I'm male, which might matter, but I walk this path pretty frequently. I live dead-center downtown and walk on either Cathedral or Charles as far north as Mi Comalito/Baltimore Eagle. I've never had any trouble or even really been worried–those passages are pretty dead at night. Sometimes I take the bus, but at night when it's running infrequently I often just walk.

It might depend on the kinds of things you want to be close to. There’s a nearby grocery store that is pretty good (walkable) and plenty of good restaurants around in Mt Vernon (10-15 min walk). It’s convenient for getting to various neighborhoods - just a short bus to fed hill, Hampden, and Fells. It’s probably not the best neighborhood if you are real into bar nightlife. As an older non-drinker, I love living downtown.

There might be less stock but I think if you are looking at a 360k house in Cleveland you will find things: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/924-Stubblefield-Ln-Baltimore-MD-21202/36470655_zpid/

Another possibility is around Patterson park. I don't know what the grocery store situation is over there but you can walk to lots of great restaurants.

Mount Vernon seems like this to me? You can light rail to the airport, it's super easy to get to Fells, downtown, Fed hill, Hampden. There are some bigger buildings although Baltimore's downtown skyscrapers are gorgeous so that should hardly be a negative. And Mt Vernon itself is beautiful: old mansions and churches, the Washington monument etc.

The only downside is that it just has that one grocery store which seems... ok-ish? You have Streets in downtown not too far away and a Safeway just a bit north. And sure, you can buy houses for 360k in Baltimore.