Young Nurse Relocating to Baltimore! (Mount Vernon, Newark: apartment complexes, rentals, student loans)

[nurseonthgo]

Hi All!

I've been lurking this forum for a few days and I think you can help me.

I'm a recent female college grad who will start at JHH soon and looking for a fun, safe area to rent in. I've lived all my life in Newark, NJ and I know how to handle myself, but since I'll be out there on my own and I'm completely unfamiliar with Baltimore I need some good suggestions. I'm already looking in Mt. Vernon, but what other places can I check out?

My budget is max $1200/month (with utilities) because student loans don't pay themselves . Looking for a 1br, loft, or studio. I have a car, so parking is a concern. And I like to go out a lot (bars, clubs, concerts, games, museums, etc), so being close to some action would be good to get me out meeting people and exploring the city.

All advice is appreciated!!

Thanks!

[lanhvtnymd]

You may need a roommate for 1200 inclusive, but:

The Standard
The Atrium
The Belvedere
Horizon House, maybe?

All are apartments. You should also try Craigslist for rentals.

[pwduvall]

You can try to find a flat in Charles Village near the 27th Street shuttle stop. Parking around there isn't great but it is better than in Mount Vernon. You will need to move your car every 48 hours. Station North is less than a mile away and the Avenue in Hampden is less than a ten minute drive. You easily can find a place in your price range but it won't be super spiffy. There is a well priced place listed on Craig's List in the 2700 block of St. Paul listed right now. Of course, if you want to drive to work every day, you have more flexibility.

There are also shuttle stops at 33rd Street, Penn Station, and Peabody - but parking would be more of a problem.

[james777]

The website below will give you some ideas and leads on apartments. Although the map concentrates on apartments near Johns Hopkins academic campus and you will be working at the medical campus, you could take a shuttle bus to your job. I wouldn't drive to work; I would take public transportation.

It seems there is a lot available for under $1,200 a month. I recommend you look into the following: the Centerpoint apartments, Saint Paul Court, the Cecil apartments, the Broadview, Waterloo Place, Chesapeake Commons, the Carlyle, and 222 Saratoga.

https://www.walkscore.com/apartments...y-baltimore-md

[designer_genes]

Originally Posted by nurseonthgo

Hi All!

I've been lurking this forum for a few days and I think you can help me.

I'm a recent female college grad who will start at JHH soon and looking for a fun, safe area to rent in. I've lived all my life in Newark, NJ and I know how to handle myself, but since I'll be out there on my own and I'm completely unfamiliar with Baltimore I need some good suggestions. I'm already looking in Mt. Vernon, but what other places can I check out?

My budget is max $1200/month (with utilities) because student loans don't pay themselves . Looking for a 1br, loft, or studio. I have a car, so parking is a concern. And I like to go out a lot (bars, clubs, concerts, games, museums, etc), so being close to some action would be good to get me out meeting people and exploring the city.

All advice is appreciated!!

Thanks!

Hi! Welcome to Baltimore. I'm an NJ native also working at the medical campus.

Mount Vernon fits your needs well and there is a (free) JHMI shuttle that goes to and from Mount Vernon and the medical campus, so that would be convenient for you to get to and from work. It's also where a lot of the action is - lots of bars and restaurants as well as museums and easy access to the stadiums and concert venues.

There is street parking in Mount Vernon that is a 2 hour max unless you have a permit (which you can get if you live in the area), but it can be difficult to get a spot, especially if you're going to be working odd hours. You could get garage parking, but expect to pay extra for that.

Charles Village is another good suggestion that another poster mentioned. It's next to the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus, so lots of young people around. It's also safe and pretty affordable since they cater to students. The JHMI shuttle goes there as well.

Patterson Park and Canton are also great neighborhoods that are convenient to the med campus (I live in Patterson Park and I love it!). But, you'd need a roommate to stay on budget in those areas because there isn't much in the way of high rise apartment complexes around - it's mostly rowhouses. Fells Point same deal.

[nurseonthgo]

Thanks for all the great suggestions so far everyone!

[B.K.]

I'll recommend what I recommend to everyone new to the City who poses this question. Unless you absolutely, positively have to live in a high-rise apartment complex, I strongly urge you to look into renting an apartment (or with your budget, a whole floor) in a privately owned rowhouse. This is what I always did when I was renting here in Baltimore, and there are many upsides: only one person to deal with; some or all utilities are often included; what may seem like surprisingly large living spaces; rooms may be older, but have a lot more character than cookie-cutter complex units; rents are often much less; you'll be plonked down into the middle of a Baltimore neighborhood, so you'll more rapidly get the real flavor of the area and the City-you'll find most of the natives are friendly, if inquisitive, and so learn the lay of the land; walking distance to neighborhood watering holes where it is easy to meet people; etc., etc.
I'm mostly familiar with the East/Central side of town, so places that may suit you might be Station North (when I lived there it was called "that area between Mt. Vernon and Charles Village"); the as mentioned, Charles Village, Mt. Vernon (rents are a little cheaper on the West side of Mt. Vernon, I believe), the South part of Reservoir Hill, the North part of Barclay, Upper Fells/Butcher's Hill/Washington Hill, Patterson Park, Highlandtown, Brewers Hill, Greektown/Hopkins Bayview are some examples of areas that are generally reasonably safe (for Baltimore). You may also want to look at neighborhoods along the NE corridors of Belair and Harford roads, which have rowhomes as well as detached housing.
Bolton Hill, Canton, Federal Hill, and Fells Point proper may be out of your price range.
Whatever you do, investigate the prospective area carefully, both by day and by night before you decide. Here things can go from good to bad in just a matter of a couple of blocks-the 0-900 blocks may be safe and comfortable, the 1000-1200 blocks might be a little sketchier, the 1300-1500 blocks are a no-man's land, and past the 1600 block is a war zone of crime, drugs, gangs and decay. Not to scare you, just the way it is. HTH.