OT: where to live in baltimore area

[my2cents]

I know a bunch of you live in the general area so I was hoping you might have some general suggestions about which towns in the dc/baltimore area might be good locations for me and my family.

Have a job opportunity with underarmour located in downtown baltimore. I have 2 sons, 3 and 5 years old. I would like a commute of less than an hour (preferably 30 minutes max -- i'm spoiled now by a 4 mile commute). I live now in North Andover, MA (rural-ish north of boston suburb getting more developed everyday) and really like this type of community.

reasonable commute
good schools
housing in a true neighborhood setting
safe

Any thoughts?

[Too Tall]

Columbia MD is pretty nice.

Congrats on the new job. I dig the company. They have minor sponsorship of at least one local race team :)

[TimB]

My younger brother lives in Bel Air, MD, on the north side of Baltimore in Harford county, and works in downtown B'more. Schools are good, crime is low, and it's much as you describe - a formerly rural area undergoing some fairly rapid growth.

It's likely just on the edge of your preferred commuting distance, probably 45 minutes or so if there are no major accidents.

You could also consider someplace north along I-83 such as Timonium which would possibly offer an easier commute but not be quite as 'nice' as getting farther away from the city.

[swoop]

i grew up in columbia.... nice place.

[sc53]

Federal Hill or some of the other gentrifying neighborhoods of Baltimore itself or the immediate older suburbs. Great houses, most with yards, Victorians, farmhouses, all kinds for great prices compared with DC. Columbia is frighteningly suburban. Check out the city and its nearby neighborhoods for more life, soul, and history. I love Baltimore!

[djg]

Federal Hill or some of the other gentrifying neighborhoods of Baltimore itself or the immediate older suburbs. Great houses, most with yards, Victorians, farmhouses, all kinds for great prices compared with DC. Columbia is frighteningly suburban. Check out the city and its nearby neighborhoods for more life, soul, and history. I love Baltimore!

Federal Hill? They have some lovely structures, but I have to wonder about the schools. My news is all second hand, but I've just spent a couple of years working up in Bal'mer (through June of this year) and cannot recall a single person who regarded the city schools as anything other than a disaster. I gather that there's more variety in the larger county, but most folks I worked with seemed to choose between the outer burbs and private school (with more choosing the commute over the tuition).

[Ray]

There are some really nice neighborhoods within the city (Forest Park comes to mind, but $$$) and lots of close in suburbs within Baltimore County. Bel Air is cool if you don't mind the commute - that's getting up towards my neck of the woods and gets pretty rural pretty quickly when you head out to the west.

Lots to choose from, but they're all insanely humid in the summer!

-Ray

[sspielman]

Just looking at the houses, I love the bungalow neighborhoods of Catonsville. There seems to be a great sense of community there....alot of it is by design as people in the nineteen teens and twenties were much smarter than we are today...

[Ray]

Just looking at the houses, I love the bungalow neighborhoods of Catonsville. There seems to be a great sense of community there....alot of it is by design as people in the nineteen teens and twenties were much smarter than we are today...They weren't smarter, they just didn't have cheap cars to plan their world around yet. As soon as they got 'em, they all got "stupid" real fast. But yeah, Catonsville is nice too. Check out Fells Point if you like urban and sorta trendy, but then how trendy is ANYthing in Baltimore? I mean this is BALTIMORE we're talking about. Before anyone takes offense, I'm a native Baltimoron, so I can say what I want.

-Ray

[sspielman]

They weren't smarter, they just didn't have cheap cars to plan their world around yet. As soon as they got 'em, they all got "stupid" real fast. But yeah, Catonsville is nice too. Check out Fells Point if you like urban and sorta trendy, but then how trendy is ANYthing in Baltimore? I mean this is BALTIMORE we're talking about. Before anyone takes offense, I'm a native Baltimoron, so I can say what I want.

-Ray

C'Mon, man work with me, yo..I'm waxing nostalgic here.....I'm working myself up toward becoming a retrogrouch. Next thing you know, I will be making a post about returning to friction shifting....or extolling the virtues of wool shorts....

