Moving to Baltimore...advice needed (apartment, crime, townhouses)

[pr4424]

Hello, I am considering buying a townhouse that was just "revitalized" in zip code 21224 (just off exit 11b from 895...near the corner of Ponca St and ODonnel St). Is this area safe? Would you recommend moving to this area or not?

Any advice is appreciated.

[marcnelsonjr]

It looks OK on the murder map, at least. And if nothing else, you'll have a short walk to Night Shift.

[jonjj]

That area is fine although I am not certain as to the exact location. I think it is in Canton or Brewers Hill which are both nice areas.

[barante]

This area is fine -- and on the cusp of a major revitalization. Are you buying one of the new Athena Square townhouses or something else?
In the 1920s and 1930s, this was a Finnish area. All those families are now gone (they had a hall that burned down decades ago). It is now undergoing a transition. To what? Hard to say. Banker Ed Hale, if he can weather the subprime blues, hopes to build hundreds of new units nearby.

[bawlmer]

I would recommend against moving to Baltimore period! But if you've already decided you are ready for it, then 21224 is better than some areas. Other posters won't tell you, but a man was murdered there last year walking home from Du Burns arena. If you talk to the SED police, they'll tell you murders are down in SE, but robberies and shootings are up. (hey, that's a positive) Regardless of the zip, you still have to put up with sub-standard city services, filthy streets, disgusting waterfront (in summer the smell is so bad it's unpleasant to walk along the Canton waterfront), no parking and the myriad of petty crimes that don't make the newspaper, but will make your life miserable.

[pr4424]

Yes, we are buying one of the new Athena Square townhouses. I'm really excited about it..they look really nice! I'm just nervous about moving to Baltimore (but my wife and I have to because of work). From what we could tell from driving around a little bit, the area didn't seem bad at all.

[helenejen]

Don't let Bawlmer's comments scare you. He has what some might call an apocalyptic view of the Baltimore experience, and though he is certainly entitled to his view, I don't think it's the norm. But it is city-living so that does factor in, but for me I don't do anything different than what I did when I lived in Chicago.

Anyway, I've done my living-in-Baltimore spiel before, so if you click on username in the top left corner of this post, you can view my previous posts on the subject. But to sum up, I live in 21224 near Patterson Park and very much enjoy it.

[lolavanatta]

Yes, this is not a bad zip code at all - there is plenty within walking distance, and it's among the "nice" neighborhoods in Bmore city. I don't live far from where you are looking. But that block is RIGHT off the highway, so you'd have noice and there's not much of a neighborhood over there. I would suggest finding a place on the other side of conkling street, but odonnell street is a good spot just nothing but gas stations over there by ponca. Search the opposite side of the Natty Bo sign and nothing north of eastern ave. There is still crime - but it's everywhere. This neighborhood, Canton/Brewer's Hill along with Federal Hill and Fells Point are all decent neighborhoods with city sites/fun/restaurants/bars/parks within walking distances.

[bawlmer]

Helenejen, I think it's unfair for you to advise a poster to disregard my point of view. I could easily say, "Pay no attention to Helenjen. She's extremely naive." The poster should be scared. I count 12 homicides in 21224 in 2007 (Baltimore Sun)Baltimore Homicides - baltimoresun.com That's a lot for such a small area. I encourage the poster to check it out. Also check out the BPD interactive crime maps for his neighborhood.

[helenejen]

Bawlmer, I didn't say "disregard" your views; I said, "Don't let Bawlmer's comments scare you." Living in a city is living in a city, and living in the suburbs doesn't put you in some safety bubble. I've been mugged in Chicago; had my car broken into twice in Chicago and once in the Chicago suburbs; had my apartment broken into in Iowa; was assaulted in Florence, Italy; watched my mother get mugged in Rome; and a woman, Hazel Lewis, whom I knew in Chicago a number of years ago, was killed in November by someone who strangled her and then set her body on fire in a dumpster (cbs2chicago.com - Police Identify Woman Found Strangled, Burned (http://cbs2chicago.com/local/woman.strangled.burned.2.594463.html - broken link)). (And the person who killed her, though unknown at this point, did this to another woman a couple days before.)

I hardly think my experiences make me naive, but I do have expectations that are in keeping with living in a urban environment and know that living in the suburbs doesn't put you in some safety bubble. The world is a screwed up place most of the time. Live your life and try and enjoy it. I haven't been the victim of anything in Baltimore, but I can't say that I won't be at some point. But I'm hard pressed of thinking of anyone, anywhere who can say that s/he will never be victimized in some way.

Also, you'll notice from the crime map that those homicides are in notorious drug-activity areas and not in the neighborhoods of Patterson Park or Canton. And the one at the edge of Butchers Hill was drug-related.