Find a place on the Hopkins shuttle route.

Live in any one of the neighborhoods between Hopkins and the water. I don't know what 929 is, guessing that's a building. But I live in Butchers Hill which is walking distance and plenty of Hopkins students and workers live here and around here.

Concrete makes a huge difference! This is why I spent all my years living in the lower floors of certain buildings.

For electric you can take any address and call BGE and ask for the average usage over the past year.

For the water you can go to the city's website and look up the cost of water for a Home. It will show the most recent costs.

If it's an apartment building that uses a third party to bill the residents, you will have to just ask people who have lived in the building.

All this obviously depends on whoever lives there of course.

Editing due to autocorrect error in spelling of BGE.

• 225 N Calvert has a pool on the roof. It's pretty nice. It is also accessible for wheelchairs. Nice view of east and southeast Baltimore, including a bit of the harbor.
• 300 Saint Paul Place also has a pool on the roof. It is smaller than the pool at 225 N Calvert. It is not accessible... I don't know what people were thinking when they converted that building from offices to apartments. I want to say it is an easterly view. I didn't like the view as much as 225 N Calvert.
• Someone already mentioned the pool at 500 Park, on the 3rd or 4th level. It's about the same as 225 N Calvert, but 500 Park is more resort-y and 225 N Calvert has the city view that makes it unique. The 500 Park pool is also accessible. You have a view of Park Ave and a courtyard backing up to some of the apartments in the building.
• Luminary at One Light has a really nice pool. I don't know what level it is on, I only toured the building. I do not recall if it is accessible. I remember being impressed by the pool area. The common areas reminded me of being in a treehouse? It was cool and different. Possibly the best view of the 4. It's been a while, cannot recall.

Basically many of the high rise buildings are likely to have a pool.

Yes, the one at Route 40 and Rolling Road next to the Giant.

I don't feel unsafe there except for how people drive through that parking lot. They didn't seem to feel unsafe either, they definitely had plenty of customers.

Someone should set up to sell in the city... Maybe over by like Whole Foods on Smith Ave or like by Target in Canton or by the Comcast/MOMs at the Rotunda. Free parking and very basic, low key suburban vibes that should make most feel safe. 🤷🏿‍♀️

I have seen them. The Catonsville Walmart, three Sundays ago. Pike and Rose in Rockville this weekend (had to return something).

I can never find them in the city. I found the Catonsville site randomly because I was trying to buy a cheap DVD (I know) at the Walmart. No DVD, but I did get two boxes of cookies.

I am very pleased with my wide front window for this reason. It has definitely come in handy.

Yes. I have a running list of things to do. I'm grateful my hot water heater is still hanging on by a thread, because it is up next after I get something else finished. I have a great plumber for the heaterand some plumbing updates I want to make, and they gave me a name for an electrician who is supposedly good and affordable to switch/set everything up to go from a gas hot water heater to electric... He never called me back. So I will likely have to go with the one I used back in the fall who is supposedly one of the most expensive but also did really good work. Paying a thousand or more for every little service is not sustainable.

Oh, I agree. I should have just kept it short and said Comcast is scamming everyone. Easy to do when you're effectively the only game in town for the majority of the population.

I only have Comcast for internet service because in 2017 I stopped buying cable tv from anyone (had FIOS at the time I canceled cable tv for good). I supply my own equipment. I'm down to 70 dollars right now. I know. I have been considering getting more Comcast services to lower my fees a bit more, but I am hesitant because of the obvious and the following:

I only got my internet equipment brand new a year ago in March, selected it based on the list supplied by Comcast, and I got what was supposedly top of the line. Figured I would get at least three years out of it! Anyway, imagine my surprise when Comcast told me via email a month ago that my equipment was obsolete. I called and asked them to explain to me how that was true and to send me the list of equipment that is compatible. They couldn't and didn't. They said the email I received was some sort of promotional email, and they removed me from that mailing list?

Did I mention that I hate Comcast?

This is such a silly response. LOL you are saying that to be an asshole, actually.

No one is born knowing the cost of a roof repair or replacement, nor born inherently better at being a renter rather than a homeowner. All of that is learned. If you learned it, anyone can. Because clearly you aren't any genius making generalizations like that.

Wow, I am really sorry this happened to you. Straight up, I had Kelbie do a roof repair for me, and I do feel like I overpaid (it was just a patch and silicone for about $3,100). But my initial quotes from all ~4 companies were extreme, ranging from $3,500 to >$17,000. Mind you, my roof is 4 years old. Thank god I knew this, because several companies, including Kelbie, initially said I needed an entirely new roof. I have waaaay more I want to say, but I don't want to get some of the actually decent people I encountered in the entire ordeal fired, so I will send you a message. I am unlikely to use Kelbie again now after reading this.

I want to thank you for sharing this. I am a new homeowner, not even a year in. And I have been saying repeatedly, as repair needs have popped up, how ridiculous the entire process of finding a contractor for anything is if you are not in their business or do not have experience or do not have a trusted reference. Just a bunch of nearly blind, American Idol-like auditions where you don't know what is going to walk in the door. For example, I have had people come in saying they are licensed and insured, but upon doing my homework finding they actually aren't. The fact that a person has to navigate this is overwhelming. And I know for certain I have been played at least twice to varying degrees by two contractors so far! You have probably helped someone learn from this experience instead of potentially getting burned. It is not easy to share negative experiences, so I respect that you did.

