I am looking for people who live in and around Baltimore, MD. I have some questions I’d like to ask you, (if you don’t mind)…
What is your cost of living?
what is the average salary like there? How much would a family of three have to make to live comfortably?
Can you suggest some nice neighborhoods/areas to look for housing? (doesn’t have to be uber-expensive, I just don’t want to fear for my life everyday)
And would you mind if I emailed any of you some more?
So, what’s up? Dave and I are in Havre de Grace, MD, which is about 35 miles North of the city. I’m gingerofthenorth at hotmail, he’s weirddave0 (that’s a zero) at hotmail. Dot com.
I find the cost of living to be higher than in Pittsburgh (hey! It’s what I have to compare it to!). Actually, we moved here from rural Pennsylvania and just about had a heart attack adjusting to the differences in cost of living. We pay over $550 a month in rent, and everyone tells us what a steal our large apartment is. Check out the City Paper classified ads for comparison.
Fells Point, Canton, and Federal Hill are really nice…ly out of our price range, as is the expanse of manicured lawns and stone mansions known as Guilford. I love Mt. Vernon, but I notice that the rents have been climbing. Right now, we live in Charles Village…well, lower Charles Village. Like Mt. Vernon, it is safe and culturally rich. Hampdon is nice.
A family of three? As JuanitaTech has hinted, Baltimore City schools suck. There is no other way to put it. Tack on a whole lot of money for private school, or you may want to look at Baltimore County (Baltimore City and Baltimore County are two separate political entitities). I don’t know much about the County outside of Catonsville and Towson, but they are both really fab little communities.
Not sure how close you need to be to official downtown Bmore. I’m a little over an hour to the North of downtown, depending upon traffic, and the Northwest expressway (795) is a gateway to many other communities.
I second the motion for specifics… where are you now?
Kinda relates to number one in a sense… and depends on what part of Baltimore you live. best example is that gas prices can be lower of higher depending on if you are living in North or South sections of the metropolitian area.
I am a wealth of knowledge on where to avoid living. West Baltimore City for example, anywhere near North Avenue, several sections of East Baltimore, South and Southwest Baltimore as well. The Baltimore county areas mentioned are very nice and I’d add Parkville and Towson to that list of neighborhoods. Private schools can run about 3-4 grand from K-8 and 6 grand for high school from my last check, but Maryland has an abundance of them. Hampden, Mt Vernon, Charles Village, Fells Point, and Federal Hill are very nice areas if you have the money.
Any other questions I am at hotmail as fairygodmom27.
I grew up in the Towson/Parkville area. It was a nice, safe area with lots of stuff within walking distance and the schools were pretty good. Of course, I graduated in 1972 and left the area in '73, so my knowledge is very limited now. However, I highly recommend avoiding the city itself. It’s a fun place to visit, but it’s becoming expensive to live, and if it’s not expensive, you can’t find a place to park.