Moving to Maryland,need help (Baltimore, Columbia: best neighborhoods, neighborhoods, elementary schools)

[dkf747]

I sent a private message to you with a link to low income apartments in the DC area. If your income is ow enough then there will be some reasonable apartments available.

[kjg1963]

I would seriously consider Laurel. You can have your pick of 3 counties to live in (Howard, PG, Anne Arundel). It is a 10 minute ride to Calverton via 95 even in rush hour. I live in Laurel and both my children attended school in this town. I live in the historic district which is in PG County. I believe most of the elementary schools are basically good. The middle schools aren't actually too bad either. However, it is at the High School level that it gets a little dicey. West Laurel is a good option (even if it is in PG). It has one of the highest rated elementary schools in the area (Bond Mill ES). Laurel also has multiple private schools. The town is great for kids and there is an abundant array of housing options. Laurel is outside of the Beltway and although most of it is in PG County, in some places, it seems like a world apart. There are certain areas (mostly apartment complexes) that may not be as "nice" as others.

I know people have their opinions about PG but I'm just relating to you what I have lived and know (I've been in Laurel for the last 12 years). I wouldn't recommend many areas of PG but I feel confident in recommending Laurel.

[handy man88]

Originally Posted by stonybrook00

thank you. Woodmoor seems very attractive. But when I look up on Craigslist, there are only two houses for rent, both over $2k + utilities, that's almost our whole month income now. Oh, man, DC is expensive. This is our first real job, hubby spent his whole life studying, doing Postdocs, I feel sad for him, that's why nobody wants to be a scientist now. How aggressively should we save to buy a home for the kids! Does woodmoor has apartment complex? I can't find any.

As I said before, in the DC area, homes are expensive, and inexepensive (relatively speaking) for a reason.

[stonybrook00]

Originally Posted by RaisedWell

I feel bad for you because $2K is no money to live on in those areas that people here (like handy man88) have mentioned. You thanked him for helping you. Don't you know he's on a mission?

I could recommend some decent places for you with an acceptable school for your child nearby via direct message. I don't feel like posting them here because I don't want to get attacked about Prince Georges County again.

thank you. please send me a private message.

Hubby's salary will be higher once we moved. But still, I want to save to buy a home as soon as we can.

thank you all for the wonderful housing advices, and with the information about public transportation, I begin to know where to look. God takes us to Maryland, He will provide us along the way. thank you.

[RaisedWell]

stonybrook00, this is what I was going to recommend. kjg1963 beat me to it.

All you can do is trust in God. As a teacher and single mom, it is hard to make ends meet but it is in Him that I trust. I pray everything works out for you and your family.

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact me.

Originally Posted by kjg1963

I would seriously consider Laurel. You can have your pick of 3 counties to live in (Howard, PG, Anne Arundel). It is a 10 minute ride to Calverton via 95 even in rush hour. I live in Laurel and both my children attended school in this town. I live in the historic district which is in PG County. I believe most of the elementary schools are basically good. The middle schools aren't actually too bad either. However, it is at the High School level that it gets a little dicey. West Laurel is a good option (even if it is in PG). It has one of the highest rated elementary schools in the area (Bond Mill ES). Laurel also has multiple private schools. The town is great for kids and there is an abundant array of housing options. Laurel is outside of the Beltway and although most of it is in PG County, in some places, it seems like a world apart. There are certain areas (mostly apartment complexes) that may not be as "nice" as others.

I know people have their opinions about PG but I'm just relating to you what I have lived and know (I've been in Laurel for the last 12 years). I wouldn't recommend many areas of PG but I feel confident in recommending Laurel.

[stonybrook00]

My husband will go to DC on Monday to look at this area. We found a realtor to help us, but we still need to do our own homework. We narrowed down (not really) our lists to a few, if anyone can put more insight into them, it will be highly appreciated.

