Commute from Howard County to Greenbelt (Columbia, Ellicott City: apartment complexes, rentals, townhouses)

[itinérant]

I am looking for a two-bedroom apartment in an area that offers the following: (1) 2bd apartments at or under $2,000 a month; (2) a strong and reasonably diverse public high school; and (3) a thirty-minute commute to Greenbelt. I am already aware of what's available in Montgomery and Fairfax Counties. Based on some advice I got on the Northern Virginia forum, I started looking at Howard County. I have found three schools that I am preliminarily interested in: (1) River Hill, (2) Centennial, and (3) Atholton.

Do you know how long the commute would be from the areas zoned to these schools?

Do you think I stand a shot at finding an apartment in these areas at my price range?

Do you have any information on these schools? All I know is that there numbers are pretty good and that they are reasonably diverse (though I know that is a stretch in the case of River Hill and Centennial).

Thanks. One of the best websites onto which I have had the fortune to stumble.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by itinérant

I have found three schools that I am preliminarily interested in: (1) River Hill, (2) Centennial, and (3) Atholton.

Do you know how long the commute would be from the areas zoned to these schools?

Do you think I stand a shot at finding an apartment in these areas at my price range?

I only checked the mileage for Atholton to Greenbelt, as it is the closest, southermost school. It is about 30 minutes to the center of Greenbelt, per Google maps. I estimate 15 minutes more to River Hill and may 20 minutes more to Centennial.

While there appear to be plenty of 2-bedroom apartments around $1800/month, you should get a school boundary map at http://www.hcpss.org/schools/schools_high.shtml Atholton is a less dense single-family area, as I recall. You may have to look at townhouses or houses to stay in the school zone.

[smitity]

It sounds like you're looking in Columbia, you'll find lots of 2 bedroom apartments in your price range. I currently pay about 1500 for a 2 bedroom (includes extra 100 for pet rent). There's no shortage of apartment complexes in Columbia. You might want to look at apartments in the Hickory Ridge or King's Contrivance neighborhoods, as those are a bit more southern and closer to 29 and I95.

Also keep in mind that even though google maps will tell you it's about 30 minutes to drive the greenbelt, traffic between Howard Co. and DC can be brutal during rush hour, so plan for an hour at least.

[tgs_bg]

Ever think about Howard High School?

That is where I went and where I was living at the time (Ellicott City) I could either take rt.100 to I-95/I-495 or rt.100 to rt.295 to Greenbelt with a total commute of 20 mins either way.

[SmokeyLisa]

Depending on the time that you are going but you should be able to do your commute in around 30 minutes. Also, what is diverse to you? Is it race, economic, sexual orientation or generally accepting of others and a integrated neighborhood. Centennial and River Hill are mainly going to be White and Asian and both schools lack from economic diversity. Centennial would be the more economically diverse compared to River Hill. Atholton will be more diverse with more ethnic, income groups and the neighborhoods will be more integrated. When I say integrated more rich, poor, ethnic groups living in close proximity to each other.

The irony of your situation is that one reason these schools are sought after is that they do not have a lot of apartment communities feeding into the schools. You might need to look into renting a house. I do not believe there are any rental communities that feed to River Hill.

I agree with PP check Kings Contrivance, Hickory Ridge and the apts. off of Rt. 40 in EC. You might also want to check Fulton area. I do not know of any apts over there but you might find rentals because they built a decent amount of housing that was overpriced during the downturn. At one point they were having trouble moving these house and dropped their price. I believe that area feeds to Reservior and River Hill.

To keep your commute down you should probably look to stay near 29, 95 or 295. You can live in a town not a close but have better access and less of a commute. So Elkridge might be better than the western parts of Columbia.

[SmokeyLisa]

I also agree about Howard.

[goldenage1]

[quote=SmokeyLisa;23946653] The irony of your situation is that one reason these schools are sought after is that they do not have a lot of apartment communities feeding into the schools. You might need to look into renting a house. I do not believe there are any rental communities that feed to River Hill.
[quote]

Agreed. The OP may have to adjust their expectations. I looked at the apartments closest to Atholton HS (in Kings Contrivance) , and they were all assigned to Hammonton High. I think that renting a house is the best idea, if they are set on these high schools.

Also, according to the HCPSS map, parts of Fulton feed into River Hill HS, and part into Reservoir HS. I also think it's worth looking into rental houses in Fulton. The OP might leave their name with a realtor in case something comes on the market.

[itinérant]

Diverse to me, first and foremost, is racial. Her current school is a catholic school that has about 1,000 students. Essentially no racial minorities. It's a nice school, and she gets along well there, but it is a tad homogoneous. I just looked at the numbers for Centennial and River Hill. Although they are majority white, they are like 5-10% black and hispanic, which is much better than her current school.

Commute time is a major factor for me. Consider that I will be commuting during rush hour. I really want to stick within 30 minutes. 45 minutes a day, each way, is simply too long.

[newhart]

I live in EC near Rt 29 and Rt 40, and if I leave home at 7 a.m, I feel very lucky to make it to the intersection of 32 and the BW Pkwy in 20 minutes. Traffic eastbound slows on both 100 and 32, and traffic on the parkway often crawls from Rt 32 south. If you leave by 6:30, you might stand a chance of going at speed until you get closer to Greenbelt.

[dkf747]

I can't think of a single place the fits all of what you're looking for. I think you're going to have to either Commute further than you like, or go into a school you don't really want. That's what it looks like to me.