buying house in Baltimore county (Ellicott City, Catonsville: buying a house, neighborhoods, new construction)

[deadly_inder]

Dear Friends,
I am new in baltimore and work in Sinai hospital and JHU.I need your help to decide where to buy a house near my workplaces(30 mile radius).I want safe and quite neighborhood.I am considering middle river, as there is some new construction.How is this area.please suggest me any other areas too.
Thanks

[upinflamezzz]

Middle River is not by Sinai Hospital. If you want something close to Sinai you need to look in Mt. Washington or Lutherville. JHU hospital isn't too far from Middle River though. However, Middle River and Mt. Washington are different in the class of people that reside there. I would consider Mt. Washington and Lutherville to be more educated neighborhoods.

[kinkytoes]

In a word: no. I would not recommend buying a house there unless you have relatives there or something. In addition to other reasons, consider what the steel industry left behind in the soil and water. Depending on where you want to live, there are plenty of livable areas in Baltimore County. Do you have kids, if so you can check out the public schools (or proximity to private schools) on your own.

You can check out Gwynn Oak, Cockeysville, Arbutus, Halethorpe, Owings Mills and Perry Hall to name a few. These places are livable and IMO a decent place to buy a house. They have a variety of demographics, housing styles, prices etc. If you have a chance, you can visit them and take a look and walk around and see if you like them. I believe they're all fairly heavy-metal free, and you may have about a 15-30 minute commute from any of the areas.

Good luck on your search.

[deadly_inder]

thx guys.

[janetvj]

I have lived in the Middle River area pretty much my whole life. Contrary to what others may say, it's a very nice place to live. People who disparage the area generally know nothing first-hand about living here. You won't find snobs here who categorize people as undesirable based on their level of education or what they do for a living. And to claim that the environment is tainted due to the steel industry borders on the ridiculous (wasn't it the Jacksonville area in high class Phoenix, MD that had the problem with gasoline leaking into the well water?).

And, of course, we have the waterfront here, and you certainly won't find that in the locations suggested as alternatives. Think Canton, Fells Point, Inner Harbor, Federal Hill. It isn't coincidence that these waterfront areas of Baltimore City are now the most desirable places to be. Not too long ago these neighborhoods were considered to be somewhat shabby, working class areas where no one wanted to live. The "Middle River", if you will, of Baltimore City.

But Middle River isn't convenient to Sinai, so maybe it isn't the location you're looking for. Just not for the reason that some of these posters have posited.

[jclausen71]

Make sure you check the re-sale value in Middle River. There are plenty of newly built homes already selling for much much less then what the first buyer paid for it. Have you looked into Catonsville? Ellicott City, Arbutus or Elkridge? The commute is about 20 minutes to JHU and Sinai. (Very wonderful hospitals by the way!) And I think you will find that the homes have a better turn around value then the new construstion in Middle River