Where to live?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:OP, since you are the one working only 2-3 days in office I see no reason for your DH to spend 5 days going up to Ft Meade so you both can live in DC.

Your money will go twice as far in Baltimore. You can live somewhere like Riverside and be zoned for a Blue Ribbon elementary school and pay half of what you would for a house in Capitol Hill. It’s also next to the water and MUCH safer and nicer than Capitol Hill. You could drive 2-3 days a week to DC or park at BWI and catch the MARC / Amtrak. A Riverside to Ft Meade commute would be 20-30 minutes.

This is what $495,000 will get you in Riverside within walking distance to the harbor, Federal Hill, and Locust Point. You can walk to ferries that will take you to Canton and Fell’s Point as well. This lifestyle is much more like Hoboken than Capitol Hill. It’s also zoned to a 7/10 K-8 school.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1509-Riverside-Ave-21230/home/11019719

OP here - this is a super interesting recommendation! It looks like a great area. I hadn’t considered Baltimore before because I admittedly don’t know much about it. Its short term but I assume pre k isn’t public/free like dc?

Pre K isn’t free unless you’re lower income and make around $96,000 for a family of four.

Hampden and Roland Park are great neighborhoods as well but are in northern Baltimore so might not be good for either of your commutes. If you get a job closer to Baltimore Roland Park would be ideal if you want a SFH, great schools and parks, and to be a close drive to some really fantastic bars and restaurants in Hampden and Remington.

Another neighborhood in South Baltimore is Locust Point, which is zoned for another 7/10 GS K-8 school and is on the water. It’s a very safe neighborhood and has a nice shopping center with a Harris Teeter in it as well as a bunch of great non chain restaurants and bars. $679,000 can get you a new build townhome there:

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1423-Haubert-St-21230/home/195415948

I’d take a look at these neighborhoods in Baltimore before I settled on DC if I were you.

OP here - yeah absolutely! I don’t know why I hadn’t considered Baltimore but so far loving what I see about south Baltimore. I feel like I must be missing something though when I see the real estate prices (so low compared to DC?).

There are more high paying jobs in and around DC, and there really are no “slums” like you find in other cities. Even the “bad” parts of DC look nice; whereas, some residential parts of West Baltimore look partially abandoned and are very, very dangerous. DC also has a really nice subway (Metro) that has contributed to rising real estate prices in both city and suburban neighborhoods.

Baltimore has always had a more working class / Appalachia-type vibe, which has evolved into a lot of home-grown, non-corporate businesses today. DC is very corporate (lots of Compass Coffees and high end Blue Bottles), and also has a button down w/ sports coat vibe.

This is an oversimplification. DC has 122 murders this year and Baltimore has 118 even though Baltimore doesn’t have the benefit of the National Guard, Secret Service, FBI, ATF, and Capitol Police being stationed in the city. Baltimore also has 120,000 less people so DC’s murder rate is obviously higher. DC’s murder rate has been higher than Baltimore’s ever since 2023.

There is more urban blight in some neighborhoods in Baltimore but Baltimore’s crime does not affect neighborhoods where there are $500,000+ townhomes as much as DC. It is much safer in Locust Point, Riverside and Canton than it is in Columbia Heights, Capitol Hill or Petworth for example even though homes in these Baltimore neighborhoods are cheaper and are zoned for better public schools.

OP, don’t believe me. Look for yourself. Go to Locust Point or Riverside and then go to neighborhoods in DC where you can buy nice townhomes like the ones that were posted above for $450,000-$700,000. Go to each area in the day and night. Walk around, get something to eat or drink, and determine for yourself which feels nicer.

Yep I’m actually very excited about checking out the south Baltimore peninsula (areas like riverside and locust point). My employer has an office in Baltimore also that I could probably split time at so I’m not commuting to DC 2-3x a week (instead maybe 1x/wk). I’m not sure why I glossed over Baltimore before but I guess that was the point of this thread

Do most young families in riverside and locust point go to public school for elementary? And I assume it’s mostly middle or UMC two-working parent families (for residents that do have young kids)? Vs an atmosphere that includes SAHMs and private schools etc.

Spend time in the Hampden neighborhood too, even if you decide not to live there. Good Neighbor is arguably one of the best cafes / coffee shops in Baltimore, and better than anything in D.C. Nearby in Remington is La Maison by Cafe Dear Leon. Better than any of the boulangeries / patisseries in DC.

Hampden is great as is Roland Park, but OP’s husband is commuting to Fort Meade so the commute would increase about 20-30 minutes each way verse living in South Baltimore, where you can just get off 95 at Key Highway and not even go through the city to get home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you live in Baltimore if you will work in person near Mt Vernon Sq several days a week? Live near one of your jobs! Just live downtown (maybe Logan Circle or Dupont) or Capitol Hill.

Her husband works in Fort Meade 5 days a week. She can work 1 day a week in DC if she goes to her company’s Baltimore Office. The school’s and crime and much better in Riverside and Locust Point than they are in any of the neighborhoods you mentioned, which are also at least twice as expensive for a townhome.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:OP, since you are the one working only 2-3 days in office I see no reason for your DH to spend 5 days going up to Ft Meade so you both can live in DC.

Your money will go twice as far in Baltimore. You can live somewhere like Riverside and be zoned for a Blue Ribbon elementary school and pay half of what you would for a house in Capitol Hill. It’s also next to the water and MUCH safer and nicer than Capitol Hill. You could drive 2-3 days a week to DC or park at BWI and catch the MARC / Amtrak. A Riverside to Ft Meade commute would be 20-30 minutes.

