This is how I feel when I see estimates for if they actually decide to build red line after obstructing it for a decade.

Assuming you can find the vehicle owners. With street parking, they may live a block or 3 away.

They’re like trains… but with BULLETS!

Almost literally how I ended up here 🤷🏻‍♂️

Internet is mostly Xfinity. I haven’t had issues with them but it’s largely dependent on location and infrastructure, but they generally cover the entire city. You can in some places find other services, dependent on address so look for coverage maps.

Verizon 5G home internet has a coverage map here: https://www.verizon.com/coverage-map/

Which lets you zoom down to street level. If you’re next to a tower, it’s purportedly fast af. If not, it might be subpar to Xfinity.

So far as vibe, I have lived here 2 years and I love it! No one seems to care about one’s orientations, afaik, at least no one cares about mine, and there are some local LGBTQ+ communities and organizations, though likely less than in NOVA/DC. There’s a few less things to do, but a LOT more that’s walkable. A mile walk (about 20 mins or so) from where I live in the Highlandtown neighborhood and I can access literally hundreds of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars, some nice parks, 3-4 breweries, several smaller grocery stores, at least three libraries, and a wonderful set of art galleries, a creativity center, etc. and as such, a quick Uber to any of those places is pretty cheap. Anything else I want is a short drive away.

We have great Asian fusion, though not much for traditional Chinese. Great Indian and middle eastern, south/central Asian food, good (and sometimes amazing) Latin food. And pizza and wings literally everywhere. Some of my favorites are Tandav, Indoviet, Bambao, Ekiben, Francesca’s, Lighthouse (for wings!! And great beer) and (my opinion) Fillipo’s.

Oh, and that 1 mile also includes at least one game shop with an amazing selection given its small size, and a playroom in the back, and there’s a few more in town that I haven’t been to yet. Did I mention, Baltimore also hosts Astronomy on Tap? Who doesn’t want to drink a pint while watching astronomers who are also drinking while talking about space??

The housing costs a lot less, even in safer neighborhoods. Lots of great townhomes in the $350-500k range in these areas, though parking may or may not be present.

If you’re looking for charming, slightly gritty urban vibes, this is it. If you’re looking for modern, chic, new, vibes of expensive apartments on top of high end shopping centers like in Reston, Tyson’s, or Arlington, well there’s a little of that too, though less developed and a bit less upscale (McHenry Row, Brewer’s Hill, and a few others come to mind). Baltimore shines for those who like more historic homes (that might need some lovin) and walking around to dive bars and neighborhood coffee roasters.

Why BYOB when you can buy it there? Also, Tandav in Fells.

Edit: obviously a bad choice of sarcasm. I do appreciate the downvotes though, so keep ‘em coming!!

Someone else explained that it’s down in the inner harbor. I was thinking Canton since that’s my side of town 😅

I can see the attraction of parking there, and frankly, idk that delivery folks are typically sitting there long enough for someone to catch them. And if they do, it’s what $25-30 a ticket? That’s barely over parking garage rates. Idk if there’s a solution for that unless it involves someone full time assigned to ticket down there, or maybe dedicated loading zones.

Having said that… my random city dwellers, chick fil a fries that are half an hour old are just not good. Get fried rice or pizza on your doordash instead!

Thanks for the explanation. That makes a world of difference 😅

Before I get all outrage-ey, can you explain? Because… there’s a ton of parking way closer (Pratt being ~1 mile away from CFA/shake shack). Do they live around Pratt?

My neighbor in Christ, please ensure your horse is tied up to an official city-sanctioned hitching post when not in vehicle lanes, and use regulation Baltimore Parking Blinkers when you need to stop in those lanes rather than the bike lanes.

This is my take but…

In my experience, talk to the teachers and school counselors. Most of my son’s teachers were more than happy to engage with me and keep me updated on his progress. He’s a middling B/C student based on test scores alone, but the feedback I got from his teachers helped us make sure he graduated and understood the concepts. Often we assume the school will do it for us, but they have many other students to account for, and metrics to focus on. I can’t afford private school, so carving out the time to make sure my kid attended, and got his assignments turned in adequately completed helped make sure he graduated and got accepted into a local college.

It wasn’t easy, and the last year of school was hella stressful for both of us for a number of reasons, but it paid off.

I don’t think most schools are “bad” per se, even in Baltimore. Some are much better than others, but most of a school experience is what the parent makes of it. Most teachers WANT their kids to learn. Our children are a long term investment in our family’s ability to grow, and reach or maintain middle class livelihoods, and support our communities.

My son attended Digital Harbor HS in Fed Hill. I found it interesting that even though the neighborhood is 75% white, the school was closer to 75% African American. It was a decent school, though not perfect, but his teachers were involved and made efforts to ensure the students remained engaged. Like my son, it appears most of that school’s students are from other parts of town.

