Submitted by butterflybros t3_xz9tzl in baltimore
Came across this John Waters quote:
“I would never want to live anywhere but Baltimore. You can look far and wide, but you'll never discover a stranger city with such extreme style. It's as if every eccentric in the South decided to move north, ran out of gas in Baltimore, and decided to stay.”
Does this reputation still hold up today, in your opinion?
Absolutely. Although I feel some of them went to NOLA too.
for sure. i only was there for three days but i loved the energy!
Just look at the difference between DC and Baltimore. Baltimore has better architecture, better restaurants, and a quirky atmosphere. DC is not as open nor as friendly as Baltimore, quickly turns into a ghastly version of strip mall sprawl outside of downtown, which doesn't exist in Baltimore proper.
Baltimore has problems, but I'll take Baltimore over any ugly dead Southern city where strip mall sprawl is the norm.
Agree with the sentiment on DC being more sterile, but pretty sure the Baltimore County suburbs also count as strip mall sprawl.
Agreed, but I'm in the city.
Grew up in Texas, where everything shut down in Houston and Dallas downtown after 6pm and looked like a ghost town. Baltimore never looks like that. You have to go outside the city to find the strip mall sprawl, and the inner city isn't dead after 6pm.
”You shut your mouth!” (Brandishing a coat hanger)
I am the 4th generation of my family to be born and raised in Baltimore. Every generation has left Baltimore when they are 18-20 and lived elsewhere (all over the US & Europe as well) and every generation has ended up moving back after roughly a decade away, including me. Now at 29 I am working on moving back, even though in high school I wanted nothing more than to get out of Baltimore. Now that I have spent time living in multiple other states I realized this past year how much I missed my hometown. There is no place like Baltimore
Very true.
Same could be said about Pittsburgh but whatever.
Baltimore is what would happen if Philadelphia and New Orleans had a baby.
No
“What about me!”
I always says baltimore and dc are sister cities, One might be successful, but the other one can be a dirt bag but has a way better personality.
I’m a native New Orleanian that just moved to Baltimore a month ago after nearly a decade in DC. I never felt like I fit in DC but Baltimore always seemed to be calling my name. As I’m immersing myself into my new surroundings I’m quickly beginning to understand why.
Searching for ways to say this, I've settled on an imperfect analogy: looks. But I mean this to be extrapolated beyond appearance and presentation...I agree with Waters, I think Baltimore is real, and appreciates real above all else. Not much tolerance for pretension here.
In LA you need boobs, and after that, money. In Baltimore, all you need is style. Luckily, style--which is an external presentation of internal substance, a visible signal that the person under it all is original and valuable--works whether you've got the tits or not.
For whatever reason, Baltimore is one of those cities that appreciates style far more than conventional appearance. We don't go for the put on here; for us, the part is you, and if you have the courage and mettle to just be yourself, you'll be well received. It really is a friendly, charming city in that way.
I can't speak on the Black community in Baltimore, but I get the feeling that this is true for both Baltimores.
Its like being the little brother and no matter what you do you're ignored because JR. did something average then you get told to be more like him...ya know what? Fuck it im not here to impress you MF'rs anymore.
First railroad?...DC has a monument that looks like a toothpick. Fight off the worlds biggest navy with average Joes?...hey look DC was on fire! First federal highway? Look Philly has meat sandwich with cheese!...ah fuck it
Why would anyone like a place for food or monuments when they could instead enjoy the first railroad or first federal highway?!
I lived in NO for a few years and then moved to Philly and did not fit in. Friends there always told me to move to Baltimore. They were so right, it’s so similar (art, music, culture, water) but it’s got an unique East Coast vibe.
I love this
Do we feel that some of this is fading though? Baltimore is fun and quirky and that way in large part because it was and is cheap compared to other large cities in the Northeast.
Comment checks out: Unique accents Specialized local cuisine Either love it or hate it Setting for HBO crime dramas
It’s Metropolis vs Gotham
> Baltimore has better architecture, better restaurants, and a quirky atmosphere.
