PARENTING

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Location, Location

Making the choice between city and county living

Written By Barbara Pash
Photographed By Justin Tsucalas

Vorassi Family Likes City Living

Heidi and John Vorassi both grew up in the suburbs, in the town of Brighton outside Rochester, N.Y. Since then, they’ve become confirmed city-dwellers — first in Buffalo, N.Y., where they attended graduate school and then, in 2008, in Baltimore City, where they moved for their careers.

Heidi, 30, is the executive director of Downtown Baltimore Family, a nonprofit whose goal is to make Baltimore more family-friendly. John, 29, is a medical resident at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The couple live in Federal Hill — “a great neighborhood,” says Heidi.

“I’m not saying city life isn’t noisy. But when we visit our parents in the suburbs, it seems too quiet, too isolated,” she says. “I like to know what our neighbors are doing.”

That’s not the only benefit of city living. The family, which now includes Ethan, age 3, and Claire, 10-months-old, can walk to the Inner Harbor and its attractions, neighborhood parks and playgrounds.

“The staffs of the [Maryland] Science Center and the [National] Aquarium all know my son’s name. We’re always out walking,” says Heidi, who has also made many good friends in the neighborhood.

The couple both attended public school, and they are firm believers in a public school education. Besides getting a quality education, they like that the students come from a variety of backgrounds.

“It’s a more diverse situation. It prepares kids for real life, and that’s a great skill to have,” says Heidi.

In fact, next year Ethan, young as he is, will attend an innovative city public school program called Together at 3. The morning weekday program is held at Thomas Johnson Elementary-Middle School, in south Baltimore, one of only two city schools to offer it.

“Baltimore has many wonderful schools, and our neighborhood school is one of them,” she says.

So popular is the neighborhood school, and so good its reputation, that, Heidi estimates, 80 to 85 percent of her neighbors send their children there or to out-of-zone and charter city schools.
“There’s a lot of support for the public schools. Parents are very involved in the schools,” says Heidi, who knows of only one family whose children attend a private school. “They’re the exception rather than the rule.”

If there’s any disadvantage to downtown living, it’s the scarcity of Jewish resources. The Vorassi’s do not belong to a congregation, although Heidi and the children attend the Jewish Museum of Maryland’s Tot Shabbat and Hands on Holiday programs.  Ethan attends a private nursery school that is located in a church.

“It’s not my top choice, but there are no Jewish preschools in the city,” says Heidi, adding that if the family remains in Baltimore after John’s

residency, the children would get a Jewish education at Beth El Congregation’s downtown auxiliary.

“If we stay in Baltimore,” she says, “we’re not moving from the city.”

Baltimore County Schools Attract Baumwalds

Realtors like to say “location, location, location” makes the sale. For Allison and Adam Baumwald, the more accurate phrase would be “school, school, school.”

The Baumwalds have two children, Henni, age 3 ½, and Mia, 20 months. They’re hardly old enough for kindergarten — in fact, Henni won’t be entering that grade until September of 2013.
Shortly after she was born, the couple began thinking of moving from Baltimore City to Baltimore County for several reasons — the main one being the public schools.

“I like the public school system. It helps build community,” says Allison, 35, vice president for women’s philanthropy at The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. Raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Mich., she attended public school, as did all of her friends. 

“If you lived in my neighborhood and went to private school, you’d be an anomaly,” she says.

Adam, 35, a dealer in special metals at MD Brokers, a family business, is also a product of a public school education, in Howard County.

That’s not to say that city living wasn’t fun, for awhile. “Baltimore is a great city. It’s very livable, and a wonderful experience for a young couple,” says Allison, who met Adam after moving from Boston.

The Baumwalds’ first home was in Washington Village, a city neighborhood that also goes by the less elegant name of Pigtown. They liked it because it was near Federal Hill, which was too expensive for their budget, but within walking distance of restaurants, stadiums, and events.

Then came Henni, and the city, says Allison, “lost its luster.” The house seemed to shrink in size. Their outdoor space consisted of a small patio. They began thinking about Baltimore County.

Allison checked out public school scores and talked to friends. “We didn’t look at any place in the county where there were not good elementary schools,” says Allison, who narrowed their choices to three neighborhoods: Stevenson, Summit Park and Lutherville/Timonium.

Schools were not the only factor. The demographics of the Jewish community were a consideration. “We want our children to grow up in a Jewish neighborhood and have Jewish friends,” says Allison, who adds that Lutherville/Timonium’s growing Jewish population made it an acceptable option.

The family belong to Chizuk Amuno Congregation, where they expect to send their children to religious school. They are members of the Jewish Community Center where Henni has been attending the preschool program at Park Heights since she was 3-months-old.

A year ago, the Baumwalds found and fell in love with a house in Stevenson. Henni’s future school is Fort Garrison Elementary.

“Every day, I can’t believe we live here,” says Allison. “It’s wonderful.”