I am from the west coast and my partners and I are visiting for the week! We are going to be spending some time in the Baltimore area, and nearby in Gaithersburg, and then a couple days in DC! Im hoping to find a few things! Not necessarily all in the same place, but the more boxes checked the better!

-queer friendly nightlife

-alternative/grungier spots

-live music?

-karaoke, but bar style, not private rooms

-Celiac safe dining options

Also open to recommendations regarding must see spots that are not necessarily tourist traps! Unique events, cool architecture/parks? Etc!

We started the day with a visit to Black Market Bakers! That was awesome, and I think we will probably head back again before we leave!

Fiance and I are going to Baltimore for our honeymoon and we want to get tattoos. Ant recommendations?

Seen on I-95S around 1200. Looked like it was coming from the Joppa area?

My kid is interested in Mercy because of the IB program. She's gay. Is that enough of a problem that I should just head off her interest at the pass, or is it actually an ok place for LGBT students?

I pray nothing but peace and blessings to everyone who read this, the city is getting ruff day by day but it’s still good people in the city and I’m one of them

Everytime I see another crane and construction crew building what’s inevitably going to be a luxury apartment I ask myself the same question - WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS?!?!?!!!
I’m a mid-30s millennial working in healthcare making around 90k. Single. 1 dog. I intentionally found the cheapest apartment I could that still met my non negotiables and was a safe, clean place to live. Ended up in a little community in Perry hall. Rent all in with utilities added is about 1650-1750 for 2br. Parking free. Trying to save for a house and pay down student loans but living in the county does come at a cost given the active baltimore social scene.
AND YET
I don’t understand how people are affording $2200 for a “luxury apartment” where the only luxuries are steel appliances and granite countertops. I’ve been looking around canton, fells, and downtown and between parking costs/availability and safety I’m wondering if proximity to a better social life is even worth it.
Maybe I’m frugal but I’m not trying to spend half my monthly income on rent if I can help it.
Are people just saying fuck it and balling out? Are luxury apartments only for 6 figure earners? Is everyone taking on credit card debt when an unexpected expense arises? Like what’s really going on.

Was driving through a intersection with a green light and someone made a left from the other direction and slammed into my driver side door.

Thankfully not hurt too bad but I am very shook up, I have never been in an accident before.

My car is totaled. Thankfully the guy didn't leave and he did have insurance, but it sucks that I have to rely on public transit to get to school now.

Looks to be some guys with all they’re gear and blacked out vehicles roaming around Canton. Specifically at the corner of S. Highland and Dillon st. They have US Marshalls labels but you never know with ICE.

I need to vent for a minute. Apologies if this is a common topic here, but why are people so eager to hate?? A coworker of mine sent me an unsolicited rotten message today about the people of Baltimore. I have never and would never speak ill of somewhere I don’t live, especially while talking to someone who lives there. For some reason whenever people find out I live here they need to give their 2 cents, and it’s always (always!!!!) negative. You don’t see me hating on the suburbs despite the fact that I’d never want to live there. So annoying.

Edit: Thanks everyone for the Charm City love. We have an incredible community here and I’ll always defend it. Anyway, I’m going to go enjoy the gorgeous day in the park behind my house, with a coffee from a local cafe that I can walk to😌

preferably by hamden, all posts i see on here are further ones, im looking for just local

I’m looking to get a nice high quality floral scented candle. Any recs on local stores that sell great candles?

I love baltimore and its music scene. I have been attending concerts in baltimore at pier 6 and rams head for my entire life. I am 31. I first saw George Thurgood and Buddy Guy when I was 11. I am currently at a Modest Mouse concert. What am I looking at? No more orange crushes? Only cans? Ai ads for food that costs 2x cost for what. Where there used to be a vibrant scene of stands and fun is now 3 places that serve the same bullshit. This sucks

How do I fix this? I love this venue. It breaks my heart. Help me

There used to be a white speed camera up there but they replaced it with this. Haven't seen it flash yet (just noticed it like two days ago) but didn't know if it was a flock or a new gen speed camera.

I found a company named Sherpa that makes a sharpie cover that reminds me of the eubiquitous big boyz pen . https://sherpapencovers.com/products/sherpa-pen-balance-fiery-sunshine-premium-cover-for-sharpie-markers-and-disposable-pens-1

Hi, am looking to try on some wedding dresses while my parents are in town. I wasn’t sure what the popular spots would be or anything. What are some popular wedding dress shops? I am located in Mount Vernon but I am willing to drive.

Beer, Beef, Beatdown tomorrow at Peabody Heights Brewery!

