A harsh, but (I hope) not unfair look from life-lo
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4/6/2007
I've lived here all my life and know the city like the back of my hand, from penthouse to slum. Exercise caution if you are moving here. Yes, there are liveable neighborhoods, but they are invariably surrounded by arguably some of the worst ghettos in the U.S. "The Wire" is not fiction.
The city is steadily polarizing. It's the middle that is being cut-out. One recent study showed Baltimore with a 37% decline in middle-class neighborhoods since 1990. That about sums it up. Most neighborhoods are being forced to one extreme or the other.
So what, you might say? Aren't many cities like that? The difference is that Baltimore's geography works against it. Unlike DC, Philly and other areas, where the lively and liveable districts spread out in quadrants, in Baltimore, these areas are concentrated in a narrow strip about 8-10 blocks wide and about 50 blocks long running from downtown to the city line. On each side, are major expressways and then slum after slum. This impediment of geography means Baltimore lacks a multiplier or spillover effect, where improvements branch out over greater territory bounds. Instead, they're always confined to these limits. Of course, there are exceptions, but as a rule this rule holds here.
Having said that, the most liveable bohemian areas are Mt Vernon and Charles Village (along this downtown strip.)The Inner Harbor is a pricey, gentrified, garrison, sterile and undistinguished. For those with a little money, Roland Park and Mt Washington are leafy, large Victorian housing dominated. Pockets exist elsewhere. You have to look.
A plus in Baltimore's favor is that it's a city composed of small villages. It lacks the transience and cosmopolitanism of other NE cities, but makes up for stability (or stagnation, depending on your viewpoint)
Myself, I plan to leave within the next year.
Curtis | Baltimore, MD