I love Baltimore, thinking about purchasing a property (Riverside: 2015, loft)

[Hovering]

I've been offered a job there at a firm (currently a lawyer practicing in the state of New York) and I've found a wonderful loft in the heart of Downtown. I'd only have to walk three blocks to my workplace, too! I've been to Baltimore before, and every time I visit, I think to myself, why haven't investors bought into this city yet? I know there is a school problem, and a crime problem, but it's such a beautiful city! I cant understand it.

Anyway I am mainly here to ask about the safeness of the Downtown area (specifically S. Howard and Lombard), and how safe it would be to occasionally take the light rail and walk around the area to shops or restaurants, etc. I've found a spectacular 1-bedroom loft in an art-deco building for a very reasonable price and with reasonable square footage, and I would probably convert it into a two bedroom. PS: not only do I see investment potential in this city, but I believe that there is hope for it. Responses would be genuinely appreciated!

Thanks

[Infinite_heights77]

Question? Why do people say they love Baltimore, but you really don't know too much about the city, its inhabitants and the culture??! How many times have you been to Baltimore that quantifies you to say that you love this city? I've been here most of my life and I don't love it.

Originally Posted by Hovering

I've been offered a job there at a firm (currently a lawyer practicing in the state of New York) and I've found a wonderful loft in the heart of Downtown. I'd only have to walk three blocks to my workplace, too! I've been to Baltimore before, and every time I visit, I think to myself, why haven't investors bought into this city yet? I know there is a school problem, and a crime problem, but it's such a beautiful city! I cant understand it.

Anyway I am mainly here to ask about the safeness of the Downtown area (specifically S. Howard and Lombard), and how safe it would be to occasionally take the light rail and walk around the area to shops or restaurants, etc. I've found a spectacular 1-bedroom loft in an art-deco building for a very reasonable price and with reasonable square footage, and I would probably convert it into a two bedroom. PS: not only do I see investment potential in this city, but I believe that there is hope for it. Responses would be genuinely appreciated!

Thanks

[Northernest Southernest C]

Originally Posted by Hovering

I've been offered a job there at a firm (currently a lawyer practicing in the state of New York) and I've found a wonderful loft in the heart of Downtown. I'd only have to walk three blocks to my workplace, too! I've been to Baltimore before, and every time I visit, I think to myself, why haven't investors bought into this city yet? I know there is a school problem, and a crime problem, but it's such a beautiful city! I cant understand it.

Anyway I am mainly here to ask about the safeness of the Downtown area (specifically S. Howard and Lombard), and how safe it would be to occasionally take the light rail and walk around the area to shops or restaurants, etc. I've found a spectacular 1-bedroom loft in an art-deco building for a very reasonable price and with reasonable square footage, and I would probably convert it into a two bedroom. PS: not only do I see investment potential in this city, but I believe that there is hope for it. Responses would be genuinely appreciated!

Thanks

You will be fine living in downtown/inner harbor area as well as surrounding areas. They are all safe. I'm glad you have a positive attitude on Baltimore as you can tell above its negativism proceeds its status.

[LoveToRow]

Originally Posted by Northernest Southernest C

You will be fine living in downtown/inner harbor area as well as surrounding areas. They are all safe. I'm glad you have a positive attitude on Baltimore as you can tell above its negativism proceeds its status.

They are most certainly NOT "all safe."

The Inner Harbor is relatively safe until the sun goes down. Then the area around it becomes like the night of the living dead with jaywalkers, hoods, and other unsavory characters. I would not walk even two blocks north of the Harbor after sundown if I were female.

As far as the surrounding areas, they aren't safe either. There was a 24 year old woman gunned down on the 100 West block of Patapsco Avenue last week. That's just across the Hanover Street bridge. One block west of MLK is another place you don't want to find yourself, either before or after the sun sets. Same thing with the projects just east of President's Street - one block away from the Inner Harbor.

[eqttrdr]

How To Explain The Baltimore Riots in One Sentence…

[ktaadin]

In my opinion-don't live downtown. There's very little in the way of dining, entertainment, etc there compared to the usual suspects of the immediate periphery (Fed Hill/Fells/Canton/Harbor East etc). Downtown is depressing and unsafe at night, dead during the weekends, and just an overall unpleasant area of the city IMO. Consider those I mentioned above or Mt Vernon, Charles Village, Homewood, Locust Point, Hampden, etc. Especially since you'll be a practicing attorney, you will pretty easily be able to afford a nice place in one of those better neighborhoods.

You will be fine living in downtown/inner harbor area as well as surrounding areas. They are all safe. I'm glad you have a positive attitude on Baltimore as you can tell above its negativism proceeds its status.

Disagree. After 10 PM or so, you do not want to be wandering around anything north of Pratt street in the Harbor vicinity. Or East of President Street, or West of Howard street. There are areas of the city that are reasonably safe at night, but this is not one of them.

[Northernest Southernest C]

Originally Posted by Trace21230

They are most certainly NOT "all safe."

The Inner Harbor is relatively safe until the sun goes down. Then the area around it becomes like the night of the living dead with jaywalkers, hoods, and other unsavory characters. I would not walk even two blocks north of the Harbor after sundown if I were female.

As far as the surrounding areas, they aren't safe either. There was a 24 year old woman gunned down on the 100 West block of Patapsco Avenue last week. That's just across the Hanover Street bridge. One block west of MLK is another place you don't want to find yourself, either before or after the sun sets. Same thing with the projects just east of President's Street - one block away from the Inner Harbor.

I know they're not all safe by surrounding areas I mean Mt. Vernon, Federal Hill, Fells Point, and such. West of MLK is somewhere no one should wander. And across the Hanover Street bridge you are entering Cherry Hill which is another dangerous place. Easy way to put it is the neighborhoods on the Peninsula which is what I meant by surrounding areas are all safe Federal Hill, Riverside, Locust Point, etc. Those are the surrounding areas that are safe.

[ktaadin]

To address the OP directly regarding the intersection of Howard/Lombard:

It's borderline. I personally wouldn't live there-looking at areas just a little farther south (google the neighborhood of Otterbein) would be safer, have better access to things to do, and probably be a better investment too. I know a few young professional types who live in the immediate area you're considering, most of them med residents working at the UMD hospital. They're cautious walking around there at night, and pretty much all travel to the other neighborhoods discussed in this thread when they want to socialize or go out on the town. It's not exactly a bad neighborhood, but after dark you should be alert when walking around, and I wouldn't go any farther north or west than that.

[LoveToRow]

Originally Posted by ktaadin

To address the OP directly regarding the intersection of Howard/Lombard:

It's borderline. I personally wouldn't live there-looking at areas just a little farther south (google the neighborhood of Otterbein) would be safer, have better access to things to do, and probably be a better investment too. I know a few young professional types who live in the immediate area you're considering, most of them med residents working at the UMD hospital. They're cautious walking around there at night, and pretty much all travel to the other neighborhoods discussed in this thread when they want to socialize or go out on the town. It's not exactly a bad neighborhood, but after dark you should be alert when walking around, and I wouldn't go any farther north or west than that.

Second this. There's no way in hell I would live there.

OP, I recommend looking into Riverside and Locust Point, where I live. It's a peninsula surrounded by water with only one route in from the unsavory parts of town. People here look out for each other too. We still have our fair share of property crime, but the violent crimes are few and far between.

[John2064]

Baltimore is 62% black and in the midst of racial trouble. It ain't all Inner Harbor........