Safe towns around Baltimore
 

Hi,

I will be traveling to Baltimore soon with possible relocation in mind. I will be checking out various neighborhoods during this trip.

Although I like the affordability of Baltimore compared to other major cities as well as its proximity to DC, I also read that Baltimore has a higher crime rate. I am a single female and want to live in a very safe area. Can you recommend me some safe towns around Baltimore? How are Pikesville and Towson? Also, there is a chance that I may be commuting to DC, so I'm also interested in the recommendations between Baltimore and DC.

Thank you for your help!

Hi, when we were first married in '93 we lived in Millersville, MD. (Glen Burnie is nearby and nice too.) I was from Oklahoma and felt very safe. My husband drove into DC for work. I could either drive or take the train to DC or Baltimore for siteseeing. I think our apts were on Millstream Rd. Best wishes! It's a great area.

When I lived in the DC area I first lived in Va, then DC and finally Columbia, MD. If DC is really a possibility for you then I'd say Columbia. Its 20 minutes from Balto. and 30 from DC. I would take Towson over Pikesville, but I wouldn't recommend being north of Balto. if you really think you'll be working in DC.

I have a love/hate relationship with DC, but I guess overall I prefer it to Baltimore, although Baltimore isnt life spent in a traffic jam surrounded by 80% poverty like DC was. I can tell you that in my experience Baltimore was probably one of the least friendly places I have ever been. Overall they just dont care about outsiders nor are they interested in them. I mean I still have friends there (Federal Hill) and some of the nicest people I met there all seemed to be from the same place, Anneslie(Towson) but overall it didn't seem to be very friendly.

Lots of people will say negative things about Baltimore, but apart from them not liking outsiders(overall) its negative reputation really isnt deserved. I liked the downtown, harbor area which is also easier to get to DC from then suburbs like Towson, Hunt Valley, Bel Air etc... I didn't experience crime in either place, but of coarse both Balto. and DC have it.
Both have scary areas, but "scary" DC seemed to go a little farther than "scary" Baltimore. Theres also Annapolis which I loved and its close to both places.

I lived in the DC area for years and had friends who commuted from Columbia and from Annapolis to DC. The commute is terrible. You really should find out where you will be working before you move, or you may end up moving twice.
Of the two towns/cities/areas, Annapolis is much more charming. It's on the Chesapeake Bay and Severn River.
While DC has a high crime rate, the vast majority is concentrated in areas that you should be able to avoid.
Mark

Hi

So far you've been given some really good advice - find the job first and then decide on where to live. There are many safe areas in the Washington and Baltimore areas. But to just find safe, comfortable areas then you have looooong commutes.

Annapolis is a great area and there are some really nice smaller towns around it that are not quite so pricey like Crofton and Millersville. But it would be better to concentrate on the job. If it's baltimore - then the north side or west side of town would be good Parkville is a nice area as is Towson and Reisterstown.

Good luck job hunting!!

vz:

From 1987-1989 I lived in Baltimore (1010 St. Paul Street) in a 10 story security high rise which was about 10 blocks from Inner Harbor. At no time did I feel threatened by living in the city. I would try to avoid an area about 20 blocks away from Inner Harbor, North Avenue. I use to walk through it to go to the old Memorial Stadium and it did look shady and dirty.

I just read an interesting article in Budget Living Magazine April/May issue. It said that Hampden is going through a bona fide renaissance. A three bedroom row house runs $90,000 and rent is $900 a month. It sounds like a fun city area. Don't know if it is safe.

Cafe Hone - $6 meat loaf sandwich - tastey intro into Hampdens weird but wonderful style.

Golden West Cafe - serves chili pies in the fritos bag.

Showalter's Saloon- pound of shrimp with old bay for $10

Fraizer's on the Ave - Sunday's $9 whole lobster

Atomic Books - landmark for reading materials

Common Ground - coffee house

Galvanize- retro men's clothing

Fat Elvis- another thrift shop

Hampden Junque- junk store

www.hampdenmerchants.com

I live in downtown Baltimore and have never experienced any real crime there. Oh, sure - someone swiped my bike off the back of my car, but i was stupid enough to leave it there overnight. My parents lived in one of the swankest neighborhoods in the city and their house was burglarized a couple of times.