[roman meal]

and when my wife and I had a son, we settled in a nice brick townhouse in Rodger's Forge. South of Towson, north of the Baltimore city line in Baltimore county. City like, commutable by bike to the city (I worked downhill 2-3 miles at JHU) and some nice neighbors. Some is the operative word, but a safe place to live. If you don't want to ride, take the bus.

[roman meal]

and you're in the Baltimore county school system, not Baltimore city. But, there are some public elementary schools in the city that are reasonably good- and some in Baltimore county that are reasonably bad. Mt. Washington and Roland Park come to mind as reasonably good city schools. Roland Park is another nice area that adjoins the Rodger's Forge area. Say hello to Anne Tyler at Eddie's grocery. If you go with private schools, there are some nice options there, too. Gilman, St Pauls.

[Smiley]

My Man 2 pennies , THINK ANNAPOLIS MD , Arnold MD or surrounding area's , call when you get to town and I will get you acclimated my good buddy :)

[Ray]

and you're in the Baltimore county school system, not Baltimore city. But, there are some public elementary schools in the city that are reasonably good- and some in Baltimore county that are reasonably bad. Mt. Washington and Roland Park come to mind as reasonably good city schools. Roland Park is another nice area that adjoins the Rodger's Forge area. Say hello to Anne Tyler at Eddie's grocery. If you go with private schools, there are some nice options there, too. Gilman, St Pauls.
I'm a Gilman drop out. Made it through 3rd grade, then we moved to Arizona. Good move. My bro is a lot older than I am though and graduated from Gilman. Add McDonoughs, Park School, and Friends School to the list of good Baltimore private schools.

-Ray

[roman meal]

Add McDonoughs, Park School, and Friends School to the list of good Baltimore private schools.

-Ray

+3.

[konstantkarma]

I am sort of new to the forum, but have been lurking here for a while.

I moved to Baltimore from Colorado 4 years ago, and was at first afraid that my cycling opportunities would suffer. So, we looked for a house that would give me a reasonable commute into the city, and access to lots of good cycling. We were fortunate to find both by choosing to live in Harford county near the Baltimore county line. These locations are north of the city, but have access to miles and miles of lovely rolling country roads. So, if cycling opportunities factor into your decision, you may want to consider living in Northern Baltimore County (easy access to I-83), or Harford county (access via 83, or I-95). Good luck on your decision!

[Dekonick]

Federal Hill or some of the other gentrifying neighborhoods of Baltimore itself or the immediate older suburbs. Great houses, most with yards, Victorians, farmhouses, all kinds for great prices compared with DC. Columbia is frighteningly suburban. Check out the city and its nearby neighborhoods for more life, soul, and history. I love Baltimore!

But not so good for schools.

Howard and Montgomery County have the best school systems in the state. Most of the other suburban counties are also highly regarded - but not Baltimore City.

Howard is expensive but nice. One thing to remember is yout tax bill - a house may cost less in some area's, but you will pay a high property tax and have fewer municipal services (Carroll County comes to mind...)

Lots of choices! Welcome to the area. :)

[eisenm]

I have been living for 19 months in Perry Hall, which is northeast of the city along I-95, about 25 minutes from the city. There are LOTS of new homes being built in Perry Hall. Beautiful roads, minimal traffic from my front steps. However, I have yet to see another cyclist on the roads around here -- and I ride a LOT. Maybe you could be cyclist #2 in Perry Hall!

Good luck.

[goldyjackson]

I'd like to second the Towson recommendation. I lived in Baltimore for 10 years and finally ended up in Anneslie, which is south of Towson, but north of Baltimore City. Great area, county schools, lots of small neighborhoods with a wide range of price ranges for houses, and about a 25 minute bike ride from some great rides north of the city. Getting downtown from there was only 15 minutes or so. All this talk makes me miss Baltimore...

Great restaurants in Baltimore, too.

[mike p]

Move to annapolis and commute, city dock coffee is very, very good.

Mike