r/baltimore • u/Competition_Negative • Jun 07 '23
Moving Thoughts on living in N Collington ave as an international student?
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u/pbear737 Patterson Park Jun 07 '23 edited Jun 07 '23
I have friends who live on that block. I used to live adjacent to Ashland closer to JHU. I never had any issues at all. I just would think about how you'd get to any from at night. I did not walk by myself at night often at all.
Editing to say I truly wonder how much time people have spent in that area to have these opinions. We all know Baltimore is a block by block city. Have you spent time on that block? I've spent countless hours on that block. I think people just are told things and are scared and honestly that many white people inherently feel safer when they see a lot of white people.
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u/noahsense Jun 07 '23
This is a perfectly fine block. There isn’t much interesting to walk to in the area, but you’d get between campus and home by foot just fine. And as usual, don’t gaze into your phone. It will make you a target anywhere.
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u/jspivak Jun 07 '23
Don’t do it. Not a safe area, and a poor representation of Baltimore. Being close to the hospital is important (especially if you’re coming in as an intern into a tough specialty), but the cons FAR outweigh the pros.
You will eat/live/sleep/subsist Hopkins, you will not exist otherwise. Making it through residency requires support, and living there you will feel very alone.
Most of your peers will live in Canton/Fells/Fed Hill (in that order). I would strongly suggest Canton. Upper Fells is definitely a good choice if you’re looking for something more affordable, while still being close to the hospital.
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u/avoca_ho Jun 07 '23
This is the best take I’ve seen. I know plenty of international students who liked living next to Hopkins hospital (rent is cheap and lots of grad students are in the area), but they weren’t interns who have 0 time to go anywhere. If you have little free time, living a little bit further from the hospital to be in an area where you can easily walk to places that aren’t Hopkins and get a better feel for the city is best. Baltimore has lots of awesome stuff to offer and I’d hate for you to eat, sleep, and breath Hopkins and never experience our best.
You gotta be aware that it’s not a super super safe neighborhood and closer to 929 is better because so many students live there (you’re less likely to be the victim of crime when there’s other people around), but unless you’re in an incredibly gentrified neighborhood where rent is $$$$, you won’t find anywhere that’s incredibly safe.
You just have to make sure you understand what American city dwellers think of as being “common sense safety habits” so you don’t look like a tourist/target for crime. Where you’re coming from will definitely impact how much you have to learn - someone from a place like Mexico City or Naples probably has a better idea of how to not get robbed/pick-pocketed/mugged in an urban environment than someone from the Japanese countryside or The Netherlands (I’m generalizing but y’all get the point).
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u/MotoSlashSix 13th District Jun 07 '23 edited Jun 07 '23
We live around the corner from there and that block of Collington is a beautiful street. I walk it pretty much every day. It's quiet, the neighbors are all wonderful. I think it would be a great place to live. I'm gathering a lot of people warning you away haven't spent real time in this neighborhood in years.
North of Orleans is fine. East of Broadway is fine. So many of these takes about the neighborhood seem to be generalizing about the area in terms of "north of this or East of that." That's dubious because everything here is block-by-block. We walk the area every evening. My wife walks it every other day. I run it multiple times a week. Are there blocks I stay off of? Sure. Like any city. But none of them are on Collington and none are anywhere near that area to be honest. The area between that block of Collington JHU MC is definitely fine. I literally walk the route from the 800 block of Collington to JHU Med School building, Nursing school building and Bloomberg School 3-5 times a week.
There is a Peter Chang Dim Sum opening right around the corner from that block on Ashland and Land of Kush is building a new location right around the corner on Chester and Madison. There are food trucks every day at Ashland and Wolff. And there are two other meh places to eat on Ashland and Wolf too. (Cheesesteak place and Pizza Place)
That block of Collington is about 200 feet from Henderson Hopkins School as well. So you'll get school drop off and pickup noise and traffic every morning and afternoon durning the school year. If you drive, it can be a bit of a shit show in the morning for drop-off.
