moar_skool

I paid $850 (including utilities) for a furnished room in a row house (just a room, not my own apartment). Now that I know the Baltimore market better, than is WAY overpriced. But I didn't know that at the time. I would suggest looking in Mount Vernon/Midtown Belvedere or Station North as well and taking the free Hopkins bus up to homewood. It's very doable in terms of transportation, and you may be able to find a better housing deal in those areas. Plus they tend to have more of a young adult crowd/activities. I lived in Mount Vernon for a year in a fully furnished, spacious 2-bedroom for $1700 (divided between two roommates)--same rent as my Charles Village rental situation but I got so much more for the money.
Charles Village has had a ton of development even in the 2 years since I lived there, so I imagine prices are getting steeper. The Hopkins shuttle runs up & down Charles/St.Paul so anything generally along those streets will allow you to catch the shuttle easily. 

Which campus will you be on? I went to the School of Public Health for my master's in 2015-2016 and rented a space off of the Hopkins housing site (it's like craigslist for Hopkins students). If you're on the Homewood campus, the surrounding areas of Charles Village and Remington are nice but very undergrad. I lived there for a year and loved the area but felt a little too old for the undergrad scene. If you're on the medical (east baltimore) campus, I would NOT suggest living in East Baltimore (like the 929 building), but instead living in Mount Vernon, Midtown Belvedere, Bolton Hill, Station North, or Charles Village and just taking the shuttle bus to campus (it runs regularly and is free!). If you have a car or fine with walking to the medical campus, Upper Fells, Butchers Hill, and Patterson Park are nice too.
It mostly depends on which campus you'll be on, and what your options are for transportation.

I paid $850 (including utilities) for a furnished room in a row house (just a room, not my own apartment). Now that I know the Baltimore market better, than is WAY overpriced. But I didn't know that at the time. I would suggest looking in Mount Vernon/Midtown Belvedere or Station North as well and taking the free Hopkins bus up to homewood. It's very doable in terms of transportation, and you may be able to find a better housing deal in those areas. Plus they tend to have more of a young adult crowd/activities. I lived in Mount Vernon for a year in a fully furnished, spacious 2-bedroom for $1700 (divided between two roommates)--same rent as my Charles Village rental situation but I got so much more for the money.
Charles Village has had a ton of development even in the 2 years since I lived there, so I imagine prices are getting steeper. The Hopkins shuttle runs up & down Charles/St.Paul so anything generally along those streets will allow you to catch the shuttle easily. 

Which campus will you be on? I went to the School of Public Health for my master's in 2015-2016 and rented a space off of the Hopkins housing site (it's like craigslist for Hopkins students). If you're on the Homewood campus, the surrounding areas of Charles Village and Remington are nice but very undergrad. I lived there for a year and loved the area but felt a little too old for the undergrad scene. If you're on the medical (east baltimore) campus, I would NOT suggest living in East Baltimore (like the 929 building), but instead living in Mount Vernon, Midtown Belvedere, Bolton Hill, Station North, or Charles Village and just taking the shuttle bus to campus (it runs regularly and is free!). If you have a car or fine with walking to the medical campus, Upper Fells, Butchers Hill, and Patterson Park are nice too.
It mostly depends on which campus you'll be on, and what your options are for transportation.

Which campus will you be on? I went to the School of Public Health for my master's in 2015-2016 and rented a space off of the Hopkins housing site (it's like craigslist for Hopkins students). If you're on the Homewood campus, the surrounding areas of Charles Village and Remington are nice but very undergrad. I lived there for a year and loved the area but felt a little too old for the undergrad scene. If you're on the medical (east baltimore) campus, I would NOT suggest living in East Baltimore (like the 929 building), but instead living in Mount Vernon, Midtown Belvedere, Bolton Hill, Station North, or Charles Village and just taking the shuttle bus to campus (it runs regularly and is free!). If you have a car or fine with walking to the medical campus, Upper Fells, Butchers Hill, and Patterson Park are nice too.
It mostly depends on which campus you'll be on, and what your options are for transportation.

So I recently got engaged and will be starting a PhD program this fall. How terrible is it going to be to plan a wedding and start my PhD in the same year?

I am going to second Tonydoesmovie. I grew up in Philadelphia and did my undergrad at Temple and lived in West Philly with a bunch of UPenn people. I bugs me when people get concerned about crime rates. I was never a victim of a crime in Philly and I was born there. I also lived in DC and spent a bunch of time in NYC and Baltimore.  You know where I was mugged? Fisherman's Wharf in SF. True story. Go to the school that meets your needs. 

Hey, I'm a current grad student in Baltimore on the homewood campus. I've never ever ever had any problems with crime. Also on and around the homewood campus, there are security cars EVERYWHERE. It's pretty safe here. I'm a female and I've walked home in the middle of the night hundreds of times alone and I have never had any problems. Lately I have been taking the super convenient security shuttle which picks me up at my building at night and drives me right to my house. There are bad neighborhoods, but you will never have any reason to go there. Seriously do not let crime be the reason why you decide not to come here. 

I'm not familiar with the MICA dorms specifically, but I used to live in the Mount Vernon/Midtown Belvedere neighborhood which is next to Bolton Hill. The area is very walkable and there are buses & a light rail train that run through MICA's campus to other areas of the city, so you could definitely do without a car. In terms of price--I rented a spacious 2 bedroom, fully furnished apartment for $1700/month ($850 per roommate). Unfurnished, you can find a lot cheaper.  Safety-wise, there is definitely some crime, but just be smart about it--don't walk alone at night, don't have your phone out/headphones in, pay attention, etc. Keep your wits about you, and you should be fine.
 
I moved to Baltimore 3 years ago for my Master's and stayed in the area (because Baltimore is awesome). Feel free to ask me any questions!

My experience was actually that the coursework in my PhD program was easier than the coursework in my master's (I went to two different institutions) and you weren't expected to take as many classes. Why? The emphasis was on research and getting started on your dissertation. I also spent much more time applying for grants as a PhD student. Overall though, my work/life balance was about the same.

I'm not familiar with the MICA dorms specifically, but I used to live in the Mount Vernon/Midtown Belvedere neighborhood which is next to Bolton Hill. The area is very walkable and there are buses & a light rail train that run through MICA's campus to other areas of the city, so you could definitely do without a car. In terms of price--I rented a spacious 2 bedroom, fully furnished apartment for $1700/month ($850 per roommate). Unfurnished, you can find a lot cheaper.  Safety-wise, there is definitely some crime, but just be smart about it--don't walk alone at night, don't have your phone out/headphones in, pay attention, etc. Keep your wits about you, and you should be fine.
 
I moved to Baltimore 3 years ago for my Master's and stayed in the area (because Baltimore is awesome). Feel free to ask me any questions!