a safer area though JHU is not bad. The reason for this is: The poorer neighborhoods are closer to JHU than WLA
Where to move: Ask yourself these questions:
1) If $$ in not a problem then either is fine
2) Do you like a change of seasons(Baltimore) or prefer warm weather(LA) all of the times.
3) how much driving do you do? The more driving you do makes LA a less attractive area.
4) Are you more urban or suburban: Both areas are somewhat crowded with JHU having a more urban feel and WLA seemingly more suburban.
5)settled vs transient: I always felt LA to be a land where people moved to be near stars, celebrities etc. that seemed very important to many of the people I met. Lots of relocation going on there. Baltimore has always stuck me a place to settle down.
In conclusion: I truly loved my time in West LA. We played outside all year long, surfing and skiing on the same wknd! Partied with the best of them. However; when it came to raising my family I returned to Baltimore. Bear in mind that I have a lot of family here so that was one of the reasons BUT not the only reason. Feel free to email me if you want more info. Charlie

PS terrapin 2212, who bit you on the a$$. Olia, take what this poster says as an extreme version of Baltimore. When getting info on the net always throw out the extremes on BOTH sides.

[vivo]

ucla area (westwood) seems urban.

[matt345]

Originally Posted by Terrapin2212

It also says a lot when Baltimore upholds the Dominos Sugar factory as a landmark (plus the Power plant) when these two should have been demolished 10 years ago and replaced with shinier buildings. Now I support historical preservation, but for things worth preserving. The Dominos sign is not a lovely New Orleans or Charleston mansion or a San Francisco victorian home. Its an ugly eyesore and an old decayed industrial facility. Its about time Baltimore became a modern city .

We know, we know! You hate the Domino's Sugar sign and the Power Plant. They are not beautiful historic buildings, they are ugly depressing industrial relics that should have been demolished instead of preserved. You say this same thing in just about every post you write. We get it!

Anyway, in response to the original poster, I prefer LA to Baltimore by a long shot, but I can see why some people would be the other way. Baltimore has more of a small town feel to it, even though it's a fairly large city. LA on the other hand has everything that comes with a city of 4 million people and a metro area approaching 13 million. It really does depend on what you're looking for. One is mid-size blue collar East Coast city, while the other is the largest metropolis on the West Coast. I can honestly say that they are nothing alike except that they both have poor mass transit.

[matt345]

Originally Posted by vivo

ucla area (westwood) seems urban.

So does West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Old Town Pasadena, Venice Beach, Melrose Avenue, Wilshire Blvd, etc.