Help! Moving to Baltimore & need advice... (apartments, neighborhoods)

[Rufus544]

I'm an incoming law student at U. Baltimore, and I've been researching places to live for quite a while now but have yet to make a final decision. If I wanted to live in the City, it seems as though I'm going to have to make some sort of tradeoff between price/safety/noise/cleanliness.

However, I have been able to find some apartments that seem fairly nice (and are well-reviewed on apartmentratings.com) in the 21209 zip code area. Specifically, I'm looking at Fallstaff Manor, Ivymount, and Cross Country Manor Apts. Does anybody know anything about these communities? I know they're is still in the City, but they seem to be in decent neighborhoods from what I've read. And what about safety? I know that's a big issue in Baltimore, but are safety problems typically city-wide or are they confined to certain areas/neighborhoods?

And, more generally, are there any other areas directly outside of Baltimore that people would recommend me checking out?

Any help would be very much appreciated!

[barante]

I live in the general area. And while I have no first-hand experience with any of those complexes, they seem to be fine. There are many other apartments in the general area. Some are more upscale than others, but they all seem to be in a fine shape without major problems. Some even have free plastic bag disposers to encourage tenants and others to care after their pets.