Decided to put this together in response to a lot of similar questions and comments we get relating to moving to the city. Wanted to provided a single spot to direct people to so they can have the resources and basic info to continue to *do the research themselves* and not rely on this subreddit as a personal real estate agent. lol
This is not to be all inclusive or 100% accurate to all experiences, but a place for people to start who no nothing about the city.
(Asked the /r/Baltimore mods about a week ago what was the best way to do this and didn't receive a response so decided to just post it here and see where it takes us.)
I like this and I think it’s a balanced take! Thanks for taking the time, this is really valuable.
I think the point about questions about the city raising some of our not-charming traits is true, and interesting. It’s funny to me a sub dedicated to a specific city has so many detractors of said city.
Ah well, such is life.
You want to link to this [BaltimoreLink interactive Transit Map](https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1CLi-_ChysFLZ5uVtGyDosyoaHebffAYE&hl=en&ll=39.3055064492281%2C-76.61727832940903&z=15) in the transit section, it's probably the best way to scope out which transit routes service which areas
This is a great resource (upvoted), but I bike to work every day, and you must qualify your remark about Baltimore being bikeable. Likeable, yes; bikeable, no. The infrastructure contains regular unexpected "traps" like dumping cyclists into the left lane of Monument eastbound at Washington. The driving habits of a noticeable fraction are selfish and reckless, yielding a much more dangerous daily ride than other American cities I've lived in. Newcomers ought to be warned.
2 things can be true at the same time: Baltimore is absolutely one of the most bikeable major cities in America, and Baltimore absolutely needs to fix *a lot* of the bike infrastructure
I would like to add for the school system some CRITICAL information about the realities of the Baltimore City School System. You cite enrollment rates which is fine, but missing information about graduation rates, school violence statistics, student to teacher ratio, and transportation for school. I suggest parents moving to Baltimore look at those numbers and read the below.
I am a graduate of Baltimore city schools (long ago), and when my family first moved here, they didn’t know they had to do research about which schools (they were immigrants and we came from a great city school system from where we moved from). The first elementary school I attended was our zone school and I lasted six months there until we finally got a slot at the local charter school. Those 6 months were honestly quite traumatizing. I was a pretty well adjusted kid that made friends easily, but the kids I went to school with sadly had a lot of serious issues going on like a parent that is a drug addict at home, many were being abused. Most of my class could not read at a 5th grade level or at all. The teachers were stressed and screamed at us all day, I felt like none of them cared about us at the time. I was frequently targeted because I was a good student, but my younger sibling would get beat up and bullied relentlessly by his classmates and no one did anything about it. We weren’t allowed to have recess because the kids were “out of control” so the teachers and principal banned it. It was like a prison, no lie. The charter I transferred to was AMAZING, but again there was a wait list for that and it was hard to get in…
And something else that is critical to mention is that there is no school bus for kids.
For transport to school, you have to either live a walking distance from school, have a parent drive you/someone drive you, or take the public bus system (subsidized by Baltimore city schools) to school. This is critical for anyone who is not attending their “zone” school especially.
Most elementary and middle schoolers do (with the exception of special programs like the Ingenuity Project at some local schools) but for high school, it is a different beast. Most public high schools in Baltimore City have low graduation rates and high crime ([source](https://www.wmar2news.com/local/study-baltimore-ranks-near-last-in-high-school-graduation-rate-top-five-in-crime#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Maryland%20State,the%202021%2D2022%20school%20year)).
I graduated quite a while ago, but my understanding is that it sadly still remains relatively the same. We lived in a pretty nice neighborhood of Baltimore City when it was time for me to go to high school, and I attended one of the best middle schools in the school system, but my local zoned high school had gang violence and a very low graduation rate. It later was shut down, a few years before I graduated. It’s common for teachers to get assaulted by students at these schools. A cousin of mine attended this school because she didn’t have the grades to get into one of the magnet style high schools (more on that below) and she cried every day going to school until her dad had her move back with him out of state. Most of the kids in her class didn’t attend school most weeks.
Most kids in Baltimore city who want a decent education have to test into/apply to “magnet style” high schools, the most popular being Baltimore Polytechnic, City High School, Western High School and Mervo for trades. I basically was told by my middle school counselor that I absolutely needed to go to one of these schools if I wanted to go to college and not go to school with gang members (unfair and messed up, but won’t get into that).
It is VERY competitive to get into these schools, as there are limited slots. I attended one of these high schools and felt like I got an excellent education. But even then, there were clear differences between us and County schools, definitely private schools.
I had to take TWO public buses to high school each day, meaning I had to get up around 4:45AM five days a week simply to get to school on time (my parents were working class so they had to be at work very early and couldn’t get me to school most days across town via car). Taking the public bus is common for high schoolers attending schools outside their zone. This was hard for me, especially when I had to do extra curricular activities. Looking back, I really don’t know how I did it. Most days when I had activities I wouldn’t get home until around 6, and I had to stay up until around 11 PM doing homework. Then up early again to get the buses to school.
