I mean, you would be missing out on a lot of the benefits of Baltimore, but just from your description, it doesn't sound like you'd really enjoy city living.

If you'd like to try it, maybe rent an air bnb in a neighborhood in baltimore for 2 weeks before you commit to a long-term rental. See how you do with the space, the parking, the walking, etc. before you commit.

Maybe towson is a good middle ground? It has a small downtown area but still not a big city. Lots of rowhomes that could give you the yard / entertaining space you want but still have proximity to suburban style shopping.

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.

These weekly updates make my week. Thank you!

I hope it's a real breakthrough - it would be a huge quality of life improvement for so many with diabetes. I'm skeptical, though. I remember Google's life sciences division making big waves about a contact lens type glucose monitor maybe 10 years ago... they made some bold claims and then quietly dropped the project a few years later, if I recall.

I have had a number of things framed at JLP framing in Charles village. They have been really helpful with ideas and recommendations and everything they've done for me has been beautiful.

https://framingbaltimore.com/