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@MrsWrangler: The Inner Harbor is nice but there are a lot of bad sections like any city. There is great night life down there... Fed Hill, Powerplant,Fells point ect. Great food. It's def. more expensive in cities and around in the MD area. The weather is nice. In the summer it's hot, winter is cold and we can get snow! Not a ton of snow usually but it could happen!
You always want to be more cautious in cities and Baltimore is no different. Great museums and such as well. You are also a hour away from PA which also has some great historical things. I'm originally from Baltimore so if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Rent anywhere from 850+ and thats for studios to start.
I personally love Baltimore but it has bad points too like anywhere.
@JRL2012: Yeah I just try to remember that I spent a lot of time in Jacksonville and that there's all KINDS of seedy shiz that goes down there... I just know where to avoid, and I hope to learn that about Baltimore too. Like, where should I look for apartments? I'm willing to pay a little more for a safe and nice place, and I'd like to be close to school, maybe within walking distance... so the downtown/Inner Harbor area seems to be the best option. Any idea which sections specifically I should avoid like the plague?
I'm both wary and excited for snow! Is there any good skiing in the surrounding areas?
@MrsWrangler: I like the Fed Hill area to live in since I know that area the best. My FI works there and we have a few friends that live there... it's really nice but you might not be able to walk to school... but could take a bike! Don't live in Fells Point... that's bad. I would stay away from a lot of the outer lying places. Canton can be iffy but there are some nice parts... again not in walking distance. I would say Fed Hill is the best bet :)
I will ask my FI about other places you can live that would be nicer... Avoiding like the plague is easy... if it looks like a bad area... it is.
We def have skiing! It's a little ways out but everyone goes to Ski Liberty! Great place. I personally love snow!
@JRL2012: Awesome, thanks for the areas! I'll definitely look in to Fed Hill... again, I'm not definitely moving there, but if accepted they're a strong contender. I figure if I can get an idea of where to move that I can feel safe, I'll be perfectly content to avoid the rest of the city lol. I'm good with biking too, probably moreso than just walking anyway :)
I've never lived ANYWHERE with snow, my DH and I are really enthusiastic about moving somewhere we can do ski weekends at. It'll be so awesome to be near somewhere I can work on my (negligible) skills!
Weather: We hare 4 distinct seasons. Summers are hot and humid. Fall has some of the most lovely, crisp days imaginable. Winter is cold, but generally not bitterly so. We do get snow, but it's maybe 4 times a year, and usually stays on the ground for a week or less. Blizzards seem to happen once every 5ish years. They suck a lot. Spring is wet and windy.
Neighborhoods: Baltimore has a lot of places that should not be entered without body armor. It has a huge drug and gang problem, bested only by Detroit. Oh, and it's an STD hotbed in the country. Yeah, it's got class. LOL But there are really nice neighborhoods, too. Harbor East, Canton, Federal Hill, Mt. Vernon, and Roland Park are all winners. Other neighborhoods, like Butchers Hill and Lauraville are on the cusp, and could be good opportunities to get in now before they become hot. The actual downtown area is starting to develop its own residential population, so you may be able to score something there, too.
Cost of living: Baltimore is a typical city. Gas here is around $3.20/gallon right now, a drink at a club is $6-7, parking in a downtown lot is $15/day, tickets to a Ravens game are $90-200/seat, when it was just teen LK and I our Whole Foods bill was about $125/week, $30 is a good meal for 2 people at a moderate restaurant, your city water bill will make you want to cry
Transportation: It's actually a pretty compact city. You can live in the county and drive to the heart of the city in 20 minutes. Note that I said "drive". It is not a bike friendly city at all. In fact, I think bikers utterly confuse city drivers and are at really high risk. The metro system is laughably nonexistent and the busses are sketchy at best. A car really is your best option.
Skiing: It depends on what you are used to. If you've skiied in the Rockies, you will not be able to ski here. It would be an incredibly frustrating and disappointing experience. Our "mountains" are smaller that the foothills out west. It's pathetic. But if you are used to East Coast skiing, it's not that bad. Whitetail is definitely the best of the 3 local resorts. But drive a few hours more, and you can spend a weekend at Seven Springs. They kinda get it right.
