Comings and goings

[Youssef Mahmoud]

I'd like to have a discussion about what draws people to Baltimore and what compels them to leave.  So, here's my attempt at a starter list of reasons (in no particular order) people move in and out:

In from the suburbs:

-to be closer to work

-to be closer to the party scene (aka, no more drunken driving home from bars)

-to live in a real neighborhood instead of a pod of housing units

-to have transportation options other than a car

In from another city:

-job or school brought them here

-cheaper than former city

Out:

-Crime

-Schools

-Property Tax (usually when renters decide they want to buy for the first time)

I think if we can agree on a good list, the next step would be to decide what strategies can be used to encourage more of the positive factors (those that draw people in) and discourage the negative ones (those that drive people out).  It's possible that the whole exercise will be in vein because Baltimore is already doing everything it can in this regard, but I doubt it.

[James Hunt]

On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 12:26 PM, Youssef Mahmoud <humana...@gmail.com> wrote:

Out:

-Crime

-Schools

-Property Tax (usually when renters decide they want to buy for the first time)

Add "Love" and "Work" and "Freakishly expensive desirable neighborhoods*"

-- One of my sisters, a dyed in the wool Baltimoron, went to school in Boston, fell in love and married a guy there and stayed to raise a family. They're considering retiring here.
-- I moved my family to NH to be closer to my wife's ailing mother. She passed away not long ago; we'll be back before long (I hope)

-- Another sister moved to NYC for a job. She's since moved back to the city.

-- Still another moved to the county to buy the house she couldn't afford in the city. Still owns and rents a city rowhouse that's been in her husband's family for 100+ years.

(* Related to property tax, but if she could've found the right house in the right neighborhood--i.e. has easy access to work and stores-- at the right price, taxes wouldn't've been a big issue.)

[Youssef Mahmoud]

Our desirable neighborhoods are still cheaper than those in other big cities, at least on this coast.  I suppose we could add love and work but we can't really do anything about those other than build our job base (for work) and our population base (for meeting people to love).

[James Hunt]

On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 12:42 PM, Youssef Mahmoud <humana...@gmail.com> wrote:

Our desirable neighborhoods are still cheaper than those in other big cities, at least on this coast.  I suppose we could add love and work but we can't really do anything about those other than build our job base (for work) and our population base (for meeting people to love).

+++++++++++++++++++++

Yeah. Just wanted to underscore that not everyone leaves Baltimore for negative reasons.

[Youssef Mahmoud]

True.  We should acknowledge that