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Partner and I, early 40's, are looking to relocate from Northern VA to either Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Raleigh. Our careers are in defense contracting and social services, and we are interested in some general feedback of the pros and cons of each place concerning careers, economy, cost, things to do, gay community, etc.
Our initial primary interest is for Raleigh, but will be making a weekend road trips to each location this summer and hoping to make the move sometime next year.
As mentioned by myself and someone else on the "other thread", the Durham/Chapel Hill area would be the recommendation for a more laidback/less frenetic lifestyle yet with most of the amenities of Philly or Baltimore. I missed mention of the gay community (I'm gay as well) and would most definitely in that instance recommend Durham. Check out the Trinity Park, Old West Durham, Watts Hospital and Duke Park neighborhoods. If you'd like more specifics or other info feel free to send me a personal message.
As mentioned by myself and someone else on the "other thread", the Durham/Chapel Hill area would be the recommendation for a more laidback/less frenetic lifestyle yet with most of the amenities of Philly or Baltimore. I missed mention of the gay community (I'm gay as well) and would most definitely in that instance recommend Durham. Check out the Trinity Park, Old West Durham, Watts Hospital and Duke Park neighborhoods. If you'd like more specifics or other info feel free to send me a personal message.
If you are interested cookie-cutter sunbelt sprawl, go to a Raleigh. It will most resemble NOVA.
If you are interested in an urban environment, either Baltimore or Philly would be the better choice. My partner and I explored both when considering where to re-locate from Houston and we ended up in Philly. We had three big problems with Baltimore:
1) The downtown area away from the touristy harbor is pretty dead and uninteresting.
2) The harbor, while attractive, basically cuts the city in two. The neighborhoods you might want to live in ring the harbor (from Federal Hill to Canton), are disjointed and there is not good transit connecting them. You will need a car to get around.
3) Property is less expensive but property taxes are outrageous.
Philly is urban, walkable, vibrant, and easy to live in without a car. In terms of culture, restaurants, entertainment and the glbt community, it is heads and tails above Baltimore. Don't get me wrong: Baltimore is one of my favorite cities to visit, but it's not a place I would live for the reasons outlined above.
Can you elaborate on the area of Baltimore being completely dead? If you are referring to the downtown area, isn't that typical of small areas such as Baltimore?
Aren't the property taxes higher because it is a smaller city to say Philly?
What areas of Philly do you recommend?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jm02
If you are interested cookie-cutter sunbelt sprawl, go to a Raleigh. It will most resemble NOVA.
If you are interested in an urban environment, either Baltimore or Philly would be the better choice. My partner and I explored both when considering where to re-locate from Houston and we ended up in Philly. We had three big problems with Baltimore:
1) The downtown area away from the touristy harbor is pretty dead and uninteresting.
2) The harbor, while attractive, basically cuts the city in two. The neighborhoods you might want to live in ring the harbor (from Federal Hill to Canton), are disjointed and there is not good transit connecting them. You will need a car to get around.
3) Property is less expensive but property taxes are outrageous.
Philly is urban, walkable, vibrant, and easy to live in without a car. In terms of culture, restaurants, entertainment and the glbt community, it is heads and tails above Baltimore. Don't get me wrong: Baltimore is one of my favorite cities to visit, but it's not a place I would live for the reasons outlined above.
Can you elaborate on the area of Baltimore being completely dead? If you are referring to the downtown area, isn't that typical of small areas such as Baltimore?
Have you been to Baltimore? I did not say it's completely dead. The harbor bustles, but just north of Pratt Street, it's pretty dead after hours and weekends - almost spooky. "The Block" does not help. The entertainment is instead located in disjointed nodes around the city, such as Federal Hill, Mt Vernon and Fells Point. Whether or not that is typical of certain cities would seem to be beside the point. Of the three cites you are considering, it is not true of Philadelphia whose quite lively Center City extends into the contingent neighborhoods of Queen Village, Bella Vista, Fairmont, GradHo and University City. If you see that as a positive, then Philly would easily be preferable to you. If that is not important to you, then it is a non-issue.
Quote:
Aren't the property taxes higher because it is a smaller city to say Philly?
I cannot answer this, but it is not the simple correlation you suggest. Taxes are determined by an ever-shifting formula intended to fund the services the government commits to provide with revenue collected through taxing the income of residents and value of property. The efficiency of delivering those services also comes into play.
Quote:
What areas of Philly do you recommend?
If you want to live in more vibrant areas, I recommend those neighborhoods I listed in my first paragraph above. There are also quieter neighborhoods further afield.
Planning a weekend trip to Baltimore in about 2 weeks.
The problem with Philly is a lack of defense contracting opportunities while Baltimore would be ideal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jm02
Have you been to Baltimore? I did not say it's completely dead. The harbor bustles, but just north of Pratt Street, it's pretty dead after hours and weekends - almost spooky. "The Block" does not help. The entertainment is instead located in disjointed nodes around the city, such as Federal Hill, Mt Vernon and Fells Point. Whether or not that is typical of certain cities would seem to be beside the point. Of the three cites you are considering, it is not true of Philadelphia whose quite lively Center City extends into the contingent neighborhoods of Queen Village, Bella Vista, Fairmont, GradHo and University City. If you see that as a positive, then Philly would easily be preferable to you. If that is not important to you, then it is a non-issue.
I cannot answer this, but it is not the simple correlation you suggest. Taxes are determined by an ever-shifting formula intended to fund the services the government commits to provide with revenue collected through taxing the income of residents and value of property. The efficiency of delivering those services also comes into play.
If you want to live in more vibrant areas, I recommend those neighborhoods I listed in my first paragraph above. There are also quieter neighborhoods further afield.
^^^ Gotta go where the work is. Baltimore is still a fine city, even though I find Philly measrueably better for my interests. Best of luck!
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