Any suggestions? (Baltimore, Columbia, Bethesda: real estate, condos, crime rates)

[mintyv]

My husband and I live in New York with our 3 year old son. Living costs are expensive in NY and was considering looking for affordable homes in Maryland next Summer 2008. Trusting real estate agents are tough because they are not fully honest. By other people's experience, please let us know of any city/neighborhood in Maryland that is family friendly (schools, parks, shopping centers, best home locations near families w/ children). We didn't want to visit a location with high crime rates as we are experiencing that now in New York City. Thanks for any help you can give us! : )

[lscalder]

Whats affordable to you. If you give us your price range, we can help you alot better.

[Gabrielle]

Also, it would help to know if you're planning to work in DC or where you're looking for work? Some areas that are family friendly may be too far if you need to commute into DC.

[titaniummd]

Do you have a job lined up alreadY? Where will you work? Will both of you be working? What type of home are you looking for and what is your budget?

I lived in North Bethesda of Rockville (20852) and liked that everything was within a short driving distance and I was close to the Metro. There are numerous condos and townhouses in the area that range in price from the mid $300s to $800s. Single family homes are in the mid $600s and up.

Howard county is another nice place to live (Ellicott city/Columbia), especially if you have to commute to Baltimore.

I had realtors from Washington Fine Properties that were excellent. Realtors cannot tell you about schools; however.

Here is a link that I use when I search for schools and you can ask a realtor which communities feed into a particular school.

GreatSchools.net