Those that have moved from DC to Baltimore...

[Anonymous]

I had to read this thread to believe it. People would choose Bmore over anything? Grew up there...will only go back at gunpoint, which happens when you are from Bmore.

Was there for Thanksgiving, spent as little time there as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had to read this thread to believe it. People would choose Bmore over anything? Grew up there...will only go back at gunpoint, which happens when you are from Bmore.

Was there for Thanksgiving, spent as little time there as possible.

We go there often and love it. Will be moving there soon. We don't like the crime, of course, but otherwise prefer Baltimore to DC suburbs for sure, and even DC itself in many respects. Of crime makes it much significantly cheaper.

[Anonymous]

If you learn little else from this thread, let it be that the price of a neighborhood reflects the demand for that neighborhood. DC is expensive because it is desirable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had to read this thread to believe it. People would choose Bmore over anything? Grew up there...will only go back at gunpoint, which happens when you are from Bmore.

Was there for Thanksgiving, spent as little time there as possible.

Where in Baltimore did you go this past weekend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you learn little else from this thread, let it be that the price of a neighborhood reflects the demand for that neighborhood. DC is expensive because it is desirable.

Nobody needs this thread to appreciate the law of supply and demand. Demand for DC real estate is very high. Now, why is that can be debated. Personally I don't find DC very desirable (I don't hate but it's not my favorite city by any stretch), but I am still here because there are a lot of jobs here. I would say that is what drives the prices.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't live in Baltimore City, nor would I live in DC (though I recognize it is much nicer in most parts than Baltimore City). But the upper middle class suburbs of Baltimore have a much better quality of life and value than their counterparts in DC. Ellicott City, White Marsh, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't live in Baltimore City, nor would I live in DC (though I recognize it is much nicer in most parts than Baltimore City). But the upper middle class suburbs of Baltimore have a much better quality of life and value than their counterparts in DC. Ellicott City, White Marsh, etc.

Well, no, not really, dear. Cheaper, yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:baltimore sucks

they both suck, but for different reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't live in Baltimore City, nor would I live in DC (though I recognize it is much nicer in most parts than Baltimore City). But the upper middle class suburbs of Baltimore have a much better quality of life and value than their counterparts in DC. Ellicott City, White Marsh, etc.

I am no fun of DC suburbs but Ellicott City is incredibly ugly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't live in Baltimore City, nor would I live in DC (though I recognize it is much nicer in most parts than Baltimore City). But the upper middle class suburbs of Baltimore have a much better quality of life and value than their counterparts in DC. Ellicott City, White Marsh, etc.

Well, no, not really, dear. Cheaper, yes.

I've lived in both (Howard County, Baltimore County and then Kensington, Potomac, Arlington and then Vienna), I much prefer nice Baltimore suburbs

[Anonymous]

For anyone considering the move, there is a blog that chronicles one family's move from DC to Baltimore that you might find helpful http://bmorebungalow.blogspot.com/

[Anonymous]

baltimore is SO much better than DC its not even close.

[Anonymous]

I ran across this old thread but wanted to comment because I've lived in both cities and there were a few inaccuracies stated in other comments.

First, it's not true that you will have to send your child to private school if you are considering moving to Baltimore. Overall the school district is not good, but there are multiple EXCELLENT individual schools. For elementary/middle there is Roland Park School, Hampstead Hill Academy, Mount Washington School, and Tunbridge Charter. For high school there is Polytechnic, Baltimore School for the Arts, and Western.

The price of a 3 bedroom in Roland Park or Homeland is well below $600K, in fact you can get 5-6 bedrooms for that price.

If you are considering the move some nice Baltimore neighborhoods to consider are Roland Park, Lake Walker, Bolton Hill, Homeland, Cedarcroft, and Evergreen, among several others.

I hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I ran across this old thread but wanted to comment because I've lived in both cities and there were a few inaccuracies stated in other comments.

First, it's not true that you will have to send your child to private school if you are considering moving to Baltimore. Overall the school district is not good, but there are multiple EXCELLENT individual schools. For elementary/middle there is Roland Park School, Hampstead Hill Academy, Mount Washington School, and Tunbridge Charter. For high school there is Polytechnic, Baltimore School for the Arts, and Western.

The price of a 3 bedroom in Roland Park or Homeland is well below $600K, in fact you can get 5-6 bedrooms for that price.

If you are considering the move some nice Baltimore neighborhoods to consider are Roland Park, Lake Walker, Bolton Hill, Homeland, Cedarcroft, and Evergreen, among several others.

I hope this helps!

I live in Baltimore and disagree with much of this. You can buy homes in Homeland and RP for less than $500,000 but what I consider desirable homes in those area are priced $600,000 to 1,000,000. Living in cheaper housing in Homeland typically puts you close to York Road and lots of crime, not a good trade off. In fact, this is generally true of the whole city, plenty of cheap housing available, none of it particularly safe. The exception is Guildford, which is more expensive but also unsafe.

None of the public schools in Baltimore city are particularly good, though the ones you mention are better than most. My kids attend public school in Baltimore County, there is no public school in the city I would send them to. Those that live in the city that can afford private or catholic schools for the most part do so.

Do not move to Baltimore to commute to DC unless you are planning to devote an hour and a half or more to each part of your commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you saying that you already have a job?

I'm from Baltimore. And I can tell you firmly that the job market in Baltimore is not good *unless* you are in the medical field (Hopkins). Otherwise, it's a crapshoot.

If you have a job offer there, though, then it's not a bad idea. But just be sure it's a solid offer, because if you were to get laid off, you'd probably have to move back toward DC to get a decent white collar job.

If you're definition of a safe neighborhood is limited to Bethesda/N. Arlington, then you probably will not like Baltimore.

You see, in Baltimore, the wealthy upscale neighborhoods are ALL in close proximity to the really bad areas. It's not like the D.C. area, where the wealthier/upscale sections are like little enclaves all to themselves.

Roland Park (not Roland Hill), for example, arguably one of the wealthiest, most upscale sections of the city, is near some very undesirable sections that you have to drive through to get to Roland Park. That's why there is still a lot of crime even in the good neighborhoods in Baltimore -- because they're sort of interwoven with the bad neighborhoods.

And Roland Park is not very walkable. It's on the outskirts of Baltimore, bordering the suburbs.

I'm not saying that Baltimore is bad. I'm saying that even the fancier sections are not at all like Bethesda/N. Arlington. I suspect you'll be disappointed.

I would suggest that before you pick up and move, you spend a lot of time in Baltimore, at different times. Drive around.

Roland Park is nice, but you go a few blocks down York Road, and it's really rough. In order to go anywhere, you'll likely be driving through really rough areas.

I'm not saying that is necessarily bad. It's a unique feature of Baltimore -- really upscale one block and then vacant buildings one block over. Some people looking for a cheaper version of DC have been very disappointed when they moved to Baltimore.

And I can emphasize enough the job market. If the job offer is strong and with a stable company, great. But part of why I moved down to the DC area is because the job market was more robust down here. And the cheaper cost of living in Baltimore didn't make up for not being able to find a job.

I think as neighborhoods go, Roland Park and Guilford are a thousand times nicer. I understand that that is comparing apples to oranges since Bethesda is a city and Roland Park is a neighborhood. Taxes are super high. The elementary school in Roland Park is nice. Homeland and Tuscany-Canterbury are great as well.

I love Tuscany Canterbury. People don't even know about it. I live in DC, but love Baltimore. You can absolutely get a lot more for your money, however, property taxes are higher. Job market is just not as good. I'd move in a heartbeat for a great opportunity.