Help with relocating (Baltimore, Frederick, Perry Hall: sales, apartments, rental)

[Mr.Immortal]

Me and my wife are considering a few places to live and start a new with a our 19mth old and Maryland is one of the top 5. The problem is I know nothing of it but traveling thru and I must say both times it was a nice place freindly ppl, but visiting is different from living. So here we go.... Im a driver by trade and have a history in security/law enforcement . My wife is a NYC teacher and has her Master s in Special Education grades 1-5 with a minor in in general ed 1-5. My questions are, 1- Where would we want to look as far as afforable rental payments (apts,condo, house)We pays in Nyc 950 in a rent stabilized bld for a 1bdr and our daughter has the bed room! 2- Where would we want to look for jobs and day char or schooling for our daughter? Most likely our daughter would go to school where my wife teaching but in the event she s too young where would we look for daycare?


Any and all replies with info will be greatly app.

[trying2moveup]

O.K. You will find tons of info on particular Maryland cities and counties if you take the time to browse through all the postings on this forum. I am a special ed. teacher myself and I can assure you, your wife will have NO PROBLEM finding a job. I work for Montgomery County public schools; I also previously taught in PG County. MCPS pays the highest in the state. It is a big county, like PG, and that is one thing that is probably different from NY and many other states; schools in Maryland are organized according to county and not to any particular school district. Hence, if you have a snow day, the entire county school-wise is closed, not just one district or feeder pattern. This also means when you are hired they can place you anywhere in that county -- I think all school systems try to honor requests to get you as close to where you live as possible but of course, it doesn't always happen. Montgomery, PG, Frederick. . . these are big counties geographcially.

As far as daycare at schools, I don't know too much about that. At my school in MCPS where I was before going on childcare level, we did have onsite daycare through Title I, but that was also eliminated when we lost our Title I desgination. Just because a wife or hsuband works there doesn't mean you automatically get a place. Also, from what I remember when I was in PG, I had a team member that lived in another county and wanted her daughter to be at our school; she had to pay tuition in order to do that which came to about $8K per year (this was 12 years ago). I think that figure is based on the yearly per pupil expenditure for the county in which he/she would attend public school. here in Maryland you go to the public school you are assigned through where you live, and that is usually realigned quite frequently (at least in Montgomery County it is) and if you go to another public school in another county, you have to pay just as if you were going to a private school. Just something to realize.. .

Anywhere radiating out from Washington, DC will be good for you because this area has a strong economy and pretty robust housing market even in these times because of it. It is probably easier to give you opinions on where to live if you share how much you are willing to pay.. . do you want to rent or buy? Both are fairly expensive around here but NYC is as well so that shouldn't be very surprising to you. Also, what things do you want to be able to do culturally, socially, recreationally?

Good luck!

[CH Fisher]

This is a question for the last poster (trying2moveup) or anyone else who would be able to help.

Our family is moving to Maryland, Montgomery County this summer. I have elementary school kids and one of them will be attending middle school in a year. Since you are a teacher, you might be able to help me out with some of my concerns.

I've been going to greatschool.org to rate some of the schools, and of course, wooton school district looks impressive, but we can't afford to live there. I was thinking about Julius West, and A. Mairo Loiderman, or Parkland. These are all Magnet schools. Do you know if they are any good? My kids are very creative and artistic, but I don't know if Loiderman would offer enough of the academic? And is Julius West as good as it sounds?

My other questions are with regards to Forest Oak and Earle B. Wood middle school, I am not able to get much information on these two schools. I am talking about safety issues and school conditions. And if the kids are just being tested or re-tested so the school can score well. I would like them to attend a good school with qualified teachers. But not to get burned out with pressure to " perform ". Can you please help me with these concerns.

And if you have any advice as to where it would be a good place to buy a home ( under $350 )and raise a family in a safe enviorment, I am all ears. Thanks in advance.

[Grace E. Honeywell]

Good Morning! Well, if I personally had my choice of where to move, it would NOT be Maryland, especially the Baltimore area. My husband, whose family has been here for over 200 years, is actively considering leaving for Tennessee. Taxes have just gone up on our home 43%, the sales tax is now 6%, gas and electric rates have soared, etc. However, if you are seriously considering the area near Baltimore, I would stay on the North side, probably near the I-95 and Baltimore Beltway area. East of I-95 has lots of nice neighborhood, some with older houses. There are some two bedroom apartments for under $1000. I have heard of 3 bedroom townhouses in the area for around $1,100-1,200 per month. The school district which includes Carney, Harford Hills Elementary Schools, Pine Grove Middle, and Loch Raven Senior High is an excellent area. Perry Hall is also a farily nice area, but try to avoid Rosedale. You need to stay outside the Baltimore Beltway if you can. Do not consider the City - many areas are not safe; insurance rates can double or triple in certain areas; taxes are much higher. Hope this helps.