D.C. or Baltimore Relocation for single girl ?
Mar 15th, 2007, 09:15 AM
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D.C. or Baltimore Relocation for single girl ?
Long time lurker here. You fodorites give great advice and I need some stat !
Im 30 years old and a single female.
I spent the last 10 years in NYC.
Loved it but needed a change.
Almost moved to Silver Spring, Maryland late last year.
But instead my dear 96 yr old grandmother in my hometown burb of Philadelphia broke her back so I opted to move home & take care of her for a while.
She's doing great now and I have to say I want to run screaming away from Philadelphia.
I've tried to enjoy it, but keep having bad experiences. Attempted mugging, crazy drivers & just very rude people. I was in NYC for a decade and never had a bad time.
I know D.C. & Baltimore both have crime too but I am more interested in giving one of them a try.
I just can't figure out which would be better 'fit' for me.
I'm a website marketer/designer and can pretty much work anywhere.
I really enjoy good shopping and a good nightlife nearby.
For now with the housing market in flux I will be renting. I have 200k in the bank, no debts & 2000-2700 to spend a month on rent.
Should I live in D.C. proper, Silver Spring, MD or Baltimore ? Are there any good upscale towns equally distanced between D.C. & Baltimore ?
I have friends in both cities but am getting conflicting info.
Any advice very much appreciated.
Im 30 years old and a single female.
I spent the last 10 years in NYC.
Loved it but needed a change.
Almost moved to Silver Spring, Maryland late last year.
But instead my dear 96 yr old grandmother in my hometown burb of Philadelphia broke her back so I opted to move home & take care of her for a while.
She's doing great now and I have to say I want to run screaming away from Philadelphia.
I've tried to enjoy it, but keep having bad experiences. Attempted mugging, crazy drivers & just very rude people. I was in NYC for a decade and never had a bad time.
I know D.C. & Baltimore both have crime too but I am more interested in giving one of them a try.
I just can't figure out which would be better 'fit' for me.
I'm a website marketer/designer and can pretty much work anywhere.
I really enjoy good shopping and a good nightlife nearby.
For now with the housing market in flux I will be renting. I have 200k in the bank, no debts & 2000-2700 to spend a month on rent.
Should I live in D.C. proper, Silver Spring, MD or Baltimore ? Are there any good upscale towns equally distanced between D.C. & Baltimore ?
I have friends in both cities but am getting conflicting info.
Any advice very much appreciated.
Mar 15th, 2007, 09:19 AM
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Why Silver Spring? It's a nice enough place, but not upscale in the least. The fact you picked that makes me wonder whether you may be more content in Baltimore.
You money is going to go much further in Baltimore than it does in DC, but DC is a more sophisticated city. Baltimore has a gritty feel to it--a lot like Philadelphia--but there's also plenty to do.
You money is going to go much further in Baltimore than it does in DC, but DC is a more sophisticated city. Baltimore has a gritty feel to it--a lot like Philadelphia--but there's also plenty to do.
Mar 15th, 2007, 09:30 AM
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2 friends live there in S.S. and liked how close it is to D.C.
I like Baltimore but am wondering if it's too 'gritty'
People keep telling me to live in Adams Morgan or Dupont Circle in D.C.
I like Baltimore but am wondering if it's too 'gritty'
People keep telling me to live in Adams Morgan or Dupont Circle in D.C.
Mar 15th, 2007, 09:54 AM
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Don't forget Northern Virginia. Arlington & Alexandria both have good restaurant & bar scenes but provide easy access to DC when the mood strikes. I like Baltimore, but it can't compare to the DC area for variety of nightlife, food & other things to do.
Mar 15th, 2007, 09:56 AM
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I think I am biased...but my vote would be for DC or a suburb (no more than 15 or 20 minutes outside the city)...as other posters have noted, Baltimore is gritty and I would imagine similar to Philadelphia in the ways you dislike.
Mar 15th, 2007, 10:05 AM
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Adams Morgan or Dupont Circle would be great. However, as mentioned, those neighborhoods will cost you twice per month than any place in Baltimore. With $2000-$2700, you can get a 1 BR (!!) in Dupont or Adams Morgan (not just a studio). Is it worth it? Obviously it is to many - the old supply and demand thing. The coolest places to live always cost more...
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Mar 15th, 2007, 05:27 PM
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If you are looking for a place in between I would recommend Annapolis, MD. It has a great feel to it and has lots of places to bar hop, good shopping and some interesting history. If you live in downtown Annapolis you would be in walking to distance to everythiing. You can find a great place in your price range.
