Ngl the past few years have been difficult. Hell, maybe I'll find a church haha (I'm not a churchgoer myself but I had to be because all my friends were and just about every woman I've ever dated was). I'm glad you were able to find your people and congratulations!

Philly's good too, I've been there and I thought it was great. Not sure that I'd live there though. I love visiting big cities but don't know that I'd enjoy the day in day out with that many people and that much traffic. I like that it's close enough to hit up on a quick train ride. Baltimore's a pretty good size and location for me. Actually *Richmond* is the PERFECT location because mountains and beach aren't but 1.5 hours away, but I'm willing to give that up for better social opportunities.

I have in fact done swing dancing and really enjoyed it, though the last time was probably 7 years ago at this point. I'd love to get back into it though!

It's really not, in general, on top of regional barriers. Pretty much my only gripe about getting older.
It's interesting that people think it's difficult getting from place to place. Baltimore seems rather walkable and the different systems (not perfect, I know) cover a decent area, don't they?

You know what, fair! Q39 has my favorite sauce. I must've brought 4 bottles back with me. Def gonna look up Smoking Swine.

Ha! I haven't played flip cup probably since college but I was a beast at it back then. Sounds fun!

Will do! I love exploring new places anyway so that's no problem.

And good tip about the Ravens days. I'm not a football fan myself but I'll watch it. I like the Ravens mascot at least.

I studied urban planning in college and I admit I am a bit of an idealist. But I'm also a realist and sometimes things just don't work out for people.
Having said that, in my original post I mentioned that I'm studying data analytics. The HOPE is to get work at some kind of a social good organization. I've just been taking jobs to pay the bills all my life and I would love to pay the bills AND improve the world, in whatever tiny way I can. That's the plan, anyway.

Oh trust me, I'm aware of the issues. I'll admit that's what kept me from even considering Baltimore up until now. But Richmond's got crime problems too AND it's small AND there just isn't much of that community feel, at least not in the places I've lived. I'm happy that you found what you were looking for!

Seen plenty of that in Richmond, believe me ;)
Though I do enjoy shooting guns every now and then

>Canton, fells point, federal hill, Hamden

I'm 32 and single. I like all kinds of activities. I do a lot of solo stuff like walking and biking, museums, drone flying, etc. But I also love trying new places, going to bars and live music, etc. I value walkability and affordability. Actually all of those places you listed are ones I'll be taking a look at. Fells Point was awesome but might be slightly out of my budget.

Great! I'll take a long weekend this month and go check out all these. Ngl I kind of want to live in Pig Town for the name alone.

Man I'm sorry to hear that! You definitely ARE doing everything you would need to, so kudos to you. Like with anything, don't force it. If it ain't working, it ain't working. I wish you the best of luck.

So, for reference, I have lived on Chamberlayne and in Jackson Ward in Richmond, if you know anything about those. I also worked in Gilpin Court for the housing authority for a while. So I don't necessarily need "buttoned-up," I just don't want, for example, to be woken up by gunshots every other weekend lol.

Federal Hill and Pigtown are the other 2 I was looking at, I just couldn't remember them. When I was in Baltimore I actually stayed either in or within walking distance of Mt. Vernon and LOVED that area. That's where the Walter Museum is, right?

Affordability will definitely be key so I'd love to check out Hollins Market and Ridgleys as well. Thank you!

Yup, that's 100% me! If I'm around people I feel comfortable with, I can be the life of the party. But then I need to recharge for a while. If I'm meeting a group of people for the first time I'm a lot more reserved.

That's really cool, I'm happy for you. I'm not super outgoing either and I don't always initiate conversation but I'm very open to it.
Do you mind if I ask what part of Baltimore you live in? I'm looking at places like Fell's Point or Upper Fell's Point. I really want to live in the city proper but in a safe and relatively affordable part.

That's great to hear! I'm actually a native Austinite myself. KC's cool too, best BBQ in the country (next to Austin )

Great! I like cities with actual neighborhoods and I love trying out new places.
I've been hearing a lot about Volo lately and I thought it was just what the cool kids were calling volleyball. Volo actually encompasses a bunch of sports clubs, I guess?

Oh hell yeah!

If there was a ping-pong league I'd rock that!

Very nice! I'll have to hit them up sometime. If you're comfortable with them I probably will be as well. I think I'm gonna head up next weekend and just check more of the city out. I love exploring.

See THAT gives me confidence! I can project normality but trust me as I'm awkward as all hell haha. I'm glad you've been able to find your people here.

See that's why I like it. It's more of a "complete" city with sports teams and public transit (yeah I know it ain't perfect but it's *there*) and stuff. A lot of neighborhoods like Church Hill and the Fan/Museum District, etc. Good to know Baltimore's a little more open.

I got that too! I remember when I was in Baltimore on the light rail I asked someone a question about a certain stop and like half the train car gave me directions it was great.

It's very strange, because growing up in Texas all you ever heard was how rude NY and places like that were. Don't get me wrong, lots of gruff people and assholes and people in a hurry but...I've been up and down the East Coast and I don't think I'd blanket call ANY of those places rude. Mayyyyyyyybe DC, and even they weren't so much rude as just socially *cold.* People in NY and Philly have helped me out whenever I needed it. Call me crazy, but Boston was actually friendly! (just in a very in-your-face way)