An alien arriving ;-) Advice and hints needed

[guest2]

alfanne, University of Maryland College Park is a part of the DC metropolitan area. Consider visiting the forum on Washington DC. Having said that, Baltimore is still very close, as is Annapolis. I know of people who live in Baltimore and commute to College Park without a problem. The Maryland suburbs of DC are very nice. However, traffic is notorious around rush hour, especially around 495 and even on the local roads. Driving a mere 7 miles has taken me an hour before.

[alfanne]

Well, now I´m a bit wiser: the location is definitely Catonsville, BC. On the map it´s difficult to imagine the proportions of the campus - it really seems huge. And as you, guest2, mentioned the notorious traffic jams, I suggest my friend to stick to the original plan, and try find a home in Catonsville. I think your spare time is too precious to spend it in queues on the roads.

Perhaps I´m going to visit them next summer. It would be my first trip to the American continent. Before that I am going to step into a timemachine that takes me to the foot of Troodos mountains. This tiny Cypriot village is a relict from the 20th (if not 19th) century: no traffic jams, no rush, just the donkeys - and an increasing number of British ex-patriots! :-)

[barante]

Yes, you are absolutely right the madness of wasting what ought to be one's leisure time in traffic jams. Catonsville is a good choice, perhaps also Arubuts or even the Academy Heights area along Edmondson Avenue just across the city line in Baltimore County. (Someone is going to flame me about Edmondson Avenue, but the area in the county is terrific. It's very close to Catonsville).
The good news is that surely UMBC, as the university is called, has a housing office. I don't think you ever specified what type of housing your friend wants. But they ought to be able to help, or at least give pointers.
By the way, your description of that Cypriot village was a nice piece of phrasing. Maybe you can get in touch with your ancestors.