Mar 15th, 2007, 05:36 PM
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The problem with moving somewhere in between Balto & DC is where you settle is where you will spend most of your time.
jiffer111's recommendation of Annapolis would be a great fit. A great place to live, and 1/2 hour or so to either Balto or DC.
jiffer111's recommendation of Annapolis would be a great fit. A great place to live, and 1/2 hour or so to either Balto or DC.
Mar 15th, 2007, 06:21 PM
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If you want to experience the flavor of Baltimore, watch some John Waters films. "Pecker" and "Cecil B. Demented" would be good choices. I heard (word of mouth, so I can't quote) that John Waters said that the difference between b'more and ny is that new yorkers all think they're crazy when they're all really quite sane - while balmer folks think actually think they're sane when they're really quite crazy.
It's a town of neighborhoods I've grown fond of in my 20 years here. But it isn't for everyone (what city is?) and if you didn't like Philly, DC might be a better choice. DC is hipper while b'more is hippier.
It's a town of neighborhoods I've grown fond of in my 20 years here. But it isn't for everyone (what city is?) and if you didn't like Philly, DC might be a better choice. DC is hipper while b'more is hippier.
Mar 16th, 2007, 08:05 AM
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Baltimore is a funny and quirky place, but the people here are much nicer than those in Philadelphia. Great shopping - how about pretty good shopping? There are nice small independent boutiques with cool clothes like they have at Olive and Bette's (for example). There are a lot of great restaurants. There are safe areas to live in the city such as Canton, Fells Point and Federal Hill (as safe as any city can be), wonderful suburbs within 15 minutes of downtown. You have to go to DC area for great dept stores like Neiman's or Bloomie's.
I hated living in Philadelphia, found people there thinking they were as sophisticated as NYC'ers when reality was they couldn't hold a candle to a real NYC'er.
My advice would be to come spend a few days in the neighborhoods you would consider of both cities, and at least get a feel for the areas.
Silver Spring however would not be my pick, go with the other DC suggestions.
Good luck!
I hated living in Philadelphia, found people there thinking they were as sophisticated as NYC'ers when reality was they couldn't hold a candle to a real NYC'er.
My advice would be to come spend a few days in the neighborhoods you would consider of both cities, and at least get a feel for the areas.
Silver Spring however would not be my pick, go with the other DC suggestions.
Good luck!
Mar 16th, 2007, 08:17 AM
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I'd poke around NW Washington to find an area that suits your tastes -- there's a wide variety but the stretches along Connecticut and Wisconsin both have a spectrum of apartment options in your range and many are convenient to public transport.
DT Silver Spring is rapidly improving and the area has always had some fabulous 'hoods for families and a quick commute to DT DC -- but at 30 and single, I'd look into the city itself.
DT Silver Spring is rapidly improving and the area has always had some fabulous 'hoods for families and a quick commute to DT DC -- but at 30 and single, I'd look into the city itself.
Mar 16th, 2007, 09:07 AM
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You're much more likely to get work in your field in Washington, the bureaucrat/paper capital of the world. There's probably 1001 associations who could use your services in Washington/Alexandria/Arlington. Almost all decent associations have elaborate web pages these days.
DC, however, is a much more expensive place to live than Baltimore. Commuting into DC is not fun. I do know of one ex-client(woman, 35, liberal, works for a DC consumerist group) whose wealthy father bought her a town home in Federal Hill, one of Baltimore's most exclusive neighborhoods. She commutes by taking a state of Maryland train to Union Station, where she hops on the subway to her work in downtown DC. Not for everyone, for sure, but an option.
Baltimore is not nearly as diverse as Washington, the capital of a powerful nation of 300 million people. Yet Baltimore is not the gritty industrial town it was when Johnny Unitas was flinging the football for the Colts way back when. For instance, it boasts the finest hospital on the globe, Johns Hopkins. Not only is Johns Hopkins its own little city, it saved my heart-diseased oldest son's life on three occasions. Furthermore, Baltimore's neighborhoods historically were more ethnically flavored- Germans, Greeks, Polish, Lithuanians, Italians, Jewish- than Washington's (John F. Kennedy famously called DC a town of Northern Charm and Southern Efficiency). Although the ethnic neighborhoods have experienced suburban flight for three generations, Baltimore has more of a European ethnic feel than DC.
And for a good time in Baltimore, I would recommend Fells Point, which has about thirty bars within a two hundred yard radius.
