humblrr asked: I'm thinking about moving to Baltimore & I was wondering what you thought of it. Mind sharing likes and dislikes?
I love Baltimore, and it’s important that I say that before I say anything else. It’s cute, it’s charming, it’s got all of the things you’d like for a larger city to have, but it’s a small city, especially compared to nearby cities like DC, Philly, and New York.
It’s not always beautiful, but it’s not all grime and crime either. The city varies quickly and often, sometimes in a matter of blocks. You learn your neighborhoods and you figure it out. I personally can’t imagine living in Federal Hill, and Canton is like a whole other world. Go somewhere a little more centrally located, like Mount Vernon, or better, Bolton Hill, the cutest fucking neighborhood ever. It’s an affordable city, but of course, neighborhoods matter.
As with any smaller city, sooner or later everyone knows everyone, which can go both ways. I suppose that is also specific to different social scenes and local hangouts, but you know what I mean. Most of the time I think it’s great and they’re good people to see. There’s a real sense of pride here, and there are always new projects and stores and venues and startups and it seems like people are really able to make their mark on this city. I haven’t even been here that long and I’ve seen real changes, and it’s been nice to be able to see that change and also benefit from it. My own neighborhood, Reservoir Hill, seems different than when we moved in less than two years ago.
It’s hard for me to answer this question because lately I’ve just been doubting a lot of the things I’ve assumed to be true about my life here and in general. I also think that you really can’t stay in any one city forever. That being said, Baltimore is a wonderful city, and one that I enjoy. I think you, or anyone else, could be very happy here.
Matthew Yake had a really good point via message that I thought I would share:
“I think the people who get dissatisfied with Baltimore fall into two categories, those who are really driven and grow out of what it has to offer and those who expect a city to hand everything to them for easy amusement. I love that the city is cheap and somewhat dysfunctional (a weird thing to love, I know) because it offers a lot of opportunity to carve out a spot and make something really special with little interference.”
