Moving from Brooklyn to Glen Burnie...bad to...just as bad? (Baltimore: apartment, to rent)

[Bobsteelewantsdessertnow]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get some honest feedback here because crime report sites and my own visits during daytime/nighttime on different days of the week aren't really adding up for me. My husband and I currently live in Brooklyn (and NOT a "good" part of it!) deep into the city side. We're looking to move because I'm pregnant with twins and we need more space -and it's going to have to be soon- so we're looking for something pretty turn key. We're both originally from the Ellicott City/Columbia area, both of our families still live there and we both work in that area so we've been looking in AA county because HOCO is just way out of our price range unless we want a time warp to the 70s that needs a complete gutting... We found a house we both really love in the Marley area of Glen Burnie. It has the right amount of room, nicely updated, needs basically zero work aside from putting up a privacy fence because we have a big dog (a pit bull! So no "look for the pit bulls and car alarms to judge the area" responses please). But Trulia is listing the area as "moderate" as far as crime and I know Glen Burnie as a whole is rated pretty poorly with crime-both violent crimes and property crimes-but is it truly worse than Brooklyn?...would we just be going from bad to just as bad if we moved there?

I feel like my perception is a skewed because I'm comparing this to where we are now and it seems like anything would be a step up. We see a loooooot of cops on the regular and have had them tackle people trying to flee/hide in our yard. On more than one occasion. But at the same time, I've never really had problems myself with anyone in Brooklyn or felt particularly unsafe. I did live there alone at the age of 20 as a single white female, before meeting my husband. But on the other hand, there is a tendancy for drug dealers to meet their clientele like directly next to my house which has been a real delight but it's not like I'm clutching my pearls walking from my car to my door at night. The neighborhood we're considering is just a really blue collar looking area, single family homes with little yards and seems like it's probably a mix of white and black folks. The couple times we have driven by/gone into the house in GB that we're interested in, there hasn't been anyone out in the neighborhood except an older couple bringing in their groceries, two guys out on their porch having a smoke, and a little boy walking up the street with a book and a smile (vs my neighborhood now where there's fools staggering around all hours of the night, people sitting in lawn chairs in their front yards all day, bad little kids running around unsupervised throwing rocks at cars, and people littering/leaving entire shrimp dinners in my side yard). I've been robbed in Columbia, so, I firmly understand that there is crime EVERYWHERE and there are circumstances where you're more likely to be a victim and then there's just bad luck. Even my parents McMansiony neighborhood in Ellicott City has had some break-ins and some unsavory characters.

I really like that GB is close enough to my family, I know the area, we have several friends that live close by (one about a mile away and she thinks it's okay, then a bunch in tanyard springs and Pasadena) and not a huge deal but I wouldn't have to change where I do most of my regular shopping/errands. The traffic situation is also bearable (compared to Pasadena and Catonsville where we were also looking) and the commute to work would be slightly shorter for me. As far as the kids go, these will be our first. Schools won't be an issue for a few years and we're not opposed to trying out Marley elementary when the time comes (rated 6 on great schools, which is higher than some Columbia elm schools at least). I'm not super concerned about middle/high school at this point because we're seriously planning in moving to Florida in 7/8 years once my mother retires so she can go with us.

Any advice/opinions? We're thinking about putting an offer in...Am I an idiot??

[papichulo2]

I read most of ur book and first u said u don’t really know then u say you know the area.. Brooklyn is NOT like MD. mabie bmore but yah i hear theres lot of crime in Glen burnie in some parts. Brooklyn/queens has the good and bad parts you know. I think anne arundel is a good county. If u traveled the hood and saw old folks and a smiling youngin looks ok right? Go there at night, talk to neighbors, and be careful everywhere u go don’t discriminate. If u like the house i say do it. Nothing wrong with raising ur kids around some different lifestyles. Good luck.

[westsideboy]

OP means the Brooklyn neighborhood in Baltimore, right?

if so, that is a pretty rough hood. Not knowing anything about that part of Glen Burnie, I would have to guess it is an upgrade over what you describe in your post, which is the same types of nonsense I heard from my good friends that used to live there.

