Do we stay in DC or move to Baltimore?

[Anonymous]

Baltimore is no comparison of DC, period. It is just nuts to even compare their potential.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Saw this thread bumped, do an update.

We decided to stay in DC. For now. We might have moved this summer but a neighbor in our building listed their unit snd it took a while to sell. It just went under contract for a great price, but we didn’t want to be for sale at the same time when it was taking them a while to give a buyer.

We’re still torn, honestly. Live DC, but COL is painful. But the cost/benefit for Baltimore is tough. We looked at a ton of places this summer and CB put in offers on a couple, but it feels like owners need a certain ROI and while I get it, it also makes me cautious. We are reconsidering suburbs (Ellicott City, Columbia, Severna Park— we’d prefer to be south of the it’s because we have so many friends in DC). It’s a tough choice.

We’re still interested in Baltimore but probably the biggest sticking point is schools. If prices were 100k lower I think we’d do it and go private. But the combo of prices and taxes and schools that are worse than DC is making it hard. We like the city, but it’s just not adding up. So we’re in DC another year at least and we’ll see how it goes. Our kid is still young enough that we can postpone a year.

Still interested in perspectives though. This thread has been super informative/helpful for us during the house hunting process.

[Anonymous]

^ugh typos! Sorry!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ugh typos! Sorry!

No need to apologize. I appreciate your sharing your reasoning. It's a big jump and it should then be something with a lot of wiggle room to work out and it sounds like it didn't seem to be there.

In general I've been worried about people making big moves during the pandemic. Unless you can be sure of a whole bunch of things, it seems like a bad idea and this is time where no one is sure of much of anything.

[Anonymous]

i'm dazzled by the real estate, have a pal who lives there and loves it. the taxes - wow. suddenly i'm so impressed with all we have in dc. this is where i am a bit hung up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i'm dazzled by the real estate, have a pal who lives there and loves it. the taxes - wow. suddenly i'm so impressed with all we have in dc. this is where i am a bit hung up.

No place has it all. While nothing is a sure thing, I'd feel a lot better about the upside potential for Baltimore than I do for DC. DC has had a big run up, they're almost certainly closer to their upper limit.

[Anonymous]

I haven’t read through the 16 pages, but I can tell you that, unless you are discussing high-crime areas, the answer is never Baltimore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm dazzled by the real estate, have a pal who lives there and loves it. the taxes - wow. suddenly i'm so impressed with all we have in dc. this is where i am a bit hung up.

No place has it all. While nothing is a sure thing, I'd feel a lot better about the upside potential for Baltimore than I do for DC. DC has had a big run up, they're almost certainly closer to their upper limit.

I mean, that's not good analysis. Increasing values are based on growth potential and desirability. Baltimore has basically lost its entire corporate base, and has nothing much left but back offices and Johns Hopkins. Any run up has to be supported by demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm dazzled by the real estate, have a pal who lives there and loves it. the taxes - wow. suddenly i'm so impressed with all we have in dc. this is where i am a bit hung up.

No place has it all. While nothing is a sure thing, I'd feel a lot better about the upside potential for Baltimore than I do for DC. DC has had a big run up, they're almost certainly closer to their upper limit.

I mean, that's not good analysis. Increasing values are based on growth potential and desirability. Baltimore has basically lost its entire corporate base, and has nothing much left but back offices and Johns Hopkins. Any run up has to be supported by demand.

+1. As far as world capital cities go, DC still has a lot of upside potential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm dazzled by the real estate, have a pal who lives there and loves it. the taxes - wow. suddenly i'm so impressed with all we have in dc. this is where i am a bit hung up.

No place has it all. While nothing is a sure thing, I'd feel a lot better about the upside potential for Baltimore than I do for DC. DC has had a big run up, they're almost certainly closer to their upper limit.

I mean, that's not good analysis. Increasing values are based on growth potential and desirability. Baltimore has basically lost its entire corporate base, and has nothing much left but back offices and Johns Hopkins. Any run up has to be supported by demand.

Someone has scant experience in markets that require knowledge of very long-term price activity. Imagining current dynamics will last forever is the worst analysis imaginable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm dazzled by the real estate, have a pal who lives there and loves it. the taxes - wow. suddenly i'm so impressed with all we have in dc. this is where i am a bit hung up.

No place has it all. While nothing is a sure thing, I'd feel a lot better about the upside potential for Baltimore than I do for DC. DC has had a big run up, they're almost certainly closer to their upper limit.

I mean, that's not good analysis. Increasing values are based on growth potential and desirability. Baltimore has basically lost its entire corporate base, and has nothing much left but back offices and Johns Hopkins. Any run up has to be supported by demand.

+1. As far as world capital cities go, DC still has a lot of upside potential.

Most ‘world capital cities’ are also their country’s commercial capital. DC isn’t that at all.

And most here don’t get there are limits to these periods of exponential growth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here.

Inside the city, the Roland Park EM/MS has a great reputation and holds its ground against the county options. Many Hopkins parents. Great neighborhood. We know plenty of people with kids there and they're parents with degrees from Ivy colleges. Big complaint is overcrowded and many do move to privates for middle and especially HS, but Baltimore does offer good tracks for public HS, if you navigate it carefully.

You'll find Baltimore (city and burbs) much more relaxed than DC. North Baltimore and inside the beltway Towson are great places to live at a fraction of the price of CC or Bethesda.

I have a relative that moved to RP 12 years ago and has put about $400K into this house. He just told me that it was recently valued $10K higher than what they bought it for in 2009. Have to admit, I was shocked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here.

Inside the city, the Roland Park EM/MS has a great reputation and holds its ground against the county options. Many Hopkins parents. Great neighborhood. We know plenty of people with kids there and they're parents with degrees from Ivy colleges. Big complaint is overcrowded and many do move to privates for middle and especially HS, but Baltimore does offer good tracks for public HS, if you navigate it carefully.

You'll find Baltimore (city and burbs) much more relaxed than DC. North Baltimore and inside the beltway Towson are great places to live at a fraction of the price of CC or Bethesda.

I have a relative that moved to RP 12 years ago and has put about $400K into this house. He just told me that it was recently valued $10K higher than what they bought it for in 2009. Have to admit, I was shocked.

Were you not aware of the housing bubble at that time? 2008-2009 was peak bubble. Not surprised that it’s only now recovering. A lot of people took a bath on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here.

Inside the city, the Roland Park EM/MS has a great reputation and holds its ground against the county options. Many Hopkins parents. Great neighborhood. We know plenty of people with kids there and they're parents with degrees from Ivy colleges. Big complaint is overcrowded and many do move to privates for middle and especially HS, but Baltimore does offer good tracks for public HS, if you navigate it carefully.

You'll find Baltimore (city and burbs) much more relaxed than DC. North Baltimore and inside the beltway Towson are great places to live at a fraction of the price of CC or Bethesda.

I have a relative that moved to RP 12 years ago and has put about $400K into this house. He just told me that it was recently valued $10K higher than what they bought it for in 2009. Have to admit, I was shocked.

Were you not aware of the housing bubble at that time? 2008-2009 was peak bubble. Not surprised that it’s only now recovering. A lot of people took a bath on that.

The DC path was also very much an anomaly during that period and after. I think if you've only seen DC you might get a bad idea about virtually any other place in the U.S., save for the Bay Area and Seattle.