DC, however, is a much more expensive place to live than Baltimore. Commuting into DC is not fun. I do know of one ex-client(woman, 35, liberal, works for a DC consumerist group) whose wealthy father bought her a town home in Federal Hill, one of Baltimore's most exclusive neighborhoods. She commutes by taking a state of Maryland train to Union Station, where she hops on the subway to her work in downtown DC. Not for everyone, for sure, but an option.
Baltimore is not nearly as diverse as Washington, the capital of a powerful nation of 300 million people. Yet Baltimore is not the gritty industrial town it was when Johnny Unitas was flinging the football for the Colts way back when. For instance, it boasts the finest hospital on the globe, Johns Hopkins. Not only is Johns Hopkins its own little city, it saved my heart-diseased oldest son's life on three occasions. Furthermore, Baltimore's neighborhoods historically were more ethnically flavored- Germans, Greeks, Polish, Lithuanians, Italians, Jewish- than Washington's (John F. Kennedy famously called DC a town of Northern Charm and Southern Efficiency). Although the ethnic neighborhoods have experienced suburban flight for three generations, Baltimore has more of a European ethnic feel than DC.
And for a good time in Baltimore, I would recommend Fells Point, which has about thirty bars within a two hundred yard radius.
Mar 16th, 2007, 12:11 PM
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Wow so happy I posed my quandry here.
Lotsa food for thought.
See I have friends in both D.C. & Bmore.
My friends in Bmore are my loveable loony friends (refugees from East Village NYC - artistes & leftie creatives)
While my pals in D.C. are sophisticated workaholics.
Im a combo of both. (I gues Im a complicated girl LOL)
I'm wondering if Bethesda might be a good choice for me.
My uncle who lives in Gerogetown says I wouldn't find Silver Spring to my upscale liking, but would enjoy Bethesda.
Any insights ?
Lotsa food for thought.
See I have friends in both D.C. & Bmore.
My friends in Bmore are my loveable loony friends (refugees from East Village NYC - artistes & leftie creatives)
While my pals in D.C. are sophisticated workaholics.
Im a combo of both. (I gues Im a complicated girl LOL)
I'm wondering if Bethesda might be a good choice for me.
My uncle who lives in Gerogetown says I wouldn't find Silver Spring to my upscale liking, but would enjoy Bethesda.
Any insights ?
Mar 16th, 2007, 12:16 PM
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Author: Edye
Date: 03/16/2007, 12:05 pm
...............
I hated living in Philadelphia, found people there thinking they were as sophisticated as NYC'ers when reality was they couldn't hold a candle to a real NYC'er.>>>>>>
And that's another problem with Philly,
I have a fierce fondness for NYC.
Former WTC worker (left months before 9/11 but lost friends) so I have a deep and abiding affection for NYC.
Any time I mentioned any love for NY people in Philly would pounce on me. Provincial mindset. ARGH.
Date: 03/16/2007, 12:05 pm
...............
I hated living in Philadelphia, found people there thinking they were as sophisticated as NYC'ers when reality was they couldn't hold a candle to a real NYC'er.>>>>>>
And that's another problem with Philly,
I have a fierce fondness for NYC.
Former WTC worker (left months before 9/11 but lost friends) so I have a deep and abiding affection for NYC.
Any time I mentioned any love for NY people in Philly would pounce on me. Provincial mindset. ARGH.
Mar 16th, 2007, 12:20 PM
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Author: GeorgeW
Date: 03/16/2007, 01:07 pm
...........
For instance, it boasts the finest hospital on the globe, Johns Hopkins. Not only is Johns Hopkins its own little city, it saved my heart-diseased oldest son's life on three occasions.
....................
And for a good time in Baltimore, I would recommend Fells Point, which has about thirty bars within a two hundred yard radius.
>>>>>>>>
Yes John Hopkins can't be beat.
Fells is super fun according to my wilder friends.
But I'm a girl and not a boy so I only need a bar hop every few months.
;-)
Date: 03/16/2007, 01:07 pm
...........
For instance, it boasts the finest hospital on the globe, Johns Hopkins. Not only is Johns Hopkins its own little city, it saved my heart-diseased oldest son's life on three occasions.
....................
And for a good time in Baltimore, I would recommend Fells Point, which has about thirty bars within a two hundred yard radius.
>>>>>>>>
Yes John Hopkins can't be beat.
Fells is super fun according to my wilder friends.
But I'm a girl and not a boy so I only need a bar hop every few months.
;-)