We are looking for a place:
1: close to hubby's workplace in Calverton (very close (west of) US army research lab and US naval surface weapon center) on powder mill road. Prefer within 15 minutes, if none available, can go up to 30 minutes (factor in traffic).
2. good elementary school for my 4 years old. dont want to negotiate on that.
3. safety is a must
4. (optional) small town feel, not really rural. has good community facilities such as rec center, parks, libraries, basically just to entertain my 4 years old and my 1 years old.

Hubby want to work at home after work. He wants to work 13 hours a day. He want a room for him to work. So many works I just said. So
We would like to rent
1. townhome/single family home with 3 bedrooms
2. townhome/single family home with 2 bedrooms +basement or a den.
3. apartment/condo with 3 bedrooms
4. apartmnet/condo with 2 bedrooms + a den
5. LARGE apartment/condo with 2 bedrooms
Our budget is around $1700/month, maxium $2000 (including everything). Is that resonable? We don't want to sacrifice comfort and convenience, but we don't want broke either.

We will be looking for places only in Howard County and Montgomery county. we found some pros and cons in each place, don't know if they are reasonable concerns or not, plese shed more light on the ones you are familiar with. thank you very much.

Howard :
1. Columbia:
the only complain is too far about 30 mintues. And someone argues that among the 9 villages there are bad ones. Do you agree?
2. North/West Laurel:
It seems you need to travel on I-95 East to get to Calverton, I heared it is a headache during rush hour. and is it true North/west Laurel so different from the rest in PG county? if it is, what is it? School? safety? community? people? house?

Montgomery:
It seems Greater Sliver Spring is the only option. But there are so many subdivisions of it, and mix messages about them on this forum, so this place makes us so comfused. We are interested in woodmoor, burtonsville, fairland, kemp mill, hillandale, maybe colesville.

1. woodmoor
so many good things that I heard. But it is expensive. I would like the community feel there and good school
2. burtonsville
Some say it is good place with nice library, rec center. I think I saw one or two say it is no good now and has people dealing drugs there. What is the truth about here? It seems convenient to commute from there, right by RT. 29.
3. Fairland
DOn't know much about it. The realtor gave us a place here.
4. Hillandale
From map, it looks short and easy to drive to Calverton. What else do you know?
5. Kemp hill
farther closer to Downtown. still some says it is a walkable community, some warn to avoid there. What is your opinion?
6. How about Colesville?
Any other places that I missed?

Any suggestion or input will be much appreciated. Time is running out. thank you very much

[bunky3301]

Originally Posted by stonybrook00

My husband will go to DC on Monday to look at this area. We found a realtor to help us, but we still need to do our own homework. We narrowed down (not really) our lists to a few, if anyone can put more insight into them, it will be highly appreciated.

We are looking for a place:
1: close to hubby's workplace in Calverton (very close (west of) US army research lab and US naval surface weapon center) on powder mill road. Prefer within 15 minutes, if none available, can go up to 30 minutes (factor in traffic).
2. good elementary school for my 4 years old. dont want to negotiate on that.
3. safety is a must
4. (optional) small town feel, not really rural. has good community facilities such as rec center, parks, libraries, basically just to entertain my 4 years old and my 1 years old.

Hubby want to work at home after work. He wants to work 13 hours a day. He want a room for him to work. So many works I just said. So
We would like to rent
1. townhome/single family home with 3 bedrooms
2. townhome/single family home with 2 bedrooms +basement or a den.
3. apartment/condo with 3 bedrooms
4. apartmnet/condo with 2 bedrooms + a den
5. LARGE apartment/condo with 2 bedrooms
Our budget is around $1700/month, maxium $2000 (including everything). Is that resonable? We don't want to sacrifice comfort and convenience, but we don't want broke either.

We will be looking for places only in Howard County and Montgomery county. we found some pros and cons in each place, don't know if they are reasonable concerns or not, plese shed more light on the ones you are familiar with. thank you very much.

Howard :
1. Columbia:
the only complain is too far about 30 mintues. And someone argues that among the 9 villages there are bad ones. Do you agree?
2. North/West Laurel:
It seems you need to travel on I-95 East to get to Calverton, I heared it is a headache during rush hour. and is it true North/west Laurel so different from the rest in PG county? if it is, what is it? School? safety? community? people? house?

