Moving to MD- Rockville or Ellicott City? (Baltimore, Elkridge: house prices, neighborhoods)

[macroy]

Grew up in MC (graduated from Whitman HS in Bethesda) and now currently live in EC (and also spent some time in Columbia). I don't think one can be objective on "people". And honestly, both will have good and bad per se. I will say that I am much closer with my neighbors now after just three years in EC than I ever was living in Potomac for over 20 years (granted, the majority was as a kid).

But my .02 - The Rockville/Potomac MC area has been known for their wealth and schools for decades. And HC is actually still "rising" or improving. So I think in the long run you'd get more out of HC. As other's have indicated, Rockville is more urban, and have much more of an influence from DC - so think politics, power people, etc. EC being more Baltimore-centric - its a bit more down to earth. But again, that's all subjective. There are no shortage of affluent people in both areas, but I do think there is a larger base in the Rockville area and that influence is more appearent with regards to prices. Although I do think Columbia/EC have more "wannabes"...

I think EC is like Rockville a decade or two ago.... both are very similar, but Rockville has gone through more "life" than EC has.

Other things that may 'help'...or not:

In going back to Rockville/MC area to see relative on weekends, I've noticed the abundance of red light and speeding cameras. While this may seem a small detail - I can say its a real annoyance (imagine cruising a 55mph with traffic...then all of a sudden everyone slows down to 35...). On that fact alone, I'd hesitate to move back.

Traffic: as other's have pointed out - DC traffic SUCKS. While a commute isn't a huge deal for you.. but the traffic has an impact on all things you do (traffic, dining etc.). Although Columbia traffic is pretty much just as bad.

Property values - this is debatable - but my experience tells me that you get more for your money in HC. However, I am seeing that taxes are higher here in HC. Utilities are also higher for me in HC than it was in MC. However, food/gas and groceries is definitely less expensive in HC (on average that is).

All in all, I grew up in Montgomery County, so I always have a fondness for it. But there is a reason why I moved to Ellicott City.

[moving2MD]

Thanks Macroy, that is very helpful.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by moving2MD

Our family will be moving from NY to Maryland this summer and have narrowed down the search to Rockville or Ellicott City. We have some family in Virginia as well as the Baltimore area, which is one of the reasons we are making the move. Schools are important (we have two young daughters, neither in school yet), but it seems both areas have very good public schools overall.

Can anyone compare/contrast these two areas for me? I will be working from home and my wife will be leaving the workforce to raise our family, so we aren't too concerned about commuting for now. It's still obviously a consideration for the future and re-sale value, but not so much right now. We are looking for a nice, family friendly area that is a little quieter than our current life. We like there to be a diverse array of activities- street fairs, farmers markets, parks, a charming town but also not too far from malls/shopping centers.

Some people have said that the two areas are fairly similar, just Rockville is bigger and busier than Ellicott City, while others have said the areas aren't all that similar. Has anyone spent a good amount of time in both areas and care to give their opinion? Is the quality of life/culture similar or different? Thanks!

Ellicott City is SLIGHTLY more spread out, quieiter and friendlier than Rockville. I personally prefer a more small town life (being from Rockville) so neither is good for me but if I had to choose I'd go with Ellicott City. Rockville is a DC suburb and Ellicott City is a Baltimore suburb though Rockville has a lot more businesses and companies than Ellicott City does. If you are from New York the pace of life is probably better for you in Rockville and there are more transplants from New York there. Beware that both places have Section 8 housing in certain neighborhoods so make sure you do not live near them...that is where the people who moved there from the city or the illegal aliens live.

[Marilyn Emery]

I don't know Ellicott City well but I do know Rockville. If you go on the Rockville City website you can see what goes on in the town center. There are farm markets close by, if not right in the town center, they have outdoor concerts in the summer, and some in Bethesda not far (20 minutes). There are the free outdoor movies at the Strathmore in the summer, parades in Rockville on the memorial day, 4th of July and labor day. Rockville is working very hard to be a livable community attrtacting families. One thing I like about Rockville is even if you can't find what you want right in town you can find things very close by or hop on the metro and get anywhere in metro DC easily.

[trying2moveup]

Both counties have good school systems - so you're set in the future for that.
Both counties are centrally located to Baltimore/DC/NoVa - so you're set for that.
I was born and raised in MoCo - lived in Frederick for 8 years and commuted down 270 for many of them. TRAFFIC IS A NIGHTMARE IN AND AROUND ROCKVILLE. 270 either way is congested every day of the week and horrendous on workdays. Rt. 355, also known as Rockville Pike, has every retail and eatery imaginable and everyone knows it - it is a complete mess, complete witha million traffic lights.