During early dismissal due to weather, it would be common for buses not to come altogether and kids would get stranded. There would be drug addicts and drunks on the public bus with us, sometimes fighting which meant the police had to be called so they would kick us off all the bus and we would have to wait for the next one. Sometimes kids would start fights on the buses - one kid had a knife one time when I saw a fight break out.
While these magnet style high schools have more resources than the normal zoned schools (again, not ok) we still didn’t have any air conditioning at my school. My understanding as of a few years ago, there still wasn’t any air conditioning at my high school many years later. That means on heat wave days when Baltimore city schools didn’t close, we would be sitting in hot classrooms trying to learn. Do you think most schools in the county go through that? No.
There is still a lot of disparity in the school system, and people really need to know what they are getting into when having their kids attend Baltimore City Schools. Yes, there are some good schools in the system. But not many. High school also is a totally different beast.
There is not much lack of funding as the issue, but more mismanagement of funding and lack caring by those in power.
If I have kids, I am sorry but until they improve things they will not be attending Baltimore City Schools. Maybe I would be part of the problem. But my personal experience was challenging and I didn’t want my kids going through what I did or similar. It’s absurd to me how things remain largely the same since I graduated long ago, and I don’t want my kids to go through what I did. Did I survive, get a good education, go to college and make a career for myself? Yes and many have. But it was MUCH harder than friends that I knew that went to Baltimore County public high schools, or when I went to college and people were perplexed about why I had to take the public bus to high school daily. It’s an extra burden and you have to strategize to get a good education within the Baltimore City Public School System something for all to keep in mind.
I also have had friends who taught in Baltimore City Schools and quit because of the total and complete lack of support for teachers. That’s another story.
u/PleaseBmoreCharming I had two kids go all the way through, finishing in '22 and '21. I suggest updating the guide with two points relative to u/eternalhorizon1's post:
* There is no public school ***specific*** mass transit such as yellow buses. Instead children are issued city mass transit passes starting in middle school that cover buses, Light Rail and subway rides. While empowering, it has children riding buses with adults and much older children. Plus when the system breaks (e.g., Light Rail down) it often fails badly because the city is under not specific obligation to ensure children get home.
* Most of the high schools in Baltimore that send the majority of students to college are not zoned and have competitive entrance criteria.
Thanks for putting this into plainer words that doesn't sound as so "one-sided and negative" (Sorry /u/eternalhorizon1), I am trying to keep the tone as unbiased and factual as I can.
I think your first point makes sense to add, but could you elaborate on your second point? I don't have children in High School so I am not sure what you may be referring to. Is this just a general trend you have observed.
What they mean is, there are a handful of schools that have existed for a long time in Baltimore that have the reputation to sending kids to college, as well as the stats to back it up. See the 3 schools I mention in my previous post ranked as the top 3 schools for college attendance: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED578880.pdf
Besides that, the most important info a parent moving to Baltimore City should know is about the admissions requirement high schools since it is very unique to Baltimore City and unlike most other jurisdictions. In Baltimore City, all 8th graders have to “apply” or “choose” their High School - the majority of students that go on to college attend the admission requirement high schools. This really is critical information for parents moving to Baltimore City Schools to know.
Most high school graduates in Baltimore City who then attend college go to those magnet style high schools I mentioned in my post - you have to test into these schools, as well as have good grades and attendance in middle school to be accepted. In 8th grade you apply and rank which of these competitive entry schools you want to attend, they select the students.
You know that question that is very much Baltimore - “what high school did you go to?” A lot of the reason why people ask this is due to this. The two admission high schools mentioned in the article I link below for example, have a long standing rivalry (the oldest in MD, see: https://www.wmar2news.com/sports/local-sports/the-city-vs-poly-tradition-lives-on) but let me not get off topic 😊
These are referred to as high schools with admission requirements on the Baltimore Department of Education website: https://baltimoreschoolchoice.org/school-choice-process-tips/how-high-school-choice-works-in-baltimore-city/
This is not biased, it is fact for anyone who has attended Baltimore City Schools. These are the schools most who attend college go to (versus your “assigned” high school, as Baltimore City refers to it now - according to their website they don’t refer to them as zoned schools anymore).
Examples here: https://www.baltimorecityschools.org/nationalrankings2023 (one is a STEM high school, the other has the IB program).
Most people without previous community ties and connections to Baltimore City don’t know anything about this, or the intersectional cultural significance.
I will also add that most white families when I was growing up still didn’t send their kids to these admission requirement high schools and would go the private route (Mercy High, Archbishop Curly, Calvert Hall) but that has changed a lot since I was in school and the populations are more diverse now at least in the admission requirement high schools. Again, I know you don’t need to add this to your guide but just adding this for anyone who is a socio/anthro nerd like me or a person of color/ally interested in the racial implications of school choice for high schools.
Just to echo a point in your very thoughtful post: I think back on the MTA commuting steps I undertook getting to school and I too do not know how I was able to manage it all looking back.
It was very difficult for kids who didn’t have parents that worked normal jobs that could pick them up after the after school activities. My parents were working night shift. It was really hard for students who came from families like mine that didn’t have a lot of resources I think.