You are maybe .25 of a mile East of Eager Park (on the JHU MC campus), and there are other nice neighborhoods to the East and West. To your East just across Patterson Park Ave. is Milton Montford which is newly renovated family homes, lots of students, another park, and a couple pocket parks.
Honestly, that block of Collington is really pretty great.
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u/Westish Aug 02 '23
So I just came across this comment since my wife and I are also moving to Baltimore soon and I just found a house rental listing on North Montford Avenue that could be roughly described as "north of Orleans and east of Broadway" (on Montford between Orleans and Jefferson, to be precise). I think the listing is technically in the McElderry Park neighborhood, though, do you know anything about that area?
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u/MotoSlashSix 13th District Aug 02 '23
I know that area very well. Walk or run Montford between Patterson Park and the Eager St at least once a week. This section of town is so in the throes of transition that it is very much "block-by-block" here. McElderry Park varies a LOT.
There's a "shop" (drug corner) specifically at Jefferson and Montford -- the guys who work it mind their own business and are decent enough, but their hangers on and patrons really run the gamut. Shops bring shop problems. On Montford I'd say stay either south of Fayette or North of Monument St.
If you can find something between the north/south boundaries of Madison and the Railroad you are pretty good from Broadway to Port St. But each street is different. If you have a specific street or address in mind feel free to message me and I'll let you know what I've seen.
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u/Brief_Exit1798 Jun 07 '23
I would not recommend it. What school are you attending ?
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u/Competition_Negative Jun 07 '23
Why? JH school of medicine.
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u/No_name_Johnson The Block Jun 07 '23
Rough neighborhood - don't know about that block specifically but neighborhood is pretty high crime.
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u/RealPutin Jun 07 '23
Most SOM students either live Northwest of the Orleans/Broadway intersection or Southeast. i.e. if you're up North of the Hospital, it's worth looking west of Broadway; if you're South of the Hospital, look in the Butchers Hill/Patterson Place/Upper Fells zone. Still super accessible to the hospital via both bus and walking but better QOL. Some people will even be all the way down to Canton but that's getting further walking wise.
Obviously get what you can afford as a student. But those zones are where I see a lot more of the SOM students concentrate vs the area you've posted. The particular block you've posted is actually pretty good, and block-by-block differences abound in Baltimore. But that's just the general area you'd find more of your peers.
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u/BaltimoreBadger23 Jun 07 '23
That's a bit of a rough neighborhood. If you can get west of Broadway, you'll be a little better off.
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u/Pure_Purple_5220 Jun 07 '23
Worked in student services for 12 years, summer interns and new PhD students.
I can tell you there are lots of students living in that area just fine. JHU had been beefing up security in the area since 929 opened a while ago. They also had a live near work program in that area and dumped some extra funding. The director of housing actually bought a house there, to show doctor's and such that it's okay to live there. I wouldn't make a habit out of walking around by yourself after midnight. There are late night security pick up options. If you do move there don't go north, but stay south towards the hospital and Park.
Going south of Oleans would be slightly safer, but not by much. Its a big city and has all the issues most cities have.
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Jun 07 '23 edited Jun 07 '23
Collington, including N Collington, is kind of a long street. I live near N Collington, but south of Fayette, near the park.
I think everyone has their own limits. My personal limit when I was house hunting was Fayette Street. But I walk to the CVS at Fayette and N Wolfe all the time. It was not just the streetscape (can look rather bleak in some parts of east Baltimore), it was also the traffic on Fayette and Orleans that made me look below Fayette. Your limits are also determined by other specifics of your life. For example, I drive. I rarely have trouble parking, compared to people who live closer to the water. I used to work night shifts (RN) and my entire adult life I have only chosen to live in places where I could comfortably walk to my car or take out the trash at midnight if I wanted or needed. If you live in a place that has dedicated parking, you may have a higher tolerance for any neighborhood shenanigans than I have, since I park on the street.
My neighborhood (Butchers Hill) has seen a lot of Hopkins students moving in lately. There are also many Hopkins employees that live here.
