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amother
Gray


 

Post Wed, Sep 04 2019, 11:03 am
Quote:
Isn't the public transportation in Baltimore very dangerous?


Although officially it is a public bus line, the buses run only to/from the day schools and there are separate buses for each school. They pick up the kids at a designated route and then drop them off at school in the morning, and the reverse in the afternoon, with different buses for each dismissal times (elementary, middle school, high school). No one else is on the bus. The cost is $1.40 each ride.
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amother
Indigo


 

Post Thu, Sep 05 2019, 7:33 am
Quote:
Hi, I'm interested in finding out more about Baltimore.

1) A relative who lives there told me that no one makes it with two full-time working parents. Is that true? ETA: She meant that no one manages to have two full-time working parents because of the need for carpools, that all families have at least one parent with a flexible schedule. My question is if it's possible to live reasonably comfortably there with one parent working full-time and one parent working part-time.

2) If it's not, how much does a family of 4 need to earn in order to live without going paycheck-to-paycheck?

3) How much is babysitting out of the house? What about in-house?

4) Tell me about elementary schools for boys- we're middle-of-the-road yeshivish.

5) General pros and cons?

Thanks!


1) Both my husband and myself work full time. We make it work. He got permission to come a drop late to drive carpool on the way to work and leaves a drop late. I go to work a bit earlier so I can be home earlier. For playgroup, I rely on neighbors and family to take my kids and pay people to drive them home where I hired someone to watch my preschool/elem school kids until I get home. It takes time to co-ordinate, but if you are determined, it can totally work.

2) Depends which area in town. If you live in a 700k house, your mortgage will be a lot higher than a 250K house. You have to evaluate your needs and expenses.

3) Childcare really depends. Some daycares charge between $5-6.50 an hour. I currently have in-house. I pay her $14 an hour, but I share her with other families so it comes out really affordable per hour per family. However, a few formal daycares shut down out of choice and a few illegal ones have been shut down by the city, so childcare now in general is more challenging to find--but not impossible.

4) There are 3 all boys schools. People will say TI is more yeshivish. It used to be, but now more diverse. TA is a community school, so you have both more yeshivish and less. But this is Baltimore, where everyone accepts everyone. The last one is relatively new. Toras Simcha. They only have preschool-4th this year. I am hearing really good things about them.

5) Every city has it's pros and cons. I absolutely love Baltimore. I grew up here, moved away when I got married and moved back a few years ago. The Baltimore of today is very different than the Baltimore of 20 years ago, but one thing hasn't changed. It's a city of achdus and acceptance. No matter what walk of life, be it yeshivish, litvish, chasidish, mo, or plain frum, everyone goes to the same schools and stores and all get along.
Depending what neighborhood you live in the housing can be very affordable. But really depends where. For example: You can get a older house for low 200K in the Park Heights area or you can get a mini mansion in the Beazer area for over 700k.
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amother
Lawngreen


 

Post Sun, Oct 13 2019, 7:52 am
Amother indigo, how has Baltimore changed in the past years?
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amother
Honeydew


 

Post Sun, Oct 13 2019, 9:47 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Bump, any other imas in Baltimore who can add info?


I’m from Baltimore originally, so can’t tell you about specifics of living there with a family as I live in Lakewood. It is a beautiful warm community, and despite its really Harry name (don’t get me wrong there is plenty of them in Baltimore) it’s also really normal and accepting and nice.
As far as $, the houses are a little less expensive than Lakewood, but that’s also because the standard house there is a lot smaller. There is also a lower standard of living there. I grew up with a one income household, my mother didn’t work, but my father makes more than most people so it might not be true that most people could do it.
Also, I happen to know from my family and friends that there is no a huge job market. It’s very hard to find good jobs with good hours and good pay there (unlike bigger areas like Lakewood)
But it’s definitely a wonderful place to live! Hatzlacha rabba!!
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Oct 17 2019, 8:26 am
OP here-

How much would it cost for a 2,000 square foot house in the frum areas of Baltimore? (Asking for comparison's sake with other places.)

In general, how does Baltimore compare to Passaic? I'm looking at the Passaic thread and seeing how high the cost of living seems to be there, and rethinking it as an option.

Also, are Baltimore schools going to insist on a specific filter (I.e. Machane Kadosh) for all devices, including the parents'? That's what I heard about Passaic, and it turned my DH and me off.
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amother
Cerulean


 

Post Thu, Oct 17 2019, 9:29 am
As far as I know, schools here won't insist on a specific filter
not sure about housing prices
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amother
Wine


 

Post Thu, Oct 17 2019, 9:55 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
OP here-

How much would it cost for a 2,000 square foot house in the frum areas of Baltimore? (Asking for comparison's sake with other places.)

In general, how does Baltimore compare to Passaic? I'm looking at the Passaic thread and seeing how high the cost of living seems to be there, and rethinking it as an option.