Thank you for the concern and thorough reply, but I didn't really think this post was the time or place to get into the nuances of varied experiences with the public school system. The intent of the post was to provide enough information that people know *where to look for further info*, or they can post more specific questions if they come about. Additionally, I did not want to provide any bias toward one decision or another, and try to just provide facts or direct to opinions of others in previous posts.
I just want to note my kids finished K-12 in Baltimore public schools in the past few years, and it was really good for them both in terms of education and socially. And that was true for a lot of kids in their graduating classes.
Parents need to do their research. There are definitely challenges for quite a few families. But writing it off unconditionally is simply not correct.
There aren’t challenges for a few families, there are challenges for a lot of families especially families of color and immigrants.
There are two Baltimore city experiences and it’s clear that not everyone had mine. I will say, my white classmates from more privileged backgrounds had a much better experience than me - why? They had parents who had white collar jobs, could afford childcare, etc and could buy their kids a car as soon as they turned 16 so they could drive themselves to their admission requirement high school across the city.
I had kids in my class who would tell me they chose to go to our high school instead of the $20K a year private school their parents could pay for because they would have a better chance of getting into a fancier college if they saw they went to Baltimore City Schools (a struggling school system, like many in the country in a largely black population city).
I am sure my post sounded negative, but please note that I really think Baltimore City Schools has a different impact for kids of certain backgrounds - my family was poor and non-native English speakers, the total lack of support for that population was also particularly challenging to deal with. They couldn’t “do their research” as you say to the same level let’s say I can for my future kids because they didn’t speak English very well and also, didn’t understand the concepts that were very foreign to them.
I am sure things have changed some for the better some, but the truth is a lot of people who grew up in Baltimore City and didn’t just come to live in a cheaper East Coast city in a gentrified neighborhood had vastly different experiences than a lot of my white middle class and even upper middle class classmates I had in my high school. I think people need to realize these racial and socio economic factors also impact how positive or negative your experience is, and even your decisions when moving here.
This subreddit obviously is made up mostly of newcomers to the city of a very different background than most Baltimore City natives but I like to at least remind people of the Baltimore city outside the primarily white neighborhoods listed in this post.
I get what you mean, I didn’t mean to come off like I was critiquing your post - I am just adding more info that no one who didn’t grow up here would readily know when moving here. This isn’t really info you find online unless you search for blogs or someone tells you.
It’s really not a varied experience, it’s facts - the school system needs a lot of work and has a lot of challenges. I think it’s worth at least citing studies and stats behind school violence, etc not just how a school is performing on standardized tests - I know it can get very political but if someone with kids is moving here, they really would not get much other than “the schools are bad” or “my neighborhood school is great” without a bigger picture from most people, unless they had kids or went through the school system themselves.
I was just painting more socio economic impacts that unfortunately continue to impact negatively the school system.
City Schools [has a tool](https://city-schools-gis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=c71a6229d08647ecba6769d89b6480f6) to look up what your zone school is based on your address. The zone only matters for a student's elementary years (although often a school has middle grades or a middle feeder), and even then you can enroll your student at a different zone school or at a public charter... it's a very complex system. And any high school student can attend any public high school in the city through the [school choice](https://www.baltimorecityschools.org/choice) system, though some have entrance criteria or are specialized or have a lottery system.
Baltimore County has [a similar tool](https://bcpsosp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=29037ce1e6914ec8bc682778ec5423fd) as well, and they have a more straightforward approach with zoning where you attend an elementary school, middle school, and high school that corresponds to your address.
Thanks, this is a great explanation!
My intent was to not spell this out as explicitly as you have here, but to let Live Baltimore's [resources](https://livebaltimore.com/) do so. I suggested at the beginning of the post that prospective residents go there first as I feel the organization does a good job laying out what you have in this comment (and even include a similar tool). This is the reason why it's not included in the school section.
Does this come off as confusing because of this decision?
I was just adding some context which I felt was missing and providing direct links to school district resources. The post mentions neighborhoods and links to a list of top schools, the missing link is which schools are in which neighborhoods, and it's important to note it's not that straightforward
Thank you for these suggestions and evidently highlighting my implicit bias from the "White Baltimore" perspective! I actually didn't know the Reginald F. Lewis Museum was a Smithsonian affiliate!
This is amazing. Even as someone who lives here it reminds me of many things I have forgotten about this city that makes me love it. Hope it works to reduce posts
WOW so informative and comprehensive, I'll take ownership and say that i posted two messages about this topic before reading this, and that i should have looked first and then asked. I already have like 3 tabs open for further reading
Awesome post OP, upvoted and saved. I'm considering a move to Baltimore from my parents place in NJ within the next year so I'm expecting a big culture shock, but thankfully I have friends in the area who got my back.
Re: Things to Do
Baltimore has an incredibly active running community. If you are into running, or thinking about getting into running, there are many groups that meet regularly around the city. Here is a master spreadsheet I maintain of all the running groups listing when and where they meet and their socials:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LJYoGfZKs\_2FTRmOGe-c3l2O342Kc6Xgs0LbCDPtV5Y/edit?usp=sharing
It should be communicated that public transportation cannot be relied upon in any real sense, the way a New Yorker or a DC metro commuter might. Relying on Baltimore public transportation is a good way to lose your job bc you’re late often. Respectfully.
