Columbia - Feels fake (Baltimore, Silver Spring: apartment, for rent, townhouse)

[cmacf1]

I agree with former Californian that Columbia looks too manicured and with the OP that it just kind of looks fake. That's not to say that I don't enjoy some areas of Columbia (like the Lake where Clyde's the restaurant sits and Clyde's itself, and the mall,) but it's definitely not an area that I would chose to live in.

For an outsider, Columbia is hard to navigate. My mom is a realtor with a great sense of direction and she really doesn't like going to Columbia because she can't figure out all the different villages. The village names are all two words and while I consider myself pretty smart, I just keep getting them all mixed up (Kings Contrivance, Dorsey's Serach and Harper's Choice are three of the names.) And then within those villages are different neighborhood names like Dasher Green, Phelps Luck, Clemmings Crossing. I just get lost without a map there unless I stay on the main roads or have mapquested where I'm going.

As an interesting note, Columbia's street names come from famous works of literature and art. Like the Hobbit's Glen nieghborhood has street names using places and names in JRR Tolkien's books; Running Brook neighborhood's streets come from the works of Robert Frost, and Clemmings Crossing's streets come from Mark Twain.

[Get out of my way]

Originally Posted by cmacf1

I agree with former Californian that Columbia looks too manicured and with the OP that it just kind of looks fake. That's not to say that I don't enjoy some areas of Columbia (like the Lake where Clyde's the restaurant sits and Clyde's itself, and the mall,) but it's definitely not an area that I would chose to live in.

For an outsider, Columbia is hard to navigate. My mom is a realtor with a great sense of direction and she really doesn't like going to Columbia because she can't figure out all the different villages. The village names are all two words and while I consider myself pretty smart, I just keep getting them all mixed up (Kings Contrivance, Dorsey's Serach and Harper's Choice are three of the names.) And then within those villages are different neighborhood names like Dasher Green, Phelps Luck, Clemmings Crossing. I just get lost without a map there unless I stay on the main roads or have mapquested where I'm going.

I will be moving from California to the Ft Meade area in a couple weeks and have been checking out the area. I look at this as an oppurtunity to start over and l don't want to live in the same type of neighborhood I live in now. The question I'm wrestling with is which is better, living in an "authentic" down town environment, or living where you're not fearing for your life? I abhor fakeness, but I've been woken up by gunfire in the middle of the night too many times.

But what is up with King's Contrivance?? It just looks too corny with places like the "Jester's Corner". I made the name up, but that's the impression I get after looking at an ad for that apt complex. It looks run down compared to other complexes in the Columbia area, too.

[sallyransom]

I cant say that I have ever felt as though Columbia feels fake. What scares me about the place is all the crime everyone keeps talking about. There are many communities in which to select housing but is it really safe in Columbia these days???? I would love to move back into that area but I'm not sure about which neighborhoods to stay out of.

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by sallyransom

I cant say that I have ever felt as though Columbia feels fake. What scares me about the place is all the crime everyone keeps talking about. There are many communities in which to select housing but is it really safe in Columbia these days???? I would love to move back into that area but I'm not sure about which neighborhoods to stay out of.

Agreed. Right before I moved to Colorado, a young boy was caught in the cross-fire of a gang fight in Long Reach. As I recall it started in the parking lot of the grocery store on Tamar Dr and moved across the street to an apartment complex. Very frightening!

[oneofthethree]

A large of part of Columbia is still kinda nice, but certain parts are not vey safe. I have a neighbor who is from Baltimore, who now lives in Columbia, who describes some of these parts as "worse than baltimore". In these areas (certain apt complexes in wild lake, long reach, owen brown, oakland mills) you are safer than you would be in certain parts of baltimore city, and about as safe as you would be in some of the worse parts of pg county. Crime is not higher, it is actually lower than in the 90's. People just tend to vocalize about it more than in the past. But crime could be getting worse as Columbia moves more towards it's goals to become a city, and as gentrification is Baltimore continues. Go to websites that have apartment ratings, and you will see dialogue from people who live in different complexes, which is a good reflection of that area. And unlike other cities, in Columbia they are very small areas and random pockets rather than a whole place having a bad name. And it is generally the cheapest places, you get what you pay for!

