Moving to Ft. Meade: housing advice please! (Baltimore, Columbia: apartment complexes, rentals)

[Mashenkina]

Hi all,

I am moving to the Baltimore/DC area to work at Ft. Meade. I'm looking for a place to live, but am completely unfamiliar with the area and feel pretty overwhelmed. Help, please!

I'm a single female who enjoys the nightlife every so often, but also appreciates the ease of suburban life. I'd like my commute to work to be as painless as possible, but also want to live in a safe, nice area.

I will be renting and don't have any pets. Most of the leases I've seen require a year commitment, which may or may not be a problem. I'm not opposed to large apartment complexes, as long as they are nice, but am open to renting a townhouse or condo. Something with one bedroom or more would be great.

What is a respectable price I can expect to pay, and do you have any advice as to location and reputable realtors/rental companies?

Thank you for your help!

[Pilgrim21784]

I can't say I've lots of insight in the area but Crofton has some nice areas/apartments. One of my daughters/SIL live there (own) in a townhome. Within a 1/2 hour of Meade you have a pretty large set of choices, both in type and cost levels.

Anywhere in the general Ft Meade area does require some commuting/traffic planning. I'm sorry I can't offer more advice, hopefully more knowledgeable folks will chime in. Best of luck.

[Mashenkina]

I'm also interested in short term options, if anyone knows of any possibilities.

Thanks!

[Mashenkina]

Thank you, Pilgrim. I appreciate your input. All advice is helpful.

[janda]

Check out the Piney Orchard development in Odenton...lots of choices from apartments/condos to townhouses. Short commute to Ft. Meade and nice, safe community.

[Henry Bowman]

Are you active duty? If so, be sure to check with the housing office on post as they often times have private rentals that aren't advertised widely and you can come up with some choice housing at a fair price.

Much better than living in one of those shoebox complexes, IMHO.

More importantly, if Ft. Meade is like the Naval Academy and Naval Support Activity Annapolis, there are some place that active duty are prohibited from living because of the extensive criminal behavior.

[ddm5000]

I'll be moving there in October. I have a friend that just got there a few months ago and she also reccomended the housing office.

[Mashenkina]

I'll actually be a civilian employee. Will the housing office still be a good resource?

[andrew_s]

Columbia is close to ft meade, has tons of bars (have to drive though) and is a short drive to DC and Baltimore.

[redd1skng]

Try rent.com and type in your desired location.

Piney Orchard is a good start because it's a very short commute. Workers commute to that area from 40 or miles away and that's not good for the (gas) budget. As you learn the area then maybe move to another location.

Far as nightlife is concerned downtown Baltimore is 20-25 minutes to the north and downtown DC is 25 minutes to the south.

Good Luck.