Buying in Baltimore and commuting to Fort Meade
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Anonymous
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I recently started working at Fort Meade as a Fed. Currently I am staying at a relative's house in Greenbelt and doing the commute there daily. I started looking at the prices in Baltimore and was kind of blown away by what you get compared to the DC area, not to mention all the tax incentives. Does anyone do this commute? Would it be worth it to get a place there? I am a single guy in my early 30s with no kids and not looking to have any soon. I have 15,000 saved for a down payment. My salary at Fort Meade is about $60k and will likely go up over time. I want to be kind of close to the highway, so I was looking at Pigtown as it is close to 95 and 295. Maybe something like these...
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1155-Cleveland-St-21230/home/11001284 https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1112-Sterrett-St-21230/home/11003625 https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1262-Sargeant-St-21223/home/10999176 How is the area? I know crime is a hit or miss in Baltimore, but heard it is mostly in West Baltimore away from this area. I thought about getting something in Columbia as someone had mentioned at my job but it just seems too suburban for my taste. I like going out to sports bars and occasionally going to concerts and shows. DC is not affordable for me unless I get roommates which I prefer not to. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| How do you feel about an hour plus commute each way? Traffic towards dc from Baltimore is beyond ridiculous, even if you are only going halfway. |
Anonymous
These houses are in West Baltimore (west of MLK Boulevard). Expect lots of crime. |
Anonymous
| I think it's a great idea. One of my coworkers is from Baltimore and is a big fan of his hometown. I've talked to him about buying a house there for the same reasons you've mentioned. Apparently the neighborhoods vary a lot, and no the in an east/west divide. I need to chat my coworker up again to get more details about neighborhoods etc. |
Anonymous
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I knew someone who did that commute from Federal Hill in Balt for the same reasons you mentioned. Also knew a guy who lived in this building in the SW/Waterfront neighborhood in DC over by the soccer and baseball stadiums and found the commute (a little) shorter and convenient for when he had to go to Bolling instead.
https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1301-Delaware-Ave-SW-20024/unit-N123/home/12368968 I'd also look around Columbia town center. It's cookie cutter, but there are lots of good concerts at Merriwether and, thus, good places to go out for a drink before/after. |
Anonymous
| The SW DC idea is a good one, if you can swing the costs. Those places sell faster than Baltimore real estate, which would be useful if you ever switch jobs. (from DC you can also commute to DIA, NGA, ONI, pentagon, all of which would be awful from Baltimore or Columbia.) You might have a look at Annapolis, too - it's not that young but it would be a good commute. |
Anonymous
| If you do pick Baltimore, definitely get a place with parking - driving around looking for a spot and then walking a couple blocks home later in the evening is when I felt sometimes unsafe. (plus my car windows got broken a billion times - but that's happened to me in Dupont and Arlington, too, so I think it's just an urban density thing) |
Anonymous
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Unless you live in Locust Point or Federal Hill, you are looking at a 45min-1hr15min commute from the nice neighborhoods in Baltimore.
If you are coming from Hampden, Roland Park, Charles Village, Homeland, etc, you either have to come down 83 and then take city streets to pick up 295, or you take a city arterial to 695 and drive around the beltway. Canton might be worth a look- it's easier to get on the east side of 695 from there, which is less crowded than the west side of 695. |
Anonymous
| Pigstown is perfect for commuting to Fort Meade. Easy access to 295, should take 30min or less in bad traffic. I used to commute from Hollins Market to d.c. so I’m speaking from experience. You should look for places closer to MLK then Carroll park. |
Anonymous
This. No way would I live in West Baltimore. |
Anonymous
| I would not spend that amount of time in a car, nor would I sink my money into Baltimore real estate. They are another riot away from further depressed prices. Why not rent closer to work? That whole area is inexpensive. |
Anonymous
OP, do not listen to people like this. Baltimore has plenty of nice neighborhoods, many of which have appreciated in price since Freddie Gray. Here's a home that is right across from Riverside Park and within waling distance to the $1B+ Port Covington development, which will house the new Under Armour Headquarters. This would be a reasonable commute to Fort Meade: https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1741-Covington-St-21230/home/11020476 This will take some sweat equity, but it would be worth it once Port Covington comes around. Here's a home that sold two blocks away to give you a frame of reference about what stuff sells for when it's fixed up: https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1532-Covington-St-21230/home/11885715 |
Anonymous
The Rah Rah Baltimore booster has found you. The commute to Fort Meade is reasonable only if you want an hour plus commute. |
Anonymous
| I do the opposite commute - live near Fort Meade and work in the Inner Harbor. The traffic is unpredictable - it’s 25 minutes door to door with no traffic and an hour and a half on a bad day. I haven’t noticed a difference in traffic volume regardless of which direction you are traveling. I flex my work schedule so I hit the road at 7am and 3pm, and that usually avoids the worst of it, but I still have a bad commute once a week or so. |
Anonymous
This is ridiculous. Stop. Google Maps does not agree with you, nor does anyone who's actually done that commute. The commute time from Capitol Hill to North Baltimore around 6 pm is 1:30 to 1:45. There is no way it takes 1 hour to do a reverse commute from the edge of South Baltimore to Fort Meade. |