travelergal

Hi all,
I've gotten great advice from fodorites in the past so I was wondering if anyone could suggest neighborhoods to live in Baltimore. I will be working at Johns Hopkins Hospital and would like to find a modern, safe apartment not too far from work. I am a thirtysomething woman and single. I have read that Canton, Fells Point and Federal Hill are nice areas. Any specific apartment building recommendations? I think that I like Federal Hill area best on what I have read.I like areas where there may be a few restaurants nearby and which is reasonably safe to out a night in. Also, any suburban areas that are 20 minutes max out of the city worth looking at.
Any help would be appreciated. I am moving in June. Thanks!

donco

Hi travelergal, We visit friends in Charm City and see apartments that look nice located at the beltway and Charles St. exit. Sorry can't be more specific. We also visit the Hampden area off Falls Road and 37th St. and eat at Cafe Hon-it is a working class area that is developing into an artsy place. Good luck!

GeorgeW

Fells Point, Federal Hill and Canton can be very expensive. But Fells Point can be some fun, at least twenty bars and more if memory serves. danco is correct about Hamden. Formerly a neighborhood with Southern roots, it is gentrifying and is only minutes from Hopkins. Hopkins itself is encouraging development in the neighborhoods surrounding the hospital but such an enterprise will take some time.

My oldest son has had two open-heart operations at Johns Hopkins and will have another in three weeks. My respect for that institution is extremely high. You have chosen one of the great hospitals in the world for which to work. But just beware of the cafeteria food. It was the worst food I've ever eaten.

PS- Almost all the women of Baltimore over fifty use the word "hon" in addressing people, expecially men. Sadly, I think the custom is dying out.

travelergal

GeorgeW: Good luck to your son for the operation. I look forward to working at Johns Hopkins. Thanks for the input.

Anyone else have any suggestions?

MaureenB

Our daughter attends Johns Hopkins U. and lives in an apartment building called Wyman Towers, in the Charles Village area, just across the street from the U. It's not especially close to the hospital, but she goes to the hospital a few times a week for her research work, and she takes their free shuttle which runs quite frequently. Maybe you could use it, too, as a hospital employee.
The three neighborhoods you mention we have all visited, as they have nice restaurants and places the university kids hang out. Federal Hill, especially.
Towson is a nice neighborhood north of JHU, that has apartment housing and lots of students, but I think that's getting too far from the hospital for you.
Good luck and congrats on your job at Hopkins. A really class place.

massagediva

Hi, Travelergal-
It's a bit hard to make recommendations without knowing more about you. How much are you willing to pay? My friend just moved into a condo at Spinnaker Bay,which is in the Inner Harbor East area,walkable to good restaurants,Whole Foods,gorgeous views,etc.They also have apartment rentals.It's a beautiful place.

Stephanie

travel:

I lived in the City of Baltimore from 1987-89 @ 1010 St. Paul Street. It is in-between Inner Harbor and Johns Hopkins whose location is around 33rd Street? I use to go to many many Orioles games at Memorial Stadium and saw Johns Hopkins Hospital signs. You may want to check if the apartment complex is still there. The rent was reasonable when I lived there $390/month for an efficiency and its a security bldg with effic, 1 & 2 BD apts. It was a 10 story building and I lived on the 5th floor. Baltimore is such an enjoyable walking city.

MikeT

I think moving to Baltimore really requires going there and seeing how comfortable you are in an area. Some of the nicest areas of Baltimore change character dramatically in just a block or two.

Daniel_Williams

Hi Travelergal,

I worked at JHMI from 1999-2002 and if I could do it all over again, I think I would try to find a place in either 1)Mount Vernon (my top choice) 2)Federal Hill or 3)Fell's Point. All three are decidedly urban have access to some nice restaurants & pubs, have charm and you could get to work quite quickly from any of these.