[chesapeake83]

I grew up in Ellicott City, Baltimore City, and now live in Columbia. If you are looking for a city with a downtown, uniqueness, things to do, etc, you will not find it here. Columbia is a planned community in a suburb of Baltimore. It lies nearly halfway between Baltimore and DC and most of the people living here commute to one or the other to work and play.

Crime: Having lived in truely bad neighborhoods in Baltimore city, and having a brother who was a Baltimore City Police officer in their worst most dangerous district, I can say with all confidence that crime is not an issue in Columbia. There are areas of affordable housing in Columbia, and with lower income people comes an increase in crime. Therefore, there are pockets of Long Reach and Owen Brown that are starting to get a bad rap. From my perspective, there are more minority kids hanging out in these areas, and that makes people nervous, and makes people think that the neighborhood is going down. But I haven't witnessed any crime, or seen or felt any threats. There will be petty theft, and fights between teenagers whereever you go. I think people are a little too hard on these neighborhoods. Owen Brown and Long Reach have affordable townhomes and apartments, lakes and ponds, running paths, and the other amenities shared by all of Columbia. That being said, I kinda want to move out of Owen Brown into a more upscale area, but that has nothing to do with crime.

Pros: Columbia is a nice suburb that is convenient to Baltimore and DC. It has good public schools, and a good recs and parks system, that in my opinion makes it a great place to raise kids. Columbia was planned to be a community that is welcoming to interracial and biracial families and people. This makes it a diverse and friendly place to live. Sometimes the whole "hold hands and sing kumbaya" feeling can seem a little fake and trite, but I think that the people here are sincere and open-minded. While it is not as diverse as DC or NYC, it is much less segregated than Baltimore, and that makes it a very pleasant place to live. The gyms are great, the parks are great, I like the choice of grocery stores, and the Mall is getting better every year. It is very convenient to get on the highway to go to more interesting places to shop, dine, and have fun, and come home to a quiet place.

Cons: I wish there were public transit options to travel to DC and Baltimore. There are commuter buses on the weekdays, but nothing on the weekends.

Overall, this is a great place to live and I want to stay for a while.

[KeyserSoze]

Not taking anything away from Columbia, but it's original idea of a planned city does make it seem fake and too kumbaya-ish.

[Tom Lennox 70]

A lot of the newer developments can feel that way, like White Marsh, Arundel Mills, Towson and Hunt Valley.

Some towns/cities in Maryland that I personally found to have their own unique atmosphere are Cambridge, Salisbury, Dundalk, Poolesville, Arbutus, Damascus, Easton, and Delmar.

[oneofthethree]

Yeah as a majority, crime is nothing to compared to the worse parts of Baltimore City. Almost all places in the U.S. don't..... Baltimore is one of the top dangerous places in the country. But I have lived in Oakland Mills and dealt with shootings, been robbed, roaches, rats, etc. But the majority of Columbia is not that, "sallyransom", you should have no problem coming back, just put out the money to avoid these small percentage of areas. But like I said I don't know how long this will last after new plans for the city. I think people in the U.S., even in these times of economic hardship, need to just appreciate the fact that we have it better than people in most other countries. Go to the worst slums in Africa, the Middle East, etc.... then come back and talk about crime.

And as for Columbia being fake I don't know about that. I spend time in almost every place in the baltimore and dc areas, montgomery, pg, howard, anne arundel, baltimore, and most of the suburbs feel the same to me. Columbia doesn't have much identity because it is not directly linked w/ baltimore or dc, kind of a link to both. Anne Arundel County is kind of the same thing. I was born in NYC so most of Maryland is still kinda fake and boring to me haha.

[ChosenGSR]

I feel that Columbia is extremely over hyped. The only nice areas are extremely expensive. I don't know what "nice" apartments people find here that go for a reasonable price. There are plenty of section 8 housing around.