Relocating to Baltimore from Boston, what to expect (Cambridge: apartments, job transfer)

[dave21286]

Originally Posted by emmiesix

I don't mean to be snide, and you will have good minds & hardworking, successful people graduating from institutions all over the city. But what matters is what happens in aggregate. And on average, Baltimore's schools are not even middle tier but lower-tier, and that can actually be pretty well read off the incoming SAT scores.

For the record:

UMBC

• SAT Critical Reading: 550 / 650
• SAT Math: 580 / 670

Loyola of MD

• SAT Critical Reading: 540 / 630
• SAT Math: 540 / 630

Of course one big difference is that Loyola is an expensive private school and will have upper-class students, while UMBC is a much cheaper state school and will mostly have lower and middle class students. You'll find "success" is often dictated by class, and in business especially, connections matter.

There are plenty of accounting, finance and business majors from Loyola who scored well above the averages that you cite on the SATs. You can argue the point all you want, but I have seen it first hand for over 20 years; the Big 4 accounting firms, consultancies and major corporations recruit Loyola business school students at a very high rate. If that foundation was simply built on wealthy connections, as you imply, it would have fallen apart years ago. It would not have been sustainable.

The following link demonstrates this:
http://www.loyola.edu/Media/News/201...i-ranking.aspx

Loyola's ROI is in the top 10% of all colleges in the U.S. for mid-career professionals.

But the point is not to argue the merits of any individual college, it is simply to point out that Baltimore, while certainly not Boston, has an educational and intellectual environment that may not be apparent to the outsider, given the negative publicity.

[mcleanexec]

China to Arlington to Boston to Baltimore? My condolences.

Baltimore is dangerous as hell. With teens robbing people of their phones while they are out jogging or biking frequently, multiple shootings daily, pathetic and creepy bus system.

Why not live in the burbs and travel into bmore city?

[KLynch10]

Originally Posted by emmiesix

I don't mean to be snide, and you will have good minds & hardworking, successful people graduating from institutions all over the city. But what matters is what happens in aggregate. And on average, Baltimore's schools are not even middle tier but lower-tier, and that can actually be pretty well read off the incoming SAT scores.

For the record:

UMBC

• SAT Critical Reading: 550 / 650
• SAT Math: 580 / 670

Loyola of MD

• SAT Critical Reading: 540 / 630
• SAT Math: 540 / 630

Of course one big difference is that Loyola is an expensive private school and will have upper-class students, while UMBC is a much cheaper state school and will mostly have lower and middle class students. You'll find "success" is often dictated by class, and in business especially, connections matter.

No city is going to compare to Boston and a city shouldn't be a college town anyway. But Baltimore has a nice education niche as Hopkins was just named the 12th best University in the US, only behind UPenn in the Mid-Atlantic. Their med school is obviously top notch, Maryland Law and Med School are both very hard to get into, and as mentioned the business school and MBA program at Loyola have received some high honors.

Towson has a great communications program that put tons of people at TV Stations, radio stations and production crews around the region. Baltimore is by no means an underachiever city in terms of higher education, unless you only want to compare it to Boston.

[dave21286]

Originally Posted by mcleanexec

China to Arlington to Boston to Baltimore? My condolences.

Baltimore is dangerous as hell. With teens robbing people of their phones while they are out jogging or biking frequently, multiple shootings daily, pathetic and creepy bus system.

Why not live in the burbs and travel into bmore city?

It is true that Baltimore has a violence / crime issue. However, so does St. Louis, Memphis and Birmingham. Those cities, by many measures, are more violent. It is just that you don't hear about it as much. Chicago and Philadelphia are also dealing with surges in crime, and there are significant sections of Washington DC that are best avoided.

If I were a young professional, I would live in Federal Hill, Canton, Fells Point, or Locus Point. If you have a family, consider one of the northern suburbs.

[ay jayy]

there are plenty of safe areas. If you liked Arlington, check out Harbor East.

[kharing]

Originally Posted by ay jayy

there are plenty of safe areas. If you liked Arlington, check out Harbor East.

Harbor East? Yeah, to see a movie! Arlington is a suburb.

[james777]

Originally Posted by dave21286

It is true that Baltimore has a violence / crime issue. However, so does St. Louis, Memphis and Birmingham. Those cities, by many measures, are more violent. It is just that you don't hear about it as much. Chicago and Philadelphia are also dealing with surges in crime, and there are significant sections of Washington DC that are best avoided.

If I were a young professional, I would live in Federal Hill, Canton, Fells Point, or Locus Point. If you have a family, consider one of the northern suburbs.

You probably wouldn't have made that statement if you had spent time in, or invested in any of those communities.

[james777]

Originally Posted by mcleanexec

China to Arlington to Boston to Baltimore? My condolences.

Baltimore is dangerous as hell. With teens robbing people of their phones while they are out jogging or biking frequently, multiple shootings daily, pathetic and creepy bus system.

Why not live in the burbs and travel into bmore city?

Or better yet, live in the suburbs and avoid traveling into Baltimore city. Get your entertainment in DC or NY.

[Tinawina]

Originally Posted by kharing

Harbor East? Yeah, to see a movie! Arlington is a suburb.

Eh. I used to live in West Medford, right next to Arlington. It's not that much of a suburb. It's not like, say, Acton. More of a city type suburb, with houses fairy close together on city blocks with real sdewalks, and not that far removed from a more metro type area (in this case, Cambridge).

I think it's comparable to Lauraville or Hamilton or Arcadia.

[numbers101]

Expect depression and boredom. Expect your IQ to drop about 23.5 points and expect your temper to rise about 23.5 points.