move to baltimore : Buzz

Education Week ranks Maryland's public schools the top in the nation, followed by Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Arizona. The publication looked at school finances, student achievement and success later in life, state assessments and school accountability.

U.S. News & World Report analyzed the results.

"Maryland tops the list, with generally good school finances, quality teachers, and students who leave high school ready for college," the magazine writes. You can read the rest of the story here.

Apparently -- at least if you believe the gurus at Men's Health magazine -- Baltimore is America's second-luckiest city. Defined according to the source:

Wondering how Vegas didn't hit this jackpot? Here's our definition of good luck: the most winners of Powerball, Mega Millions, and Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes; most hole-in-ones (PGA); fewest lightning strikes (including the fatal kind) and deaths from falling objects (Vaisala Inc., National Climatic Data Center, CDC); and least money lost on lottery tickets and race betting (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Here's the full post at Men's Health.

Robert E. Lee park has long been a destination for dog owners, occasionally to the chagrin of non-canine inclined individuals. Recent developments should go a long way to resolving the disconnect.

From the source:

Dogs have run free — amok, some would say — in Robert E. Lee park for years. Residents complained the park had been "hijacked" by dog people. Even the county's parks director knew folks referred to the wooded, lakeside retreat as "Dog Poop Park."

The spot, hovering on the city/county line, had become the area's favorite dog park — never mind it wasn't one.

But that's all about to change.

After a $6.1 million renovation and a two-year closure, Robert E. Lee will re-opening Friday, boasting all sorts of refinements — the centerpiece being a legal, fenced dog run that people will have to pay to use. Additionally, the park will become the county's first to hire a small corps of rangers charged with ticketing people whosedogs are caught off leash anywhere else.

Here's the full story.

Recently released numbers show mixed results for Baltimore's real estate market in August. Sales were up, but prices were down.

From the source:

Baltimore-area home sales grew more than 6 percent in August, but the average sale price continued to tumble.

During the month, 2,046 homes were sold, up from 1,925 in August last year, according to Rockville market research firm Metropolitan Regional Information Systems.

The uptick in home sales, one of the better August months in the past several years, is likely tied to lower interest rates and cheaper homes.

Still, the average home sale price in the Baltimore area slipped 5.4 percent to $274,735.

The full story is here.

Baltimore Magazine has released its annual list of the "Best Places to Work" in and around Baltimore.

Here's the list.

In Old Catonsville, the area's charming eccentricities help new and longtime residents keep falling in love with the area.

Here's an excerpt:

"If you live in Catonsville, you plunk your lawn chair on the main street to reserve your spot for the Fourth of July parade - weeks ahead of the big day. You are loyal to a snowball stand. And, residents say, you try never to leave.

The quirks of this Baltimore County college town, including a profusion of music stores, endear it to its residents. And its location close to the Penn Line of the MARC train and Interstate 95, makes it convenient for both D.C. and Baltimore commuters."

Read the entire article.

Locust Point made it onto WalletPop's list of the 29 safest big city neighborhoods in the country. The South Baltimore community came in No. 3.

Here's an excerpt:

"Using exclusive neighborhood crime data developed by Dr. Andrew Schiller's team at NeighborhoodScout.com, and based on FBI data from all 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, they crunched the numbers to reveal the safest neighborhoods in every major American city. As it turns out, some big cities contain neighborhoods that are among the safest of any place in the nation, hopefully breaking stereotypes."

Read the entire article.

According to Travel + Leisure magazine, Baltimore is one of travelers' favorite American cities.

Here's an excerpt:

"Last summer, we asked our users to rate 35 cities around the U.S., from San Diego to Seattle and from Boston down to Miami � and a lot of hot spots in between � in 54 categories. For example, which city is the best for relaxing? (Both Portlands � Maine and Oregon � made the top 10.) Where should you go if you want an active vacation? (Apparently, not New Orleans.) And once you're there, how friendly � or rude � are the locals you'll meet? (Let's just say New York didn't fare well.)"


Here's the article.
Check out the city's rankings.
Watch the video:

Baltimore natives don't bat an eyelash when a heaping bowl of sauerkraut is placed among other goodies on the Thanksgiving table. For transplants or visitors, however, the tangy side dish causes more than a few raised eyebrows. Ever wonder how the German staple became a Bmore tradition?

Here's an excerpt:

"Growing up, I had no idea that sauerkraut is not, to most Americans, a traditional Thanksgiving dish. It was always there, on the sideboard, as inevitable as turkey. That's part of the condition of being a kid: Your family, no matter the oddities or inconsistencies, still seems perfectly normal. Adulthood came late for me, because it was only five years ago when I learned that my family's sauerkraut could be considered weird, when the man who is now my husband spent his first holiday with us staring in puzzlement at the bowl of it.

I didn't know what to say that day to explain our tradition, but I've since done some research, and I now know where it comes from: Baltimore. Serving sauerkraut at Thanksgiving is an old tradition there, rooted in the homes of the city's German immigrants. In 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, about a quarter of Baltimore's population was German. Sauerkraut was a given on their celebratory table..."

Read the entire article.

What'll $500,000 get you on Baltimore's real estate market?

Here's an excerpt:

"This building was built in 1920, and until the 1970s was the site of a Polish bakery. It was converted to a residence in the 1980s, and the latest updates, by the current owners, were done over the past 10 years. The first floor, what was once the bakery's storefront, is a living and kitchen area, with an original fireplace."

Read the entire listing.

Its status as Baltimore's first State-designated arts district got the neighborhood revitalization started, but it's the area's small businesses that keep the place humming.

Check out a few pics from the NY Times slideshow.

If you're a college student, Baltimore is a pretty good place to be.

That's according to the American Institute for Economic Research, which ranked Baltimore No. 6 in its top college towns. Washington, D.C., ranked No. 3.

The nonprofit research group took a look at the city's student population, arts and leisure activities, cost of living, entrepreneurial activity and other factors to come up with its findings.

San Francisco and New York garnered the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Boston and Seattle rounded out the top five.

You can read the report here.

Wondering where the top locations are in Maryland for young people just starting their professional careers?  There're Glen Burnie, Towson and, of course, Baltimore, according to Helium.com

Here's an excerpt:

"Maryland has so many different options available to every class of people that live in the state. Young professionals seem to be on the increase in Maryland and therefore, there must be some areas that are more suitable than others for this group of people to live. There are several cities that are good areas for young professionals to live in Maryland."

Read the entire article here.

For the second year, ForbesWoman has released its list of the 50 best cities for working moms. Baltimore rounded out the Top Five cities, behind Minneapolis-St. Paul, Washington, D.C., Boston, Mass., and Pittsburgh, Pa.

Here's an excerpt:

"To calculate our list we began with the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the U.S. while working under the notion that "best" means different things to different women. Safety, of course, is important, and great schools and healthcare also all play a part--but when it comes to quality of life for high-achieving women, there are other components to consider."

Read the entire article here.

Welcome Kerry, a new Baltimore resident who moved here from New York City. To ease the transition, the self-styled bookworm has found a few good blogs by Charm City locals...more would always help though.

Here's an excerpt:

"I am now an official resident of Maryland! I even bought a car. So long, NYC. Hello, suburbs and water and boats and driving to the grocery store.

In honor of my move, I naturally looked around for good MD-area blogs to follow... and HOW EXCITED WAS I to discover..."

Read the entire post here.