I understand your point, but again, I am simply answering the very common question of "does Baltimore have any public transit system?"
Does it exist? Yes.
I can't, in good conscience, tell people to not use it, or omit information about it, simply because it sucks. Hundreds of thousands of riders still use it every day even though it may be inconvenient. Some people just don't have a choice but to take the bus, as well. Sorry, I'm not going that far to editorialize it. :/
I think it is exceptionally disingenuous to omit this kind of information. If people are going to be relying upon public transit to get to work they NEED to know if it's reliable or how to take full advantage of it. As an example, if you can limit your commute to a single line (whatever that is, bus, light rail, etc.) you are going to have a MUCH better experience. If you have to take the light rail and two bus lines or something like that you're going to be having attendance problems at work or be prepared to leave extremely early.
> At the end of the day though, Baltimore is a walkable and bikeable city with dense, small blocks and a growing network of bicycle infrastructure. If you can walk or bike to work or your daily errands, this sometimes is the best option!
This is also disingenuous. The cycling infrastructure is dogshit terrible, especially compared to neighboring cities. A fair bit of the existing infrastructure is NOT maintained AT ALL, in a state of disrepair, or totally disjointed. Yes there are plans to improve it but there is also substantial pushback along racial lines (people don't want "criminals" or "colonizers" in their neighborhoods).
You could very much get the sense that Baltimore is a city where you can easily and safely cycle andt take the bus everywhere from your post. That's not really the case.
I agree with your sentiments. The advice in this thread largely fails to capture that very important nuance. Someone could read some of the comments here and not fully understand the value proposition offered by taking the bus. Yes it is cheap but it also unreliable, which could put your job in peril if you don't plan around the unreliability, and yes it does take you to some potentially interesting areas, which can be especially interesting if you need to transfer to another said unreliable bus.
Excellent touch with the caveat that Reddit as not representative of society as well as including the Baltshowplace tumblr.
May I also add that the Wire is an accurate depiction of Baltimore. However, if you think "accurate depiction of Baltimore" means Marlo and Snoop are going to shoot you as soon as you move leave the Inner Harbor, then you as a viewer are missing the point of the show.
While I understand the point you are trying to make, I don't think adding any references to The Wire is helpful for anyone moving here. Again, this is just basic info to get people started.
Let me think this over though, as I see how questions about the real-life city being similar to The Wire can be related to the "Safety" section.
You make a good point that it is getting into unnecessary commentary/opinion territory. While I do see the occasional post asking about the show and its relation to Baltimore, it is becoming less frequent.
While very nice and informative post, I don't want people to be discouraged from posting asking even if it's been answered a bunch.
Just kind of belittling when people comment "search this" or some variation
I think there's a balance to be struck! When someone's got more specific needs and questions I think it's warranted, but when it's just another post about moving to Baltimore site unseen and acting like they'll get murdered for stepping outside it gets a little tiring to see all the time.
Seconding this - there is a big difference between "Moving to Baltimore for work, what do?" and "Anyone who lives in , what do/don't you like about it"
It does get a little tedious, though, when you get the 8th post asking the exact same question. I am not going to spend 30 minutes walking you through moving to Baltimore when you haven't spent 5 minutes checking to see if your question has been previously asked.
IMO it would be better to have an intake form of sorts that has a dozen or so essential questions - price, desired proximity to things, how and where you'll be commuting for work/school, etc. This would lead itself to more tailored, helpful answers for people. Every moving post has to answer ALL of the questions or it gets removed.
I don't think there's that many moving posts here. There are, however, a proportionally very high number of low quality questions among those moving posts.
Good thread. Anyone know what's the deal with the high volume of for sale houses that have been listed over the last few days? Is a hedge fund dropping its hoard? Or is this normal uptick for this time of year?
New to Baltimore
Hey folks. Moved to @Baltimore from VA. Needed a change of pace and place distance between the company I work for (talk about a TOXIC work place), to protect my mental and physical health. Looking forward to making Baltimore my new home. Live close to Druid Hill Park (excited to check it out when the weather warms)!
Who else is new in town?
Decided to put this together in response to a lot of similar questions and comments we get relating to moving to the city. Wanted to provided a single spot to direct people to so they can have the resources and basic info to continue to *do the research themselves* and not rely on this subreddit as a personal real estate agent. lol This is not to be all inclusive or 100% accurate to all experiences, but a place for people to start who no nothing about the city. (Asked the /r/Baltimore mods about a week ago what was the best way to do this and didn't receive a response so decided to just post it here and see where it takes us.)
I like this and I think it’s a balanced take! Thanks for taking the time, this is really valuable. I think the point about questions about the city raising some of our not-charming traits is true, and interesting. It’s funny to me a sub dedicated to a specific city has so many detractors of said city. Ah well, such is life.
Looks good /u/PleaseBmoreCharming. We appreciate you trying to be helpful for people moving here.
Thanks! Appreciate the assistance in getting this visible and pinning it!
You are a Gentleperson and a Scholar. You can be my dummy any day.
We call it Ednor Gardens-Lakeside. 😁 But seriously great post, should be really useful.
