Nice places are tucked all over the Baltimore region, from urban rowhouse neighborhoods to rural outposts. As part of the Sun's 10Spot blog campaign, I set out to find 10 that everybody and their brother doesn’t already know about -- ones with prices in reach of first-time home buyers.

With your help, I've picked 10 of these hidden-gem neighborhoods. They aren't the only gems out there, and I'm not claiming they're the absolute best. (You'll never get a completely objective list out of something so subjective.) But they're all fairly affordable, with average sale prices under $250,000 in the first half of this year. And they're a cross-section of the great variety you can find in our metro area.

Want an urban setting? On the list. In the city but with a suburban feel? Check. The Chesapeake Bay in walking distance? Yup. Cows as neighbors? Got just the place for you. The much-vaunted Howard County schools? Got that, too.

As much as possible, I tried to pull from the list of neighborhoods people cared about enough to nominate. And every jurisdiction is represented. That's on purpose, because you all have reasons for wanting to be in one or another.

Here are the neighborhoods, in alphabetical order. Drumroll, please:

Continue reading "Hidden-gem neighborhoods unveiled" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: 10Spot, Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Months ago, I asked you to nominate Baltimore-area neighborhoods that are hidden gems -- nice, affordable places that aren't already on everybody's radar. You inundated me with suggestions.

You'll finally get to see the results Nov. 13, part of a Sun blogger campaign called 10Spot. First up -- today, in fact -- is Peter Hermann with the most notorious local crimes.

I thought a list of 10 neighborhoods would be a nice little side project. Little did I know how much time it would take to research, select, visit and compile. Boy, am I glad I'm almost done, as is everyone sitting near enough to me to hear my muttered complaints.

But it's been a great way to see parts of the region I've never or seldom spent time in. And I hope the exercise will introduce you to interesting neighborhoods you might know nothing about.

You'll get a chance to guess the 10 -- with clues and prizes! -- in two weeks.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: 10Spot, Hidden-gem neighborhoods