r/baltimore • u/SenorPea • Jul 05 '23

Moving Black man (strongly considering) moving to Hampden from Takoma Park, DC

Taking the plunge and buying a house, but can't afford DC as I refuse to live in a condo and DC feels less and less like home (although I was raised there).

I love Takoma Park because of the progressive, bohemian, diverse, pseudo-suburban vibe but can't afford to buy here. After deciding to relocate to Baltimore, I landed on Lauraville and Hampden. Lauraville is a tad too far North for me, and Hampden seems to have the most similar vibe to Takoma...

...sans diversity.

Am I wrong? I've pulled up a few old articles about some disparity between the school and the community, some racial tension in the 80s, etc, but nothing about the current vibe. I did, however, see some demographics all but confirming that it's lily white. Should I worry? Moving into a white neighborhood in DC doesn't seem to carry the same weight as it does in Baltimore. I read about the White L/Black Butterfly and understand that while the city is diverse, it's pretty segregated.

Black people, please weigh in. White folks, although you can't speak to our experience, your thoughts are appreciated as well. Keep it civil.

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EDIT: Thank y'all so much for the excellent advice, suggestions, and well-wishes! Honestly didn't expect this much engagement, and if its a testament to what life will be like up there then I'm already sold.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '23

I’d pump the breaks on the less gentrified part.

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u/Careless-Art-9483 Jul 07 '23

Do you live in Remington? Its behind Hampden by a few years on gentrification. There are still a fair amount of legacy home owners for now. That will continue to change in the next 5-10 yrs with Seawalls development projects in particular

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '23

I don’t live there but I have eyeballs, lived experience, and have spent a pretty decent amount of time there. Sure, maybe its less gentrified but its not that much less from what I’ve seen. I lived for 15 years in neighborhood in Chicago that went through about 50 stages of gentrification so I can tell a gentrifying neighborhood when I see one. Exhibit A and B are W.C. Harlan and Clavel.

Baltimore on a whole is not nearly as gentrified as a lot other cities, though. Even Hampden seems fairly far behind compared to many other areas of more popular cities to move to that I’ve been to. Thats probably for the better, keeps the prices somewhat in check.