Baltimore vs. Philly?

[snipsnsnails]

Anyone lived in both and care to weigh in?

Posting and running. I'll be back.

[shell403b]

Downtown in both cities?

[snipsnsnails]

Metro areas - this can include outskirts

[daisybuchannan]

I cannot comment on Baltimore, but I love Philly! You know where I'm from, and although it is very different, it's a great area.

I could give you input on specific city and suburban locations

[Deleted]

Yes I've lived in both. Don't have a lot of time to respond now but you can PM or get my email address from cloudbee and I'll answer any questions.

[KKD]

Um. No contest. Move here!

[VeryViolet]

I grew up about a half hour from Baltimore. I actually really like Baltimore. I feel like it gets shit on a lot and while some of it is deserved it really is an awesome city. That being said I wouldn't want to live in the city itself. I would want to be in the burbs.

[Deleted]

Are you moving??? Yes!

[Eagles]

Philly is always the answer.

[Bernadine]

Whaaaaaaat?!? I think it's clear what my vote would be. Also, the house across the street from me is for sale, so the answer is obviously for you to buy it.

[Bernadine]

Ok, now I'll be more objective. What kinds of things are important to you? Good schools? Culture? Diversity? Job opportunities? Affordability?

[BaliHai]

Philly, of course. Grew up in the city and now I live in burbs. What would you like to know?

[LLL]

My vote is for baltimore

[W.T.Faulkner]

PHILLY TIL I DIE

[snipsnsnails]

Nah, nothing immediate, but making some long term plans. We have friends in Delaware, pretty much btw. The two metros. So, if we wanted a more city life, we could pick between the two. I'm a city girl at heart; I love the city. And the East Coast. Since NYC isn't in the cards, it leaves: Boston, Philly, Baltimire and DC.

Boston-Further away from family and more NE than CT, if possible. That's a con in my book, ha, but beautiful city.

Philly-Tons of friends there. Closest to family. Lived there before. My big concern is the school system if I want to live in the city.

Baltimore-Know almost nothing. I've heard the downtown has some rough areas and there's been some crime/corruption but it's on the upswing. Not quite as bustling as the others.

DC-Totally different feel. Have family in town. Could pursue a career here fairly easily, if I wanted to, I think. Costly (comparable to CT or even more?).

[snipsnsnails]

My concerns are schooling and housing costs, mainly. DH could pursue a job in any of those areas, minus NYC. :::wompwomp:::

[snipsnsnails]

Jul 30, 2014 12:45:09 GMT -5 KKD said:

Um. No contest. Move here!

If I have four kids and they're nuts, will you still be my mommy friend?

[jinkies]

I love Philly. I lived in Center City for a few years after college, now I'm back in the burbs. I feel like we're really ideally located on the NE corridor-- easy to get to NY, easy to get to DC, easy to get to the shore, easy to get to the mountains.

But now I see that you've lived here before, so you know all this.

There are good schools in close suburbs if you don't want to be in the city proper. Also, that would help alleviate some of the city wage tax.

[snipsnsnails]

Jul 30, 2014 12:58:44 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

Whaaaaaaat?!? I think it's clear what my vote would be. Also, the house across the street from me is for sale, so the answer is obviously for you to buy it.

Ha, our friends in DE have an open lot to build next door. These types of things away us! Putting it on my B'more pro list. xoxo

[snipsnsnails]

Ok, if I want to live in Philly proper, how are the schools? Honestly!

[daisybuchannan]

If you're thinking of living IN the city, I'd say you're definitely looking at private schools in Philly. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, aside from $$$ though. COL is lower, so you'd likely be able to afford something in Philly that would be millions in NYC. Love that

In terms of the burbs, there are school districts comparable to the ones around you. I live in a good school district, be we will be moving in the next 2-3 years to an even better school district. Where we are in the burbs, there are 3 school districts that we will look in (all top rated). I went public growing up, and plan the same for my children. The Catholic/private schools are pretty big here- even in the burbs, which is different than home.

[JLV]

I have lived in Philly my entire life. It has its good and bad. Public schools in the city are definitely not good. You will need to send your kid to a charter school or catholic school (what is left of them). There are also private schools but of course they are a lot of money.

I visited Baltimore and we toured a lot if the city and a lot if parts were not good. Outside of the city is nice. That's the extent of my knowledge on Baltimore.

