Spring Break
Just north of campus, a reserve of tranquility
Neighborhood Series
Issue date: 9/27/07
Near the church, a hunched over, middle-aged man was hosing the front lawn of what looked like an old, abandoned home.
"Nope," Mike McDevitt, said. "We just moved in three months ago, and we're in the midst of renovation. The house was built in '57, and posed as an entry for immigrants in Baltimore, so there are all these small rooms with different keys throughout the house - it's going to take a lot of work."
McDevitt, who works at the Hopkins Medical Center and his wife, who works in a neighboring town, decided to move to Guilford from Holmdel, Md. in order to start their family.
"We wanted to move here a lot sooner, but it was just a matter of buying at the right time ... This property was actually being auctioned, so it was a lot more reasonably priced than it would have otherwise been on the market. That was really the only reason we were able to move here when we did, so I guess we were just lucky," McDevitt said.
Rated as one of Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" in 2007, high property values are a common complaint among Guilford residents.
Steve and Julie Gilbert, who have lived in the neighborhood for 21 years, had a similar experience to McDevitt.
"At the time, we loved Roland Park and Guilford, but we couldn't afford either of them ... Fortunately our house in Guilford was going up for foreclosure auction, so we were able to make a deal out of it," Gilbert said.
"But it's a neighborhood with a definite community because it has sidewalks, so there are people out walking all the time," he said. "People walking their dogs, with their babies in carriages, or the kids are out scootering, or biking. It's easy to meet people, and when we moved in, we met people with dogs and when we had kids, we met people with babies to play with. Over time we had play groups with those people, and built friendships. In particular, Sherwood Gardens has been a gathering place for people in the community and there are events, and that has always been fun."
"Nope," Mike McDevitt, said. "We just moved in three months ago, and we're in the midst of renovation. The house was built in '57, and posed as an entry for immigrants in Baltimore, so there are all these small rooms with different keys throughout the house - it's going to take a lot of work."
McDevitt, who works at the Hopkins Medical Center and his wife, who works in a neighboring town, decided to move to Guilford from Holmdel, Md. in order to start their family.
"We wanted to move here a lot sooner, but it was just a matter of buying at the right time ... This property was actually being auctioned, so it was a lot more reasonably priced than it would have otherwise been on the market. That was really the only reason we were able to move here when we did, so I guess we were just lucky," McDevitt said.
Rated as one of Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" in 2007, high property values are a common complaint among Guilford residents.
Steve and Julie Gilbert, who have lived in the neighborhood for 21 years, had a similar experience to McDevitt.
"At the time, we loved Roland Park and Guilford, but we couldn't afford either of them ... Fortunately our house in Guilford was going up for foreclosure auction, so we were able to make a deal out of it," Gilbert said.
"But it's a neighborhood with a definite community because it has sidewalks, so there are people out walking all the time," he said. "People walking their dogs, with their babies in carriages, or the kids are out scootering, or biking. It's easy to meet people, and when we moved in, we met people with dogs and when we had kids, we met people with babies to play with. Over time we had play groups with those people, and built friendships. In particular, Sherwood Gardens has been a gathering place for people in the community and there are events, and that has always been fun."
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Matt
posted 10/02/07 @ 5:47 PM EST
Interesting story. Isn't it interesting how different Baltimore neighborhoods are? But when did you do the walk? Tulips bloom in early spring, not in September. (Continued…)
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