Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Ah, the big three: Canton, Federal Hill, and Fells Point

Buz is sorry for not posting enough in this blog, but I've really been busy with stuff. I did however, have another relocation tour--a young gal and her boyfriend, who basically wanted to look, pretty much, in only one of the three neighborhoods all young professionals (almost all) want when they come to Baltimore: Canton, Federal Hill, and Fell's Point.

So we took a tour of the three areas and looked at Upper Fells Point, too (though, of course, the Craigslist poster said the rental property was in "Fell's Point"--well, close, but............)

We didn't find much in Fells Point to interest her, but found out that a $2400/month place in Upper Fells Point was really much and really small and really too close to where a lot of day laborers were hanging out looking for work. The house was all brand new, never lived in and down a small alley street. And the "investor" landlord was coming from DC to show it. We/she cancelled him after taking one look at the outside and the immediate neighborhood.

Places in Canton were really small and pricey, and several were already taken by the time we called.

Federal Hill places were really dear, but if you wanted to be near.............the tailgating/barhopping action, this was it.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Coming to Hopkins and looking for a place!?

Buz has learned that this is the season, and many people are coming to work and train at Johns Hopkins. Since he has dealt with a few poignant cases of people unknowingly renting in real bad areas, for them, I have some observations which might be helpful for the neophyte Baltimoron (that's what some of us modest residents call ourselves, hon.):

