How's Cockeysville,Pikesville,Elkridge,Towson? (Baltimore, Columbia: to rent, townhouse, to buy)

[kayjay]

Hello all, I'm moving to MD. My husband will be working in Baltimore. We have one little angle. I'm looking for an affordable place to live $30-37K. My husband is looking for a good school for our kid(Elementary). I'm thinking about Howard County. I also need the information about public transportation to go into Baltimore. Any help will be great appreciate. Thanks!!

[Mike from back east]

There are light-rail lines and 2 heavy-rail lines in the area. See the MARC website: http://www.mtamaryland.com/index.cfm.

My sister lives in Hampstead, MD. That area is possibly affordable, and not out of the question for the light rail line serving Owings Mill, MD. That area can be either Carroll County or Baltimore County depending on exact location and schools are pretty good, as are schools in Howard County. It is quite a hike from there to Baltimore for working.

Not too far from Elkridge (Howard County) are 2 heavy-rail lines, the Camden line (St Denis) and Penn line (Halethorpe). This may prove an affordable area that is closer to Baltimore for the sake of commuting. The light-rail line serving BWI airport runs thru an area called Linthicum (Anne Arundel County), which may also be affordable. If you look in this area, also look at Relay, Arbutus, Halethorpe and Lansdowne (all 4 in Baltimore County) for something affordable as I grew up in that area and would still consider living there. Zip code for these areas is 21227 if you use the realtor site to check on prices. See the posting in other topics for tips and tools for researching places to live.

Towson & Cockeysville are rather pricey areas, probably Pikesville too. All in Baltimore County, though parts of Pikesville may be in the city.

Not sure how far north of town on MARC's Penn Line you need to go to reach affordability. I can't speak to schools in Harford County at the north end of the heavy-rail Penn line.

Good luck and stay in touch with the group.

s/Mike

[kayjay]

Hello Mike, Thank you very much for information. It's very helpful.

[pkoons]

Howard County is great for schools. I would suggest on mid-$30K salary that trying to buy a home is pretty much near impossible unless you would consider Brooklyn Park, Dundalk, or Balt. City, where you will not have very good schools. My choices would be moving up to Harford Co. (on the rail line as Mike suggested, but NOT near Edgewood - not the best area) especially if you are planning on purchasing a home. If you are planning to rent, try Columbia in Howard County. Elkridge is a little cheaper and closer to public transport but not as nice. Linthicum was also a good suggestion but keep in mind you'll be RIGHT by BWI airport - I had a friend in Linthicum area whose home was damaged by falling parts from a plane... plus it's noisy!

Good luck - ask if you have any more questions!

[kayjay]

Hi, Thank you pkoons. You seem to know a lot about all cities. Please give me more information. Could you please recommended website for houses? My husband still keep looking for the very good school for our kid. I think he will go for howard county. I'm planing to spend between $300,000-400,000 for a house with back yard. I'm looking for a good community, good school, not too far from train station to go to Baltimore. Thank You.

[pkoons]

My recommendation would be to live in Columbia and use the Dorsey MARC train station to get into Baltimore. You can find a great TH for under $400K with a bit of a yard, or occasionally an older single family that will need some TLC (but has more yard).

You can stretch your money further in Odenton or Glen Burnie and still be near public transit, but I wouldn't recommend some parts of Odenton (or MOST parts of Glen Burnie!) But you will be able to find a nice single family under $400K in these locations. Most of Odenton goes to Meade High which is awful but I think some areas go to Arundel High with the Crofton/Gambrills kids, which is a MUCH better school. Glen Burnie is served by a few different high schools of which Old Mill is probably the best.

Check realtor.com for listings. Good luck!

[kayjay]

Pkoons, Thank you very much for your information..!!

[jessy0780]

Originally Posted by kayjay

Hi, Thank you pkoons. You seem to know a lot about all cities. Please give me more information. Could you please recommended website for houses? My husband still keep looking for the very good school for our kid. I think he will go for howard county. I'm planing to spend between $300,000-400,000 for a house with back yard. I'm looking for a good community, good school, not too far from train station to go to Baltimore. Thank You.

Actually, parts of Elkridge are much nicer than a lot of Columbia- I'd just stay away from RTE 1. For a townhouse under $400,000 I'd try Elkridge (21075 zip) or 21043 in Ellicott City. The schools nearby are great- for Elkridge look for Rockburn Elementary.