Every city has a crime problem and Baltimore's may be worse than many. Our murder rate is high, but it is mostly black-on-black within certain areas of the city - and these aren't the ones that you'd be looking at living in anyway. (Sorry if this sounds bad, but it's true!)

Depending on what you're looking for, you can pretty much tailor your needs to your neighborhood. Young and funky? Try Canton or Federal Hill. Older and married with kids? Try Towson or Catonsville. Suburban and professional? Try Columbia or anywhere in Howard County. One of the best things about Baltimore and the surrounding areas is that we're a city of neighborhoods, which vary dramatically.

Just a word about Columbia. It's not everyone's cup of tea.

It's basically a big suburb trying to masquerade as a town (call you tell where I stand on this?). They call it a "planned" community, which may appeal to you, as it has to thousands of others. Just depends on what you're looking for.

By the way, Hampden is an interesting, funky neighborhood in the city.

If you want to understand Baltimore then you need to rent "Pecker," directed by John Waters and starring Edward Furlong.

I find the city of Baltimore more slummy than Washington, DC. Though I know much more about Washington because I grew up there and work there, I have decent knowledge of Baltimore due to collegiate friends who live in the Charm City area and the twice-a-year visits my son must endure at Johns Hopkins. Baltimore, once home to vibrant ethnic neighborhoods, is on a long slide. More than DC, in Baltimore you seem aimless young men milling around on every street corner in the middle of the day. Washington has several strongly middle class Black neighborhoods while Baltimore has none that I recognize. Gentrification is commonplace in Washington; except for Federal Hill, Baltimore is heading in the other direction. As for places to live in the Baltimore area, you may want to try Annapolis or the suburban sprawl areas of Carroll County, Harford County or Kent Island, Queen Anne's County.

Unfortunately, the area around Johns Hopkins Hospital is a bit frightening, as are some of the areas you have to through to get there. There are some nice stong middle class black ares both in the city and just outside of it.

There is a lot of gentrification going on in Baltimore and not just FedHill. Look at Canton, Butchers Hill, Locust Point and Hamden, just to name a few places. The average housing price is above $100k now. You can get tons more house for the money in Baltimore than in DC.

Look at any street corner in SW DC and you'll find plenty of young men on the corners. It's all where you look and how you look at things.

Just curious, HuwMorgan, where are you from?

I live in the Baltimore-DC area. I strongly recommend that you first figure out exactly where you are going to work, and then figure your housing around that, basing your decision in part on what your commuting tolerance is. I'm not downplaying the need for safety, but the dangerous areas are sort of pocketed, and you can find safe and not-so-safe places in all parts of both cities.

For DC, your life will be much simpler if you live within a short walk of a metro station.

Baltimore has a subway and light rail system, but I think that a lot of people still drive to work. Don't know your age, but Towson has a university there, and with it a younger crowd than Pikesville, which I associate with older Jewish people (no ethic slur implied). Neither are a good idea for a commute to DC.

I go to Hampden every year to see the Christmas lights. Funky is the right word. It has that definite old Baltimore feel.

Consider ordering a map on line from
www.adcmap.com
It is called "Washington, DC 50 Mile Radius Wall Map (folded)" and costs $8.00. It is the perfect map for what you are doing.

If I were you, I would take a look at Columbia, MD. Have lunch in Ellicott City the day you look at Columbia. It is charming.

BTW, I live in Crofton, MD. My husband and I selected this area because I (used to ) commute to DC (Via the metro from New Carrollton) and he drove into Baltimore. I love it here. Crofton looks like Wally and the Beaver are about to walk down the block.

Carroll County, Harford County and Kent Island, Queen Anne's County are nice places but make for a major commute. The Canton area of Baltimore is a parking neigtmare on weekend nights, with bars springing up on every block.

What is the distance from Baltimore to DC?

The distance between Baltimore and DC is about 35 miles, depending on where you're leaving from and where you're going and which route you're taking.

I was born and raised in Balamer, and still keep many friends there. I now work in DC. My family lives in columbia, and for families, I would not recommend anywhere else. Check it out.

If you are single, do not go to Columbia, I would recommend Annapolis (although it is a killer commute to DC or Balamer) or in town in any of the recommended neighborhoods. Catonsville is a good compromise for commuting to either city, and it is kind of cool.

I like Baltimore much more now that I don't live there. Good luck.