Reply to Those that have moved from DC to Baltimore...

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[quote=Anonymous]The mayor of Baltimore is not corrupt, but the city council is full of old-time Baltimorons of questionable ethics. The schools are terrible, the taxes are extremely high, the police are outgunned by the drug dealers and gang members, the city is dirty and rundown. Why anyone would leave DC or Arlington to come to Baltimore beats me.

It's not that cheap. Yes, you can buy a beautiful house in Roland Park for half what you'd pay in CCDC, but the taxes, which you'll pay every year, are double what you'd pay in the district, you can't use most of the public schools (except Roland Park Elementary, which is OK, but not great). The crime problem is ongoing and something the police cannot handle. Roland Park has relatively little crime, but there were some carjackings a few months ago right in the nicest part of Roland Park.

I used to live in Manhattan, and I got tired of always having my guard up, looking behind me, over my shoulder, ready at every moment to be mugged. That's kind of what living in Roland Park is like, which is very strange since Roland Park looks just like a beautiful suburb with century-old Victorians, tree-lined streets, quiet and peaceful. Go west a few blocks, or south, and you are in less desirable, and definitely more crime-ridden areas of Baltimore. And that crime strays into Roland Park on a regular basis.

It's a terrible shame, really, because Baltimore is an absolutely beautiful city with gorgeous neighborhoods, beautiful parks, stunning older neighborhoods filled with hundred-year-old enormous townhouses that are breathtakingly beautiful. But look closely at these neighborhoods, and the houses are run down, the paint is peeling, the grass isn't cut, there are check-cashing places stuck onto antique brick buildings with stained glass windows and green tile roofs.

The only thing that's going to save Baltimore is high speed rail to DC that will bring in lots of money to fix up Baltimore's exceptionally lovely neighborhoods. The above-mentioned buildings can be had for a song, gorgeous architectural details and all. They were lovely middle-class neighborhoods back in the 1960s when Baltimore was legally segregated. The middle class (black and white) left the city in droves, leaving behind rows of 1920s bungalows, intact and stunning, attractive shopping areas built in the 1920s, golf courses and huge, grassy parks. Poor people who couldn't afford to leave moved into the huge houses, couldn't afford to maintain them, so the houses are now deteriorating, architectural treasure falling to ruin because no one with money cares to save them.

High speed rail will save Baltimore, but it's not coming. No one is coming. I am not going to live long enough to see the salvation of Baltimore, if there's anything left to save by then. It's tragic to see a historic and once-noble city brought to its knees, with no rescue in sight. [/quote]

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