22, possibly moving to MD, where??? (Baltimore, Columbia: apartments, rentals, condo)

[ker8]

Hello,

I am possibly moving to MD, as I have been offered a job slightly south of Randallstown, making pretty decent money. I am wondering where in the area is the best, given that I am 22 (female) and know nobody there. I have to say I am a bit nervous accepting this job as because I have no idea what it's going to be like starting in a new place by myself.

I'm currently living (and have lived all my life, not including college) in a small town about 15K outside a small city of about 100K with a total metro area of about 250K.

If anyone has any ideas on where I could move and meet some people near my own age, I'd seriously appreciate it! I can't say I'm much of a partier, but I do like to go out on occasion with friends. Preferably, I'd like to move somewhere where everyone is friendly so I don't have to work quite as hard as I'm thinking I'm going to have to, to make new friends. I'll admit, I do have a shyness problem that I have been slowly getting over.

I'm nervous if I pick a place on my own I'll end up in a bad area and never leave my apartment/condo/whatever!!

[tercel95]

What is your budget??? MD has an extremely high cost of living in case you didn't know that...

[ker8]

Originally Posted by tercel95

What is your budget??? MD has an extremely high cost of living in case you didn't know that...

I know they do. I haven't officially gotten the offer yet so I'm not exactly sure, but I should be able to have up to 1500-1600/month for an apartment and utilities. Obviously if I could though, I'd like to get away with closer to $1000/month for an apartment. I do only need a 1 bedroom.

[oneworld25]

Take a look at the Mount Vernon, Fells Point, Canton, and Federal Hill neighborhoods in Baltimore City. They have lots of young people your own age and plenty to do. The commute into Randallstown should not be that bad.

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by ker8

I know they do. I haven't officially gotten the offer yet so I'm not exactly sure, but I should be able to have up to 1500-1600/month for an apartment and utilities. Obviously if I could though, I'd like to get away with closer to $1000/month for an apartment. I do only need a 1 bedroom.

$1000/month is about on par for a 1 bedroom in that area. If you can afford $1500-1600 at 22 though, hats off to you, that is impressive...

What do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking?

[bmore2525]

I too moved here when I graduated and was nervous about knowing absolutely no one in the area. I have lived in Mt. Washington for 4 years. A 1 bedroom is about $750 there. Canton and Federal Hill are the best spots for young people, but you will need a roommate to live there because it's pretty much all house rentals.

Stay clear of areas where one bedroom apartments are less than $750ish. As a general rule, I've found that nothing that's that cheap is a good idea.

I have been very happy here - you'll love it.

[needsmoreshallot]

Mt vernon is great, stay near the square though. Lots of hopkins kids in the mt vernon and charles village areas. Just one night at Brewers art and you'll meet some friends good luck!

[ker8]

Originally Posted by tercel95

$1000/month is about on par for a 1 bedroom in that area. If you can afford $1500-1600 at 22 though, hats off to you, that is impressive...

What do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking?

No, I don't mind. I'm an actuary. Well, this is my first real job in the profession. 1500-1600 is really the uppermost limit of my range I think.

I'm not sure what I'm looking at yet. Where I'm working, they suggested I look into moving to Ellicott City or Columbia.

[tercel95]

That sounds like a pretty cool job. Ellicott city is a little nicer but it is also a little more expensive. Columbia is not bad though and there are a lot of places to rent in columbia. I was paying $1100/month for a 1 bedroom in Southern MD. I just took a job in Florida where the apartment is 1200 square feet and 2 bed 2 bath for $790/month. I never really realized how expensive MD was until I started looking other places...

[ker8]

Originally Posted by tercel95

That sounds like a pretty cool job. Ellicott city is a little nicer but it is also a little more expensive. Columbia is not bad though and there are a lot of places to rent in columbia. I was paying $1100/month for a 1 bedroom in Southern MD. I just took a job in Florida where the apartment is 1200 square feet and 2 bed 2 bath for $790/month. I never really realized how expensive MD was until I started looking other places...

I agree, MD is very expensive to live. Of course, I've lived in the Rust-Belt my whole life, including college, so comparing to prices up here, I can get a decent/very good 1-bed apartment here for $600/month, and they usually include water and heat.

The other thing I'm going to have to get used to is paying tax on everything, which I think MD does? In PA though, we just have tax on non-essentials. No tax on clothing or unprepared food (which includes prepared food that needs to be heated).