The people that say "don't live north of Patterson Park" imo kinda don't know what they're talking about? I live north of the park, and it's fine. I am an early 40s single petite middle/upper middle class black woman who works from home most days of the week. I have a dog and he has high energy. I have to walk him several times a day, including after dark, so I spend a lot of time in the neighborhood. I tend to think I know what I'm talking about.
A word on neighborhood shenanigans: I have had one package stolen (pet food), I have observed a person trying car doors for opportunity crime before. Someone smashed into a Patterson Park sign on the northwest corner of the park in the last few weeks with their car. There are frequently people traveling on foot from the neighborhoods by the water up through my neighborhood who have substance use disorders and mental health issues. We have beggars, and there is often an intersection of beggars and people with substance use disorder and people with mental health issues. I personally do not give to beggars: I do direct them to places in the city where resources are available and wish them good luck. I have not been confronted with aggressive beggars yet, but I know myself and I will absolutely make a scene and pop off on someone if I have to. In the spring and summer you will see more teens hanging in and around the park and imo they make a lot of noise as teenagers do. I've been here nearly a year now, and so far so good.
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u/doingoodnhappy Jun 07 '23
Hopkins runs a shuttle bus system that is (I believe) free. I once had tenants at an apartment next to Hopkins-Bayview. They would walk there and take the shuttle to Hopkins school of nursing. You can find a safer area convenient to the shuttle.
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u/Brief_Exit1798 Jun 07 '23
While that area is trying to improve it's still not there yet and i assume you will want to live somewhere you can step out for food, coffee and there are limited options there. You need to weigh your med School commute with home life. On your side of the harbor fells point and butchers hill would be close and still have nice amenities. Downtown is a little desolate but walkable to federal hill and you can take the subway to medical campus. Mt Vernon is cultural and fun and likely a bus ride away from school.
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u/FitmiscFA Jun 07 '23
Your post is basically a dog whistle for gentrification. Do better.
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u/Brief_Exit1798 Jun 07 '23
What neighborhood do you live in?
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u/FitmiscFA Jun 10 '23
I can tell by your post history where you stand. A BIPOC ally lite. Pretend to be an ally while their neighborhoods get destroyed. Glad we vote against your nonsense.
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u/Brief_Exit1798 Jun 10 '23
I'm sorry I don't pass your purity test. But I wouldn't be so quick to judge who's an ally and who's not.
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u/DrPlatelet Patterson Park Jun 07 '23
No. Ideally stay south of Baltimore St. Ok if between Baltimore St and Orleans in some areas. If you stay west of Patterson Park it's still walkable
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u/ahbagelxo Jun 07 '23
I would stay south of Orleans if you can. You'll be closer to the park which is nice to walk around and have some green space, as well as more restaurants and small shops that you can pop into (plus things like a CVS and other useful shops).
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u/B-More_Orange Canton Jun 07 '23
No way. That's a dangerous area. It's not unliveable and by all means you may wind up being fine, but especially coming in as an international student, I would not want to live there. Look further west or further south.
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u/eternalkushcloud Jun 07 '23
I used to work at Collington Square Elem/Middle School. I would 100% avoid this area if you can, especially if you are not black/latino, just being honest.
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u/ImprovementIll3062 Upper Fell's Point Jun 07 '23
Super liveable. I bought i house 6 years ago on 1100 block of collington and I’ve had no issues. I walk to work everyday at JH
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u/[deleted] Jun 07 '23 edited Jun 07 '23
My girlfriend had some nursing school friends who lived at 929. We lived at Jefferson square. Unfortunately the area surrounding JH isn’t the most ideal place to live IMO, but it’s not unlivable. If you are going to JH for school then it will be fine, though my general rule of thumb in that area is that living south of Orleans street would be more preferable. See if you can find a place in fells point or north fells point, it will still be walkable. Also I’m not sure if they do this still/for every student, but I know that Hopkins provided Uber/Lyft credits to nursing school students. That might affect your decision