Moving To Maryland (Baltimore, Columbia, Essex: credit card, house, neighborhoods)

[kashley]

Hello All,

My husband and I plan on moving to Maryland in the near future and are stumped as to where. I work in Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen,MD and my husband works in Baltimore. We currently live in Bear, DE and are bored out of our minds! We want to move to a great area with tons of stuff to do. We are interested in moving to an area that is safe with good schools, great entertainment for the young professional and family oriented. We are looking to purchase a home between the 250k-400k price range. We love the older style Victorian homes that are nicely updated along with the new contemporary homes. Any information that anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time and help.

[warmthpls]

I would start in Columbia. Howard County has the best schools and the area is very nice. Though it can be pricey. We are in Glen Burnie, not far from Ft. Meade and there are a bunch of good neighborhoods here too.

[kashley]

Thanks for the advice! I have heard that Columbia and Glen Burnie are nice. As you stated, Columbia is very nice and very expensive. The property taxes is really a main concern of mine in regards to moving to Maryland. Currently in Delaware, the average property taxes are about $2,000. Based of of my research, I know Columbia's property taxes are high. How are the property taxes in Glen Burnie?

How are the schools in Glen Burnie?

[warmthpls]

kashley, we have a 3 bdr. house in Glen Burnie and our taxes are about $2300 a year.

[oneworld25]

Columbia is a very nice area. But if you live in either Glen Burnie or Columbia, you will have an incredibly long and miserable commute to Aberdeen. Try looking in White Marsh or some of the other suburbs northeast of Baltimore. There might also be some neighborhoods in the northeastern part of the city you might. But I don't know that area very well.

[medfieldbum]

I agree: Columbia is way too far from Aberdeen to be reasonably considered. And if you are bored where you are now, Columbia won't be much of an improvement. If your husband works in Baltimore, Aberdeen is still a bit of a schlep, but not too much. White Marsh may not be a bad choice, but if you really want entertainment aimed at young professionals , you'll need to come into the city. Some areas of the city and Eastern Baltimore County are safe, but Edgewood, Essex, and East Baltimore are not.

[davecj]

Columbia mainly consists of planned neighborhoods. Some like HOA's but I know I'd go crazy not being able to work on my house without the neighborhood unleashing it's wrath on me.

Owings Mill's and White Marsh are something to consider as they would be in the middle but if you're looking at a price point between 250 and 4, you could get a really swank place in the city.

[carolott]

If I had a job in Aberdeen, I would move somewhere north of the Ft. McHenry tunnel. On the other hand, if your husband works in Baltimore City, that wouldn't be much fun for him... Canton would be a good neighborhood for you -- it's not far from the tunnel (just one exit off I-95) and at least one of you wouldn't have to endure a wait in the EZ PASS ONLY lane behind the guy who doesn't have an EZ pass and wants to pay cash. Sigh....

[you1234]

Originally Posted by carolott

If I had a job in Aberdeen, I would move somewhere north of the Ft. McHenry tunnel. On the other hand, if your husband works in Baltimore City, that wouldn't be much fun for him... Canton would be a good neighborhood for you -- it's not far from the tunnel (just one exit off I-95) and at least one of you wouldn't have to endure a wait in the EZ PASS ONLY lane behind the guy who doesn't have an EZ pass and wants to pay cash. Sigh....

...and then decides to back out of the EZ Pass lane rather than go through and mail the toll in! Been involved in some real clusters as knuckleheads try this.

[carolott]

Originally Posted by you1234

...and then decides to back out of the EZ Pass lane rather than go through and mail the toll in! Been involved in some real clusters as knuckleheads try this.

Yes, I've seen that one a few times, too. I remember when we first moved here -- literally two days later or so...I had to go to Ikea to buy a crib. Grabbed credit card and ID, jumped in the car....uh-oh....toll booth. And no cash. I explained to the toll taker and she waved me through, and I paid double on the way back.

I think maybe some people think you'll be arrested immediately if you don't pay?

At any rate, if you don't have an EZ PASS, stay out of the EZ PASS LANE!!!