If you're looking to live in a city, Live Baltimore wants you to hear them out.
“Did you know that the median home price in D.C. is five times that of Baltimore? So, our median home price is $110,000 they're about $525,000,” said Steven Gondol, executive director for Live Baltimore.
The non-profit is running an ad campaign specifically targeting D.C. workers to show prospective homebuyers how much they can save by just moving farther North.
“While D.C. is obviously in a really robust growing phase, there's still a lot of people feeling pushed out or looking for those opportunities and we think it's just naturally a fit for what Baltimore's communities and neighborhoods and homebuying market offers,” Gondol said.
They've posted advertisements showing side-by-side comparisons of housing costs in D.C. and Baltimore and are running ads on the MARC, Metro and in City papers. However, Gondol said they also face hurdles when it comes to selling Baltimore to people not familiar with the city. Some local residents said they also have friends and family who have misperceptions about Baltimore City living.
“Everyone is out to get you, forever, constantly. And it's not that way,” said Maren Henson, a Mt. Vernon resident who moved to Baltimore from Texas in August.
“I think they think it's like the Wire,” said Matthew Perkey, a D.C. resident attending school in Baltimore. “I think that's like the biggest misapprehension people have, but I think once they actually come and interact with it I think they'll find that it's quite different.”
And while you'd be saving money, you could be losing time with a longer commute. But Gondol added more people are teleworking and commuters can make good use of their time spent traveling.
“I think the commute can be a little bit of a downside, but if you have a good book or something like that then I think it's a totally reasonable thing to do, especially with the amount of money you're saving. As long as you take the train and don't have to drive I think it's totally a good option,” said Greg Langer, a Mt. Vernon resident whose roommates commute to D.C.
Live Baltimore also wants to promote that there's more to be gained from Baltimore living than just money.
“I just think there's a lot of livelihood and a great community within the city; all sorts of things you couldn't really do in a larger urban area,” Langer said.
The D.C. ad campaign is just one part of Live Baltimore's outreach efforts as they work to make Baltimore City a preferred destination for residential living. They also have a list of financial incentives available to homebuyers on their website. For more information, click here.
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