Montgomery:
It seems Greater Sliver Spring is the only option. But there are so many subdivisions of it, and mix messages about them on this forum, so this place makes us so comfused. We are interested in woodmoor, burtonsville, fairland, kemp mill, hillandale, maybe colesville.

1. woodmoor
so many good things that I heard. But it is expensive. I would like the community feel there and good school
2. burtonsville
Some say it is good place with nice library, rec center. I think I saw one or two say it is no good now and has people dealing drugs there. What is the truth about here? It seems convenient to commute from there, right by RT. 29.
3. Fairland
DOn't know much about it. The realtor gave us a place here.
4. Hillandale
From map, it looks short and easy to drive to Calverton. What else do you know?
5. Kemp hill
farther closer to Downtown. still some says it is a walkable community, some warn to avoid there. What is your opinion?
6. How about Colesville?
Any other places that I missed?

Any suggestion or input will be much appreciated. Time is running out. thank you very much

This is my opinion since I have kids , I would really look into Columbia because of the good school system there. Yes it's true that Montgomey County schools (ie-Silver Spring) were the best almost anywhere you lived , but that is not so true in these times.

You do not want to put your kids in the PG county school system whatever you do. If there are not so good village's of Columbia , I think the realtor would guide you away from them. I would try to rent a condo or townhouse versus an apartment because you can get more rif/raf in an apartment complex more so than in a condo complex or townhouse's. Condo's and Townhouse's usually have HOA that won't put up with alot noise or other disturbances.

Like I said that is what I would do especially with you having a child going into school next year and hopefully your husband would sacrifice a little longer commute for your kids to go to a better school system and better neighborhoods. Good luck on whatever you do...bunky

[NJ2MDdude]

Originally Posted by bunky3301

This is my opinion since I have kids , I would really look into Columbia because of the good school system there. Yes it's true that Montgomey County schools (ie-Silver Spring) were the best almost anywhere you lived , but that is not so true in these times.

You do not want to put your kids in the PG county school system whatever you do. If there are not so good village's of Columbia , I think the realtor would guide you away from them. I would try to rent a condo or townhouse versus an apartment because you can get more rif/raf in an apartment complex more so than in a condo complex or townhouse's. Condo's and Townhouse's usually have HOA that won't put up with alot noise or other disturbances.

Like I said that is what I would do especially with you having a child going into school next year and hopefully your husband would sacrifice a little longer commute for your kids to go to a better school system and better neighborhoods. Good luck on whatever you do...bunky

Is this the same Columbia that lost one of its teachers to a heart attack after he attempted to break up a fight between two female classmates?

The "good" schools in Howard Cty are generally located outside of Columbia, in Ellicott City and Clarksville. The dirty little secret as to what makes those schools good is the Asian students who tend to overachieve and score very high test marks, relative to their fellow classmates.

[stonybrook00]

thanks bunky for the reply and the realtor you referred. yes, after my posting, I did more serious research on the schools. I do not want to put my kids in PG county systems, the ratings are not good. And when I looked at the middle schools and high schools, silver spring doesn't look good either. So, I am leaning more and more towards Columbia. Does anyone know the traffic on Rt. 29?

[stonybrook00]

Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude

Is this the same Columbia that lost one of its teachers to a heart attack after he attempted to break up a fight between two female classmates?

The "good" schools in Howard Cty are generally located outside of Columbia, in Ellicott City and Clarksville. The dirty little secret as to what makes those schools good is the Asian students who tend to overachieve and score very high test marks, relative to their fellow classmates.

Oh, really? which school is that? There are 3 elementary schools rated high which are Thuder hill, Atholton elementary, Clemens Crossing. I am not considering others right now since the scores are not desirable. I also see Clarksville schools under Columbia when did the research. Is Clarksville part of Columbia or not? Please tell me more about this area. The more the clearer, oh, maybe more confused.