Rental Advice for Columbia (Baltimore, Ellicott City: section 8, apartments, crime rate)
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Relocating to Columbia for my job and need advice on where to find a reasonable place to rent. I'm 30 and not sure whether Columbia or a different neighboring town would be right for me. Thanks!
What is "reasonable" for you? Are you talking price or location or size? Please describe a little bit about what you are looking for and I am sure you will get some targeted great answers.
I personnally love Columbia. You will find good shopping and restaurants and tons of outdoor activities. It is pretty family oriented and diverse.
Depends on what you're looking for. Columbia is about as suburbia as it gets and is about a 20 minute drive from Baltimore City if you're looking for nightlife. Single family homes are generally around $1500-2000 depending on where you look.
You're right - not enough info in my email. I would be looking to rent for no more than $1,000 per month or buy for no more than $1,300 per month (townhouse). I know that is low, but it's what I can afford. I will be there for my job, so nightlife isn't a priority. I'm more concerned about the area - are certain villages safer/better than others? Where should I avoid? Should I forget Columbia altogether and look at surrounding areas? I had read of a few places around Owen Browne, but now I'm reading that's a "ghetto" area. True?
I would look at town center although I'm not sure about the rent amount. If you can't get into town center then look at Dorsey Search area for apts. I like Owen Brown and all of the villages in Columbia, I do not have a problem with any of them. I'm not sure what you mean about ghetto but I do not think if you drove by most of the apts. and communities in Columbia you would think that any of them are ghetto. If you are talking about the residents and using ghetto as a term for black then the makeup of the community is different in each village. Most villages are diverse, with the majority still being white. Apt. communities might be slightly more diverse but I have not seen one that did not have whites or one that did not have minorities, even the so called ghetto ones. Most of the crime (non petty crimes) happen in Long Reach, or at least that is what I see in the police blotter. Columbia is a city, even though it looks like the burbs, so the thought of no crime is unreasonable. For a small city, it has done a pretty good job with crime. Technically, I'm sure town center has the highest crime rate per capita but given the mall, concert facility and most major events happen there it is not that surprising.
Also, housing vouchers can be used for homes and apts. so you will find more crime near areas with apts and lower priced housing. Good Luck.
Thank you - I certainly didn't mean to imply "black" when I said ghetto ... I was referring to what a poster had said about Owen Brown and Oakland Mills being considered the ghetto of Columbia. I took that to mean that perhaps there was more crime there. Thanks for your help - heading to Columbia today to see what I can find!
Thank you - I certainly didn't mean to imply "black" when I said ghetto ... I was referring to what a poster had said about Owen Brown and Oakland Mills being considered the ghetto of Columbia. I took that to mean that perhaps there was more crime there. Thanks for your help - heading to Columbia today to see what I can find!
I've been doing some research on Columbia apartments lately and found the Avalon ones to be pretty good and decently priced. You might want to check them.
Your rental price would be difficult to work with unless you expanded your search. A $1300 mortgage with taxes and such would have you ~$150-175k which I think is attainable. If you'd like me to run a search for you I'd be glad to help.
Thank you - I certainly didn't mean to imply "black" when I said ghetto ... I was referring to what a poster had said about Owen Brown and Oakland Mills being considered the ghetto of Columbia. I took that to mean that perhaps there was more crime there. Thanks for your help - heading to Columbia today to see what I can find!
There is definitely crime in Owen Brown, just like every village, but they do have some of the nicer and more affordable communities. Personally, I'm a fan of Lake Elkhorn and you see lots of people walking around the lake. I do not live there but I do think the neighborhoods there are cheaper than other parts of Columbia.
I agree with Avalon, there nicer properties are in Dorsey Search - Fairway Hills and Avalon Columbia. However, if I were young and single and could afford it I will live in Town Center. It has more crime per capita then most villages including Owen Brown (although no one refers to it as Ghetto - hence my problem with calling certain sections of town ghetto - as I doubt it is really based off of crime stats) but it is worth it for concerts, fireworks, the mall, the plethora chain restaurants as Columbia does not have a lot mom and pop restaurants.
If crime is your number one priority then chose Dorsey Search as it is a lot quieter, more removed and safer. Other than an occasional break in to a car or home, you probably will not have any problems. As I have said Columbia is a city and you will find similiar issues although it is definitely safer than most cities. The Elms at Montjoy in Ellicott City is a nice property but I would still chose town center, dorsey search over it as it will still have similiar crime issues.
Thank you - I certainly didn't mean to imply "black" when I said ghetto ... I was referring to what a poster had said about Owen Brown and Oakland Mills being considered the ghetto of Columbia. I took that to mean that perhaps there was more crime there. Thanks for your help - heading to Columbia today to see what I can find!
Although I'm sure the OP has already made a decision about Columbia, I am just here to clarify that nowhere in Columbia truly qualifies as ghetto by any means. Columbia does have a lot of Section 8. The highest concentration of Section 8 is in the villages of Wilde Lake and Harper's Choice. When I think of "ghetto" in terms of crime I think of crackheads everywhere, teenagers selling massive amounts of hard drugs outside around the clock and shooting at each other, hearing gunshots everyday and night and cops getting killed. None of this happens anywhere in Columbia. These areas with plenty of Section 8 are not truly ghetto because the people that live there are law-abiding citizens and most of the crime that occurs anywhere in Columbia is often petty. You have local teenage boys who might occasionally bully pedestrians out of their pocket money and some car thefts and a handful of house break-ins, but that is the extent of crime in Columbia.
Police presence has definitely beefed up in the past year or so to combat shiftless wanksters from trying to make Columbia more hood than it is. The police are by far the biggest gang in Columbia and everyone knows this. There is so little crime in Columbia that the police focus all of their attention on pettiest of issues like underage drinking, people smoking weed, noise disturbances, fizzled out taillights, speed traps etc. Chances are you will get pulled over driving in Columbia as there are many, many cop cars on the road at all hours of the day and night. Columbia is ultimately highly scrutinized, censored upper crust suburbia that caters to the sheltered demographic of the youngest of children and very elderly folks with money. Because of this you do not have the freedom you would living in the big city as a young adult in Columbia. On the bright side of all of this, Columbia is extremely wholesome and kid-friendly for the most part and is a great place to raise a family. But by in large, Columbia is extremely safe. All areas in Columbia rank well below the national average in all categories of crime. But does that mean you should walk the paths at night wearing expensive clothing/shoes and doze off outside on benches with pricey gadgets in plain view? No.
Columbia has about one murder a year. That is phenomenal for a city of its size. If you want to see ghetto in Maryland, take a trip to Baltimore city or even immediately bordering southern Baltimore county in areas like Lansdowne and compare the quality of life. That will put everything in perspective in a maybe unsettling way (especially seeing the real ghetto in the city) and you will appreciate Columbia so much more afterwards. Columbia is a nice place and anyone with an ounce of common sense is not going to feel unsafe anywhere in Columbia.
Last edited by goldenchild08; 08-08-2012 at 12:04 AM..
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