I've felt that Baltimore's eccentricity has waned in the last 10-20 years. When I lived in DC and would come up, go to Fells for vintage shopping or to Ottobar or Sonar for a show, I felt like the city had a lot of character and way less pretension than DC. But when I moved up to Remington in 2015, the "charm" seemed to be in decline. Even going to Paper Moon lost its appeal.

Maybe it's a case of "fun to visit but living here is a different story." Maybe it's because of the rising crime and deteriorating infrastructure and bureaucracy. Maybe it's the gentrification and ugly new buildings.

Other cities are different. I definitely see charm in Philly, Pittsburgh and Richmond. Not so much here. Not anymore.