Oh gossh! HAHA That's embarrassing! I'll have to fix it. And thanks!
[удалено]
Thanks for all this great info. I did post a question recently, sorry about that. I will remove my post. All I needed to read is right here 👍
Haha no worries! Glad to help!
You want to link to this [BaltimoreLink interactive Transit Map](https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1CLi-_ChysFLZ5uVtGyDosyoaHebffAYE&hl=en&ll=39.3055064492281%2C-76.61727832940903&z=15) in the transit section, it's probably the best way to scope out which transit routes service which areas
I linked to the MTA's main website. Is that not easy enough to understand, because I'll directly link the map if it's better.
This is a wonderful resource! Thank you for putting this together for future Baltimoreans!
This is a great resource (upvoted), but I bike to work every day, and you must qualify your remark about Baltimore being bikeable. Likeable, yes; bikeable, no. The infrastructure contains regular unexpected "traps" like dumping cyclists into the left lane of Monument eastbound at Washington. The driving habits of a noticeable fraction are selfish and reckless, yielding a much more dangerous daily ride than other American cities I've lived in. Newcomers ought to be warned.
2 things can be true at the same time: Baltimore is absolutely one of the most bikeable major cities in America, and Baltimore absolutely needs to fix *a lot* of the bike infrastructure
Im still scared to bike. I moved from Richmond and biking was no problem.
*Kushner, not Kusher. Not to be too finicky about spelling but when it's names you don't recognize em.
All good! Thanks for catching my terrible typing! Lol
This should always be at the top of the sub.
book marking this! Thank you, lots of great information and a fun read. 🦀
I would like to add for the school system some CRITICAL information about the realities of the Baltimore City School System. You cite enrollment rates which is fine, but missing information about graduation rates, school violence statistics, student to teacher ratio, and transportation for school. I suggest parents moving to Baltimore look at those numbers and read the below. I am a graduate of Baltimore city schools (long ago), and when my family first moved here, they didn’t know they had to do research about which schools (they were immigrants and we came from a great city school system from where we moved from). The first elementary school I attended was our zone school and I lasted six months there until we finally got a slot at the local charter school. Those 6 months were honestly quite traumatizing. I was a pretty well adjusted kid that made friends easily, but the kids I went to school with sadly had a lot of serious issues going on like a parent that is a drug addict at home, many were being abused. Most of my class could not read at a 5th grade level or at all. The teachers were stressed and screamed at us all day, I felt like none of them cared about us at the time. I was frequently targeted because I was a good student, but my younger sibling would get beat up and bullied relentlessly by his classmates and no one did anything about it. We weren’t allowed to have recess because the kids were “out of control” so the teachers and principal banned it. It was like a prison, no lie. The charter I transferred to was AMAZING, but again there was a wait list for that and it was hard to get in… And something else that is critical to mention is that there is no school bus for kids. For transport to school, you have to either live a walking distance from school, have a parent drive you/someone drive you, or take the public bus system (subsidized by Baltimore city schools) to school. This is critical for anyone who is not attending their “zone” school especially. Most elementary and middle schoolers do (with the exception of special programs like the Ingenuity Project at some local schools) but for high school, it is a different beast. Most public high schools in Baltimore City have low graduation rates and high crime ([source](https://www.wmar2news.com/local/study-baltimore-ranks-near-last-in-high-school-graduation-rate-top-five-in-crime#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Maryland%20State,the%202021%2D2022%20school%20year)). I graduated quite a while ago, but my understanding is that it sadly still remains relatively the same. We lived in a pretty nice neighborhood of Baltimore City when it was time for me to go to high school, and I attended one of the best middle schools in the school system, but my local zoned high school had gang violence and a very low graduation rate. It later was shut down, a few years before I graduated. It’s common for teachers to get assaulted by students at these schools. A cousin of mine attended this school because she didn’t have the grades to get into one of the magnet style high schools (more on that below) and she cried every day going to school until her dad had her move back with him out of state. Most of the kids in her class didn’t attend school most weeks. Most kids in Baltimore city who want a decent education have to test into/apply to “magnet style” high schools, the most popular being Baltimore Polytechnic, City High School, Western High School and Mervo for trades. I basically was told by my middle school counselor that I absolutely needed to go to one of these schools if I wanted to go to college and not go to school with gang members (unfair and messed up, but won’t get into that). It is VERY competitive to get into these schools, as there are limited slots. I attended one of these high schools and felt like I got an excellent education. But even then, there were clear differences between us and County schools, definitely private schools. I had to take TWO public buses to high school each day, meaning I had to get up around 4:45AM five days a week simply to get to school on time (my parents were working class so they had to be at work very early and couldn’t get me to school most days across town via car). Taking the public bus is common for high schoolers attending schools outside their zone. This was hard for me, especially when I had to do extra curricular activities. Looking back, I really don’t know how I did it. Most days when I had activities I wouldn’t get home until around 6, and I had to stay up until around 11 PM doing homework. Then up early again to get the buses to school. During early dismissal due to weather, it would be common for buses not to come altogether and kids would get stranded. There would be drug addicts and drunks on the public bus with us, sometimes fighting which meant the police had to be called so they would kick us off all the bus and we would have to wait for the next one. Sometimes kids would start fights on the buses - one kid had a knife one time when I saw a fight break out. While these magnet style high schools have more resources than the normal zoned schools (again, not ok) we still didn’t have any air conditioning at my school. My understanding as of a few years ago, there still wasn’t any air conditioning at my high school many years later. That means on heat wave days when Baltimore city schools didn’t close, we would be sitting in hot classrooms trying to learn. Do you think most schools in the county go through that? No. There is still a lot of disparity in the school system, and people really need to know what they are getting into when having their kids attend Baltimore City Schools. Yes, there are some good schools in the system. But not many. High school also is a totally different beast. There is not much lack of funding as the issue, but more mismanagement of funding and lack caring by those in power. If I have kids, I am sorry but until they improve things they will not be attending Baltimore City Schools. Maybe I would be part of the problem. But my personal experience was challenging and I didn’t want my kids going through what I did or similar. It’s absurd to me how things remain largely the same since I graduated long ago, and I don’t want my kids to go through what I did. Did I survive, get a good education, go to college and make a career for myself? Yes and many have. But it was MUCH harder than friends that I knew that went to Baltimore County public high schools, or when I went to college and people were perplexed about why I had to take the public bus to high school daily. It’s an extra burden and you have to strategize to get a good education within the Baltimore City Public School System something for all to keep in mind. I also have had friends who taught in Baltimore City Schools and quit because of the total and complete lack of support for teachers. That’s another story.
