Anyone live in Baltimore?

RadiclDreamer

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Aug 8, 2004
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Going there for training in June and wanted to know what was fun to do while there and in general just learn a bit about the area before I go. I'm not entirely sure where its going to be yet so be general.
 

krunchykrome

Lifer
Dec 28, 2003
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I live outside of Baltimore, but I work in downtown Baltimore, right near the Harbor.

Stick to the harbor area; plenty of restaraunts. If you want some decent nightlife, go to Federal Hill or Fells Point. Other than the harbor area, Baltimore is a cruddy city, and quite dangerous is you venture out of the harbor area.

 

KB

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 1999
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You should visit the aquarium and if you are a history buff visit Fort McHenry.
 

shocksyde

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Jun 16, 2001
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The Inner Harbor is good for the overall "Baltimore Experience", but I wouldn't eat or drink there due to jacked up prices. Federal Hill, Canton, and Fells Point are great bar/restaurant areas. Little Italy is right next to the Inner Harbor if you fancy Italian food. Mt. Vernon and Fort McHenry are good historical areas.

Also, the Aquarium and the Maryland Science Center are both within the Inner Harbor and are cool time-killers.

Have fun, and don't listen to the douchebags that just write Baltimore off and claim you'll get shot no matter what. I've been going there for the nightlife for 8 years now, and have only heard of 1 friend being robbed. You'll be ok.
 

steppinthrax

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Jul 17, 2006
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I've lived in baltimore for 8 years so far. It overall sucks. Housing is expensive if you want to live in a "good" area and the crime is pretty high in the city. The city stats for inner city are pretty negative for just about everything (poverty, crime, h.s. drop out). I worked in the city for 2 years and the inner harbor is just full of bums and yos.

If you want to own a home down here the city is pretty cheap but expect to get your car stolen every day and your home invaded on a montly basis. Also it's not a good place to raise a child unless you want them weaving their hair into dreads, speaking the local dialect and shooting up on drugs by the time they are in elementary school.

If you choose Dundalk (baltimore county) the prices are reasonable but home values don't increase because your living around inbread gear heads and white trash.

The only good areas of Baltimore county are as follows (Hunt valley, Cockeysville, Timonium, Lutherville, Towson). But expect to pay upwards of 400K for a house no bigger then glove compartment of my Camry. You also live around snobby stuck up white people who have the ego of any VP in a major fortune 500 company.
 

krunchykrome

Lifer
Dec 28, 2003
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Originally posted by: shocksyde
The Inner Harbor is good for the overall "Baltimore Experience", but I wouldn't eat or drink there due to jacked up prices. Federal Hill, Canton, and Fells Point are great bar/restaurant areas. Little Italy is right next to the Inner Harbor if you fancy Italian food. Mt. Vernon and Fort McHenry are good historical areas.

Also, the Aquarium and the Maryland Science Center are both within the Inner Harbor and are cool time-killers.

Have fun, and don't listen to the douchebags that just write Baltimore off and claim you'll get shot no matter what. I've been going there for the nightlife for 8 years now, and have only heard of 1 friend being robbed. You'll be ok.

What newspaper do you read, because it's obviously not the Baltimore Sun. I don't even read the crime section of the newspaper anymore; I just skim through it for anything interesting (out of the norm) other than the daily murders, robbings, shootings, etc.
 

davestar

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Oct 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: shocksyde
Have fun, and don't listen to the douchebags that just write Baltimore off and claim you'll get shot no matter what. I've been going there for the nightlife for 8 years now, and have only heard of 1 friend being robbed. You'll be ok.

thank god there's atleast one other non-hater on here. ATOT as a whole seems to be terrified of cities.

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
I've lived in baltimore for 8 years so far. It overall sucks. Housing is expensive if you want to live in a "good" area and the crime is pretty high in the city. The city stats for inner city are pretty negative for just about everything (poverty, crime, h.s. drop out). I worked in the city for 2 years and the inner harbor is just full of bums and yos.

If you want to own a home down here the city is pretty cheap but expect to get your car stolen every day and your home invaded on a montly basis. Also it's not a good place to raise a child unless you want them weaving their hair into dreads, speaking the local dialect and shooting up on drugs by the time they are in elementary school.

If you choose Dundalk (baltimore county) the prices are reasonable but home values don't increase because your living around inbread gear heads and white trash.

The only good areas of Baltimore county are as follows (Hunt valley, Cockeysville, Timonium, Lutherville, Towson). But expect to pay upwards of 400K for a house no bigger then glove compartment of my Camry. You also live around snobby stuck up white people who have the ego of any VP in a major fortune 500 company.

dundalk is in the city and i'd never consider that place as a tourist attraction, let alone a good place to live. there's plenty of nice areas in BaltCo - it's the 2nd or 3rd richest county in MD which is the richest state in the US. you forgot Catonsville, Dulaney Valley, Monkton, Phoenix, Pikesville, Owings Mills, not to mention nothern Bmore, which is basically the county.

