wbruce098 t1_itj33i2 wrote on October 24, 2022 at 12:34 AM

Reply to comment by dobbythepup in Advice on neighborhoods to check out ahead of potential move by dobbythepup

There’s a lot of good, 1500sq’+ homes to be had in safe Baltimore neighborhoods for under $400k. Honestly, many well under 350; mine is 1700sq’, 3br/2ba and I got it for under 300 last year, Highlandtown. It’s a great, walkable, family friendly neighborhood on the east side but no rail anywhere near it. The biggest issue is gonna be schools. I can’t speak for elementaries; I’ve heard some are good; the one near me seems fine. But the high schools are 🤷🏻‍♂️ unless the kids can score high enough to go to one of the city’s top schools or you can afford private school. Which, if you can afford living in NYC and are getting a better paying job here, maybe you can with lower cost of living here?

Bmore has fairly limited rail, mostly in the center of the city, though it has a good bus system — just not near enough drivers so buses are often late.

Wherever you choose, Baltimore has a lot of amazing neighborhoods with great vibe and friendly neighbors. I’ve been here 2 years now and couldn’t love it more!

JBG1973 t1_itjgk4w wrote on October 24, 2022 at 2:19 AM

Just a FYI on the high schools...

When people here magnet schools by admissions, they tend to think of hyper competitive magnet schools like Thomas Jefferson in Fairfax County or Hunter or Stuyvesant in NYC. The formal cutoff for City is 65th percentile on nationally normed standardized tests and successful grades in middle school. Students of educated parents who are spending time researching schools will most often have test scores in the 65th percentile. At a school like Stuyvesant you are looking at 95th+ percentile of those who take the test for magnet schools.

Baltimore School for the Arts is by artistic potential.

But for the most part if you are in a good elementary/middle district your student will be able to go to one of the good public high schools