[Bobsteelewantsdessertnow]

Thank you, sorry for the book, I'm very wordy
I meant that our current home is in Brooklyn Baltimore, like the other side of Brooklyn park, not NY. I haven't seen anything justifying such a lousy crime rate for the area (Glen Burnie) and the "yellow" crime risk on trulia for myself. I'm just afraid if we do end up moving there, it's going to wind up being completely different and I'll feel guilty about moving from one sketchy place to another. Hopefully we'll be able to talk to some neighbors when we go back this weekend.

[bande1102]

I have family and coworkers who live in GB. I don't think it's that bad. They don't experience anything like what you've described in your current situation. Is it possible to rent a house----not apartment in the area you're considering?

Have you considered Linthicum? I worked there and it seemed fine to me, but I didn't actually live there. I know it's really close to BWI so I suppose the planes overhead could be an issue.

[Bobsteelewantsdessertnow]

Originally Posted by bande1102

I have family and coworkers who live in GB. I don't think it's that bad. They don't experience anything like what you've described in your current situation. Is it possible to rent a house----not apartment in the area you're considering?

Have you considered Linthicum? I worked there and it seemed fine to me, but I didn't actually live there. I know it's really close to BWI so I suppose the planes overhead could be an issue.

Oh, I have STORIES from my current situation. One including a naked man running down the street chased by another man wielding a rake. I just want to live somewhere generally safe. And no naked guys. We have considered Linthicum, but unfortunately haven't seen anything come on the market that fit what we were looking for. With a big pit-mix and a few cats, I don't think renting is a viable option for us. I mean they're all house/litter trained and we're not slobs or animal hoarders, but if I was a landlord, I know I'd be asking for a laaarge pet deposit.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by Bobsteelewantsdessertnow

Oh, I have STORIES from my current situation. One including a naked man running down the street chased by another man wielding a rake. I just want to live somewhere generally safe. And no naked guys. We have considered Linthicum, but unfortunately haven't seen anything come on the market that fit what we were looking for. With a big pit-mix and a few cats, I don't think renting is a viable option for us. I mean they're all house/litter trained and we're not slobs or animal hoarders, but if I was a landlord, I know I'd be asking for a laaarge pet deposit.

Yeah, sounds like Brooklyn. Did you have the hookers having out on your stoop too? My friends did....there was also a murder right across the street. That was the last straw, nobody wants to pull the curtains in their home so their young kid doesn't see a bled out dead body. They moved soon after that.

I would really doubt Glen Burnie has that kind of insanity. From how my friend describes it, the AA county folks drive above the line to get into the city part of Brooklyn for their drugs and hookers because they know the city is too overwhelmed to effectively deal with the problem. Still do your homework since you want to make sure your move improves your living situation. Good luck.

[bande1102]

Originally Posted by Bobsteelewantsdessertnow

Oh, I have STORIES from my current situation. One including a naked man running down the street chased by another man wielding a rake. I just want to live somewhere generally safe. And no naked guys. We have considered Linthicum, but unfortunately haven't seen anything come on the market that fit what we were looking for. With a big pit-mix and a few cats, I don't think renting is a viable option for us. I mean they're all house/litter trained and we're not slobs or animal hoarders, but if I was a landlord, I know I'd be asking for a laaarge pet deposit.

Forgot about the dog when I suggested renting. Yeah, that could be a problem. I have not heard anything close to those stories in Glen Burnie.

[JudithM65]

You said you are pregnant with twins. I know you have a few years, but ... Have you looked at information about schools in various areas in Anne Arundel County?

[Bobsteelewantsdessertnow]

Originally Posted by JudithM65

You said you are pregnant with twins. I know you have a few years, but ... Have you looked at information about schools in various areas in Anne Arundel County?

I have, and while we'd prefer to be in the Chesapeake part of Pasadena or the severna park area schools, we haven't found anything in those areas that are in our price range that don't need significant updating. the assigned elementary school for the house were considering is rated as average, which isn't great but not cause for alarm. By the time they're at the age where I feel like we'd really need to worry about "bad" kids/drugs/weapons at school, we'll be living in Florida.