Hiii,
I'm also a Baltimore Bride who is at UMB (Pharmacy School). Baltimore is really interesting. I would agree with a lot of what Lovekiss said. You really need a car around here, the city is NOT bike-friendly and the public transportation system scares me a bit. There is a Baltimore Circulator that's free now, but pretty much you can only get from Mt. Vernon to Fells Point and back.
Rent varies a GREAT DEAL depending on where you live. If you live in Ridgeley's Delight/"other side of MLK" the rent can be about 400-700 a month. If you live in the University Housing, rent is more like 800-900 a month, but utilities are all included. Mt. Vernon is about a mile from campus and is very, very nice, but the rent is a little more pricey. FI and I pay 1450 for a 2BR apartment, but it's definitely worth it. Several students live in the Ridgeley's Delight area. There's a section on the UMB website that lists off-campus housing and another section for other students that are looking for a roommate. It's pretty reasonable in that area.
If you're looking for places to really avoid, I would say more than 2 blocks west of MLK, west Baltimore, East Baltimore.
If you have any other questions, by all means please feel free to PM me, I'd be happy to share lots and lots of Baltimore experiences. Best of luck with the interview, or hearing back if the interview has already happened!
Wow! So much good information!
@lovekiss: Four seasons sounds nice right about now... it's a hot 80 degrees here :). Being from FL and all I'm not used to any kind of skiing, but I've done both East and West skiing in the past and like them both. So +1 for Baltimore being near mountains, no matter how small!
I'm a little nervous about moving to a city with such... class, haha. Although I'm sure it's not different from any other big city, I've just always lived in small towns where everyone knows everyone else's business. I'll have to learn to balance being comfortable and still vigilant, but I'm sure it'll be fine. COL sounds very similar to Gainesville; I was hoping to be able to take a bike to campus but I will definitely be bringing my car (AKA my babyyy, I'd never leave it behind), so I'll take that to school instead and just swallow the parking cost.
@colli459: PM'ed you :)
I really like Baltimore! Mt. Vernon and Harbor East have some neat apartments and there are lots of houses to buy or rent in Canton, Fells Point, Federal Hill, and Roland Park. You might also consider the suburbs (White Marsh, Catonsville, Owings Mills, Ellicott City, Towson, etc.) as well, depending on what makes you more comfortable.
I've lived in the area for about 6 years. The first couple years I lived in a rowhouse in Fells Point/Butcher's Hill. It was a little bit sketchy at night but fairly safe and the rent was reasonable. Parking was a bitch though (very hard to find spots)! I later moved to a condo on the water at Fells Point which felt loads safer and came with parking. After that, I moved to Mount Vernon and lived in an apartment on Charles Street that was very nice but my utilities were sky high due to crappy windows. From there I moved to an apartment at The Standard (http://www.thestandardapts.net/), which I highly recommend. It's pricey, but totally worth it in my opinion. I paid $1100 for a 1 BR but that included all utilities & internet. It also has a gym, gorgeous lobby, free coffee, 14 hr security, etc. (I looked at about 15 apartments before settling there). I did not want to move from there, but eventually I moved in with my now husband. We live north of the city, in Abingdon/Bel Air.
Regarding skiing, I usually go to PA for that. There are some good places 3-4 hours away. I like Bear Creek, Seven Springs. Wisp in MD is also good. There are some places within 1-2 hours that are passable.
The beach is also about 2-3 hours away. We usually go to Dewey Beach, DE 2-3x/summer. Ocean city is also popular.
Feel free to PM if you have any questions or if you need a tour when you're hear :) I'd be glad to show you around.
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So I'm starting to get interview invitations to graduate school and I've applied to several places I've never been. Naturally the Bee is the biggest resource I have for ladies all over the globe, so as I'm preparing to set an interview date, I want to hear what you think of Baltimore! What's the weather like? How's the city? Any places to avoid/definitely visit? I'd be in UM-Baltimore, near the Inner Harbor area. What's the cost of living like - like how much is rent/groceries/anything I can compare to here? Any tidbits of info you'd like to share? I'm a small town girl so I know this will be a transition (if I get accepted), so the more prepared I'll be the better :)