Raising A Family in Baltimore City (Hampstead, Mayo: appointed, daycare, houses)

[freeazabird]

Hi. I just wondered what folks thought about raising a family in Baltimore city? Is it difficult? What family neighborhoods do you recommend?

[Infinite_heights77]

I wouldn't advise it! There are much better cities to raise your children up in.

[Tallybalt]

In the city?

Once you have schooling sorted out (and you're happy with it) and a good neighborhood, Baltimore can be a great place to raise a family.

The usual North Baltimore suspects - Roland Park, Homeland, Mount Washington, Guilford are all family friendly neighborhoods. Original Northwood is another good option. Families do live in the downtown neighborhoods, including Bolton Hill, Federal Hill and Canton.

[Miss Crabcakes]

I would 2nd Mount Washington. I loved it there.

I also hear good things about the Rodgers Forge area.

I also know a family of 4 who love living in Charles Village. They have 2 small kids and seems they always have fun things going on in their neighborhood.

[LouisDS]

I can only speak for my experience. But raising a family in Baltimore city has its challenges. Finding a school you feel good about being the main one.

Unless you are a pioneer in the improvement of the public city schools (which I am not), there are mainly 3 ways to go.

1. Charter School. Probably the best option but unfortunately nor very accessible. You sign up for the lottery, cross your fingers and most often get disappointed. We were very fortunate to receive a call from Patterson Park Public Charter School on September 14. Since then have been amazing. The first three weeks in the neighborhood school though were tough.

2. Religious school. I have good friends who use that option for its OK cost. For example, St. Casimir Catholic School charges 5,500$ for the year. No too bad when you think about the cost of private school or daycare. Not being very religious in your family is not really a problem if you are ok with a couple of hours of religious education per week, like we all received 20-30 years ago and nobody got brainwashed right?

3. Private School. Many options available. Coed or not. from 9,000 to more than 20,000. If you can afford it, I guess it is the best option...

I live in Patterson Place, which can probably be assimilated to Butchers hill and Patterson Park as a one big neighborhood. I find it a good environment to raise a family because of one main factor: the Park. Full of space and activities year round. It is HUGE for a quality of life. The same neighborhood without the park would be boring as hell and not very entertaining for kids. The PPPC school parents also form a community that help each others with many families hanging out together. We made a couple of friends there. I am pretty sure the same applies to Canton and Hampstead Hill academy. Although housing is more expensive.

Overall safety in the area is ok at best. For the first 6 months I thought hey this place is fine. But things happened lately that are not particularely nice to hear. A midschooler got robbed with a gun on her way to school (7:30 AM), I was probably walking with my daughter on the same corner 5 minutes later. Scary. And the cops shot an armed robber on Orleans/PPark corner. One block from my house in the middle of the day. So you need to be aware of that. None of the city neighborhoods close to downtown are free of that. But common sense will keep you from it (don't leave anything unlocked or unattended, and keep your damn phone in your pockets when your are walking!).

All that being said. We enjoy our life in the city. People are nice. There is a neighborhood community that you rarely find when you live in a neighborhood with detached houses and yards, where people tend to mind their own B's. If you find a good school and act street smart, you are good to go.

[Infinite_heights77]

Mt. Washington is overrated. Only thing good about Mt. Washington is Whole Foods.

Originally Posted by Miss Crabcakes

I would 2nd Mount Washington. I loved it there.

I also hear good things about the Rodgers Forge area.

I also know a family of 4 who love living in Charles Village. They have 2 small kids and seems they always have fun things going on in their neighborhood.

[freeazabird]

Thanks for your feedback. I will have to look more into the charter and religious school options. Does anyone else have any positive experiences to share with religious or charter schools?

[RatGirl]

When we lived in Northeast Baltimore City, we toured quite a few Catholic schools, including St. Ursula's on Harford Rd, and found some really good options. Our daughter attended St. Casimir's for pre-K and we even contemplated keeping her there for kindergarten. However, we were most impressed with the School of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen out in Roland Park and that is what we ended up going with. It's pricier than other Catholic schools in the city (about $9k/yr), but has very good resources and a great academic record. We ended up moving just over the city line into Baltimore County (Rodgers Forge) a few months ago, so now public school is an option for us if we choose to take it.

[mattybz]

Originally Posted by LouisDS

I can only speak for my experience. But raising a family in Baltimore city has its challenges. Finding a school you feel good about being the main one.

Unless you are a pioneer in the improvement of the public city schools (which I am not), there are mainly 3 ways to go.

This is an interesting comment and something I've been thinking about a lot lately as I've recently purchased a home in the city and am approaching the age where people typically start a family. I would think the Mayor / City Council would come up with a program to "pioneer" the improvement of the public city schools. Perhaps some sort of property tax break tied to the number of years children in your family have attended city public schools? I would think some sort of incentive that would bring families into the school system could create a positive impact. It could potentially raise the bar in the classroom if there are children with strong family backgrounds in class with those from less ideal situations. Who knows, maybe the prospect of not having to spend money on private school coupled with another "discount" might be enough to incentivize some to "take the chance." If anything it'd be inline with the mayor's goal of growing the number of families in the city.

[Tinawina]

I can fully recommend Mount Washington as a neighborhood as well as its school. I live here and have 2 kids enrolled at Mount Washington Elementary and it is literally the best decision we made when moving to the city. I don't think I would have enjoyed any other neighborhood within the city limits nearly as much.

Roland Park Elementary has a great reputation as well, and it is well deserved. I have also heard good things about Medfield Elementary and to a somewhat lesser degree, Cross Country Elementary. Other than Patterson Park and the other charters mentioned, I think that's it in terms of public school options. There may be a few more... I know there is something on the West side that supposedly flies under the radar... but I can't remember the name.

Someone mentioned Rodgers Forge above. Technically I believe that is the County but I can say I have heard nothing but glowing reviews of that neighborhood as a great place to raise kids, and the school is supposed to be great as well.

If you can afford the private options around here I'd say go for it. Baltimore has some excellent private schools. I mean the selection is awesome. I did not expect that moving here.