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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is OP. Thanks again for the commentary -- this is genuinely helping us work through our hang ups. And to the PP upthread who noted that if we move to Baltimore, we will inevitably have to deal with DC people talking s**t about it -- excellent point! It's funny because my DH works with a lot of people who are based in Baltimore or elsewhere in Maryland, and they ALL say terrible things about DC all the time and we've always just ignored it because we were happy here and their criticism is often (though not always) based in ignorance of what it's actually like. So we assume the same is true about Baltimore to an extent.

Also, we live in a neighborhood in DC that I'm sure may would PPs would find horribly crime-ridden, and love it and don't find it unsafe. If you live in a city, you will deal with crime. We have accepted that.

And thank you to those encouraging us to take the long view on home values. I do feel like we are suffering from DC short-timers thinking -- you get weirdly accustomed to people profiting off their homes here after living in them for only a few years, and it skews perspective on what a "normal" appreciation is like. We have a neighbor in our building who sold their condo for a 200k profit (after closing costs) after just two years. It was eye-popping. Stories like that have definitely altered our perception and I think if we are really going to make the leap to moving out of DC, we need to be brought back down to earth a bit. So thank you!

I think ultimately we need to just keep looking for the right home. Increasingly, I think Hampden is our sweet spot -- we really love the commercial area of the neighborhood and we aren't looking for a ton of space (we've lived in a 1000 sq ft condo with a child and a pet for over 5 years, I think anything will feel like an upgrade!), though would love a little yard or patio. It feels like the right middle ground and is close enough to a number of schools we like while keeping our overall costs down. I think targeting our search, and maybe letting go of our original instinct to be in a denser part of town, is going to help us make sense of this whole thing and make a better apples to apples financial comparison between DC and Baltimore. Wish us luck![/quote]

Hey, I'm the previous poster who just moved to Hampden after a long time in another part of Baltimore -- happy to answer any specific questions as I'm obsessed by the RE market here. If you are looking at public schools, I'd encourage you to consider the pluses and minuses of those zoned for Medfield vs Hampden. If you're looking at private schools, there's lots of us over in the private/independent forum who can tell you about specific schools.

I feel like there are three "zones" of Hampden: Remington/Hopkins, Right There in the Middle, and Woodberry.  I'd choose Remington/Hopkins if you have a reason to want to be near Hopkins. There's some good food around there and commerce, but it's really a JHU life-support system. Not that it makes it unpleasant! But it's definitely student-oriented.

Middle Hampden offers mostly small and dense housing. Wonderful walkability, The Avenue is fun, and parking is pure nightmare so spend what you need to for off-street parking.

Woodberry has great dining, hip vibe, and is literally on top of a nice Light Rail station. Larger housing options here, much quieter. Somewhat farther from non-dining conveniences -- and by that I mean that you're a mile from the grocery story and library instead of being .5 mile. It's all still very close. Zoned for Medfield Elementary. Parking can be dicey on some streets but isn't quite as brutal as Hampden proper.  Mostly older stock like middle Hampden, but with some cool old stone places like this: https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/1504-Mill-Race-Rd-21211/home/10860655 . There's also quite a bit of new or newer construction around there if that's more your speed. Speaking of which, new construction in Woodberry is one of the very few places in the Baltimore city limits to offer fios. Most of Baltimore is essentially redlined, which sucks.

We chose Woodberry because the Light Rail access was key for my spouse's job, and we're on the older side (we dine but don't really drink any more!). We've been super happy here so far. You are going to have great options because we passed over 90% of listings because we wanted 2000 sq ft. That's rare and really cut down our choices. But if you're looking around 1500 sq ft you'll have fun. I assume your budget is around 500k or less?  If it's more than that things are a bit different.  But $400k in Hampden can get you an awful lot. Have fun, and let us know how things go![/quote]

OP again. Thank you, this is so helpful! We have mostly been looking at Middle Hampden and are drawn to the Avenue, but Woodberry sounds appealing. We will definitely be doing public to start, though we may wind up in private for MS and/or HS depending on what happens -- my understanding is that public MS/HS in Baltimore requires the same level of careful navigation as it does in DC, so it's hard to predict given that our DC is still very young.

Can you tell me give me an overview of Medfield v. Hampden schools? We know we may also have some options outside of zoned schools because of Baltimore's choice system, but I've heard Roland Park schools are already overcrowded so we are unlikely to get a spot there if we don't live nearby? Is that true?[/quote]

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