Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore was so bad the last time we visited it. We went to the Childrens’ museum and at every intersection a gang of about 8 boys with sloppy greasy window sqeezgees would just pounce on our windows without asking first. This happened repeatedly in and out of the city from the arena to the museum. It was nerve racking bc you didn’t really know how they would react when you said ‘no thank you.’ Some just left the slop on the windows and walked away. One kid hit the window with his stick, etc. This scared us in the car. And, this was in the tourist section around the Inner Harbor. Now we find other cities to visit.

+1. It’s gone downhill…

There are a lot of Maryland posters who are insanely competitive when it comes to anything having to do with Virginia, the DC suburbs of which have really overtaken the Maryland suburbs in terms of overall wealth and influence in the DC region. They’ll try to make Baltimore sounds like Paris if the alternative is the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area, but everyone knows that Baltimore is the worst place on the East Coast (it’s certainly the most run-down and only Philadelphia rivals it when it comes to crime and open-air drug markets) between Boston and DC and these folks would be pointing that out loudly if someone were asking about the relative merits of Baltimore and DC.

The squeegee kids are for sure annoying (we were right by that intersection yesterday, actually), but I'm at a bit of a loss when it comes to the implication that this experience reflects something about the city as a whole? There are squeegee kids in nearly every semi-big city I can think of.

OP, I think you made the right choice. We lived in Baltimore for a spell and have family in Norfolk--I think in regard to accessibility to other cities, cultural attractions, and school quality...the Baltimore area is really head and shoulders above Norfolk. We live in Howard County after years of being in DC/VA burbs so I am happy to answer any questions about this neck of the woods if helpful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is an article on the shootings and murders this year: https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/october-2021-daily-tracker-baltimore-murders-and-shootings?_amp=true

Once more, slowly: the crime rates vary wildly by zip and demographic. I suspect that OP is not looking to raise her family in the parts of the city referenced on that crime blog. I don’t know what to say to you if you can’t understand that.

+1. If OP was asking if she should move in next to a boarded-up rowhouse in West Baltimore, then I would emphatically respond that she should not!

OP isn’t going to catch a stray bullet during the commute from Stoneleigh, or dining out in Harbor East, or going to the BMA, zoo, aquarium, etc etc. The closest she’s likely to come to “crime” is an annoying squeegee kid getting dirty water on her windshield.

All of this!!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is an article on the shootings and murders this year: https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/october-2021-daily-tracker-baltimore-murders-and-shootings?_amp=true

Once more, slowly: the crime rates vary wildly by zip and demographic. I suspect that OP is not looking to raise her family in the parts of the city referenced on that crime blog. I don’t know what to say to you if you can’t understand that.

+1. If OP was asking if she should move in next to a boarded-up rowhouse in West Baltimore, then I would emphatically respond that she should not!

OP isn’t going to catch a stray bullet during the commute from Stoneleigh, or dining out in Harbor East, or going to the BMA, zoo, aquarium, etc etc. The closest she’s likely to come to “crime” is an annoying squeegee kid getting dirty water on her windshield.

I’d pick Baltimore in a heartbeat but I don’t really know anything about the Midwest so I’m not sure what you are used to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Plus....Bush Gardens..."
Seriously? How is that in any way a major point in favor of Norfolk that there is Bush Gardens nearby?
Is OP trying to raise country bumpkins or educated, somewhat cosmopolitan children?
You think kids will not become like other kids even if parents have phds? Nope, before you know it, in Norfolk your kid starts dating some losers and is pregnant at 17.

Sadly, comments like this reveal you to be the provincial one. And it’s Busch Gardens, not Bush.

Nobody cares hon, nobody wants to know how you pronounce some "fun" roller coaster place.

I care. I hate when people beat around the Busch.

You sure do! But, we have a circus around the bush!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Plus....Bush Gardens..."
Seriously? How is that in any way a major point in favor of Norfolk that there is Bush Gardens nearby?
Is OP trying to raise country bumpkins or educated, somewhat cosmopolitan children?
You think kids will not become like other kids even if parents have phds? Nope, before you know it, in Norfolk your kid starts dating some losers and is pregnant at 17.

Sadly, comments like this reveal you to be the provincial one. And it’s Busch Gardens, not Bush.

Gee, teen pregnancy isn't a problem in Baltimore City Last I heard, 1 in 3 illiterate there.

LOL! How many illiterate in Norflok? ALL!