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Hi TL~
I am a PhD student in astrophysics, mainly concerned with gamma-ray bursts (sort of exploding stars). My supervisor has been working closely with a researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, and recently, that researcher invited me over
This means that I'm going to stay in Baltimore for two months, which means that I'm in need of an apartment. I've been looking around, and it seems that for a small, furnished studio in the area close to STScI (Johns Hopkins Homewood campus) the rent is ~$1500/month, which seems a bit extreme to me..
Have I not looked hard enough or are such prices to be expected? Does anyone have any experience of short term housing in Baltimore, especially in the area around Johns Hopkins Homewood campus? Any suggestions on where, or where not to live? Please share your knowledge with me!
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Baltimore, USA22254 Posts
Hello,
Welcome to my fair city!
TBH, that price is fairly standard when you're talking about living near the campus. It gets even higher if you go downtown/near the inner harbor... just the way it goes.
You have two main options:
1) Bunk up with some roomates. This cuts down on rent, but also decreases your privacy, and depending on your roomates, you can end up in all sorts of odd situations. I did the roomate thing for a little while... it's OK at first, but after a while you can't wait to get away from them.
2) Commute. I'm guessing you don't have a vehicle though, but living outside of the city gets a little cheaper (not by a whole lot, but some places are close to $700-$800 per month in the county. Most of those will probably be unfurnished though, but lots of people have the 'garage apartments', where you can rent out an entire level of a house for probably less than what you'd pay for an apartment.
Personally though, if you don't have a car, I'd really try to avoid public transportation. I've just never ever been a fan of it, but if you need it, it's there. It's everywhere.
Methinks you're probably better off trying to find a roomate or two. As lame as it sounds, you might even want to try craigslist... I dare say it'd be your best bet.
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Thanks for the reply EvilTeletubby!
I'm not sure I want to take the risk of living with a room mate, as sometimes you just don't get along. I've lived with others before, but I'm more inclined to have an apartment of my own this time.
Are there areas to avoid in central Baltimore? I'm guessing the area close to Johns Hopkins should be rather safe to live in? Unfortunately, I've heard some horror stories from people who have lived in Baltimore T_T
Are cockroaches and similar stuff a big problem?
This is my first time visiting the US, and I'm really excited about it It should be a great experience!
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On January 28 2010 21:43 glassmazarin wrote:Thanks for the reply EvilTeletubby! I'm not sure I want to take the risk of living with a room mate, as sometimes you just don't get along. I've lived with others before, but I'm more inclined to have an apartment of my own this time. Are there areas to avoid in central Baltimore? I'm guessing the area close to Johns Hopkins should be rather safe to live in? Unfortunately, I've heard some horror stories from people who have lived in Baltimore T_T Are cockroaches and similar stuff a big problem? This is my first time visiting the US, and I'm really excited about it It should be a great experience!
Baltimore is a pretty cool city imo. You should be perfectly safe in central baltimore as long as you exercise precaution.
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intrigue
Washington, D.C9934 Posts
baltimore is pretty ugly once you get away from the harbor area (which is really nice), it's not indicative of what the cool cities in the US are like. dc is an hour south and really nice for a tourist - tell your researcher friend to take you down here for a day! i don't know about rent but it's extremely easy to find housing on craigslist around here - it's pretty likely you can find something better.
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dont find yourself on the wrong side of Baltimore 
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Baltimore, USA22254 Posts
On January 28 2010 21:43 glassmazarin wrote:
Are there areas to avoid in central Baltimore?
Of course there are, there are many, very urban 'ghetto' areas you really want to avoid. As long as you stick near your campus, and other areas where there are lots of young people (like Canton & Fells Point), or touristy areas (like the inner harbor), you're pretty safe tbh. You'll learn REAL quickly when you're in a bad area.
I'm guessing the area close to Johns Hopkins should be rather safe to live in?
Yep.
Unfortunately, I've heard some horror stories from people who have lived in Baltimore T_T
Yep, you will hear stuff like that, and things DO happen, but that's anywhere you have a dense population. Just exercise caution (ie, don't be wandering around an unknown street at 3am by yourself or something) and you should be fine.
Are cockroaches and similar stuff a big problem?
That completely depends on the place you're staying, and how clean the landlords keep everything. You will find things that are very clean, and you'll find plenty of squalor too. There are online guides you can use to find apartments that come with reviews and such as well.
This is my first time visiting the US, and I'm really excited about it It should be a great experience!
Welcome!
I've lived in the state of Maryland my entire life - It has everything; from beaches to mountains, thick urban areas to rural farmlands, tons of parks and plenty of attractions. The only drawback is the expense, it's definitely one of the pricier states to live in, in the US. There is plenty to see in Baltimore itself, and as Intrigue said, visiting DC is an absolute MUST (but plan your trip out very carefully to avoid traffic - TRUST ME ON THIS ONE. Actually, you can just take the train from Baltimore and shouldn't have to worry about it).
Oh, and now you'll be required to attend the TL.net LANs in Virginia!
If you ever have any questions, please let me know!
Edit - Yeah, I just checked... your campus is REALLY close to Penn Station (like, a 10-15 minute walk), so I would just take the train to DC during non-rush hours, and plan to do some walking.
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EPT