My working theory, which this admittedly small data point supports, is that those who can afford it will either send their children to private schools or move to the suburbs once they’re able to, perhaps moving back once their children are grown. The school he attended in AACO wasn’t any better, actually, but was in a highly rated district by GreatSchools. His best educational foundation came from when we were stationed in Hawaii and he attended local schools, which were also rated by GS as about the same as most of Baltimore’s.

Here’s the thing: good schooling is a combination of the school’s resources, the teachers’ abilities, and most importantly, parental involvement. If their parents aren’t involved, the kid is less likely to be engaged and will learn nothing even if they graduate from an Ivy League school. See our last president for example.

One problem in Hawaii, which I suspect Baltimore may also have, is a feeling by many that education was less important than getting a job to support one’s own less affluent family; after all, it was very difficult to rise into the middle class there without connections or money. So why bother when putting food on the table today is most important?

I’m fortunate that my son didn’t have to work while he was in high school and I even had him quit his job when it began to affect his grades and attendance, but not every family has this luxury.

So I think part of the solution for Baltimore is, how can we stress the importance of education to our own residents, and get the community involved in its own education? How can we incentivize higher performance in school as a long term investment in our own children? For some, that may require better government efforts at eliminating poverty and supporting struggling middle class families.

Then we are at an impasse.

Your sword!

My good Baltimorean, I nearly think you’ve insulted my drink of choice! How dare you compare my strawberry vanilla lemonade shandy milkshake IPA to Nickleback?!

Alone in the world is your masterpiece…

That’s about where I’m at, too. Part of it is definitely poor insulation in a very old row home, part of it is just how cold it got last month, but yeah rates have gone way up!

This! I often find myself with leftovers from appetizers or sides that I don’t want to eat all the way since, you know, I’m full, and an air fryer is the best way to reheat them back to original condition. Maybe add a little water or pan spray to steam or crisp them back up, or don’t.

The front loader/toaster oven combo is a real game changer.

I got one of the toaster oven combo versions (Gourmia, about $100 at target). Absolutely the best appliance I’ve ever bought. I almost never use my oven anymore, and my kids can make lots of food more easily, and it’s healthier than frying. (My son almost exclusively uses the air fryer when cooking) Super versatile, too! It can proof bread, dehydrate for like jerky or fruit, and bc it’s a convection oven, it cooks faster and more evenly than a traditional oven. Oh and it also makes toast, go figure.

It’s bigger than a regular air fryer, so it takes up more space. But using the “basket” tray, you don’t have to stop and flip your foods unlike a regular air fryer.

It’s best for frozen foods, (smaller) pizzas, toast, and anything you’d normally bake that will fit in it. When I’m making big meals, it easily acts as a second oven: roast the chicken in the real oven while roasting veggies, potatoes, etc in this bad boi.

Keep my show’s name out of your fucking mouth! slap

They rally round their orbits… with a pocket full of shells! Planets on parade. ✊🏼

Thanks!

The lint trap thing is a good point. My washer drains into a deep sink which does have a rubber filter/stopper on the drain, but not an especially good one, and it clogs fast. I bet I can find one at Ace that’s easier to clean. Any recommendations?

The law of course will vary locally a little bit but here’s a solid set of general legal advice for the US concerning roommates: https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/real-estate/landlord-tenant-law/roommates-rights-and-liabilities.html

OP’s friend has a few limited options here:

• Find someone else to take over the lease. Finding a replacement roommate to take over the remainder of the lease or start a new one may be an option most landlords would consider and may allow her to leave with no cost.

• If the roommates are particularly dirty to the point of causing damage to the domicile above and beyond normal wear and tear, she could report them to the landlord who could evict them, but that’s not likely to happen just because they leave trash around or don’t do dishes. And recourse for the landlord may legally be limited to simply keeping the deposit or fining the tenants when they leave/renew.

• Make sure the roommate agreement is actually legal. Is it with the landlord, or a tenant? Is it a legal sublet? (Ie, the people who are renting from the landlord are renting out a room for her but the landlord isn’t aware) if it’s not on the up and up, she might have a little more recourse. This shouldn’t be hard to figure out.

• Work with her roommates to tactfully request help/establish chores and responsibilities for common areas so everyone pitches in. Make it easy (or hard to dissent), organized, and inclusive and a lot of people might be more inclined to pitch in. This will take some tact, and may not work, but it may result in a much cleaner place that everyone is happier to live in. You’d be surprised how receptive people can be to assertive leadership in such situations. She probably doesn’t want to have to mother other adults, but such is the situation she’s in.

Best of luck! And remember, it’s just one year.

Thanks!