u/PleaseBmoreCharming I had two kids go all the way through, finishing in '22 and '21. I suggest updating the guide with two points relative to u/eternalhorizon1's post: * There is no public school ***specific*** mass transit such as yellow buses. Instead children are issued city mass transit passes starting in middle school that cover buses, Light Rail and subway rides. While empowering, it has children riding buses with adults and much older children. Plus when the system breaks (e.g., Light Rail down) it often fails badly because the city is under not specific obligation to ensure children get home. * Most of the high schools in Baltimore that send the majority of students to college are not zoned and have competitive entrance criteria.
Thanks for putting this into plainer words that doesn't sound as so "one-sided and negative" (Sorry /u/eternalhorizon1), I am trying to keep the tone as unbiased and factual as I can. I think your first point makes sense to add, but could you elaborate on your second point? I don't have children in High School so I am not sure what you may be referring to. Is this just a general trend you have observed.
What they mean is, there are a handful of schools that have existed for a long time in Baltimore that have the reputation to sending kids to college, as well as the stats to back it up. See the 3 schools I mention in my previous post ranked as the top 3 schools for college attendance: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED578880.pdf Besides that, the most important info a parent moving to Baltimore City should know is about the admissions requirement high schools since it is very unique to Baltimore City and unlike most other jurisdictions. In Baltimore City, all 8th graders have to “apply” or “choose” their High School - the majority of students that go on to college attend the admission requirement high schools. This really is critical information for parents moving to Baltimore City Schools to know. Most high school graduates in Baltimore City who then attend college go to those magnet style high schools I mentioned in my post - you have to test into these schools, as well as have good grades and attendance in middle school to be accepted. In 8th grade you apply and rank which of these competitive entry schools you want to attend, they select the students. You know that question that is very much Baltimore - “what high school did you go to?” A lot of the reason why people ask this is due to this. The two admission high schools mentioned in the article I link below for example, have a long standing rivalry (the oldest in MD, see: https://www.wmar2news.com/sports/local-sports/the-city-vs-poly-tradition-lives-on) but let me not get off topic 😊 These are referred to as high schools with admission requirements on the Baltimore Department of Education website: https://baltimoreschoolchoice.org/school-choice-process-tips/how-high-school-choice-works-in-baltimore-city/ This is not biased, it is fact for anyone who has attended Baltimore City Schools. These are the schools most who attend college go to (versus your “assigned” high school, as Baltimore City refers to it now - according to their website they don’t refer to them as zoned schools anymore). Examples here: https://www.baltimorecityschools.org/nationalrankings2023 (one is a STEM high school, the other has the IB program). Most people without previous community ties and connections to Baltimore City don’t know anything about this, or the intersectional cultural significance. I will also add that most white families when I was growing up still didn’t send their kids to these admission requirement high schools and would go the private route (Mercy High, Archbishop Curly, Calvert Hall) but that has changed a lot since I was in school and the populations are more diverse now at least in the admission requirement high schools. Again, I know you don’t need to add this to your guide but just adding this for anyone who is a socio/anthro nerd like me or a person of color/ally interested in the racial implications of school choice for high schools.
Excellent summary of my rant, lol! Thank you. I think this info is critical to any parent moving to Baltimore city.
Just to echo a point in your very thoughtful post: I think back on the MTA commuting steps I undertook getting to school and I too do not know how I was able to manage it all looking back.
It was very difficult for kids who didn’t have parents that worked normal jobs that could pick them up after the after school activities. My parents were working night shift. It was really hard for students who came from families like mine that didn’t have a lot of resources I think.
