why baltimore

now i'm the first to recognize that baltimore is a city that leaves many wondering.... why? why did you move there? and sometimes, ew or oh my! have you been robbed? that confusion is often compounded when they hear my job: baltimore city public school teacher. scenes from season 4 the wire float around, poor mr. P - the knife fight.... (um, yes- best show ever). while the wire does bear an uncanny resemblance to the ills of baltimore and most inner cities for that matter- it does little to highlight the charms that draw people like us back.

so- i decided to dedicate this page to showcasing the things we love about charm city.

the harbor
 











 
the harbor is a picture postcard site- lined with museums, the aquarium, seafood joints, chintzy shops, water taxis, colonial ships. a mix of old and new.  


the food 

 

i was debating whether to call this section "it's cheap" or the food. really its both. cheap seafood. lots of it. crabs, oysters, shrimp. many of it sadly imported because of pollution in the Chesapeake bay but none-the-less b'more retains its reputation as a solid seafood port. of course crabcakes are done like none other here. old bay all over. nattie boh beer. $1.00 happy hours. utz chips.

cross street market

a mere 10 minute walk from our place is this baltimore icon. filled with goods from egg sandwiches to flowers, sushi to deli, crabs to butcher, cell phones to tacos- this market has it all. we've come for a saturday special at big jim's deli nearly every saturday since arrival. 

our jobs
we have them and we love them. 

my kids! just a handful of the 130 5th graders i teach at kipp. adam's a landscape architect at biohabitats. we work ALOT. we are doing incredibly meaningful work. and we love our jobs. our commutes are a mere 10-15 traffic-less minutes away.

we are very very grateful for all of this.

the house and park

 

obviously you all have seen pics of the house and park (here's one at sunset). being able to buy a house- an affordable, awesome, fixer upper great location of a house, made baltimore so desirable. 

the people

this city is the complete opposite of pretentious. the complete opposite of the west coast. there is not much overtly cool or hip about baltimore. it's not the "prettiest" city. nobody's trying to be holier than thou. no preaching, not much fashion sense. a solid art scene (likely drawn by the same attractions, a smaller philli), but not in your face. 

i swear the nicest, most down to earth people live in this city. called charm city for a reason. our neighbors have been amazing. random passerby's will chat you up. a solid feeling of community from all ends.

after a lifetime of living in the "hippest" of places i am thrilled to be settled in someplace that is just so... easy, so relaxed, so LIVABLE.

family and friends
everyone is around! or if they're not, they come by, drive by, or fly into the area often. i  am thrilled to be able to see loved ones so easily.  perhaps that is an immediate reaction to 3 years in isolation (ithaca) but this is a novelty that will not wear off.

here are recent photos of our first soiree (of many). a surprise engagement brunch for bridge and jeff.