Considering moving to Dundalk - Worthwhile? (Baltimore, Towson: real estate, rent, high crime)

[clewgurl16]

I'm looking to buy a house, and I noticed that there are a lot of NICE and newly renovated houses in Dundalk. It appears as if there are some organizations looking to transform the reputation and bring more buyers to the area. I already know about the crime in some parts and plan to avoid looking at houses in those areas. My biggest concern is the smell from the sewage treatment plant. I don't want to be in my home smelling raw sewage, but i can tolerate a little smell every so often. Someone who currently lives there-- how bad is it? Tolerable? Constant? Strong?

I'm also concerned that this will affect resale value if i ever need to move again.

Thanks for your honesty and help.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by clewgurl16

I'm looking to buy a house, and I noticed that there are a lot of NICE and newly renovated houses in Dundalk.
It appears as if there are some organizations looking to transform the reputation and bring more buyers to the area.

Aww. You're so upbeat and positive I bet you could get a job writing about it all.

I already know about the crime in some parts and plan to avoid looking at houses in those areas.
My biggest concern is the smell from the sewage treatment plant.
I don't want to be in my home smelling raw sewage, but i can tolerate a little smell every so often.

Not sure if it's true but ... I was once told that before Beth Steel stopped some process they once did
that the locals never really noticed any odor from the treatment plant.

[nurider2002]

The odor in the summer months is horrendous. I used to work in Dundalk and couldn’t wait to get out of there. Nowhere in east Baltimore County would I invest in real estate. Drugs, crime are rampant.

[Borntoolate85]

Dundalk has the potential to clean itself up and become nicer, but its similar to an average Chevrolet car model as opposed to a more upscale model that more people are looking for. As it is, it's Baltimore's most urban feeling suburb with a mix of rowhouses and prewar single-family homes, along with a few postwar neighborhoods. The roads that aren't in the cleanest of shape, and rats are sometime a problem. It's waterfront isn't as impressive as you might expect with a few small marinas, a huge port, and that large vacant Sparrows Point site that was once home to Bethlehem Steel. It has a lot of work to do to bring up its quality, but unlike many markets, it's pretty affordable. It's easy to find a single family home for under $200K (about four years annual salary for the average worker), and the average monthly rent is around a grand, with top of the line homes under $400K. Downtown isn't too far, using either Holabird/Wise Ave or Broening Hwy/Keith Ave. over to I-95 and going through to the tunnel, and rush hour traffic to downtown even is a piece of cake for the most part. There's even CityLink transit service along Dundalk Ave. for those who don't like a car, but due to the relatively low traffic and most homes having a driveway, I'd still live with a car. Public schools are so-so, but better than those in the city. A properly redeveloped Sparrows Point would do wonders though, and it's a shame Baltimore is where it is at as Sparrows Point could have been an HQ2 contender, with its location at the mouth of the Patapsco River.

Lots of housing is better suited for singles or couples with no kids or infants only, as many are less than 1,000 sq. ft and are in postage stamp-sized lots. There's a decent bakery next to the diner at Holabird/Merritt Blvd and some new restaurants like Texas Roadhouse, Chili's, and others, and many places where for most basic errands you can walk to a drug store, pizzeria, day care center, and a post office, but you'll have to head to White Marsh, Towson, or parts of Anne Arundel County for the more upscale activities. I do like Squire's for Italian food though when my mother would stop there growing up. But Dundalk seems to preserve some of the kitsch that many places no longer have, including a bowling alley and an roller skating rink, and of course not being part of the City helps a bit with regards to leadership. It's a little rough around the edges, but my late grandfather lived there from around WWII up until his death in 2012 in Eastpoint at the northern edge of Dundalk.

[swift110]

Has Dundalk changed for the better in the past five years?

[uksniper]

few of us from uk...were working in office at shipyard in 1986

we were living in hidden cove apts (Dundalk ) at the time

as this was our first taste of living / working in the USA

we didnt think it was all that bad

[BaltimoreBruiser]

The odor is pretty bad. But in my experience I never noticed it past German Hill. I’d just avoid the immediate area near the eggs. And you’ll mostly just smell it driving by.

That said — as an eastern BaCo resident most my life, I have a pretty bad mindset when it comes to Dundalk. Synonymous with drugs and an oft-maligned “white trash” ethos. As a fellow prospective home buyer, I also find most of the neighborhoods just too damn compressed.

I do however drive around the area during Halloween and Christmas. A lot of good decorations to look at! And the Fire stations Christmas village train display is a yearly tradition.

[steppinthrax]

Dundalk is more/less and industrial and very blue colar area. I'm going to be very honest with you and I"m not trying to come off insulting to anyone etc, however, the Dundalk area is known to be more/less poor and uneducated white trash.

In terms of home value, being the fact of where it is will limit the value regardless, home prices have huge variations based on location. The "types" of people that buy/move to Dundalk don't have "Timmonium" money etc, so you can only ask so much.

[james777]

Originally Posted by BaltimoreBruiser

The odor is pretty bad. But in my experience I never noticed it past German Hill. I’d just avoid the immediate area near the eggs. And you’ll mostly just smell it driving by.

That said — as an eastern BaCo resident most my life, I have a pretty bad mindset when it comes to Dundalk. Synonymous with drugs and an oft-maligned “white trash” ethos. As a fellow prospective home buyer, I also find most of the neighborhoods just too damn compressed.

I do however drive around the area during Halloween and Christmas. A lot of good decorations to look at! And the Fire stations Christmas village train display is a yearly tradition.

Yes, the Wise Avenue Volunteer Fire Company's train layout and Christmas display is one of the best in the state.

[CC Permit]

Originally Posted by swift110

Has Dundalk changed for the better in the past five years?

Better hahaha….high crime, shootings, drug use, hookers and panhandlers maybe better from where you came from….