Bruh, you have got to be trolling with this take. I know this is a Baltimore sub and there's gonna be bias, but you might as well be arguing the chef at Wendy's is just as good as Gordon Ramsey. DC has way better food, nicer buildings, and more diverse cultures than Baltimore.
>is not as open nor as friendly as Baltimore,
This is maybe your only valid point.
Lol I’m sorry - better restaurants and architecture?? Have you been to DC? DC is 100% safer in a lot of the areas and is Mecca for the gays. DC is open as its friendly. I grew up in bmore area and went to uni in the city. You must not be from around here if you think Baltimore suburbs aren’t strip malls lmao the shitty and dangerous one at that - at least in dc it’s cleaner/safer with better public transportation and access. Also there isn’t a huge pothole and infrastructure problem (like rt 2 bridge that’s going to collapse any second)
I've felt that Baltimore's eccentricity has waned in the last 10-20 years. When I lived in DC and would come up, go to Fells for vintage shopping or to Ottobar or Sonar for a show, I felt like the city had a lot of character and way less pretension than DC. But when I moved up to Remington in 2015, the "charm" seemed to be in decline. Even going to Paper Moon lost its appeal.
Maybe it's a case of "fun to visit but living here is a different story." Maybe it's because of the rising crime and deteriorating infrastructure and bureaucracy. Maybe it's the gentrification and ugly new buildings.
Other cities are different. I definitely see charm in Philly, Pittsburgh and Richmond. Not so much here. Not anymore.
Baltimore is very post-industrial, although we do handle a ton of shipping. There are two paths a culture can follow after industry: drugs and art. Baltimore has doubled down on both paths.
The fun part is that different parts of the city become postindustrial at different times, so they mature and age in different ways. There's a ton of textile mills and sailcloth factories and ropewalks, but also later factories like meat packing plants and piles of other stuff.
The cycle of industries doesn't seem to have stopped either - we're very focused on medicine these days.
DC has transit that isn't completely awful.
I lived in Louisiana for three years and Baltimore reminds me so much of New Orleans it’s uncanny.
>Lol I’m sorry - better restaurants and architecture?? Have you been to DC? DC is 100% safer
Nothing whatsoever to do with restaurants and architecture.
> You must not be from around here if you think Baltimore suburbs aren’t strip malls
We're talking about the city, not the suburbs.
You're willing to make quite a reach to talk shit about Baltimore.
Willing to bet youd say the same things about those cities if you moved to them.
Pittsburgh is Baltimore’s Appalachian/midwestern cousin
Not talking about the county. The city is completely unique architecturally, and I've already acknowledged it has problems. Walk though Charles Village, Remington, across North Avenue, down into Mount Vernon and pay attention to the buildings and businesses around Charles Street. Even the transit isn't bad with the Circulator. (Could be better, yes) Yes DC is safer, never was the point. But if you can't see how fantastically beautiful these areas really are, I don't know what to say.
Canton is the closest in style to DC strip malls and definitely not dangerous, but two blocks over, there is a good bar/restaurant scene.
Waters used to hang out in the Club Charles years ago, and it's that area around Charles Street, I'm sure he's partially referring to.
That’s so funny. I’ve always said that if Baltimore and NYC had a baby, they would pop out Philly.
Maybe you have changed, not the city.
I agree, it holds up. And agree with the NOLA comparisons in comments. I loved it when I saw Bobcat Goldthwait do standup a few years back, and he went on about how Baltimore is one of the only truly “weird” cities, how other cities like Austin or Portland advertise their weirdness with slogans and stickers, but here, we don’t need to do that bc we just are what we are full time without thinking about it.
