best cities or towns sandwiched between DC and Baltimore (Columbia: low crime, townhouses)

[chipmunk226]

I'm looking for a good city or town that is in between Baltimore and DC that is a do-able commute NoVa for work and then Philly for bi-monthly weekend trips.

I need a place that has good schools, low crime but affordable housing. I would prefer to have a place that isn't too crowded with some open space, but I know that will be hard

I currently live in Hagerstown and love it out here, but the 6 hours total to and from philly twice a month is brutal, especially with two toddlers My husband used to work in NoVa and his commute would be on average an hour and 15 minutes, but only because he worked an early morning shift. He would much rather have a long distance to drive with moving traffic then a short distance in stop and go traffic.

TIA!

[emsgoof]

1/2 way is Columbia. Good schools, low crime, expensive housing...
2 out of 3 ain't bad!
You're not going to find affordable housing with low crime between Baltimore and DC.

[chipmunk226]

not anything????

I also forgot to mention that he doesn't want to commute by using the beltway around baltimore at all... so it would have to be below the beltway.

[chipmunk226]

Is Halethorpe in Baltimore County? I searched for it on city-data and it said it wasn't found. Are the schools good?

[chipmunk226]

Is there a lot of air traffic noise there?

[chipmunk226]

that's good.

[sagegriot]

Laurel is halfway between DC and B'more...but if you're only going to Philly twice per mo, why not settle in NoVa since that's a DAILY commute. The mileage may be less, but I don't think the commute to NoVa from the DC-Baltimore corridor is any better than Hagerstown ( and maybe worse).

[chipmunk226]

NoVa is to $$$. We would like to get out of a TH and get a SF with a yard for our 3 boys to be boys Plus, with the trips to philly, its not for an overnight stay for us. We have places to stay, but its not the greatest for twice a month and with a 2 and 1 year old. We want to be able go and come back in a night, preferably.

[emsgoof]

How about up Woodstock Rd, towards Woodstock or Granite? Very small little towns, but Woodstock is still on the Howard County side of the line, so access to the Howard County schools. There are some townhouses on Frederick Rd that may be "affordable" (that being a relative term in the Baltimore / DC area).

[chipmunk226]

One thing I forgot to mention, I have a custody order in PA and was allowed to move to MD. I'm sure if I wanted to move to any other state other than back to PA, I would have to file with the courts again. So Virginia is not an option.