New job in Northern Baltimore suburbs, where to live? (Columbia: how much, house)

[SoopremeBeing]

^^^No, that's because there is no money in curing anything. You make money through treatment and maintenance.

[Tinawina]

Originally Posted by steppinthrax

Maybe this is why we don't have a cure for: HIV, forms of Cancer, Ebola, etc...

Because we have highly educated, highly intelligent, people with MD,PhD etc... Working in a laboratory for hours on end to come to to 35K a year??

There are billions of jobs that I can think of, requiring 1/1000000000000000000th the education that make more than 35K a year???

I believe she's a postdoc. That's what they make. LOL

That has been going on since the beginning of time. Finish your PhD, do your time in the indentured servitude that is "postdoc for peanuts" life for a few years (and publish while you are at it), move on to the real job when you are done.

Don't worry about her, she'll be raking the cash in a few years.

But I will say this: if you have to pay your dues getting paid next to nothing doing grunt work, Baltimore is a really good choice of where to do it, because you get a world class university name on your resume AND this city is a place where you don't need all that much money to live decently. She can actually plop herself down in a halfway decent neighborhood and go out to dinner and have a life sometimes. Being a postdoc in NYC or Boston is a much rougher existence.

[boreatwork]

If the lady has a job in hunt Valley why are folks recommending NOVA? Yall trying to take years off of her life. I would suggest to stay somewhere in Baltimore County. I remember when I lived in Baltimore County and worked in Hunt Valley, 695 had construction for about 3 years straight for no apparent reason.

[designer_genes]

Originally Posted by steppinthrax

Maybe this is why we don't have a cure for: HIV, forms of Cancer, Ebola, etc...

I was trying really hard to take you seriously and then you said this and now I can't. You are seriously ignorant to how science works.

Originally Posted by Tinawina

I believe she's a postdoc. That's what they make. LOL

That has been going on since the beginning of time. Finish your PhD, do your time in the indentured servitude that is "postdoc for peanuts" life for a few years (and publish while you are at it), move on to the real job when you are done.

Don't worry about her, she'll be raking the cash in a few years.

But I will say this: if you have to pay your dues getting paid next to nothing doing grunt work, Baltimore is a really good choice of where to do it, because you get a world class university name on your resume AND this city is a place where you don't need all that much money to live decently. She can actually plop herself down in a halfway decent neighborhood and go out to dinner and have a life sometimes. Being a postdoc in NYC or Boston is a much rougher existence.

Thank you for actually understanding the process. I'm actually not a postdoc, I'm a graduate student. But, everything else you said is absolutely accurate. A career in medicine or the sciences means you have to pay your dues for a long time, but once you do so your career prospects shoot sky high very quickly. Salaries in academia lag behind those in industry (not just at Hopkins, everywhere), but people that choose to stay in academia and forego the six figure salary (unless you are a tenured professor, then you can get six figures in academia too) do so for the love of the science. Scientists in academia have almost complete intellectual freedom to pursue whatever problems interest them, whereas in industry you have to do whatever the higher-ups say you're going to do to help the company's bottom line. This is a choice literally every scientist faces in his or her life and it's nothing new and nothing unique to Hopkins.

I got into very prestigious schools in New York (Columbia), Philly (Penn), and Boston (Boston University) and I turned them down to come to Hopkins. And a huge part of the reason why is exactly what Tinawina has pointed out, which is that I'd be eating ramen noodles every night on my salary in those other cities, whereas I live quite a comfortable life here in Baltimore. I'm completely satisfied not making a lot right now because 1.) I'm doing what I love. 2.) I'm getting paid to go to school. and 3.) Baltimore makes it very easy to live on what I make.

So, steppinthrax, when you cite low salaries as a negative about Hopkins, you are failing to understand that for people like me, Baltimore is actually a more attractive option than elsewhere because that low salary gets us more bang for our buck AND you are failing to understand what drives us as scientists (hint: it's not money).

[dogpark]

Yep, Baltimore is a place one can live and live well. Steppinthrax doesn't get that.

[ffknight918]

Not sure if the OP is still reading this since the topic kind of changed, but I'm also from Wisconsin. I'd compare Baltimore to Milwaukee. Blue collar, laid back, bars, many outdoor activities on the water front, crime is a bit segregated like MKE. Madison actually reminds me a bit more of DC in ways. Much smaller but they have a bit in common.

