Baltimore - what's it like?

[mucky123]

Hi all wondered if I could borrow your wisdom. My husband's company is having a reorganisation which will conclude in about 1.5 years time and he either moves his position mainly to the US or will need to find another job.

It's all a bit vague at the moment. He's not sure where in the US they will be headquartered but will be likely to be Baltimore. We have 3 kids. In 2 years time two of them will be finishing their GCSE's and one of them will be moving to secondary school. We are just mulling over whether a relocation might be even a vague possibility for all of us at that stage.

At the moment I am trying to envisage living in Baltimore. I've never been. I mainly know it through the wire. Does anyone know it? What is it like? What is the crime like? Are there nice surburbian areas commutable to city centre? We'd love to live near water/have a boat. Any international schools that are any good? Or private schools? The weather sounds nice: like here but a bit warmer. Is it friendly/lots of things to do etc?

I'd prefer New York (fancied living in Long Island) but I'm not sure I'll get much say in the where they locate bit and I'm not living somewhere DH can't easily commute to (otherwise I might as well stay here - which is a definite possibility but the kids and I would miss him a lot).

I think finance should be alright but I don't know what the package would be (to be negotiated) but if we do indicate any interest in moving it would be useful to have an idea of where any hidden costs that we don't have in the UK are likely to be.

Many thanks

From what I understand, high levels of crime and pretty deprived.

No way would I even consider moving to Baltimore.

I was cabin crew and went there regularly for the first 15 years. I went back two years ago for the first time in a decade and was really surprised at how run down it had got. The people were always friendly.

I’ve been and it was nice down there waterfront. Lots of nice boats and restaurants. Most of the city wasn’t particularly nice. However the surrounding area seems nice enough. I imagine there could be nice commutable places to live. Washington DC area only about an hour away and is lovely.

Baltimore is pretty great (it's not all the Wire lol) but no way would I relocate with three kids in secondary.

If you want your kids to go to uni and move out the country you risk needing to pay international fees. You need to be resident in the UK for a set number of years before going. Having a UK passport isn't enough if you've been living abroad.

The work might not be in Baltimore itself. The area is a bit of a donut opportunity-wise and there are some places beyond the redeveloped Inner Harbour you would probably not want to live. The same goes for much of Washington DC. There's an extensive city within angular borders and various levels of suburbs as you head further out.

I have a clutch of relatives there who seem to be living further out every time I see them: Towson -> Timonium -> Hunt Valley and beyond. I have not lived there myself.

Both Baltimore and DC have been hugely gentrified in recent years, there is no shortage of nice places to live if you're on a good salary. But it would hugely mess up your kids education, I wouldn't do it personally.

I live in the US and I’ll be the first to say I prefer living here than living in the UK, which is very un-MN, I know.

But you couldn’t pay me enough to live in Baltimore. Visiting and seeing pretty boats in a harbor is all well and good but living there is quite something else.

Another factor to consider is what visa your husband would be on. Sounds like an L-1, which wouldn’t be too bad as you would feel eligible to apply for a work permit and ho to work also. Depending on how much they are paying him for the relocation that may or may not be necessary.

I wouldn’t uproot a family for 18 months. If it were to be longer than 2 years I would but not for anything less than that. Especially to another country with s completely different school system.

Baltimore is Detroit-lite. No way.

I think it has a pretty huge heroin/opioid problem

No ta.

As pp say university fees will be a ball ache.
Also uprooting your kids at this time would be a huge mistake -

Homesickness can be enough to really fuck uo an academic year never mind fretting over the new school adjustments

Speak to any expat support organisation and they will tell you not to relocate teenagers. It's really unfair on them

No idea about Baltimore, but I used to regularly go to Annapolis (about 30 mins away), and that was lovely. That was about 15 years ago though so it may have changed! Commuting from there may be possible?

I don't think it's remotely fair on your kids to move them in the middle of secondary school. It will also mean they can't go to university here without paying international fees as you need to be fully resident here for (I think) two years before attending to qualify for local prices.

Even if that wasn't the case there is no way on this earth I would move to Baltimore. It has some quite bad problems with gangs, drugs and crime

I don't think it's fair on your kids to make the move. Also what about your work OP? You won't get a work visa as a trailing spouse.

Thanks all. The bit about the university fees is especially interesting as I hadn't even thought about that.

@negomi90

If you want your kids to go to uni and move out the country you risk needing to pay international fees. You need to be resident in the UK for a set number of years before going. Having a UK passport isn't enough if you've been living abroad.

This usually doesn't apply if under-18s moved abroad with their parents' jobs.

@HerBigChance I think that's only if your parent is in the military or civil service (i.e. deployed abroad, not by choice)

Its not THAT clear cut about uni fees. For a temporary relocation, it's fine but you definitely should get advice on what temporary means and how you can prove it!
Dc has a British school. It'd be pricey but might be worth it as the system would be the same

It might be worth reading these:

www.expatandoffshore.com/expat-living/university-fees-expats
ukstudyoptions.com/ukeu-expats-dont-lose-eligibility-home-fees/

It appears to be the case tat you have to have been "ordinarily resident" in the UK for three years to qualify for UK fees status.

I think the only exceptions are if you lived abroad because your parent is in the forces or in government.

Can I just add that you also need to be resident in the uk for three years to get help if your life goes tits up and you end up on benefits which happened to me at 21. Could not get any financial help because I’d been brought up abroad for the previous decade.

Fells Point I know from having family there and it is pretty good for restaurants and independent shopping near the waterfront. There are some really rundown crime ridden areas though so would need to choose wisely.

I’d swerve Baltimore. I have friends there and they are looking to relocate because of the increasing crime rates.

Have you thought about Maryland, specifically Bethesda? That’s close to Baltimore, has great schools and lots to do. Then there’s Dc but a pretty hefty commute to Baltimore as the DC traffic is insane!