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
What newspaper do you read, because it's obviously not the Baltimore Sun. I don't even read the crime section of the newspaper anymore; I just skim through it for anything interesting (out of the norm) other than the daily murders, robbings, shootings, etc.

you're ignoring the reality of the types of crime in Baltimore. there's certainly a poverty and drug problem in the city, but if you steer clear of the drug trade, you're pretty much as safe as you are in any other american city. out of 200-250 murders per year, there's no more than 20 to 40 people killed who aren't involved with the drug trade. and if you only consider the good parts of the city, there's no more than 3-5 murders per year. sad stats, but it does mean that you pretty much have nothing to worry about.

and back to the OP's original questions... what are you looking for? a number of the tourist spots were mentioned, though also consider a game at Camden Yards or the Baltimore Museum of Art/The Walters Art Gallery.

The good neighborhoods are generally on the water, north on Charles St, and near Johns Hopkins: Canton, the Harbor, Harbor East, Fells Point, Mount Vernon, Federal Hill, Charles Village, Little Italy, Locust Point, Hampden, Roland Park, Mt. Washington

There's plenty of places to catch live music as well: Rams Head Tavern, The Ottobar, Fletchers, Recher Theatre, The Sidebar, Sonar, etc. Plus there's plenty of bars that have live music.
 

steppinthrax

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Jul 17, 2006
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Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Davestar, does the Zach Sowers incident ring a bell?

Zach Sowers was killed in patterson park

Another reason why upright/educated white people should have notthing to do with Baltimore City.

Baltimore City people feel this way. = You have money and I don't and you caused all the problems in my life therefore you need to suffer. Or you owe me something. So if I break in your car or invade your home it's OK.

They don't take resp. for their actions and how they got that way. It's about blaming someone else.
 

davestar

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Oct 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Davestar, does the Zach Sowers incident ring a bell?

yes, i know his wife. it's very very tragic, but that's one incident. what does one anecdote have to do with the safety of an entire population? hint: nothing. i can go to practically any US city and and find a tragic story of a nice/wealthy white person who was killed last year.
 

krunchykrome

Lifer
Dec 28, 2003
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Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Davestar, does the Zach Sowers incident ring a bell?

Zach Sowers was killed in patterson park

Another reason why upright/educated white people should have notthing to do with Baltimore City.

Although I didn't know him personally, his story really touched me because his life was a lot like mine, and many of my friends. Young professional, married, graduate student, just bought a house, and decided to give good ole' Baltimore a chance by purchasing a home near Patterson Park.

He was beaten into a coma, which lasted for about nine months. He passed away just a few weeks ago.

Baltimore crime goes beyond the "drug trade". My fiancee and I will be purchasing a home after October, when we're married. We are absolutely not considering purchasing a home in Baltimore. We're considering Columbia or Ellicott City. Many people are saying what Baltimore City needs is young "upright" professionals to be willing to move into the city and change this "stop snitching" lifestyle/culture. It's not happening. We want a better/safer life which Baltimore cannot offer, and we certainly arent going to try to be pioneers like Zach Sowers and his wife were.
 

shocksyde

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Jun 16, 2001
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I don't understand why people are so afraid of Baltimore. Like stated above, if you're not there to buy or sell drugs, you'll be fine.

If you feel scared, you probably shouldn't be in that area. This is true of any city in the United States.
 

davestar

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Oct 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Davestar, does the Zach Sowers incident ring a bell?

Zach Sowers was killed in patterson park

Another reason why upright/educated white people should have notthing to do with Baltimore City.

Baltimore City people feel this way. = You have money and I don't and you caused all the problems in my life therefore you need to suffer. Or you owe me something. So if I break in your car or invade your home it's OK.

They don't take resp. for their actions and how they got that way. It's about blaming someone else.

ignoring the borderline racism in this post...

i take it you've never been to another socioeconomically-disadvantaged place in your life?

or maybe you are right: baltimore criminals (and only baltimore criminals) commit crimes for these reasons. all other criminals have pure motives.
 

jonks

Lifer
Feb 7, 2005
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Not anymore yo. Aint safe since they let marlo back out on the streets.
 

davestar

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Oct 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Baltimore crime goes beyond the "drug trade". My fiancee and I will be purchasing a home after October, when we're married. We are absolutely not considering purchasing a home in Baltimore. We're considering Columbia or Ellicott City. Many people are saying what Baltimore City needs is young "upright" professionals to be willing to move into the city and change this "stop snitching" lifestyle/culture. It's not happening. We want a better/safer life which Baltimore cannot offer, and we certainly arent going to try to be pioneers like Zach Sowers and his wife were.

i used to live in columbia. i was mugged a 1/4 mile from my posh apartment. a few months later, a convencience store clerk was murdered on that same street. do i avoid columbia like the plague? call it a warzone? declare it unsafe for ALL "upright" professionals? nope. i know that columbia is generally a safe area for my demographic.

your opinions of baltimore are based on emotion and anecdotes. In reality, fewer than 5 white "upright" professionals are killed in Baltimore in any given year. per capita, that's on level with most any other city in America.

another reality is that baltimore is home to tons of great restaurants, concert venues, clubs, social sports leagues, museums, bars, stores, tourist attractions, sports areas/stadiums, etc etc. with very few exceptions, suburbs have chain restaurants and chain stores.



