🇺🇸 Baltimore Travel Guide 🏖️ | JHU & Inner Harbor 🦀

My first work trip to the East Coast brought me to Baltimore – home of Amos from The Expanse and a filming location for House of Cards. This city feels like "faded nobility" – complex, historic, and full of contrast. As they say: "Baltimore is Baltimore." ⚠️ Safety First: ✅ Stick to the north (JHU area) and south (Inner Harbor) – these are safer. ❌ Avoid east and west neighborhoods. 🚷 Don’t walk beyond JHU’s hospital zone. 🚗 Don’t leave valuables in your car. 👀 Avoid eye contact with loiterers. You’ll see stark contrasts: abandoned row houses, boarded-up windows, graffiti 🎨 – but also clean, bustling areas like Inner Harbor and beautiful JHU campus. There’s a visible police presence – JHU has its own patrols. 🏨 Hotel: We stayed at DoubleTree by Hilton near JHU. It was clean but faced the street – sirens kept us up at night 🚨. 🍽️ Food: 🦪 Thames Street Oyster House: Fresh oysters, affordable, and delicious! 🦀 Local blue crab and crab cakes are a must-try. 🍜 Near JHU: Kajiken Ramen and Sichuan restaurants are solid. 🥪 Plenty of options like Chipotle, Subway, and supermarkets – no car needed. 💰 Prices are reasonable, and rideshares are cheap. 🎭 Things to Do: We skipped the National Aquarium ($50/person – friends said it’s overpriced with few fish 🐠). Instead, we walked around Inner Harbor – nice views, but quiet at night. 👮 Police are around, but it’s best to head back early. 👥 Diversity & Community: Not many Asians outside campus, but many Haitians (including Uber drivers) – respect to those who’ve lived here for years. They say safety has improved vs. the "crazy" past. JHU is a well-protected bubble – great for studying! 🎓 #JohnsHopkins #Baltimore #TravelGuide #USATravel #InnerHarbor #WorkTrip #CityOfContrasts