Mount Vernon is just north of the Inner Harbor and was in the 1800s the center of Baltimore life. My reason for picking it would be that it's central for all forms of transit (the Hopkins shuttle passes in front of the Peabody Institute, the Metro, the Light Rail and Penn Station are all within walking distance) and I find the architecture charming, hearkening back to another era. You could also walk to the Lexington Market, the Inner Harbour and Federal Hill from here. Mount Vernon is the center of Baltimore's Gay community. The area was not so expensive yet when I lived in Baltimore (I lived further north in Charles Village), I believe in part due to problems of theft and that it's sitting not too far from higher crime areas and the penetentiary.

For Federal Hill, you have the Cross Street Market (with tasty, fresh seafood) and lots of charming stores & restaurants at your disposal. Fell's Point has the Broadway Market (smaller than the others I mention), a bit of a tourist quotient and some equally great stores, cafes and charming streets; my coworkers and I would even walk down here from the hospital in what's about a 20-minute walk.

I hope you enjoy Baltimore. When I first moved there, I hated the city, but after a few years, its charms had worked their magic on me.

DAN

zztop

I think it is really a good idea to come and visit also to help you make your decision. I live in Balto. in the "burbs" and the neighborhoods in the city really do change within a couple of blocks of each other. Why not make an appt. with a real estate agent. They could show you around to many places in a short time.

writerhenn

From a convenience standpoint, Canton is the ideal location for Hopkins hospital, only minutes away. The area has just about everything you're looking for, but as noted, it can be pricey. It's worth checking some of the so-called "fringe" areas as the redevelopment areas are growing almost daily.

MerryTravel

My husband and I rented a row house in Canton from 2000 until 2003 while he was attending med school at Hopkins. I loved the neighborhood. We could walk to restaurants, bars, the library, Patterson Park, a beautiful old Polish Catholic church, the waterfront and water taxi, and, when it was warm, Fells Point. We had friends who lived in Federal Hill and I really like that neighborhood as well, although you'll have to contend with downtown traffic to get to Hopkins. I agree with the recommendation of Inner Harbor East as well. A lot of our friends were living in Butcher's Hill because it was cheap, but there were safety issues since it was just starting to come up. I personally would not live in Fells Point -- too many loud drunks on the weekend.

Keep in mind that "safety" is relative in Baltimore. When I first went there to look at apartments I kept telling my husband, "We can't live here -- it's two blocks from a horrible area!" But it's next to impossible not to be.

travelergal

Hi all,
I just returned from a short trip to Baltimore to seach for an apartment as per my inital posting. I had a friend who lived in the Standard in Mount Vernon (St Paul St. and Centre St.) who liked the building but did not know about the area much. I thought the area seemed a little isolated and restaurants a few blocks away. I live in NYC right now, and was even though I read about Baltimore, I was suprised to hear from many people during my visit about the problems with car theft and safety, even in busy areas. I liked Canton, but there are not too many apartment building there, mostly rentals from people who own houses. Fells Point seems fun, but is very loud at night. There is also a lot of construction on the harbour and many previous apartment buildings have turned into condos.
I am a single gal and would like recommendations on safe places in town to live. Since I can not purchase a place, I would prefer a building with a doorman/secure entryway and indoor parking. I am also considering Columbia , Maryland and Charles Village area. Any recommendations in these places as well. Thanks for your help!

sara46

This is a very safe (but expensive) place with a doorman. You can catch the water taxi in the nice weather.
http://www.southbaltimore.com/HarborView/index.html

kgh8m

I've lived in Baltimore in recent years, and my husband lived there for 3. I like Canton and Inner Harbor East the best. Columbia is too far a commute, unless you really have a compelling reason to live THAT far away (and it's not really cheap enough to justify it). There are some great loft-style apartments in Canton and the Inner Harbor. Federal Hill has some great restaurants, but I didn't really know anyone who lived there. My brother and sister-in-law lived in Inner Harbor West, which was convenient, but also sketchy after dark (i.e., I've seen empty crack vials left in public areas of their nicer townhouse community).