Hey, look what I just found when I went to look for stats on the Baltimore Sun:

A 20-year-old man who was shot this morning in the area of the Wilde Lake village center in Columbia has died, Howard County police said. The police are continuing to search for a teenager who was spotted running from the scene.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/ne...ia0409,0,2045549.story

watch out in columbia - bodies are dropping left and right.
 

shocksyde

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Jun 16, 2001
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Krunchy, are you really going to base your opinion of B'more on one sob story?

Have you ruled out the entire DC metro area because it's known that snipers go around shooting random people in parking lots?

Ok, I'm done being sarcastic now, but I really do think your opinion of Baltimore is the same as any person who's never been there, but has seen "The Wire".
 

krunchykrome

Lifer
Dec 28, 2003
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Originally posted by: davestar
Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Baltimore crime goes beyond the "drug trade". My fiancee and I will be purchasing a home after October, when we're married. We are absolutely not considering purchasing a home in Baltimore. We're considering Columbia or Ellicott City. Many people are saying what Baltimore City needs is young "upright" professionals to be willing to move into the city and change this "stop snitching" lifestyle/culture. It's not happening. We want a better/safer life which Baltimore cannot offer, and we certainly arent going to try to be pioneers like Zach Sowers and his wife were.

i used to live in columbia. i was mugged a 1/4 mile from my posh apartment. a few months later, a convencience store clerk was murdered on that same street. do i avoid columbia like the plague? call it a warzone? declare it unsafe for ALL "upright" professionals? nope. i know that columbia is generally a safe area for my demographic.

your opinions of baltimore are based on emotion and anecdotes. In reality, fewer than 5 white "upright" professionals are killed in Baltimore in any given year. per capita, that's on level with most any other city in America.

another reality is that baltimore is home to tons of great restaurants, concert venues, clubs, social sports leagues, museums, bars, stores, tourist attractions, sports areas/stadiums, etc etc. with very few exceptions, suburbs have chain restaurants and chain stores.



Hey, look what I just found when I went to look for stats on the Baltimore Sun:

A 20-year-old man who was shot this morning in the area of the Wilde Lake village center in Columbia has died, Howard County police said. The police are continuing to search for a teenager who was spotted running from the scene.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/ne...ia0409,0,2045549.story

Yea, I saw read about that Columbia shooting earlier today. And I know you were mugged at that convenience store; I think you mentioned it last year. My point is that Columbia had something like 2 murders last year, and Baltimore had something like 320+. I don't know anyone, after seeing those statistics, can consider Baltimore a safe city. Baltimore was ranked 12th among most dangerous citites in 2007.
 

davestar

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Oct 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Yea, I saw read about that Columbia shooting earlier today. And I know you were mugged at that convenience store; I think you mentioned it last year. My point is that Columbia had something like 2 murders last year, and Baltimore had something like 320+. I don't know anyone, after seeing those statistics, can consider Baltimore a safe city. Baltimore was ranked 12th among most dangerous citites in 2007.

Baltimore had 280 murders in 2007 which was the worst year in over a decade.

I never claimed that Baltimore is a *blanket statement* safe city. I'm saying (and statistics back me up) that for someone in our demographic, Baltimore is as safe as most any American city. You, as a non-black young professional, have nearly the same chance of getting killed in Columbia as you do in Baltimore. There's no arguing that.

 

GoSharks

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Nov 29, 1999
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I lived in Baltimore for 4 years. It is not that bad! I had no problems with feeling unsafe while walking through Charles Village, Hampden, Little Italy, Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Canton, etc. You just need to be smart about where you are. Nobody will bother you if you don't bother them.

Baltimore has been really changing over the past 5 years. Canton basically didn't exist as it does not back then. Now, there are $500k waterfront condos, nice restaurants, etc there.
 

M0oG0oGaiPan

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Dec 7, 2000
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There's actually a cool little cafe across the street from Patterson park. It's called Patterson Perk :p. You should check out this crepes place too. It's near the Charles Theater. They make this crepe called the Kevin Bacon. I think it's called sophie's crepes.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
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Originally posted by: KB
You should visit the aquarium and if you are a history buff visit Fort McHenry.

The Aquarium is awesome. Some pals and I finagled a behind-the-scenes tour while we are there. Also, my pal's car was broken-into while parked just outside, around the corner. middle of the day.

Baltimore kicks ass!