While it's nothing like her parents' intercontinental journey to the United States in 1965 from the Greek island of Rhodes, Despina Roros has been on an odyssey of her own.
Born and raised in Greektown, Roros, 33, left the east Highlandtown neighborhood in 1989 for Baltimore County. She married Nick Roros of Dundalk, bought a home in Rosedale and gave birth to a daughter.
Three years ago, though, she did something that's still relatively uncommon for someone who grew up in, and then left, Greektown: She moved back. With her husband, Despina bought a corner rowhouse on Ponca Street two doors from where she grew up and where her mother still lives. Her younger brother lives a few doors down.
"I like it here. I'd never go anyplace else again," Despina said. "Everything is within walking distance, the church, the stores, the cafeneia [coffee shops]. And it's very important to me that my daughter grows up around Greek people."
A destination for European immigrants since the early 20th century, Greektown was a section of Highlandtown where families settled and worked in nearby factories or in the shipyards. They filled the rowhouses on both sides of Eastern Avenue, sent their children to public and parochial schools, and shopped in Eastern Avenue's retail district.
"We called it `The Hill' years ago," said Eugene DiCarlo, 75, while reminiscing with his wife, Lola, in the alley behind their rowhouse on Memorial Day.
On Macon Street, the DiCarlos raised seven children, three of whom live in Highlandtown with their own children. "I'm so used to this area, I'd never move. I have too many grandchildren here," DiCarlo said.
The neighborhood is mostly populated today by young working-class families and a dwindling number of retirees, many of whom have lived there for decades.
It's just as likely to draw people from other parts of the city or a nearby county as from another country. And because of its proximity to downtown and Interstates 95 and 895, Greektown is gaining notice among younger renters and first-time homebuyers as a convenient and affordable option for city living.
"It's an ideal place for people who are just starting out with their first house," said Mary Clark, 40, a marketing manager in Canton. She and her husband, James, bought their first home on South Oldham Street.
"You can be isolated from the hustle and bustle in the city and yet still be close enough to partake in it," Clark said.
