If your commute is important being in the southern half of the city would be beneficial. Locust Point is pretty nice and there’s a lot for sale in the 400k range.

I used to do Baltimore to Rockville everyday. It can either be 45-50 or 2 hours. I ended up changing employers because I wanted to shorten my commute. It’s a bearable commute but I would try to find a place with designated parking.

Yeah I would argue that part of your problem is that you’re in a suburb. The closer you get to the city center the better it feels.