It is only going to get worse. My reasons for staying out of Rockville would be traffic first, and then the propensity of Mont.Co. politicians to make sanctuary cities for illegal aliens in Montgomery County and eventually Rockville will become one of them. I don't know where Howard County (Ellicott City) ranks on that scale but since it hasn't popped up on the radar, I'd think it's safe to say that HoCo is nowhere near the scale of MoCo on this issue.

Ellicott City is a nice area. And it is still close enough to major job centers in Montgomery/Howard/Baltimore area (as well as NSA and Ft. Meade) that you will be in a good location for future resale.

[tonyc]

Originally Posted by trying2moveup

Both counties have good school systems - so you're set in the future for that.
Both counties are centrally located to Baltimore/DC/NoVa - so you're set for that.
I was born and raised in MoCo - lived in Frederick for 8 years and commuted down 270 for many of them. TRAFFIC IS A NIGHTMARE IN AND AROUND ROCKVILLE. 270 either way is congested every day of the week and horrendous on workdays. Rt. 355, also known as Rockville Pike, has every retail and eatery imaginable and everyone knows it - it is a complete mess, complete witha million traffic lights.

It is only going to get worse. My reasons for staying out of Rockville would be traffic first, and then the propensity of Mont.Co. politicians to make sanctuary cities for illegal aliens in Montgomery County and eventually Rockville will become one of them. I don't know where Howard County (Ellicott City) ranks on that scale but since it hasn't popped up on the radar, I'd think it's safe to say that HoCo is nowhere near the scale of MoCo on this issue.

Ellicott City is a nice area. And it is still close enough to major job centers in Montgomery/Howard/Baltimore area (as well as NSA and Ft. Meade) that you will be in a good location for future resale.

But just a tad far if you have to commute to the likes of Ashburn, Chantilly, Tysons, Reston, Springfield etc... where alot of the IT jobs are located - if that's your field.

And traffic was a nightmare this morning; took me 2 hours to get to work due to an accident on 270 this morning.

[bowian]

I've lived in MoCO and HoCo (darn, where haven't I lived?). I liked both, but I would lean more towards EC. I like the feel of the area, and the good schools don't hurt.

Also, I came close to dying on 270 about ten years ago, so driving on that highway still scares me a bit. Whenever I drive on 270 (thankfully not often), I stay on the local lanes as much as possible.

[moving2MD]

Thanks for all of the insight. It pretty much reaffirms most of what I've heard and read so far. Coming from the NY suburbs, we want a little slower pace, but not too slow that we're bored. I hope there's enough to do in EC, but if you include the surrounding areas of Columbia and even Baltimore, there should be more than enough activity for our liking.

Has any one else lived/worked in both places?

[cinco de whyo]

I've lived in Howard County, worked in Rockville, and frequently go up to New York as my entire extended family lives there.

I'm not a fan of Howard County. There is no public transport, most of the shopping (excepting Old Town Ellicott City, which is lovely) consists of box chain strip malls, and Columbia's idea of cultural centers are a man-made lake and a massive shopping mall (you said you were worried about materialism?). Neighborhood after neighborhood is filled with McMansions, and they just keep on building more. I frequently felt trapped in some kind of Stepford Wife bubble, and I thoroughly resented the fact that I had to drive in order to go anywhere (though it was much worse before I had my license). I'm hesitant to link people's demeanors to where they live, but the stuffiness factor in Howard County was a lot higher than in Rockville. It's not even that it was quiet, it's just so very plastic.

Rockville is more congested, but I didn't find it ridiculous on normal days (i.e. those that didn't involve an accident that would make the traffic report). I really never had a problem with it, and it's nothing like New York's idea of traffic.
And, even if Rockville is more congested, at least it is somewhat intuitive to navigate. Shopping and everything else in Columbia is notorious for being hidden in odd places for aesthetic reasons. It's okay once you get used to it, but I find it annoying on principle.

My parents originally chose Howard County for the schools, but were disappointed when the average test scores didn't reflect the quality of the institutions themselves. School building tends to lag behind population growth, and there are a lot of people moving into the area for the schools. There was quite a bit of overcrowding. I don't know if this is also true of MoCo schools, though.

Moreover, despite the population boom, there aren't any plans for expanding public transport in the area. Howard County seems to like it's car-centric way of life, so I doubt this will change.

[tonyc]

I took 355 all the way in from Gaithersburg into DC this morning. The commute wasn't bad at all. Here it is I had choices; I could either drive or take the metro. Not so in HC.