When we go on vacation we see to it that we spend the best time and well the worth of our money even for as short as 3 days or even a whole month. Staying in a hotel or an apartment does have advantages and disadvantages, we weight first which would be the most convenient and worth to spend on.

This is not different in choosing a house or an apartment for the family to live, raise kids and grow old into.

Consider neighborhood safety, climate, accessibility, cleanliness and of course the availability of employment.

Take, Baltimore (Maryland) which lies within the humid subtropical climate zone, the city lies in between two peculiar physical features that protect it from extreme weather and account for the relatively tempered seasons. The Appalachian Mountains and the Delmarva Peninsula.
Baltimore used to be an industrial town, with an economic base focused on steel processing, shipping, auto manufacturing, and transportation but now has a modern service economy making the city grow as financial, business, and health service base for the southern Mid-Atlantic region. the John Hopkins Hospital, which will serve as the center of a new biotechnology park giving Baltimore a regard for being one of the world's most important repositories of medical knowledge.

Avalon communities provide top if not the best Baltimore apartments with emphasis on hardwood floors, spiral staircases and /or spacious kitchens and thoughtfully designed floorplans. At 950$ a month (1 bedroom) this is the most reasonable price you could pay for high class apartments located strategically near to amenities, colleges, shopping and cultural entertainment.

I was digging through my archive photos when I stumbled on this, photo of our neighboring apartments during last summer's Italy vacation. We had a pool shared and the place was a few minutes walk to the beach. (We stayed here for week.)

So I thought, where to next vacation?

I wanted to go home (Philippines) next year and so we were saving up because we are to pay five heads now (2 adults, 3 kids).

However, mom-in-law suggested we visit Prague instead and rent an apartment for a week just like we did in Italy. Prague is about 5 hours travel by train from Vienna so it seems a wonderful idea. Though it means missing on seeing my (biological) family next year.

The plan was to rent a house big enough for 3 families, with pool and garden and grill. Sounds fun! But there ain't a beach in the background. Well, let's see soon what Prague has to offer.