Sell me on Baltimore, please

[bronxbound]

I am currently a 33 year old educator living in Baltimore (about to relocate to NYC). Please check out the charter and transformation schools opening up. There are a bunch in the beginning stages. Civitas, City Neighbors, Patterson Park Charter, The Green School and ConneXions Middle / High are all great places to start. I live in Mt. Washington and you would be really close to both your city school and hiking / biking opportunities. Its really centrally located, close to Druid Hill Park and other trails to the North. Close to 83 which will get you to the beltway in seconds, downtown or the mall in minutes. There are two light rail locations one has a park and ride, nice little coffee shop right there and you can take your bike on the light rail. Recently the city has painted bike lanes on many of the streets... esp. in charles village (another good place to be and fine city biking minutes from Hampden and Mt. Washington by bike). I have lived all over Baltimore and like Mt. Washington the best-- Good hiking and biking up Falls Rd.

[bronxbound]

Tried to edit my post... but didn't work-- I wanted to chime in on Druid Hill Park. It is fine for 'white people' during normal biking hours... LOL but probably not big enough if youre a serious biker! Its minutes from Mt Washington just take Greenspring south and you run right into it. Also close to charles village and hampden.

[RobNJ]

thanks, everyone, for your input! this has been very helpful. My personal views on cyclocommuting are that i'm going to ride vehicularly anyway, unless i'm in a very weird situation, and if that happens, i avoid that particular weird situation in the future.Riding in the city streets looks and feels crazy to most ppl at first, but it is the safest way to go, overall, while still maintaining some benefits of going fast. To ride "safely" on the sidewalk is unsafe for pedestrians, and is only safe if you stop at every intersection, regardless of what your right-of-way would've been on the street. Not for me. Of course, i realize that being run down by a car isn't for me either. But, in 10 years of commuting, i have yet to collide with any cars, except for a right-hook in Camden NJ on my way to class. Aside from scraped palms and a bruised ego, i was unscathed.It looks like Baltimore Spokes will be a big help to me; thanks for the suggestion.Bronxbound, i appreciate your advice re: neighborhoods and prospective schools. It is my ardent wish to avoid charter schools, b/c i'd like to have a half-decent union, a strong contract, guaranteed raises, etc. I guess I'd work at a charter school if i had to, but i probably won't have to. I'd prefer to languish in a poorly-funded public school, i think. Time will tell, i guess, but having worked in a private school/facility for a while now, the public schools are calling to me. That's why i subjected myself to the expense and commitment of getting an MSE. I guess my question for ya, Bronxbound, is why are you leaving Balti for NYC? I know that they pay better up there, but the cost of living is up, too. A first year teacher with a Master's in Balti makes $44G's a year, according to one website. That'd be good enough for me, i reckon, even if it is only a narrow raise for me compared to where i'm at now. Why are you looking to the Bronx? Not trying to pry; i'm just curious.Thanks again, everybody, for your input. For the record, Philly has great trails at the Wissahickon and it's got a very lively cycling community. No doubt, bigger than Baltimore's, but i'm not looking for the biggest and best; i'm just looking for any/enough.-rob, NJ

[Cheapskate Bay]

Rob,

I don't bike here in Baltimore, but this week's City Paper (our alt-weekly) has a few articles on the subject:

Baltimore City Paper - News+Features: Spin Cyclists

A lot has been made of linking the various parks in the west and northwest sections of the city via bike trails, too.

[MDbound2]

RobNJ...I just moved back to Baltimore (although I grew up here!) and I can tell you that Baltimore is very similar to philly in that it is a big city of neighborhoods....various cultures and ethnicities just like in philly....as far as parks and whatnot to ride your bike...well the cities are not quite so similar...philly has a nice landscape of areas to run and bike in...it's not exactly like that in baltimore...but there is one place that I know where that's possible...I forgot what side of town that's in...I'll post that place when I think of it-LOL!!....don't know about the teaching thing...but teachers are needed everywhere...don't think that will be a huge problem for you....as far as crime...yeah...it's everywhere...philly...baltimore...everywhere...the re's also great spots to chill, drink, and have a good time....just like there is in philly...I will say that since I've got back here I've noticed Baltimore is a tad bit slower in pace than philly...so that will take some getting used to...but overall I think you will really like it here...and DC is right around the corner if you want more to do...so what u waiting for...come on down!

[Gil3]

htillberg wrote:

People complain that Baltimore is too small, but it's really easy to get to a bigger city if you need to. Just one hour on the train gets you to either the center of DC or the center of Philly. It is also a heck of a lot more affordable than DC.

Granted, Baltimore is strategically located virtually in the midst of other East Coast urban centers and the access to them is indeed very easy. The affordability factor is also drawing people here, especially from DC. With BRAC, I'm positive even more people will move into the region.

True..DC and Philly are a "stones throw" away and have more dinning and entertainment options and venues. In this regard it would be very easy to view Baltimore as the "little brother or sister". On the same hand, Baltimore is indeed a unique city that has not allowed the proximity of these larger and nearby cities to overshadow it and has managed to carve out, thrive and maintain it's uniqueness nonetheless.

When people tell me that Baltimore is boring or there is nothing to do, I just laugh. Anyone who can't have a good time here either isn't trying hard enough or simply going to the wrong places.

RobNJ, I urge you to at least give Charm City a try. It's not perfect and surely not heaven, but it has a lot to offer despite the contrary.

[bronxbound]

Actually what's interesting about Charter Schools in Baltimore is that you are hired through Baltimore City Public Schools, belong to the same union, are paid the same etc. Essentially you are employed by the city-- but are just "picked up" by the charter. Charter schools do get more per pupil-- maybe 3,000-- but it doesn't feel much wealthier when working at one as opposed to the neighborhood schools. Try a transformation school if you dislike the disproportionate funding. They are just smaller city schools with interesting visions/missions. The good thing about charters and transformations in Baltimore is that there are some good progressive educators working in them, the student/teacher ratio is better and there is some autonomy over the curriculum. I understand your riff with charters politically-- but there are some very questionable things going on in the neighborhood schools. Thats one reason I crossed over to a charter-- I had a problem being a part of the general inhumane treatment of children. You've probably thought about all of those angles, though. In the end its just about what you can live with and what you can't I guess. My husband got a job in NYC-- so we are moving up north. Our family lives in New England so it will be closer. I'm beginning to hear a lot more about the bike culture here now that I am tuned in due to your post. I will add anything new that I come across.

[Scudder]

WOW! how Can anyone say there is no biking in Baltimore with the Fallsway trail?!! You can get on it around Penn Station and bike up to Druid Hill and on to points north. There's also a great bike shop in Federal Hill and another "community, non-profit" bike shop in Station North.