<p>In the words of Anthony Bourdain "Baltimore sucks."</p>
<p>Well, he was complaining about the lack of night life, and the overall lack of excitement in his book "Kitchen Confidential." Keep in mind, however, the book is written quite some time ago (not sure how long ago). </p>
<p>But seriously, how dangerous is Baltimore? I've always heard my friend recounting the crime rate in Baltimore, and the various bad things that happened to people. For the sake of comparison, how dangerous is Baltimore compared to NY? to Oakland (Berkeley)? </p>
<p>I am going to visit JHU, living in a hotel in downtown Baltimore. Anything I should watch out for?</p>
<p>Hopkins has invested millions on upgrading security. Security is not a problem. Anyplace on campus has easy access to blue lights and contracted police guards are visible on bicycles, segways, on foot, and in patrol vehicles around campus all the time. State of the art cameras are watching for suspicious malicious activities all the time.</p>
<p>Hopkins was rated the #1 safest campus in America by Reader’s digest magazine. Murder rate is high, but the key thing to note is… the majority of people being killed on the “streets” are killed by those who already know them. No where on the level of St. Louis, Detroit, or Compton…</p>
<p>Keep to normal everyday common type stuff. Stay in well traveled areas… major roads. Don’t wander in dimly lit sketchy small alley ways 1am at night.</p>
<p>I talked to a Baltimore cab driver when I was visiting Hopkins. This man has lived in Baltimore for over 16 years so I think he’s a legitimate source. Anyways, he said that in the last 5 years Baltimore has really improved, crime-wise. I think now crime and danger in baltimore is a much smaller problem than it was 5-10 years ago. The only issue now is how fun the city is lol.</p>
<p>While overall, the murder rate and rate of other crimes (robbery, etc) is relatively high in Baltimore, one must put it into perspective—it is not a major issue for undergraduates at Hopkins. Baltimore has a sizable population of poor people,and many of the areas they live in are drug infested. Most of the crime is drug related. Drug gangs kill off people who compete with them, or who inform on them. Drug addicts commit robberies to get money to buy drugs. But these crimes are not spread evenly throughout the city. Rather, they are congregated in the bad neighborhoods. And there is no reason whatsoever for a Hopkins undergraduate to be in any of those neighborhoods.</p>
<p>The Homewood campus is very safe. Security is excellent, and the bad guys stay away because they have no business there and they know that anyone committing a crime is likely to get caught. The areas surrounding the campus are also quite safe. These are not drug and crime infested neighborhoods. The are mostly quite nice.</p>
<p>The areas in which students are most likely to frequent are also the safest areas of the city. It is an urban environment so one has to exercise reasonable judgment (such as, it is very stupid to go walking anywhere in the city at 3 in the morning by yourself). Stay away from the bad neighborhoods, be smart, and you will be fine.</p>
<p>Most of the crime issues that a student might encounter off campus involve juveniles looking for an easy target (students are considered easy targets everywhere) because they often do stupid things, like leaving windows and doors unlocked.</p>
<p>I sent my 18 year old daughter to Hopkins and wasn’t overly concerned because she exercises good judgment. Neither she nor any of her friends ever had a serious issue. They all loved being at Hopkins.</p>
<p>In terms of excitment–Baltimore is not NYC, but there are plenty of things to see and do. DC is also very close, and accessible by the MARc (commuter train). Seek things out and I assure you that you won’t be bored.</p>