This is what $495,000 will get you in Riverside within walking distance to the harbor, Federal Hill, and Locust Point. You can walk to ferries that will take you to Canton and Fell’s Point as well. This lifestyle is much more like Hoboken than Capitol Hill. It’s also zoned to a 7/10 K-8 school.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1509-Riverside-Ave-21230/home/11019719

OP here - this is a super interesting recommendation! It looks like a great area. I hadn’t considered Baltimore before because I admittedly don’t know much about it. Its short term but I assume pre k isn’t public/free like dc?

Pre K isn’t free unless you’re lower income and make around $96,000 for a family of four.

Hampden and Roland Park are great neighborhoods as well but are in northern Baltimore so might not be good for either of your commutes. If you get a job closer to Baltimore Roland Park would be ideal if you want a SFH, great schools and parks, and to be a close drive to some really fantastic bars and restaurants in Hampden and Remington.

Another neighborhood in South Baltimore is Locust Point, which is zoned for another 7/10 GS K-8 school and is on the water. It’s a very safe neighborhood and has a nice shopping center with a Harris Teeter in it as well as a bunch of great non chain restaurants and bars. $679,000 can get you a new build townhome there:

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1423-Haubert-St-21230/home/195415948

I’d take a look at these neighborhoods in Baltimore before I settled on DC if I were you.

OP here - yeah absolutely! I don’t know why I hadn’t considered Baltimore but so far loving what I see about south Baltimore. I feel like I must be missing something though when I see the real estate prices (so low compared to DC?).

There are more high paying jobs in and around DC, and there really are no “slums” like you find in other cities. Even the “bad” parts of DC look nice; whereas, some residential parts of West Baltimore look partially abandoned and are very, very dangerous. DC also has a really nice subway (Metro) that has contributed to rising real estate prices in both city and suburban neighborhoods.

Baltimore has always had a more working class / Appalachia-type vibe, which has evolved into a lot of home-grown, non-corporate businesses today. DC is very corporate (lots of Compass Coffees and high end Blue Bottles), and also has a button down w/ sports coat vibe.

This is an oversimplification. DC has 122 murders this year and Baltimore has 118 even though Baltimore doesn’t have the benefit of the National Guard, Secret Service, FBI, ATF, and Capitol Police being stationed in the city. Baltimore also has 120,000 less people so DC’s murder rate is obviously higher. DC’s murder rate has been higher than Baltimore’s ever since 2023.

There is more urban blight in some neighborhoods in Baltimore but Baltimore’s crime does not affect neighborhoods where there are $500,000+ townhomes as much as DC. It is much safer in Locust Point, Riverside and Canton than it is in Columbia Heights, Capitol Hill or Petworth for example even though homes in these Baltimore neighborhoods are cheaper and are zoned for better public schools.

OP, don’t believe me. Look for yourself. Go to Locust Point or Riverside and then go to neighborhoods in DC where you can buy nice townhomes like the ones that were posted above for $450,000-$700,000. Go to each area in the day and night. Walk around, get something to eat or drink, and determine for yourself which feels nicer.

Yep I’m actually very excited about checking out the south Baltimore peninsula (areas like riverside and locust point). My employer has an office in Baltimore also that I could probably split time at so I’m not commuting to DC 2-3x a week (instead maybe 1x/wk). I’m not sure why I glossed over Baltimore before but I guess that was the point of this thread

Do most young families in riverside and locust point go to public school for elementary? And I assume it’s mostly middle or UMC two-working parent families (for residents that do have young kids)? Vs an atmosphere that includes SAHMs and private schools etc.

Spend time in the Hampden neighborhood too, even if you decide not to live there. Good Neighbor is arguably one of the best cafes / coffee shops in Baltimore, and better than anything in D.C. Nearby in Remington is La Maison by Cafe Dear Leon. Better than any of the boulangeries / patisseries in DC.

Hampden is great as is Roland Park, but OP’s husband is commuting to Fort Meade so the commute would increase about 20-30 minutes each way verse living in South Baltimore, where you can just get off 95 at Key Highway and not even go through the city to get home.

Yeah. Many of the Baltimore suggestions make no sense for either commute.

[Anonymous]

OP, forgot to tell you that Ft Meade is a 20-30 minutes drive from Riverside and is 6 minutes from the Odenton MARC. If your schedules work out your DH can drop you at the MARC station on his way to work for your 1-2 days your working in DC.

[Anonymous]

I feel very sorry for whomever is commuting to Ft Meade from DC for an entire year. That totally would be hell.

[Anonymous]

Another point for DC is its universal pre-k (which you seem pretty well-versed on), which is a big consideration for a family with babies and little kids. I'd pick DC for that and the other reasons you mentioned but rent (which seems to be your intention) so you can get a feel for the city first. Capitol Hill tends to retain families more than other parts of the city, but some people do decamp after early elementary.

[Anonymous]

I have commuted to Baltimore for years from the DMV because of DH's job. A few thoughts: 1) Your DH will have a reverse commute which helps some days and definitely if he matches his commute to rush hour, 2) the 295 commute is the worst compared to the 95, 3) we ended up in Chevy Chase/Bethesda walkable to the Bethesda Row and the metro, 4) South Baltimore is nice for a few years but the areas you'd like are small and eventually you will want to move. So if you are looking to build long term community, Baltimore will be a little harder. Lots of people live there for a few years with young kids and then move to the burbs (Columbia for you, North Baltimore for others based on jobs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel very sorry for whomever is commuting to Ft Meade from DC for an entire year. That totally would be hell.

It really is not if you live by Union station- I commute from Columbia to Union station every day and the train is fine.