We moved to baltimore from the sf Bay area and love it. Some reasons we love it here:

• you get all 4 seasons, but none are very harsh or long. It snows once or twice. It is hot for maybe 4 weeks.
• near so many great places to visit like DC, NY, Philadelphia. Trains to a bunch of cities.
• mountains and oceans in the same state. Great camping and outdoor activities in Maryland and lots of hiking near Baltimore
• we don't have to worry about increasing drought and fire risk like the West Coast, and we don't have the increasing hurricane risks of the south.
• all states have red rural areas, but maryland as a whole tends to be blue. I didn't actually consider that much when we moved here in 2019, but now that roe has been overturned, I would.

-plenty to do with kids. Paddle boats on the harbor, aquarium, science center and discovery kids center, family concerts at the baltimore symphony orchestra...etc etc.

• baltimore is just charming. It has its own thing. It has its own vibe. It doesn't feel like just another city. It has a sense of place and history, and you feel it walking around.

As for the bad parts, I mean the crime. I haven't experienced any crime myself in my 3 years here, but there are parts of the city I don't go. There are parts of the city that you drive through and the level of decay is hard to believe. You have dinner in fells point and you convince yourself the city has a bright future and then you drive down a street with boarded up rowhomes and the devastation feels insurmountable and all consuming.