Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a family who enjoys a great city with lots of charm, history, fun things to do- but also needs good schools, Towson is where you need to be. While not directly in the city, it is about 20 min away. Towson is a nice college town with walkability and good public schools.

My DH is from Norfolk and he'll never move back.

I’m raising my kids here and I hope they don’t move back when they’re adults. That said, it’s not a half-bad place to grow up, despite our public schools that many will warn you about. There is still a feeling of community here. There are rarely more than two or three degrees of separation between any two people. People of different income levels and political preferences live in close proximity and are cordial to each other for the most part. People aren’t obsessed with their jobs and most are able to have a pretty desirable work-life balance. Travel sports aren’t really a huge thing. There is sort of an ease in the low expectations, but someone who is too tightly wound or status-obsessed might find that jarring.

Anonymous wrote:You should move to Columbia or Ellicott City in Howard County and have him do the short commute into Baltimore.

This.

Anonymous wrote:Those recommending Baltimore to a Midwesterner from a "small city" are almost criminal. OP, do some more homework. Baltimore would be a shock to you- it's a city of despair: high crime, vacant buildings, and dysfunctional city gov. With small kids, it is absolutely a non-starter. Suburban southern Maryland counties have their own problems, too, when it comes to education. I know of what I speak having traveled there often and having family who have worked in the city at Hopkins for decades. Do not go there- you'll regret it.

Norfolk is safer and cleaner- you can drive to NC, DC, etc if you need a change of scenery. Virginia is a wonderful state to call home.

You are ridiculous human being.

OP, try to talk to people who actually have first-hand experience of raising kids in the area you’re interested in, not idiots on DCUM who have “traveled there often” and saw something that made them run shrieking back to their Virginia McMansion.

Downtown Baltimore is great to visit and has lots of fun kid stuff, but you have to be very intentional about schools, and likely go private unless you get lucky in the charter lottery. There are terrific schools a short commute into Baltimore County, though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a family who enjoys a great city with lots of charm, history, fun things to do- but also needs good schools, Towson is where you need to be. While not directly in the city, it is about 20 min away. Towson is a nice college town with walkability and good public schools.

My DH is from Norfolk and he'll never move back.

See? He is wise. Nobody wants to live there apart from one pp!

Anonymous wrote:For a family who enjoys a great city with lots of charm, history, fun things to do- but also needs good schools, Towson is where you need to be. While not directly in the city, it is about 20 min away. Towson is a nice college town with walkability and good public schools.

My DH is from Norfolk and he'll never move back.

^^affluent, not influential!

You are not going to have this in Norfolk! The Essen Room. All those saying Baltimore is a no go are really narrow minded. Why does OP need to be in downtown Baltimore? Suburbs are awesome and some of the most influential neighborhoods in the region.

Another difference between Norfolk and Baltimore is that Norfolk is tidewater while Baltimore straddles tidewater and piedmont. Which means Norfolk is flat and the landscape is primarily flat and scraggly and rather dull. Baltimore, being in the foothills of the piedmont, has a much more attractive topography (I speak of the region including the city) and the tree canopy is much, much, much prettier. That's not to say there aren't pretty neighborhoods in Norfolk, but the Baltimore region is just prettier as a whole with gorgeous rolling countryside north and west of the city and some good parks for hiking and trails. And you can still take advantage of the bay if you want to sail or canoe.

Anonymous wrote:The difference between Baltimore and a lot of other cities is that in Baltimore the neighborhoods are much more patchwork so many nice areas are in close proximity to run down areas. Unlike, say, DC which you can characterize somewhat accurately by quadrant.

The Baltimore suburbs are like suburbs everywhere and run the gamut from cookie cutter to quirky.

Ehh. North Baltimore is a pretty solidly affluent and a rather large area, not a patchwork of good/bad neighborhoods. It's comparable to NW DC. If you live along the borders of North Baltimore you can be close to run down areas but people who live in North Baltimore live their lives primarily within the North Baltimore area and aren't driving out and about into the "bad areas." And much of Baltimore isn't bad - it's just working class to lower middle class African American neighborhoods.

One can also say the same for the waterfront areas, it's a continuous belt of neighborhoods around the inner harbor and it's easy to stay within them. You do have to go out of your way to run into areas of despair. And believe me, they are areas of despair. But that's irrelevant to people looking in Towson or Ellicott City or Roland Park.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived in Baltimore a long time, but honestly this is like being asked to choose between a gray rock and another gray rock. I'm sorry you were left with such a miserable challenge.

I'm from Norfolk and I agree.

Norfolk is closer to the ocean, and Baltimore has more quirkiness and is closer to DC. Otherwise, much of a muchness.

+1 I think both can be good places to live, but are sort of an acquired taste and might take years of “wtf have we done” to feel settled.

The difference between Baltimore and a lot of other cities is that in Baltimore the neighborhoods are much more patchwork so many nice areas are in close proximity to run down areas. Unlike, say, DC which you can characterize somewhat accurately by quadrant.

The Baltimore suburbs are like suburbs everywhere and run the gamut from cookie cutter to quirky.

Anonymous wrote:I lived in Baltimore a long time, but honestly this is like being asked to choose between a gray rock and another gray rock. I'm sorry you were left with such a miserable challenge.

I'm from Norfolk and I agree.

Norfolk is closer to the ocean, and Baltimore has more quirkiness and is closer to DC. Otherwise, much of a muchness.

Virginia Beach is a great place for families. Schools are great and have a wonderful GT program, fine arts programs and academies for high schoolers.

The beach is nice and as a local you will have access to the secret places that are not overwhelmed by tourists. You can get a great house for half of what you would pay in the DC area. Go for it!

I lived in Baltimore a long time, but honestly this is like being asked to choose between a gray rock and another gray rock. I'm sorry you were left with such a miserable challenge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those recommending Baltimore to a Midwesterner from a "small city" are almost criminal. OP, do some more homework. Baltimore would be a shock to you- it's a city of despair: high crime, vacant buildings, and dysfunctional city gov. With small kids, it is absolutely a non-starter. Suburban southern Maryland counties have their own problems, too, when it comes to education. I know of what I speak having traveled there often and having family who have worked in the city at Hopkins for decades. Do not go there- you'll regret it.

Norfolk is safer and cleaner- you can drive to NC, DC, etc if you need a change of scenery. Virginia is a wonderful state to call home.

Whereas I think it's criminal to suggest the entire commuting region around Baltimore is filled with high crime and vacant buildings. If you want to have an intelligent discussion comparing schools in Roland Park or Towson to Norfolk feel free, but this isn't it.

+1, first poster is ridiculous.