Where should evilmom live in Baltimore?

October 22, 2010 12:13 PM

My mother wants to move to Baltimore. Which neighborhoods should she consider?

Evilmom is talking about moving to Baltimore. She's pushing 70 and her health isn't all that it should be, so she likes the idea of living close to Johns Hopkins. Baltimore is also significantly closer to me and evilbrother than is her current home in Oregon.

To complicate matters a bit further, evilmom would also need to find low/lower-income housing.

So, is there reasonably decent low-income housing in the Baltimore area suited towards the elderly?

posted by eviltiff to travel & transportation around Baltimore, MD (9 answers total)

On the site of the former Memorial Stadium, there are senior housing apartments/assisted living facilities, a YMCA, etc. It is within Baltimore City not far from JHU and JHH. This is within Baltimore City. Some of it is still in development. I do not have personal knowledge of the complex but it may be a good starting point.
posted by maxg94 at 12:38 PM on October 22, 2010

She doesn't want to live too close to Johns Hopkins Hospital. It's a pretty bad neighborhood. I live over by the Johns Hopkins University in Charles Village, which is pretty nice. However, most of the houses are older rowhouses, so there's lots of stairs. Probably not ideal for an older person.

There's a few low income housing/assisted living facilities in the neighborhood, and there's a new mixed use development scheduled for construction this year.

Hampden is also worth a look. There's also senior and low income housing there. The Live Baltimore office should be able to help with that.
posted by electroboy at 12:49 PM on October 22, 2010

There are two Johns Hopkins Hospitals in Baltimore, the original and Bayview. Between them are lots and lots of rowhouses, which tend to have lots of stairs. JH Bayview is on the 40 bus, which is a really reliable bus (until 9 pm) that spans from eastern Baltimore County through the city out to western Baltimore County. She might want to look along that line.

The folks at Baltimore Housing might be able to help.
posted by QIbHom at 12:57 PM on October 22, 2010

All the low income housing in Baltimore is probably horrible. Baltimore is extremely different from any place in Oregon, and she should be aware of how crime-ridden and unpleasant it is, and probably doubly so for the elderly.
posted by anniecat at 3:12 PM on October 22, 2010

Yeah, I was going to suggest the assisted living places in Hampden. There are at least four of them right around 41st and Roland Ave.
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:54 PM on October 22, 2010

Wyman House is just up the street from me. It's right across the street from Wyman Park and walking distance to some stores and restaurants.

I'd ignore anniecat. It's pretty clear she's never lived or spent any time in Baltimore. There's certainly crime, but most of the serious crime is confined to a few areas in the city. If you choose your neighborhood carefully, it shouldn't affect you much.
posted by electroboy at 5:14 AM on October 25, 2010

Here's a brochure on public housing in Baltimore.
posted by electroboy at 5:16 AM on October 25, 2010

I can understand where anniecat is coming from. It would be a good idea for your mom to spend some time visiting and looking around in Baltimore (not just Fells Point/the waterfront) before deciding to move there. Maybe if you've grown up in a city, it's easy to say "oh, the violent crime is no big deal, the bad neighborhoods are just here and there." But as someone coming from a very different place, I think this will affect your perspective of the city.

I grew up in some quiet suburbs, and have traveled widely around the world, and always told my husband he was being overly negative about Baltimore (he grew up there and is constantly talking about places we can't go when we're visiting because we'll get shot, as in "we can't go to that Friendly's/Panera/CVS, people have been shot there!") Then I took a few wrong turns and accidentally drove through the bad neighborhoods. They are right there next to the good neighborhoods, and it's like crossing the border from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. I was absolutely shocked. Endless rows of broken down, boarded up houses covered in graffiti and garbage. It went on for block after black after block, miles of the worst housing I've seen. It was worse and scarier than slum neighborhoods I've been to in Third World countries. Watch 'The Wire' and you'll know what I mean.

If I were moving to Baltimore, I would move to Towson area. Nice safe college town, 20 minute drive in to Hopkins, nowhere near any bad neighborhood or sketchy/bombed-out/crack house ridden frightening place.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 8:17 AM on October 26, 2010

Thanks for the suggestions and your concerns are duly noted.

My mother has lived in public or low-income housing for many years in many different cities, including Miami and Las Vegas. Her recent move to Oregon has been the only exception to a life primariliy lived in hard-edged cities. She is pretty clear on the good, the bad, and the ugly of city living.

She will be here in the beginning of December. I'll take her on a tour of some of the places that you have mentioned. Wish us luck!
posted by eviltiff at 7:46 PM on October 26, 2010