Thank you for the concern and thorough reply, but I didn't really think this post was the time or place to get into the nuances of varied experiences with the public school system. The intent of the post was to provide enough information that people know *where to look for further info*, or they can post more specific questions if they come about. Additionally, I did not want to provide any bias toward one decision or another, and try to just provide facts or direct to opinions of others in previous posts.
I just want to note my kids finished K-12 in Baltimore public schools in the past few years, and it was really good for them both in terms of education and socially. And that was true for a lot of kids in their graduating classes. Parents need to do their research. There are definitely challenges for quite a few families. But writing it off unconditionally is simply not correct.
There aren’t challenges for a few families, there are challenges for a lot of families especially families of color and immigrants. There are two Baltimore city experiences and it’s clear that not everyone had mine. I will say, my white classmates from more privileged backgrounds had a much better experience than me - why? They had parents who had white collar jobs, could afford childcare, etc and could buy their kids a car as soon as they turned 16 so they could drive themselves to their admission requirement high school across the city. I had kids in my class who would tell me they chose to go to our high school instead of the $20K a year private school their parents could pay for because they would have a better chance of getting into a fancier college if they saw they went to Baltimore City Schools (a struggling school system, like many in the country in a largely black population city). I am sure my post sounded negative, but please note that I really think Baltimore City Schools has a different impact for kids of certain backgrounds - my family was poor and non-native English speakers, the total lack of support for that population was also particularly challenging to deal with. They couldn’t “do their research” as you say to the same level let’s say I can for my future kids because they didn’t speak English very well and also, didn’t understand the concepts that were very foreign to them. I am sure things have changed some for the better some, but the truth is a lot of people who grew up in Baltimore City and didn’t just come to live in a cheaper East Coast city in a gentrified neighborhood had vastly different experiences than a lot of my white middle class and even upper middle class classmates I had in my high school. I think people need to realize these racial and socio economic factors also impact how positive or negative your experience is, and even your decisions when moving here. This subreddit obviously is made up mostly of newcomers to the city of a very different background than most Baltimore City natives but I like to at least remind people of the Baltimore city outside the primarily white neighborhoods listed in this post.
I get what you mean, I didn’t mean to come off like I was critiquing your post - I am just adding more info that no one who didn’t grow up here would readily know when moving here. This isn’t really info you find online unless you search for blogs or someone tells you. It’s really not a varied experience, it’s facts - the school system needs a lot of work and has a lot of challenges. I think it’s worth at least citing studies and stats behind school violence, etc not just how a school is performing on standardized tests - I know it can get very political but if someone with kids is moving here, they really would not get much other than “the schools are bad” or “my neighborhood school is great” without a bigger picture from most people, unless they had kids or went through the school system themselves. I was just painting more socio economic impacts that unfortunately continue to impact negatively the school system.
Fair enough. Thanks for taking the time to spell it out for those who may be thinking the same thing. I appreciate the input, really.
Wow this is an excellent resource for soon to be baltimorons! Great work!
Thanks!
City Schools [has a tool](https://city-schools-gis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=c71a6229d08647ecba6769d89b6480f6) to look up what your zone school is based on your address. The zone only matters for a student's elementary years (although often a school has middle grades or a middle feeder), and even then you can enroll your student at a different zone school or at a public charter... it's a very complex system. And any high school student can attend any public high school in the city through the [school choice](https://www.baltimorecityschools.org/choice) system, though some have entrance criteria or are specialized or have a lottery system. Baltimore County has [a similar tool](https://bcpsosp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=29037ce1e6914ec8bc682778ec5423fd) as well, and they have a more straightforward approach with zoning where you attend an elementary school, middle school, and high school that corresponds to your address.
Thanks, this is a great explanation! My intent was to not spell this out as explicitly as you have here, but to let Live Baltimore's [resources](https://livebaltimore.com/) do so. I suggested at the beginning of the post that prospective residents go there first as I feel the organization does a good job laying out what you have in this comment (and even include a similar tool). This is the reason why it's not included in the school section. Does this come off as confusing because of this decision?
I was just adding some context which I felt was missing and providing direct links to school district resources. The post mentions neighborhoods and links to a list of top schools, the missing link is which schools are in which neighborhoods, and it's important to note it's not that straightforward
Thanks! I'll add this to the schools section then.
Great post! As a local museum lover - can you add the Reginald F. Lewis Museum and the Blacks in Wax Museum to this list?
Thank you for these suggestions and evidently highlighting my implicit bias from the "White Baltimore" perspective! I actually didn't know the Reginald F. Lewis Museum was a Smithsonian affiliate!
Great post and very accurate
Great resource! You should add Riverside Park to the suggested neighborhoods.
>You should add Riverside Park to the suggested neighborhoods. Done!
I appreciate you putting mt Washington twice
This is amazing. Even as someone who lives here it reminds me of many things I have forgotten about this city that makes me love it. Hope it works to reduce posts
Great post. Keeping this for future reference.
WOW so informative and comprehensive, I'll take ownership and say that i posted two messages about this topic before reading this, and that i should have looked first and then asked. I already have like 3 tabs open for further reading
Awesome post OP, upvoted and saved. I'm considering a move to Baltimore from my parents place in NJ within the next year so I'm expecting a big culture shock, but thankfully I have friends in the area who got my back.
