Where to Retire magazine -- because there's a magazine for everything -- says its March/April issue will feature "eight hip cities for urban lifestyles." One of those hip cities: Baltimore.

"Baltimore has a vibrant, revitalized waterfront, museums, world-class medical facilities and everything from historic brownstones to new luxury townhomes," said magazine editor Mary Lu Abbott in a press release.

The other cities on the list are Charleston, S.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Orlando, Fla.; Fort Worth, Texas; Denver, Colo.; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle, Wash. 

Abbott said a requirement -- beyond hipness -- was "unusually good buys in housing."

What do you think, Baltimore folks?

If you're at or near retirement age, what's your idea of a good place to settle?

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Categories: We're No. 1! (Or thereabouts)
        

A taste:

Future restoration of the community rests on the struggle between the housing downturn and energized homeowners rallying behind the community. “You’ve heard of sweat equity? We have fret equity,” says neighborhood association vice president Kimi Aghevli. “You move in and think, ‘What have I done?’ Then your neighbors reach out and bring you into the social circle, lifting this neighborhood house by house.”

The first quote, at least on the online version, is from the owner of Three..., a restaurant across from the park. But as Elizabeth Large noted on the Dining@Large blog recently, she got a "temporarily disconnected" message when she called the business. I checked its website today, and it's down. Oh dear.

C'mon 2010, be better than '09. Better, darn you.

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Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, We're No. 1! (Or thereabouts)
        

For instance, Maryland homeowners think their values fell last year. The typical value residents gave was about $341,000, down 5 percent ($19,000) from the year before. (As the Census Bureau points out, "Value is the respondent's estimate of how much the property ... would sell for if it were for sale." It's not necessarily what it would sell for.)

On the other hand, we're still No. 1! For income, that is. The median household in Maryland was bringing in about $70,500 last year, just topping New Jersey (almost $70,400). What? The difference is within the margin of error, you say? Shh, the New Jersey folks might be listening!

And finally, there's not a lot of living near your work going on. Maryland, Brent Jones reports in a story about the American Community Survey, "had the second longest commute time in the nation at 31.5 minutes, just behind New York with 31.6." I'm disappointed in you all. If only you'd taken a measly seven seconds longer on the daily commute last year, we'd be No. 1 on this measure, too. Come on, guys. Try harder next time.

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Categories: Housing stats, We're No. 1! (Or thereabouts)
        

This Old House magazine recently picked what editors consider the "best old house neighborhoods," and Baltimore's Lauraville community makes the list. Lauraville folks think it's a recognition worth celebrating.

Granted, it's not a top-ten list -- the magazine picked one neighborhood in every state. But why not party if you can call yourself "The Best Place in Maryland to Buy an Old House"?

The event will start Thursday at 3 p.m. outside 2905 Rueckert Avenue, a house renovated with a loan from Healthy Neighborhoods Inc. (That's it in the photo above, courtesy Mark Tough, executive director of the Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville Inc.) After an award presentation, Lauraville residents will move the party to Clementine, a restaurant at 5402 Harford Road.

If you're planning to show up, go here for details.

This Old House magazine, which calls Lauraville "a leafy paradise studded with hefty framed and shingled homes with full-length front porches and large front lots," had this to say about the housing stock:

Lauraville has a combination of Colonial Revivals, Foursquares, bungalows, and Victorian-era homes, many of which have their original millwork inside and their shingle siding outside. Some single-family homes that were carved up into multifamily units are being returned to their original floor plans. Prices run between $175,000 and $250,000.

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As the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore points out, the city (or metro area) has appeared on at least three "best of" lists recently.

Next Generation Consulting names Baltimore seventh on its list of large cities it believes are "the best places to live and work for young professionals." The factors it looked at -- based, it said, on 11 years of studying "residential and relocation patterns" of 20- to 40-year-olds -- are "Earning, Learning, Vitality, Around Town, After Hours, Cost of Lifestyle, and Social Capital."

Forbes includes Baltimore on its list of "Best Cities to Get Ahead" -- though by dint of being part of Greater Washington. The mega metro area, it says, has "one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and a high median household income."

And The Nielsen Co. thinks Baltimore is one of 10 cities with the "greenest automotive potential." It says Baltimore households are 22 percent more likely than average to buy a green car, based on its analysis of ownership rates of high-mileage vehicles. That ties Baltimore with Los Angeles for ninth on the list.

There are a lot of best-of lists out there. (Forbes seems to have a new one every day.) Do you think they can influence people's buying or moving patterns? Or do they at least reflect those patterns accurately?

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Categories: We're No. 1! (Or thereabouts)
        

Forbes says it considered quality of life measures such as income growth, cost of living, crime, unemployment and a "culture index." (Baltimore's culture index ranked it seventh, but other measures, such as crime, pulled it down.)

Though the list says "cities," Forbes is actually looking at metro areas -- and only those with at least 500,000 people. Metro area No. 2 on the list: Bethesda.

Here's the full top ten:

1. Portland, Maine

2. Bethesda, Md.

3. Des Moines, Iowa

4. Stamford, Conn.

5. Tulsa, Okla.

6. Oklahoma City

7. Cambridge, Mass.

8. Baltimore

9. Worcester, Mass.

10. Pittsburgh

Tip of the hat to Robert Strupp of the Community Law Center in Baltimore for noticing this list.

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Categories: We're No. 1! (Or thereabouts)
        

The trust praised the nonprofit Federal Hill Main Street Inc. for helping to drive down vacancies and pump up investment.

Of the group, the trust said:

Its popular street festivals like the Spring Block Party, the Jazz & Blues Festival, and the Street Beat Festival attract thousands of people by offering live music and activities for young and old alike. Unique boutiques, gourmet restaurants, and trendy bars give festival-goers reasons to come back and keep the district humming all hours of the day and night.

The other honorees: El Dorado, Arkansas; Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; Broadway in Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Livermore, California.

All the winners, the trust says, "are truly the commercial and cultural hearts of their communities."

What Main Streets appeal to you?

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Categories: We're No. 1! (Or thereabouts)