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roseapoth t1_ivqm788 wrote

Reply to comment by No_name_Johnson in which east coast city is most comparable to Baltimore? by caw2k22

I've lived in both places and I really don't see it. I think the vibes are completely different.

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ColdJay64 t1_ivrg71u wrote

Me too. People are just saying this because of rowhomes, besides that they couldn’t be more different.

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the-denver-nugs t1_ivsbgvq wrote

meh name a more similar city. i've been up and down the east coast. philly is the only one close. it used to be richmond around 2010, but it's getting heavily gentrified from out of towners of late. (I'm from richmond, VA) maybe atlanta but not really. charlotte maybe?

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ColdJay64 t1_ivt9g7q wrote

Baltimore reminds me of a combination of Richmond and Norfolk, more than any other one city. I went to college in Norfolk (ODU), and my brother lives in Richmond (Church Hill). I also lived in Baltimore for two years, and am now in my third year in Philly.

On an individual neighborhood level, there are some similarities between parts of Philly and Bmore, but the amount of gentrification, relative lack of blight, walkability, and sheer amount of people make Philly feel a lot different. There's also a level of wealth and young families that you just don't see in Baltimore neighborhoods. Same goes for the amount of retail and shopping, and relative lack of business vacancy. Baltimore is a large built environment but feels deserted.

Lastly, Center City is a top downtown in the country in terms of population (2nd or 3rd most populated), walkability, and population density. It feels like a true large city. Downtown Baltimore is more deserted than downtown Richmond, and has practically no new development beyond 414 Light and the new M&T building on Light.

Regarding Atlanta and Charlotte, I think they have a lot of similarities to each other.

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the-denver-nugs t1_iw4wi3x wrote

holy shit didn't even think about norfolk. that is such a better example. philly I agree is just so much bigger but similar vibes imo. norfolk/richmond combo is a perfect discription. I live on light right next to the M&t building lol. grew up in richmond and have spent time in norfolk.

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joeyisbomb t1_ivs1h04 wrote

Same here raised in Baltimore and lived in Philly for five years they are VERY different especially today

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Infinite_Magnetic7 t1_ivu11as wrote

As a Baltimore native (with family/friends in Philadelphia), I partially agree with your sentiments. Now, depending on the neighborhoods, there are some similarities between the two. Overall, the vibe, accents, culture are different.

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AdDue1062 t1_ivtds79 wrote

I have also lived in both and out of all East Coast cities, Philly is absolutely the closest to Baltimore and it's not even close. Few very nice spots and disaster everywhere else. Huge drug and crime problems. Similar markets and restaurant scene (although Philly has much better versions of both). Massive universities predominantly focused on medicine. Other industries are quite similar as well. Hell, similar accents that you don't hear anywhere else. Football fans who like teams everyone else either hate or ignore. Dive bars are carbon copies. Pretty crappy Chinese and Mexican food in both cities. Economically, very similar demographics even though racial blend is different. Baltimore has a much more extensive marina as a differentiator, but it's not like Richmond is more extensive than Philly. Roads are in severe disrepair in both cities. I can't even think of many ways they're different outside of size.

The only way for a city to be more like Baltimore on the EC is if Richmond and Norfolk merged.

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