Honestly, JHU hospital is in a rough area, so I hope that you will be driving to work. Baltimore public transportation is OK (not too familiar with the buses, only subway and lightrail), but you shouldn't really take it at night. I used to take the subway to work, but I refused to take it after the end of the rush hour. So, therefore, it doesn't really matter that you pick the closest Baltimore neighborhood if you're driving.

We lived a few months a couple blocks from the Inner Harbor, and later on in the northwestern suburbs. The Inner Harbor is nice, and the improvements are spreading slowly outward, but at night, when there's not an O's game, you would not want to be downtown alone. Our parking garage seemed to have at least two thefts (broken windows for whatever was visible inside) a week, and we wouldn't walk the 3-4 blocks to the Inner Harbor on non-game nights. I wish I was being facetious.

As was previously recommended, you really should take a few days to see the city to see where you feel comfortable. In Baltimore City, you are always less than a half mile from a less than desirable neighborhood.

Daniel_Williams

Hi travelergal,

You did the right thing going down to Baltimore and giving the city a look to check out neighbourhoods. Having lived there for 3 years and I have a few comments on your initial impressions.

Fell's Point area around the main strip on Broadway I expect would be loud at night... but a few blocks east would not be so loud. However, it would be mostly rentals from people owning rowhouses, which you seem not to prefer.

As far as Mount Vernon being isolated, IMO things don't get much more central than Mt. Vernon. Walking distance to downtown/Inner Harbor/Federal Hill/Lexington Market and all forms of public transit. I found I felt more isolated in Charles Village (although not too bad), but then again I didn't have a car.

As far as kgh8m's comment on city transit, I took the system not only at rush hours but also evenings & weekends and while the buses/metro can be a bit infrequent esp. on weekends, I managed ok. If you're not African-American, you will notice at times that you're the only person who's not African-American who's riding the entirety of all the metro wagons (or bus). Being all of a sudden a visible minority is intimidating for some folk, but as a white male (and pale to boot), I took the metro and buses frequently for those 3 years without incident. Having lived in Nigeria in the past (although nothing like Baltimore in so many ways) perhaps leaves me less fazed being pale white in a sea of black faces than most white Americans. The metro/bus experience might be scarier for any female though, on this I cannot speculate much but I did have a few coworkers who used the system without incident.

Good luck whatever you decide.

DAN

bluestructure

Symphony Center Apts sound nice and in a decent area. I drive by alot and they had a grand opening with balloons. It seems nice and has indoor reserved garage parking. Here is a link. You'll be 10 minutes from the Hospital.

http://www.davidsbrown.com/residenti...ny_center.html

katiekb

The Belvedere Hotel, on Charles Street, rent apartments. They are a very swanky place that I think you would feel very safe in while getting to know the city. They have a doorman, parking, and are in a nice area. It is a popular venue for ritzy wedding receptions-the first floor has several ball rooms. I am sure its not cheap, but I have friends who lived there and they were not Onassis'. I also kinda think they may rent on a monthly basis.
That way you could live there for a while and once you get a feel for Federal Hill, Fells Point, Canton (that would be my recomendation) you can rent a row house, maybe find a room mate by then.
Good luck!
-Katie

Stephanie

Ewww the thoughts of living halfway between Baltimore/D.C. in Columbia isn't my idea of nice arrangement. I know that the MARC local stops around or at Columbia. Don't remember kind of just remember Bowie, Odenton, BWI stations but someone I conversed with on the train lived in Columbia. If you want to feel isolated live there, its just yuppie suburbia.

jiffer

There are few places in Baltimore city that can be safe, good location and not to loud. Federal Hill can be nice but I would suggest looking outside the city. There are some great places that are 15 minutes from the city and you can take the light rail into the city. Some places I would suggest are Pasadena, Glen Burnie and Millersville. These locations are safe for a single women. Living outside the city can be much cheaper also. The apartment rental prices can a 1/3 less.