ChevyChaseDC and RepoMan are right on the money on what they said, at least from what I've seen and heard, and BKM is right that the City's problem's are still above the nation's
metropolitan average, although it is by no means the worst city around. And you, NOS, who have been in the area much longer than I have, are right that improvements, especially large and easily noticeable ones, still come too slowly, although they're coming faster and thicker than they used to. And the transit system is, indeed, a half-a$$ed, less-than-half-built, mismanaged mess.
That said, Baltimore
is improving. City government is noticeably cleaner, more efficient, more aware of problems and its own resources, somewhat more responsive, and even a little leaner than it was before O'Malley.
Much of the infrastructure is crumbling, although the fact that so much has lasted for 50 to 130 years, and so much more is still intact and running at least okay, is a testament to its original high quality. (One recent water main that burst-for the first time ever-had been laid in the 1870s). And DPW (Dep. of Public Works) is working pretty hard with every penny it can scrounge up to fix it. It may still take a little longer than in the counties, but many more potholes actually get filled and streets repaved than, say, five years ago, and work continues on that huge ancient water system.
The murder rate, most of which is concentrated in a subset of neighborhoods, many of which are increasingly thinly populated, may have a long way to go, but there's no denying that it has dropped farther and faster in the last several years than in many other cities. (From 300+/yr to the 250's/yr). And the burglary/property crime rate, which effects (and drives away) far more people and neighborhoods, has over those same years dropped even farther and more steadily--from 12,000 in 1999 to 8700 in 2003, over 25%.
The transit system, and the TWTA (Third World Transit Authority) that runs it,
are in need of a serious overhaul, and the system needs an expansion badly. Gov. Erlich and MDOT Secretary Flanagan aren't exactly transit-friendly, but they're only definitely in for two more years, and after that who knows what might happen, for good or ill. Translation: don't give up hope just yet on the transit front.
As for the schools, the city/state partnership that took over in 1997 may have busted the budget, but it did improve the schools noticeably. Social promotion was almost entirely ended briefly, and is still far, far rarer than it was, and still the graduation rate went up from ~40% for the class of 1997 to I believe about 62 % for the class of 2003. The elementary schools improved noticeably (doing things right is much easier and more effective if you start right at the beginning), with a number of once crappy schools now above-average, in addition to some, like Roland Park Elementary-Middle, that always were good. The secondary schools (especially the middle schools) have lagged, but all of the kids there now went through their first few crucial grades, when most of the falling-behind begins, during the Very Bad Years immediately before the current partnership. I suspect that the very slow improvement of the secondary schools will accelerate as the kids who entered school after about 1997-98 reach those upper grades.
Do you have kids (I don't think so, but want to be certain before jumping to conclusions)? By the time you and your fiancee have one, if you want one, and that child is old enough for preK or preschool(4 yrs old, I think) or kindergarten (5 yrs old), the elementary schools should be still better, with more of them (dare I hope) catching up to the average suburban school. And by the time he/she hits middle and high school, those levels should also be noticeably better.
One more thing: The current budget crisis may in the long run be a blessing in disguise. It is a much-needed kick in the pants for the administration and area politicians reminding them that they need to be a lot more organized and vigilant. (The budget problems are largely but not entirely the admins'/school board's fault: some key resources, such as money and people with budgetary experience, that the state and city promised in 1997 never materialized, and the mayors, governors, and state superintendent didn't pay as much attention as they should have and said they would in 1997.) And after the deeeeeppp personnel cuts at North Avenue (City school headquarters), the city school system is, for the first time in decades, if not ever, actually somewhat
less top-heavy than the area's suburban systems.
To mangle what I remember from a telling quote to a friend of mine by her roommate (who I also know), both of whom live in the city and are nurses at Hopkins: "I might leave next year, but I think I want to come back soon. I kinda think in five years this will be the place to be."
My vote, roughly the same as Seabishop: If it becomes utterly unbearable or an literally irresistable job offer/life opportunity pulls you elsewhere, do what's best for the you (and your fiancee) and, if that means go, then go. Otherwise, I say stick it out, and if the opportunity to be a catalyst for change comes up, or if you can make your own opportunity, by all means do so. Anyone who wants to be here is welcome.
Wow, that's the second-longest post I've ever made anywhere (maybe even the longest). MZ eat your heart out! :-D