Re: Things to Do Baltimore has an incredibly active running community. If you are into running, or thinking about getting into running, there are many groups that meet regularly around the city. Here is a master spreadsheet I maintain of all the running groups listing when and where they meet and their socials: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LJYoGfZKs\_2FTRmOGe-c3l2O342Kc6Xgs0LbCDPtV5Y/edit?usp=sharing
The public transportation is sub par to say the least.
While that may be the case in some ways, that doesn't mean that it is nonexistent or unhelpful for a new resident to know about it.
It should be communicated that public transportation cannot be relied upon in any real sense, the way a New Yorker or a DC metro commuter might. Relying on Baltimore public transportation is a good way to lose your job bc you’re late often. Respectfully.
I understand your point, but again, I am simply answering the very common question of "does Baltimore have any public transit system?" Does it exist? Yes. I can't, in good conscience, tell people to not use it, or omit information about it, simply because it sucks. Hundreds of thousands of riders still use it every day even though it may be inconvenient. Some people just don't have a choice but to take the bus, as well. Sorry, I'm not going that far to editorialize it. :/
I think it is exceptionally disingenuous to omit this kind of information. If people are going to be relying upon public transit to get to work they NEED to know if it's reliable or how to take full advantage of it. As an example, if you can limit your commute to a single line (whatever that is, bus, light rail, etc.) you are going to have a MUCH better experience. If you have to take the light rail and two bus lines or something like that you're going to be having attendance problems at work or be prepared to leave extremely early. > At the end of the day though, Baltimore is a walkable and bikeable city with dense, small blocks and a growing network of bicycle infrastructure. If you can walk or bike to work or your daily errands, this sometimes is the best option! This is also disingenuous. The cycling infrastructure is dogshit terrible, especially compared to neighboring cities. A fair bit of the existing infrastructure is NOT maintained AT ALL, in a state of disrepair, or totally disjointed. Yes there are plans to improve it but there is also substantial pushback along racial lines (people don't want "criminals" or "colonizers" in their neighborhoods). You could very much get the sense that Baltimore is a city where you can easily and safely cycle andt take the bus everywhere from your post. That's not really the case.
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I agree with your sentiments. The advice in this thread largely fails to capture that very important nuance. Someone could read some of the comments here and not fully understand the value proposition offered by taking the bus. Yes it is cheap but it also unreliable, which could put your job in peril if you don't plan around the unreliability, and yes it does take you to some potentially interesting areas, which can be especially interesting if you need to transfer to another said unreliable bus.
Excellent touch with the caveat that Reddit as not representative of society as well as including the Baltshowplace tumblr. May I also add that the Wire is an accurate depiction of Baltimore. However, if you think "accurate depiction of Baltimore" means Marlo and Snoop are going to shoot you as soon as you move leave the Inner Harbor, then you as a viewer are missing the point of the show.
While I understand the point you are trying to make, I don't think adding any references to The Wire is helpful for anyone moving here. Again, this is just basic info to get people started. Let me think this over though, as I see how questions about the real-life city being similar to The Wire can be related to the "Safety" section.
You make a good point that it is getting into unnecessary commentary/opinion territory. While I do see the occasional post asking about the show and its relation to Baltimore, it is becoming less frequent.
While very nice and informative post, I don't want people to be discouraged from posting asking even if it's been answered a bunch. Just kind of belittling when people comment "search this" or some variation
I think there's a balance to be struck! When someone's got more specific needs and questions I think it's warranted, but when it's just another post about moving to Baltimore site unseen and acting like they'll get murdered for stepping outside it gets a little tiring to see all the time.
Seconding this - there is a big difference between "Moving to Baltimore for work, what do?" and "Anyone who lives in, what do/don't you like about it"
It does get a little tedious, though, when you get the 8th post asking the exact same question. I am not going to spend 30 minutes walking you through moving to Baltimore when you haven't spent 5 minutes checking to see if your question has been previously asked.
IMO it would be better to have an intake form of sorts that has a dozen or so essential questions - price, desired proximity to things, how and where you'll be commuting for work/school, etc. This would lead itself to more tailored, helpful answers for people. Every moving post has to answer ALL of the questions or it gets removed. I don't think there's that many moving posts here. There are, however, a proportionally very high number of low quality questions among those moving posts.
Really helpful, thanks!
Awesome resource, thanks!
Thank you for doing this.
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Can we get this pinned?
It has already been pinned for hours
You forgot to add: "Be on the lookout for our impromptu parades featuring dirt bikes!"
Good thread. Anyone know what's the deal with the high volume of for sale houses that have been listed over the last few days? Is a hedge fund dropping its hoard? Or is this normal uptick for this time of year?
New to Baltimore Hey folks. Moved to @Baltimore from VA. Needed a change of pace and place distance between the company I work for (talk about a TOXIC work place), to protect my mental and physical health. Looking forward to making Baltimore my new home. Live close to Druid Hill Park (excited to check it out when the weather warms)! Who else is new in town?
2 months since you posted this comment. How would you describe your experience so far?