Also, are Baltimore schools going to insist on a specific filter (I.e. Machane Kadosh) for all devices, including the parents'? That's what I heard about Passaic, and it turned my DH and me off.


There are a lot of different frum areas in town. The price will change dramatically from block to block and area to area. You can buy in Beazer and pay $500,000, or you can buy the semi detatched across the street from me for $198,000. Prices will be between both.

As far as a filter, all I know is TA and Bnos. They both strongly SUGGEST you employ a filter but neither has a rule that you MUST have one. And certainly not a specific one.

I love LOVE it here. Baltimore is the land of "to each his own". No one cares what anyone else does, wears, drives, vacations, you get the point. Kids from Beazer have playdates with kids in the cheapest apartments. Schools dont show favoritism to those with money.

And the Coffee Bean has a sukkah. What else could you want?
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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Nov 09 2019, 8:12 pm
OP here. Continuing to research Baltimore as a realistic option.

We would only be able to make a move if we both had jobs- starting with DH, who is a software engineer. How would he go about finding a job in that field? And would it be smarter to look in D.C., or is it possible to find a good job closer to Baltimore?

Also, what's the approximate cost of renting a 2-bedroom apartment (not a basement)?

Any names/numbers of real estate agents who could give us more of the lay of the land regarding buying a house?

As far as schools- do people really pay $9K tuition for nursery?
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cfriedman2




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 09 2019, 9:51 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
OP here. Continuing to research Baltimore as a realistic option.

We would only be able to make a move if we both had jobs- starting with DH, who is a software engineer. How would he go about finding a job in that field? And would it be smarter to look in D.C., or is it possible to find a good job closer to Baltimore?

Also, what's the approximate cost of renting a 2-bedroom apartment (not a basement)?

Any names/numbers of real estate agents who could give us more of the lay of the land regarding buying a house?

As far as schools- do people really pay $9K tuition for nursery?


I’ve lived in Baltimore my whole life. I enjoy it here- nice warm community with something for everyone. There are software engineering firms in town your husband should apply to. Have him google and check out Job sites. Renting a 2 bedroom will cost you about $1200/month in Pickwick. Shevy Ashman is a great real estate agent who can help with buying a house (443) 682-0618
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amother
White


 

Post Sat, Nov 09 2019, 10:25 pm
you can look usajobs for government jobs. the pay may be less than corporate but the benefits are great. and longterm there is flexibility with teleworking for some positions.

There are breaks for tuition. I wouldn't let the $9k tution scare you away. majority of the families here get breaks.

what's your field?
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 10 2019, 8:31 am
Breaks are not for nursery, but most people send to playgroups at that age instead. Much, much cheaper.
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amother
Gray


 

Post Mon, Nov 11 2019, 11:49 am
I have received a tuition break at TA for Nursery. We both work full time and the tuition committee understands that sending my 4 year old to school is not optional, so they gave a discount just like they did for my other kids. Very reasonable.
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amother
Wine


 

Post Mon, Nov 11 2019, 12:00 pm
amother [ Gray ] wrote:
I have received a tuition break at TA for Nursery. We both work full time and the tuition committee understands that sending my 4 year old to school is not optional, so they gave a discount just like they did for my other kids. Very reasonable.

Same.
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Nov 11 2019, 6:11 pm
I thought 3 was considered nursery. 4 I thought was called "kindergarten". Maybe TA calls them differently than TI. (We got breaks for 4s also, in TI. But that they called Kindergarten.)
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amother
Pewter


 

Post Mon, Nov 11 2019, 6:38 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
OP here-

How much would it cost for a 2,000 square foot house in the frum areas of Baltimore? (Asking for comparison's sake with other places.)

In general, how does Baltimore compare to Passaic? I'm looking at the Passaic thread and seeing how high the cost of living seems to be there, and rethinking it as an option.

Also, are Baltimore schools going to insist on a specific filter (I.e. Machane Kadosh) for all devices, including the parents'? That's what I heard about Passaic, and it turned my DH and me off.


I live in Passaic. I used to live in Baltimore. Yeshiva Ketana does not require internet filters. They may encourage it, but definitely not a requirement.

The main difference between the two communities for us was the availability of flexible jobs and the tuition committee. I was not able to find a decent well-paying part-time job there. My husband's salary also increased a ton. I also found Passaic to be a lot more reasonable with tuition reductions.
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amother
Lilac


 

Post Mon, Nov 11 2019, 8:32 pm
amother [ Gray ] wrote:
I have received a tuition break at TA for Nursery. We both work full time and the tuition committee understands that sending my 4 year old to school is not optional, so they gave a discount just like they did for my other kids. Very reasonable.


This may sound extremely spoiled of me but do they give tuition breaks if only one parent is working? I was working up until this year but I've taken off to have a baby and am going to be going back to school to work in a different field. Are they only giving you a break because you have other kids in the school? Just wondering what to expect. We are trying to decide where to send our child.
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