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I live close to Baltimore, visited St. Louis over the summer, and haven't been Detroit but have read/seen a lot about it. Of the three, Baltimore and Detroit have the most, with a slight edge to Detroit due to it not being overshadowed by other major cities along with having the largest "urban bones" of the three. I wouldn't count out St. Louis in terms of future potential, but sadly, its "flyover country" location drags it down to most, which is a shame since it once had an advantageous location being an important point for westward travelers jumping off and the steamship trade, but those disappeared when Chicago became the Midwest's dominant city. Detroit didn't suffer as much since arguably its greatest growth period was toward the end of Chicago's greatest and just afterwards (1900s-1950s). Like Baltimore, Detroit suffered from a very corrupt city government, and its akin to a rebuilding sports team that shows lots of prospective potential. All three cities were the fourth largest in the US at one point (Baltimore for the early-mid 1800s since Philadelphia and Boston indisputably were larger despite their limited city limits at the time, then St. Louis in the late 1800s-early 1900s, then Detroit in the mid-1900s). Interestingly, Detroit and Baltimore were also the two worst teams in MLB this past season, while the Cardinals are still in the playoffs as of this post.
Baltimore though could really turn itself around. Demolition of the large prison just east of Mt. Vernon is a start, and hopefully that area could turn around being in a location between Johns Hopkins and Mt. Vernon. Also, the Port Covington project, if fully realized to its potential, could be its own Boston Seaport/Seattle South Lake Union/DC Navy Yard, and its visibility along I-95 will allow more travelers to take notice. It has the largest historical housing stock among the three cities as well as someone mentioned.
As far as the categories themselves:
CoL: Detroit=St. Louis>Baltimore
Nightlife: Detroit=Baltimore>St. Louis
Food: Baltimore>St. Louis>Detroit
Safety/Crime: St. Louis>Detroit>Baltimore
Transit: Baltimore>St. Louis>Detroit
Shopping/Entertainment/Events: Detroit>Baltimore=St. Louis
Skyline Detroit>Baltimore>St. Louis
Downtown Vibrancy Baltimore>Detroit>St. Louis
Local Culture Baltimore>Detroit>St. Louis (but all are no slouches)
Which has the most promising future? Detroit with a very slight edge over Baltimore
Seen at least 2 people rate St Louis as best in crime...you folks are aware that it's St Louis that leads the country in murder rate for either the 2nd or 3rd year in a row right?...I think all 3 are pretty bad crime wise (a few years with a falling murder rate doesn't erase Detroit's long history of bad crime stats)
This is actually a tough question...Detroit fell so far that there is nowhere to go but up and there are actually quite a few things going on in Bmore as we speak...I don't know much about St Louis to be honest but I don't hear much buzz about it (I am clueless on the city though)
I have to go with Bmore as it has a COL advantage in its immediate region that it can take advantage of...Bmore's location puts it over the top for me very slightly over Detroit
Seen at least 2 people rate St Louis as best in crime...you folks are aware that it's St Louis that leads the country in murder rate for either the 2nd or 3rd year in a row right?...I think all 3 are pretty bad crime wise (a few years with a falling murder rate doesn't erase Detroit's long history of bad crime stats)
This is actually a tough question...Detroit fell so far that there is nowhere to go but up and there are actually quite a few things going on in Bmore as we speak...I don't know much about St Louis to be honest but I don't hear much buzz about it (I am clueless on the city though)
I have to go with Bmore as it has a COL advantage in its immediate region that it can take advantage of...Bmore's location puts it over the top for me very slightly over Detroit
Baltimore just feels totally lawless in a lot of areas and the crime is visibly and factually increasing pretty quickly. No one seems to be able to do anything about it. Thats hwy Baltimore often ranks #1 for people. The small land area of the city also makes crime feel pretty intense(st. louis can make this argument to i guess but baltimore is more dense)
I think these are three of the most misunderstood and interesting US cities with countless parallels and rich histories. I am really surprised that St. Louis is such a distant 3rd because it actually compares quite favorably in pretty much every category. If you haven't been to STL recently I think you'd be surprised at how much momentum there is here. I love all three cities and would pit each one against any Sunbelt city any day.
I think these are three of the most misunderstood and interesting US cities with countless parallels and rich histories. I am really surprised that St. Louis is such a distant 3rd because it actually compares quite favorably in pretty much every category. If you haven't been to STL recently I think you'd be surprised at how much momentum there is here. I love all three cities and would pit each one against any Sunbelt city any day.
Ha! Good Luck with that. Baltimore has a Awesome Waterfront that's about it. I see no hope for St Louis, Every Major thing that even Approaches or Considers St Louis is going to get sucked into Chicago. If Not that Depopulation or Crime is going to stifle a lot of things from happening, That Said Indeed there is A Lot of Development happening there and in fact they just got a New Major League Soccer team, and if You have not been to St Louis in the last 5 years I would Encourage you to go. I Haven't Been to Detroit in over 10 years so my Experience there is a little Rusty. But It's Metro Area is Nice and It is Kinda a Interesting City with a Interesting History if you can get past the Urban Scars left over from Massive Population Loss But Like Others have Said Due to Location Alone, Plus it's Nice Waterfront and BARGAIN PRICES Cost of Living compared to other NorthEast Cities, Baltimore takes the Cake 🍰 among these cities
Ha! Good Luck with that. Baltimore has a Awesome Waterfront that's about it. I see no hope for St Louis, Every Major thing that even Approaches or Considers St Louis is going to get sucked into Chicago. If Not that Depopulation or Crime is going to stifle a lot of things from happening, That Said Indeed there is A Lot of Development happening there and in fact they just got a New Major League Soccer team, and if You have not been to St Louis in the last 5 years I would Encourage you to go. I Haven't Been to Detroit in over 10 years so my Experience there is a little Rusty. But It's Metro Area is Nice and It is Kinda a Interesting City with a Interesting History if you can get past the Urban Scars left over from Massive Population Loss But Like Others have Said Due to Location Alone, Plus it's Nice Waterfront and BARGAIN PRICES Cost of Living compared to other NorthEast Cities, Baltimore takes the Cake 🍰 among these cities
Well at least getting an MLS teams kind of makes up for losing the Rams.
Seen at least 2 people rate St Louis as best in crime...you folks are aware that it's St Louis that leads the country in murder rate for either the 2nd or 3rd year in a row right?...I think all 3 are pretty bad crime wise (a few years with a falling murder rate doesn't erase Detroit's long history of bad crime stats)
This is actually a tough question...Detroit fell so far that there is nowhere to go but up and there are actually quite a few things going on in Bmore as we speak...I don't know much about St Louis to be honest but I don't hear much buzz about it (I am clueless on the city though)
I have to go with Bmore as it has a COL advantage in its immediate region that it can take advantage of...Bmore's location puts it over the top for me very slightly over Detroit
I live in Baltimore City and visited St. Louis this spring. I have never been to Detroit. While crime rates are very high in St. Louis, St. Louis has the advantage of bottling a lot of it up north of the Delmar divide. The middle and working class neighborhoods in South St. Louis felt pretty safe to me when I walked around as compared to similar places in Baltimore. In Baltimore, one needs to deal with a mobile crime culture of armed robbers driving around in cars stolen in armed carjackings. That means that being in a neighborhood with less resident criminals mean being in a place with a higher chance of robbed and assaulted. That is what makes crime in Baltimore so insidious, there is no practical way to get away from it.
The carjacking/robbery rings use juveniles to do the dirty work so that nobody needs to face any consequences if they are caught. Its a great system for the criminals, but for everybody else... not so much.
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