There's Always a Downside...

Before I moved to Baltimore, everyone told me how incredibly terrifying and crime riddled it was and while that may be true for parts of Baltimore, it's certainly not true for all of it. Baltimore has some absolutely incredible places and lots of fun things to do. That being said, Charm City has a few less than charming qualities. If you rep Baltimore or if you are easily offended by 5 feet tall bloggers talking smack about it... stop reading now. For those of you still with me, here we go!

1. The very first thing I noticed when I moved here is how BAD everyone is at driving. Let's just say if I'm the standard of good driving, you're doing it wrong. YOU.ARE.DOING.IT.WRONG. 

I can tolerate speeding because I have been known to go a few miles over here and there BUT I cannot tolerate people who are reaching levels of fast that Vin Diesel would cringe at. Yeah... I made a Fast and Furious reference. Don't like it? TOOOOOOOOOO BAD! Seriously though... if I'm already doing 15 over, you shouldn't be zooming by me like I'm the slow poke. Here's another tip for all you crazy motorists: TURN YOUR BLINKERS ON! TURN THEM ON RIGHT EFFING NOW! It drives me insane (pun intended!) that the people here never use their turn signals! And it wouldn't be SO bad if they didn't just dart across 3 lanes of highway to cut you off because they missed their exit. I have had cars almost send me off the road because they just zig zag in and out of lanes all willy nilly and don't look where they're going. They just do what they want and expect the other person to adjust. If you're ever driving up here, please proceed with caution. This Chow meme used to be a joke about me because my friends think I'm a bad driver but... it doesn't compare. IT DOESN'T COMPARE.

2. The next thing I noticed in "Charm" city was just how UNcharming the general population is. There are obviously exceptions to this because I have met some pretty fabulous people here BUT the overall consensus? A-HOLES. Let me give you a few examples so you can see that I'm not just comparing it to the friendliness of South Carolina folks (oh wait, I am). The first week we moved in, I had no idea where anything was. I googled Wal-Mart (even though I have come to hate the superstore) because I just needed a few quick things and it was closer (or so I thought) than the Target. When I walked in, I immediately noticed this particular Wal-Mart was seriously lacking in cleanliness, for one thing, and in organization. It was laid out very poorly which led to me not being able to find a few things. While browsing, I asked A WAL-MART EMPLOYEE where I could find a lunch box (C. takes his lunch to work sometimes ... aww!) and instead of just guiding me in the right direction, this lady freaked out. She turned towards me and ripped her name tag off while she screamed: "DANG!! I NEED TO TAKE THIS SHIT OFF BECAUSE I AM OFF DUTY!" Of course, I stood there stunned as all get out because I had no idea how to react to this lunatic. When she realized I wasn't moving or speaking, she replied "I DON'T KNOW... IT'S IN THE HOME AREA SOMEWHERE." That was experience number one. Yes, there have been more. Needless to say, I have not stepped even a toe in that store since and I always go to Target, which I later found out was just on the other side of the highway. It just so happens that incident number two took place in Target! I was wandering about the aisles, collecting my items when I came to a shelf with something I needed. Unfortunately, there was a gentleman complete asshole standing right in front of what I needed. Oh, and just my luck! He was on the phone. I said "Excuse me" a few times before I finally tapped him to let him know I needed to grab the thing he was in front of. This douchehole turned around (still on his phone!) and says "JESUS CHRIST LADY! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M ON THE PHONE?" I was in complete shock that he raised his voice over something so tiny. My reply was simply, "I have said excuse me several times and you're blocking the product I need to get. If you don't need any of this stuff, you shouldn't be blocking the aisle and chatting while other people are waiting." He just threw his hands up, rolled his eyes and probably muttered several choice words about me to the person he was chatting with. I just don't understand it. Those were just a couple unfriendly encounters but I feel like I see them on a daily basis here. Even when I'm jogging or out walking the dogs, people are not quick to say hello or just throw up a wave. I mean, whatever happened to just being kind to each other. Sheesh! Like I said before, this negative quality isn't extended to ALL of Baltimore, but certainly a large part of it. If you're living in Charm City.... be charming. Dang. 

3. The crime and poverty in parts of the city are sometimes frightening but they are also very sad. I haven't encountered a lot of these areas but I have taken the occasional wrong turn and immediately navigated my way back to the good parts. There are a few bridges I drive by once in a while and see homeless people living under them using old, tattered couches for bedding. I even saw one man drinking puddle water during a rainstorm once. When we were deciding where to live in up here, I made the mistake (not really a mistake if you're looking for a safe part of town) of pulling up the Baltimore crime map and I was just floored. The crime varied in levels starting with purse snatchings and ending with the most brutal, rape and murder. There are exceptions like Fed Hill, Fells Point, The Inner Harbor etc. but if you don't know those places, make sure you learn them quickly! I mean, I always knew what people said about Bmore and I've seen some of The Wire, but it doesn't really hit you until you're about to live smack dab in it. Even when our real estate agent took us around to look at houses, we opted not to get out in some locations because it was so scary looking. I don't do drugs but from what I hear on the news and from locals, drugs are everywhere in certain parts of the city. To be clear, I've only driven through (at Vin Diesel speeds!) a few bad neighborhoods so I've never actually come face to face with it but I'm very aware of what parts of Baltimore I'm in and which parts I need to stay in whenever I go to the city. And that's just sad. I know there are several organizations and programs working hard to clean up the really bad neighborhoods and I can only hope they succeed. 

Tips: If you are ever in an area where there are blue alert lights all over the place or if you're in an area with a lot of vacant/boarded up rowhomes... probably not the best place to be unless you're looking for trouble.

Welp, there you have it.