Decade of progress in Baltimore overshadowed by negative press

I'm one of the few natives who will admit to it, but I like Baltimore. It's one of those cities that you have to be away from for a bit in order to fully appreciate it. It's quirky and fun. It's 45 minutes away from Washington, 90 minutes from Philadelphia and (on a good day on the Jersey Turnpike) is 2-2.5 hours from New York City. Also, it's cheaper than other cities in the region. Based on its location, the cache of the neighborhood and proximity to bars, restaurants and retail destinations, my $1150 apartment in Baltimore would easily cost $1600-1700 in Washington and well over $2K in NYC. My bank account appreciates that.

My hometown, however, can never catch a break. Baltimore has spent the last decade improving itself. On the low, it’s become a destination. It has attracted and retained major businesses (Under Armor, energy conglomerate Constellation Energy and financial heavyweight Legg Mason…just to name a few), it’s has added thousands of new hotel rooms including flags by Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and InterContinental, it has become a haven for urban renewal and development and most importantly, it effectively ended its 50-year long population exodus. That progress, however, is always overshadowed by negative reports.

The last three days have not been kind to Charm City. On Monday, the Baltimore Sun published this article announcing that in its most recent study, the FBI has declared Baltimore ‘The Second Deadliest City In America.” Three days later, the Baltimore Examiner released this article outlining the findings of a report conducted by the Baltimore Health Commission Baltimore is second to only Miami in the number of reported AIDS cases. Not a good look.

Does Baltimore has its faults? Of course, but so do all major American cities including Chicago (where in the last 12 months 27 kids have been killed in public schools), Philadelphia (where homicides are nearing 1980's type record numbers), Los Angeles (where gang violence is more prevalent than ever), St. Louis (which is experiencing a ridiculous spike in crime and always seems to get a pass because its a smaller city) and Phoenix (which is experiencing spikes in violence all over its metro area), but you just don’t hear about those stories. For some reason, Baltimore’s flaws always seem to become major, national news.

I’ve lived in Baltimore for most of my adult life and aside from someone using a Sharpie to deface the passenger side fender of my car while I took in a show at the Charles Theater, I’ve never been a victim of crime. My car has never been stolen, by house has never been burglarized, and I’ve never been robbed, shot at or threatened in anyway. When I drive home, I don’t drive through the set of ‘The Wire’ nor do I encounter anything like that on a daily basis. In fact, I have to make a point to go through those types of neighborhoods.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that as long as you’re doing the right thing (95% of all murders in Baltimore are committed by and against people who have a pre-existing relationship with the criminal justice system) and don’t go looking for trouble, you’ll be fine. Oh, and don’t be promiscuous. Know your status and that of everyone you get in bed with. Being a whore is never a good look and is most certainly not in Baltimore.