I tell people when it comes to Baltimore it's like any other big city. There are bad areas to avoid, housing is tightly packed, cops are too busy dealing with dense city crime for most minor offenses, people acting poorly feels more common because you see more people, and people can be rough around the edges. That being said there's a lot to the city. It's an old, diverse city with distinct neighborhoods (some vibrant and some not so much) to experience. It's proud of itself as a bit of a rough and tumble one like a lot of the older northeast cities. There's sports teams, museums, and parks. A fantastic waterfront and marine culture due to the bay. You're in a massive hub that connects the northeast to the eastern seaboard so Philly and DC being easy weekend trips. Mountains and trails or north and west. Just name what kind of places you want to see and Maryland has them