[JLV]

Jul 30, 2014 13:09:20 GMT -5 snipsnsnails said:

Ok, if I want to live in Philly proper, how are the schools? Honestly!

Public schools are bad. Really bad.

Your other options are catholic, charter and private.

[KKD]

Jul 30, 2014 13:06:57 GMT -5 snipsnsnails said:

Jul 30, 2014 12:45:09 GMT -5 KKD said:

Um. No contest. Move here!

If I have four kids and they're nuts, will you still be my mommy friend?

Of course! Kate's middle name should be nuts.

Jul 30, 2014 13:07:10 GMT -5 jinkies said:

I feel like we're really ideally located on the NE corridor-- easy to get to NY, easy to get to DC, easy to get to the shore, easy to get to the mountains.

This is one of the main reasons (aside from family) that I think it's such a great place to live.

The city schools are not great, but neither are Baltimore's. The suburban schools (especially those on the Main Line, where you'll fit right in!) are top notch though.

[Eagles]

The Philly public schools are a mess. We will stay here (H has to live in the city for his job), and if we have a kid it's going to be Catholic or private school. This isn't a big deal to us, as we're both products of the parochial and private schools here ourselves. You also have the option of charter schools.

[katietornado]

Jul 30, 2014 12:48:27 GMT -5 VeryViolet said:

I grew up about a half hour from Baltimore. I actually really like Baltimore. I feel like it gets shit on a lot and while some of it is deserved it really is an awesome city. That being said I wouldn't want to live in the city itself. I would want to be in the burbs.

I left Baltimore in 2007 to move to California and then Ohio.  I'm back in Baltimore doing an internship this summer for my MBA.  The city is so different (BETTER) from 7 years ago.  It does get shit on a lot, but it's a very proud city, with a lot of neat local color.

I can't speak a lot to Philly, though my experiences visiting have always been great.

As for Baltimore, the city and burbs both have pros and cons.

City pros:  tons of stuff to do, relatively affordable, renewed focus on public transportation (including free water taxi and bus service), very walkable, exploring different neighorhoods never gets old, improved access to grocery stores in the downtown core, diversity of neighborhoods = there's a perfect neighborhood for everyone

City cons:  "nuisance" crime, schools, really high property taxes (unless you buy an older house and get the CHAP tax credit), most schools aren't great,

Burbs pros:  very good schools (especially Howard County), generally very safe, commuting into the city isn't terrible

Burbs cons:  boring as fuck (I'm staying with my parents in Columbia this summer and while I realize as a 31-year-old non-parent I have different priorities than many other people my age, OMFG the quiet makes me feel like I'm going insane...my parents' biggest problem this summer is an epic battle with their neighbors over the trees in their cul-de-sac...suburb problems, man), I hate commuting because it's soulless and wrong, nothing is walkable (many cities have close-in suburbs with SFHs with small yards and garages that are still walkable...this does not exist in Baltimore), little diversity, no local color (there are almost no local restaurants or shops in Columbia, which I have to imagine is a function of real estate prices...it's all TGI Friday's, Costco, Target, etc).

ETA:  Full disclosure, I am 31 and married with 0 kids and no plans for kids.  H and I are planning to return to Baltimore next summer.  We will live in the city (probably Locust Point, which is like a little safe, quiet oasis in the city...it's an amazing neighborhood, and my in-laws are here already).  If you have any more specific questions about Baltimore, let me know.  I used to be a bike messenger here; I know the city pretty well!

[JLV]

Yeah, you couldn't pay me to send N to a Philly public school. If we stay here it will be catholic school for him.

[jinkies]

I think Daisy covered it. You'll probably go private if you are in the city.

There are some good charters, but I know they can be hard to get into. I'm thinking specifically of Penn Alexander, which last I heard was brutal to get into.

I went burbs long before kids, though, so I might be talking out my ass. I feel like there might be some OK options in Mt Airy?

[snipsnsnails]

A lot of our friends have made the exodus out of the city into Chestnut Hill lately. Or Southern Jersey on the other side, but, man, I really want nothing more than to live in a nice row home on a cobblestone street and never have a yard again in my life. Four kids in private school is a tough pill to swallow though. : /

[JLV]

Do you know where in Philadelphia you would like to live?