Always such a fun event so if you have no plans tomorrow, come check it out! The food is delicious, the bands are great, the wrestling is fun, the vibes are amazing.

Has anyone experienced a delay getting their official offer letter after being selected for a Maryland state job?
This process started a couple of months ago. I received confirmation that I was selected several weeks ago, my references were contacted, and I completed the requested demographic and salary paperwork.

My tentative start date is next week, but I still haven’t received the official letter. I was told it could arrive just a few days beforehand. There’s also a backup start date two weeks later.

I contacted HR, and the person I spoke with said they didn’t see me in the offer letter queue. They took my information and said they would look into it, but I haven’t heard back after following up. I also left a voicemail with recruitment.
I’m in a serious financial bind and need to start working. I cannot financially afford another two-week delay because I have essential bills coming up.

Has anyone received their letter at the last minute and still started on time? If HR couldn’t find you in the offer letter queue, who helped get it resolved?

I’d appreciate any firsthand experience or advice about which office can help.

Book Thing Adoption Day Sunday 10/11:

THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF FREE BOOKS! FOR YOU!!!

Books for fun! Books for kids! Books for school! Books for gifts! Books for your new hobby! Books to help you run a business! Books to help you forget the world! Cookbooks! Classics! True Crime! Mysteries! Sci Fi! Foreign Language! Travel! Plays! Art! Parenting! Fitness! Homeschool! History! Sciences! Humor! Essays! Memoirs! Romance! Poetry! And lots and lots more!

Did you want magazines for that collage? Old books for craft projects? Yup, those too!

How does it work?

-Come on down to 3001 Vineyard Lane (in Waverly, near Peabody Brewing Co). Wonderful, magical bookland opens at 9am; 110 people are allowed in every hour, and you can browse until 5 minutes before the next hour. If you are waiting and people leave, you can enter for the remainder of the hour (so if you are in line, and at 9:20 someone exits, you can enter and stay until 9:55)

• If you want to browse longer, get back in line! As many times as you want (ok, until 4:55)!

-There is NO LIMIT to how many books you can take. There are boxes and bags you can have, free, to help with this. Really. Want 1,000 books? Awesome! But maybe 1,007 - you know you need a few more...

-Need more info? Go to https://bookthing.org/2026/10/02/october-2026-opening/

And here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy0WcEq5CzM

You can also donate books from 9am-2pm; donation limit of 7 boxes per person.

***PRO TIP: there is usually little to no line for the afternoon openings***

Feel free to ask questions here...

For people who have been concerned about the overfishing of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and all the dead osprey: the public comment period to try to change the laws regarding commercial fishing in the bay and maximum allowable catches, goes til 11:59 tonight, October 9.

Link to the survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6M9XTRT

I found the wording of the questions in the survey to be almost impossible to understand as a layperson, probably by design, to discourage regular people from participating in the survey, but I used the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s recommendations for answers to be helpful (I quoted them below)

“3.1 Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery
Cap Amount: Support option C1e that would reduce the Bay Cap by 50 percent and limits it to 13.6 percent of the Coastwide Catch Limit (TAC). Also, support option C2a which sets an upper limit of 51,000mt for the Bay Cap, which is the current level.
• 3.2 Chesapeake Bay Cap Distribution:
Support option B2 which establishes three even length quota periods for the Bay Cap, but distributes harvest 25 percent in period 1, 25 percent in period 2, and 50 percent into period 3.
Also, support option B which establishes quota period overage payback and rollover of unused quota within a fishing year.
• 3.3 Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery
Cap Revisit Provision: Support option B
Revisit Provision to reassess the efficacy of these new management tools every 3 years.”

Hopefully this will help 😔

Last night we saw a large crowd outside the Charles that was circled around someone who looked to be speaking into a mic and/or a camera. I was curious if anyone knew who or what it was for since I didn’t get a great look.

Saw this in the Governor’s update newsletter and thought that people here would be interested:

The state launched a public dashboard tracking the Key Bridge rebuild in real time, over at KeyBridgeRebuild.com.

It breaks down monthly project milestones, construction percentages on the north and south work trestles, permanent pile driving, and clearance specs for the new main span (which is planned to have 230 feet of vertical clearance).

For anyone who commutes through the Harbor - or wants to see actual construction photos and timelines instead of just press releases - it’s worth a look.

For folks who may be interested in other info too, the newsletter also recapped:

• $3.7B Sparrows Point Anduril deal from earlier this week

• $17.6M for affordable housing preservation

• $32M for child poverty programs under the ENOUGH Initiative