I relocated from the Milwaukee area to DC for my job with the fire department. I had fun as a single in my 20s but the COL was getting ridiculous and the culture was a little different. I have a blue collar job and a blue collar mentality. I don't like to go strutting around in my suit and dining at high class restaurants like many in DC.

After that I decided to give Baltimore a try. I love it. Yes there's crime and not AS many things to do as DC but it fits me great. I save a little money on rent but I also spend more on my commute to DC. It's worth it in my opinion. I first lived in Fells Point which has become my favorite neighborhood. To save some money I moved in with a couple friends in Canton which is great as well. A few blocks north I have a huge park(Patterson Park) for kickball/softball/football leagues, an ice rink, dog parks and great scenery with an amazing view of Baltimore's skyline. Two blocks south I have the harbor with a scenic path to run along the water stretching through Fells, Harbor East, Inner Harbor, Federal Hill and Locust Point. There's always festivals and free concerts going on in the city. There's plenty of restaurants and bars around here with great seafood. I love going to Camden Yards for a ball game. Compared to DC, the public transit isn't great. Compared to Madison or Milwaukee, it's actually pretty good.

It's all what you make of it. Many people on this forum like to complain. That's why I no longer come on here much. I've really enjoyed my time here. I leave in April for five months with the Marine Corps and will definitely be returning to Baltimore.

Let me know if you have any questions. I definitely wouldn't mind having a few more Packers and Badgers fans to cheer with! One note on that though, there's a bar called Hamilton's in DC at 2nd and Constitution NW. They fill up every Saturday and Sunday for Badgers and Packers games. They also have the Wisconsin State Society which throws a huge tailgate when the Brewers are in town to play the Nats.

[designer_genes]

Originally Posted by ffknight918

I first lived in Fells Point which has become my favorite neighborhood. To save some money I moved in with a couple friends in Canton which is great as well. A few blocks north I have a huge park(Patterson Park) for kickball/softball/football leagues, an ice rink, dog parks and great scenery with an amazing view of Baltimore's skyline. Two blocks south I have the harbor with a scenic path to run along the water stretching through Fells, Harbor East, Inner Harbor, Federal Hill and Locust Point. There's always festivals and free concerts going on in the city. There's plenty of restaurants and bars around here with great seafood. I love going to Camden Yards for a ball game.

A huge AMEN to all of this. I live in Patterson Park and love it for all of the above reasons.

[dogpark]

Thanks for posting ffknight918 and best of luck on your deployment! Come back safe,

BTW, I know a bunch of BFD crew, good folks, we have a lot of laughs.

[SoopremeBeing]

Originally Posted by dogpark

Yep, Baltimore is a place one can live and live well. Steppinthrax doesn't get that.

True. One has to be willing to go out and search for the positive things in the Baltimore area, city and county.

[Tinawina]

Originally Posted by designer_genes

I was trying really hard to take you seriously and then you said this and now I can't. You are seriously ignorant to how science works.



Thank you for actually understanding the process. I'm actually not a postdoc, I'm a graduate student. But, everything else you said is absolutely accurate. A career in medicine or the sciences means you have to pay your dues for a long time, but once you do so your career prospects shoot sky high very quickly. Salaries in academia lag behind those in industry (not just at Hopkins, everywhere), but people that choose to stay in academia and forego the six figure salary (unless you are a tenured professor, then you can get six figures in academia too) do so for the love of the science. Scientists in academia have almost complete intellectual freedom to pursue whatever problems interest them, whereas in industry you have to do whatever the higher-ups say you're going to do to help the company's bottom line. This is a choice literally every scientist faces in his or her life and it's nothing new and nothing unique to Hopkins.

I got into very prestigious schools in New York (Columbia), Philly (Penn), and Boston (Boston University) and I turned them down to come to Hopkins. And a huge part of the reason why is exactly what Tinawina has pointed out, which is that I'd be eating ramen noodles every night on my salary in those other cities, whereas I live quite a comfortable life here in Baltimore. I'm completely satisfied not making a lot right now because 1.) I'm doing what I love. 2.) I'm getting paid to go to school. and 3.) Baltimore makes it very easy to live on what I make.

So, steppinthrax, when you cite low salaries as a negative about Hopkins, you are failing to understand that for people like me, Baltimore is actually a more attractive option than elsewhere because that low salary gets us more bang for our buck AND you are failing to understand what drives us as scientists (hint: it's not money).

Oh you are still a student! Well hell you have years of brokeness ahead of you. LOL

Congrats on choosing Hopkins as the place to earn your doctorate! You can't go wrong with that.