Always looking for saints fans to join me at Max’s Taphouse! There’s a crowd of saints fans that go there
I lived their from 2012-2015, I left because it just wasn’t very safe, but man I loved how weird it was and I miss it all the time
We can't let them win. Get some astroturf on your stoop/porch pronto
Not necessarily shit but more like let’s not get things twisted about dc
Original poster must also be talking about the suburbs, bc I have no idea what they are talking about "quickly turns into a ghastly version of strip mall sprawl outside of downtown" if they aren't talking about the suburbs.
I mean having lived in both cities, I don't see a difference in this context. Sure there are small strip malls....within both cities. And large ones outside of both.
DC has a lot more to it than you think, both in architecture and restaurants, as well as atmosphere. I think you probably haven't explored enough outside of downtown.
Not sure what you mean by ghastly strip malls....both cities have those within city limits (but I wouldn't describe them as a major feature of either). I will say the drive in from Baltimore isn't the most inspiring, but that doesn't paint even close to the full picture of DC.
Like I wonder if you've explored much of either place with those descriptions. Sounds like you enjoy it though, so I encourage you do do more of it in both places. If you like Baltimore, then I encourage you to check out Mt. Pleasant & Takoma Park (not DC proper per se) in DC. There are plenty of other awesome neighborhoods too.
Look I have plenty to complain about DC, but what you wrote ain't it. Both cities are nice places and have their charm (but sure only one is Charm City).
Source: grew up in the DC area (thru college) and moved back to it 3 years ago; lived in Baltimore for 17 years and worked there for 20.
I wanna say this is true but there are areas of undeniable wealth in Baltimore.
They said “in Baltimore proper,” which excludes the suburbs
I don't think the definition of eccentric includes having to be wealthy.
Yes, but they’re also usually boring.
For a lot of it, yes, but there are still pockets of individuality in the County.
When I was living in NY, every time a friend or coworker would say, “I’m visiting Baltimore for a wedding/work thing/whatever, any recommendations?” I would immediately begin my “IT’S A HIDDEN JEWEL” rant, which probably included a lot more information than they were looking for, but…oh well.
Yes that's what I literally believe about the word "eccentric." It wasn't a reference to the cliche about crazy rich people being labeled as eccentric. It's my sincere belief.
Thanks. I had sincerely believed that there were zero rich people in the city of Baltimore, but now I know otherwise.
Ah, sorry... Didn't get the reference.sarcasm ain't great in text form.
I'm not being sarcastic.
Eccentric: a person being unconventional or strange. Words aren't just about what you believe.
I was being sarcastic.
How would I know?
My wife had the same experience. She lived in and around NO for over a decade. Moved to DC, where we met, and then we both moved to Baltimore. She felt so much more at home in Baltimore than DC. Friends would visit her and say how much Baltimore reminded them of NO.
The important thing is that you find something about which to correct me.
Is that the important thing?
Waters said something along the lines of "New York is full of normal people who think they're weird. Baltimore is full of weird people who think they are normal."
You're very eccentric.
I'm not rich.
What on earth does that have to do with anything?!
"we're not wealthy enough to be eccentric"
That's patently absurd. No one would ever say that.
>better architecture
like what? DC is the Vienna of America
When I moved to the city (1985) I saw many eccentric people and goings-on, but I could also see it fading. Growing up in Montgomery County, all of Baltimore seemed off kilter to me, at first. Now I see harmless eccentricity being replaced by several factions of pop culture driven groups. The young hipsters who seem to be here on a long vacation, looking to be entertained, but will be gone in a moment's notice, and homies who watch too much daytime tv, and want to be minor thugs, or housewives of Baltimore.
I always comeback for exactly that. Baltimore is one of my favorite socially eccentric collective in the country Denver Boston and Orlando are close but don’t have the architectural history or boat life
Maybe Asheville, but it's a much smaller city then the others.
And even Asheville's changed a bunch over the last couple decades, that tiny real estate market means that a lot of the good cheap spots close to downtown got bought up by folks with NYC money even pre-pandemic, let alone post-
Some of the apartments in the inner harbor go for 5k+ / month so yeah
hypatiaakat t1_irl3niw wrote
Yes.