Also, don't beat yourself up about it too much: you did the best you had with the info you had at the time. Fortunately, you had someone with experience provide some guidance that saved you a lot of money. That actually demonstrates a strength many people do not have in similar situations.

It just really eats away at your soul, smh. Jfc...

So you support making public transportation policy based on a comedian's jokes?

If so, that's quite tacky and cheap. How much is saved by not putting up half a wall of glass anyway? If you're going to put all that money into some ugly busy af tile in a chevron pattern, why not put up a bit of glass... Smh.

Stuff like that just makes me wonder what is it I cannot see that they cheaped out on.

I never went to 500, so I cannot speak on their gym. I just recall the pool being open to us in 520. I could see the pool from various upper floors in 520, and it looked nice. Resort vibes.

The gym in 520 is very basic and small imo. I sadly never used it for fear of covid cooties, but they did have my favorite old school elliptical. It seemed to get plenty of use, but I never was back there enough to know how crowded it was. I had my own bike for spinning in my apartment and walked and ran the neighborhood. Occasionally rode my bike outside, too.

The nicest gym I have experienced was at 300 Saint Paul, that PMC building. I hate PMC, and I hate that they put the gym nearly at the top of the building and no elevator access, but that gym was amazing. They had like 6 Peloton bikes before Peloton took off during covid, many treadmills, an entire functional fitness area with ropes, traditional strength training stuff, so many free weights, a squat rack... It was great. And all free to residents.

Another building that had a nice gym was 225 N Calvert. It wasn't too large or too small, and it had many more stationary bikes for spinning (including 2 or 3 Peloton bikes), a few studio rooms, many treadmills, squat rack, many free weights, ellipticals, couple rowers, etc.. Free for tenants of course.

There is an Under Armor gym downtown in an old bank I think, but it is a bit of a walk from 520 Park. Closer to 300 Saint Paul. But obviously you have to pay extra/join for that.

For short commute to Cherry Hill, pick a neighborhood close to the water. That seems to be a very broad budget, I'm sure you can find something closer to the upper end near the water.

That budget in Baltimore is definitely doable. You may be parking on the street though, depending on the neighborhood.

Lmao I am the same way u/seekay14. Took 11 years and post-pandemic rent surge for me to do it.

500 has a pool, that is shared between the two buildings apparently. I lived in 520. It was fine. Started with some package fuckery that slightly improved. I would say stay on top of tracking your packages and retrieve them ASAP.

I never felt unsafe living there: who told you that? That building is basically locked down. The only cuckoo thing I observed was one morning a clearly not homeless man was asleep in the vestibule in the front of the building. Probably drunk, and he was gone before 8am.

The biggest safety issue I heard of was people piggybacking on residents into the bulidng to sell stuff. Someone posted on here that someone tried to get in their apartment once (or something to that effect). The main office sends emails if stuff goes down, but they rarely offered details, so it's entirely possible some stuff popped of that I wasn't aware of.

Never had any pest problems in my apartment. When I was moving out, I saw a dead mouse/ mouse skeleton in the loading dock. I was not super surprised by this since this is where the trash all ends up. I will say for comparison purposes that I saw live mice all the time in the loading dock in my old Columbia apartment, one of those fancy buildings by the mall? Never had mice in my apartment there though, either.

Maintenance was fine. Not the best I have had, but fine.

It was a kinda nice little bubble, and a convenient location.

The tile work in most of the bathrooms definitely looks too trendy.

People should just go with a subway tile and call it a day. Or marble, or whatever stone slabs wealthy people would use.

The master bathroom shower tub area actually looks deep enough for no shower door or wall, but I agree the other bathrooms look to shallow for that. At least half a glass wall would probably be good. 🤷🏿‍♀️

Maybe they were going for a "European" bathroom look.

When I first moved here I was shocked by how many middle class black folks I knew would drive back into Baltimore neighborhoods many folks (black, white, or otherwise) considered blighted, just for church. Like driving in from Howard and Baltimore County just for Sunday church?? Then leave and pretend the city doesn't exist until next week.

People will talk about these neighborhoods like trash... Except on Sunday. 🥴

Had one colleague tell me not to buy "any house in Baltimore alone as a single woman, " but who comes in for church. 🙄

I grew up in a very poor southern state. People there use signals waaaay more than anyone in Baltimore or Maryland. From hoopties to high end cars, it doesn't matter. Marylanders drive like they are alone on Earth.

People use signals here, it's a notable event. Give that mofo a damn plaque.

If you can keep your signal on until your maneuver is completed?! Be still, my heart.

I'm from the Gulf Coast. We said (phonetically) "meelk", but I knew for sure that folks on TV and in commercials said milk, with the short, almost staccato i. From that, I knew we had an accent. I am curious what you thought in situations like this?

I would take a slightly less direct route by going south to Baltimore and then taking Charles to Franklin then Park. Franklin to Charles is a hotel and senior housing and a school if you cross to the north side

I used to live at 520 Park, and sometimes I'd also go to Centre from Charles.

If you are on a scooter or bike, you have a big advantage. The shuttle suggestion is also a good one.

You can also take the light rail to Centre? It basically stops behind 520 Park.