Johns Hopkins actually has three main campuses in Baltimore, not counting its subsidiary, the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
```there's the main undergraduate campus in North Baltimore at "Homewood", adjacent to Charles Village, Hampden, and Guilford.
```several miles away to the east, are the famous Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, including the hospital, medical school, school of nursing, school of Public Health, and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
```several miles east of that is the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, near the southeast city line and Greektown, Brewer's Hill and not too far from Canton and Eastpoint.

Your renting or relocation options differ significantly depending on which campus you are working or learning at. And your position and working hours are big factors, too. If you are being hired as a doctor or nurse or faculty member/researcher, you might want or need different living arrangements than if you were a student, post-doc, doing an internship, or a patient.

The area around the main hospital (JHMI) is complicated for living arrangements. Basically, living due east, north, or west of the hospital complex is not recommended for professional people who are from out of town who don't know their way around. 

Some good rental choices can be found in Fells Point, Upper Fells Point, Canton, and Butcher's Hill around Patterson Park. Canton is generally too far to walk, though. If you don't feel like living in a cramped rowhouse apartment in Fells Point (and most of them are, as well as pricey for what you get), you may want to try the Thames Point Apartments, right in Fells Point, but off the beaten path by the Eastern end of Thames Street. You're close to everything, but away from the noise and bars, though they're just a short walk away, along with a good coffee house and great views of the harbor all around. This building has a straight shot up Wolfe Street to the Medical complex.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Some things to check if you're new to Baltimore

If you're coming here "cold" and are looking around for a place to rent, here's some tips to get you started in looking for a comfortable area.(this is not an all-inclusive list by any means).

  • Look for the guys and gals hanging on the corner. Never a good sign. They know who comes and goes and when. 
  • Ask your prospective landlord if they accept Section 8. If they do, be sure you're comfortable with that.
  • Look for trash in the stairwells and on the property.
  • Does your landlord or property manager live on site. Always a good sign if they do.
  • Does the property look rundown, with a lot of deferred maintenance. Not a good sign (but it probably makes it cheap).
  • In general, the more rent you pay for a property, the better quality of life and amenities and apartment you can get.
  • Take your time, pick three different areas of interest, and visit at least 2, no more than 4 properties in each. (If you pick too many in a day, they all start to run together after a while).

Saturday, June 28, 2008

moving to Baltimore!? Consider Mt. Washington

Ah, a reader suggested to me that I not forget about wonderful, beautiful Mt. Washington as a place for someone relocating to the Baltimore area. Actually, it has a fair amount of positive attributes:
  • It's nice old Baltimore neighborhood with a strong community association, which is pretty to look at.
  • If one works downtown close to the light rail route, it's a walk or short drive, depending on where exactly you live, to the light rail station in Mt. Washington village.
  • A lot of people from out of town haven't heard of it because it isn't much on the young professional circuit.
  • It has a fair number of nice apartment complexes, including at least one which is gated, and at a very reasonable price--much less than you'd pay in most of , say, Federal Hill, Canton, or Fells Point. Or you can rent apartments in privately owned big old houses.
  • There's only one bar in the village, the Mt. Washington Tavern, but it's pretty good.
  • You are very close to Whole Foods, Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness center, and the post office. Short drive to I83 or I695, and downtown.
  • A community consisting of pretty much upper middle class people, including African Americans of that socio-economic class.
  • Very close to Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods which are to the north and very safe.
  • Very close to Sinai Hospital for fellows, post-docs, or interns working there.
  • Relatively low crime in immediate area.
A couple negatives: 
  • Very close to high crime areas of Park Heights, with heavy drug trafficking.
  • Not close to someone working at Hopkins Hospital.
  • Traffic can be heavy during morning rush hour.
  • Buz likes Belvedere Towers apartment building--a high-rise with good highway access, large apartments for the money, hardwood floors, 24-hour doormen/desk persons, a small pool, small fitness center.
(Maryland Management took over the place last year. Huh. Wonder if they got rid of Peggy or Nikki, the two great, nice Property Managers.)

Thanks, Anonymous for the tips!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

A tale of two cities

Buz is a regular reader of 2 websites: the Baltimore Crime blog (baltimorecrime.blogspot.com) and city-data.com's talk forum on Baltimore. I am often confounded that the people on the site actually are talking about the same city! Your consultant thinks that the crime blog gives a more grounded, more realistic view of Bmore, it's bad, but in realistic context. Almost all the writers/commenters obviously live in the city and kinda have learned to deal with it (with some exceptions).

Then there are some posters on city-data.com who are what I call urban spearheads/homesteaders. Every place in the city is wonderful, it's great, there are festivals, blah, blah, blah. Some poor person will post that they are moving to Baltimore for a job, and will ask for a nice, safe, secure place: they're told, oh, you should live around Patterson Park, you'll love Pigtown, or especially Charles Village. Huh? If their number one concern is safety?

Well, they're both right, after a fashion. Baltimore certainly has a lot of nice places to live, but one has to calibrate living suggestions with the tenor and demeanor of the seeker, as well as the price they're willing to pay, and their commute situation. Usually, when they talk about a "safe" place to live, they mean no open drug-dealing or gang activity and murders on their street. But often it mean an absence of "disorder"--such as one might find in Pigtown, and parts of Charles Village, and "Patterson Park" ( a very loosely-applied generic name for anywhere near the park).

So, people, take the postings with a grain of salt, hook up with a trustworthy native, come early, and check out several actually available rental properties-as well as their adjacent neighborhoods.

If all else fails, get Buz

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Safety

Everybodty who posts to talk forums and who are relocating to Baltimore want to live in a "safe' neighborhood. Who doesn't? Different people mean different things by that. Buz thinks that generally they mean that the risks of street crime in the area are relatively tolerable, and they feel confident in coming home at night, at least in their block. \

But he thinks that the posters really want is to live with upper middle class people and not thugs and disorder.

Buz wonders what you think and how to define a safe area.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Relocating to Baltimore

Buz has had some success as an Independent Contractor helping folks relocate to Baltimore. He sometimes sees bad advice on other websites, so decided to blog about it.
Most young people relocating to Baltimore are only told that 3 neighborhoods exist: 
Canton
Fells Point
Federal Hill
There are others!

Well, this is just not their fault. Many people move to Baltimore with only very cursory knowledge of the city or area. It is sad to see them relying on websites and talk forums in which the city boosters or haters are predominant.

Like most cities, Baltimore has a mix of good neighborhoods, bad neighborhoods, and in-betweens.

If you're moving to Baltimore, you kinda have to hook up with a native who knows their way around (someone like me!). Otherwise, you'll be spending a lot of time wandering abaout and being fooled