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Old 03-07-2013, 06:20 PM
 
Location: Howard County, Maryland
1,539 posts, read 2,296,990 times
Reputation: 2450

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Thank you, Jam. Good information! I do feel like I should focus on the Columbia/EC area now but really, my budget is low so I may not have the option of being as picky as I want to be. Plus, I cannot get to MD to look at houses until June so I don't know what kind of housing selection I'll be left with. So, I'm still keeping Severna Park/Arnold on my short list bc my husband reallllly likes that area. But yeah, thanks, Cape St. Claire is out now! Thanks so much, good info.
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Old 03-07-2013, 08:30 PM
 
39 posts, read 124,677 times
Reputation: 16
We live in Severna Park and moved here 1.5 years ago. The area is NOT diverse, but I have never felt unwelcome (I am caucasian/east Indian and my husband is caucasian/latin american). I know you mentioned not wanting to bring your children up in a pretentious area, which can definitely be a problem in SP. I just try to surround ourselves around like-minded families and try and instill our beliefs in our daughter. The schools here are highly rated, it is very family-oriented, and we love that we are right on the water. Honestly, at first I was put off by some of the pretentious people I met, but after awhile I just started to overlook them and find others that I could more relate to I love being so close to Annapolis, Baltimore, and DC....overall I would not have picked a better place to live. We also looked into Arnold (which also has great schools), Cape St. Claire (which we eliminated due to commute/minor criminal incidents we read about online), and Ellicott City. I have heard that Ellicott City/Columbia is more of a diverse community, but do not have any experience first hand. Good luck!
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Old 03-08-2013, 08:23 AM
 
Location: Howard County, Maryland
1,539 posts, read 2,296,990 times
Reputation: 2450
Kksand, thank you. I'm glad to hear you have not felt unwelcomed in the area. While its not my first choice due to lack of diversity, I'll still consider the area. We try hard to just surround ourselves with like-minded people; keep our kids focused on church and serving others. And here in Colorado, that's really easy and natural. But really, with our $450 to maybe $475 budget, I don't see us living in an uppity neighborhood And I can deal with uppity people (I grew up in an area exactly like this); just really want to avoid people who believe its still 1950, if you kwim... Thanks!
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Old 09-20-2013, 12:50 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,632 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjmeck View Post
We are moving to MD this summer and are looking to buy in Crofton, Arnold/SP/CSC area, or possibly Ellicott City/Columbia. Our youngest was adopted and she's african american (the rest of us are white) and I'm trying to find where our family would fit in. I'm a stay at home mom, we're a really active family and love the outdoors. Looking for a live and let live area that's not too fast paced or pretentious. I don't care to have the biggest, best of everything. I just want to raise my kids in a safe environment and a welcoming community. I'm leaning towards the peninsula area but noticed that the area isn't too diverse. Are there any racial issues in that area I should know about? Are people generally more laid back on the peninsula vs the DC metro area?
Thanks for reading!!!
I was just curious about the postee who was planning to move from Colorado to MD.. Weighing between Ellicott City/Columbia area and the Severna Park/Crofton area.. We live near Clarksville (where most of the elem. and middle schools feed into River Hill High-the top ranking school in Howard County), and we are trying to down-size, and actually "considering" moving toward the Severna Park area because it's closer to our home church. Upon doing some research, I found out that housing is much more affordable near Severna Park.. I also found that the national rankings of the high schools were as follows:
#165 - River Hill
#213 - Severna Park
#323 - Centennial
#342 - South River

So strictly by the rakings, Severna Park actually ranks higher than Centennial.. But why are the houses in the Centennial district so much more expensive than the houses in the Severna Park district? I mean schools aren't everything, I know, but for a parent with four kids, it's definitely at the top of the list!
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Old 09-20-2013, 02:35 PM
 
Location: Millersville, Md and King George, Va
148 posts, read 241,615 times
Reputation: 149
The price differences may be due to many things, one may be the age of homes. Many of the houses in SP are older (1960's 70's) with small lots. Not sure how old Centenial area is. Columbia has it's own type of snobbery too. OP I would look more into the Waugh Chapel/ Crofton area, but my advice is prbably to late, I wouldn't want to be leaving Colorado for Maryland either.
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Old 10-07-2015, 09:10 AM
 
39 posts, read 48,585 times
Reputation: 15
Default What did you decide?

I'm curious what you decided. I live in Ellicott City now, and can confirm it's a lot more diverse around here and in Catonsville than it would be down in Anne Arundel County, from what I've seen.

Like you, I don't need the biggest and best of everything, but I do want to live in a water-access community that has good schools (not necessarily the best MSA scores, but rather the happiest students and parents, and the best academic opportunities, regardless of scores).

I'm still researching a lot of areas, but CSC seems promising.


Quote:
Originally Posted by cjmeck View Post
We are moving to MD this summer and are looking to buy in Crofton, Arnold/SP/CSC area, or possibly Ellicott City/Columbia. Our youngest was adopted and she's african american (the rest of us are white) and I'm trying to find where our family would fit in. I'm a stay at home mom, we're a really active family and love the outdoors. Looking for a live and let live area that's not too fast paced or pretentious. I don't care to have the biggest, best of everything. I just want to raise my kids in a safe environment and a welcoming community. I'm leaning towards the peninsula area but noticed that the area isn't too diverse. Are there any racial issues in that area I should know about? Are people generally more laid back on the peninsula vs the DC metro area?
Thanks for reading!!!
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Old 10-07-2015, 09:15 AM
 
39 posts, read 48,585 times
Reputation: 15
As a former teacher and a current parent ( ), I would suggest looking beyond test scores. I'm trying to compile an average ranking for the schools in potential neighborhoods; I firmly believe MSA rankings only tell a fraction of the story, and I don't think there will be a big difference in a student's individual experience between the #1 ranked school and the #30 ranked school. Just a theory, of course...

And I have no idea why Howard County is so expensive, other than... well, it CAN be. And it does have all of the top ranked schools, pretty much. Most people just look at the rankings alone, and they're willing to pay top dollar for that. Me, I can't afford to do that. And I'm skeptical. So I'm doing research.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Edsong View Post
I was just curious about the postee who was planning to move from Colorado to MD.. Weighing between Ellicott City/Columbia area and the Severna Park/Crofton area.. We live near Clarksville (where most of the elem. and middle schools feed into River Hill High-the top ranking school in Howard County), and we are trying to down-size, and actually "considering" moving toward the Severna Park area because it's closer to our home church. Upon doing some research, I found out that housing is much more affordable near Severna Park.. I also found that the national rankings of the high schools were as follows:
#165 - River Hill
#213 - Severna Park
#323 - Centennial
#342 - South River

So strictly by the rakings, Severna Park actually ranks higher than Centennial.. But why are the houses in the Centennial district so much more expensive than the houses in the Severna Park district? I mean schools aren't everything, I know, but for a parent with four kids, it's definitely at the top of the list!
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