23 - moving to Maryland .. Where to live? (Baltimore, Columbia: apartment, rent)

[jschoen]

I just graduated college a year ago and am going to be moving to Maryland for a job. I can live anywhere in the state and I'm not sure where the best places are. I want an apartment, and I also want to be around a lot of young people. I want a safe area ... does this exist??

[tercel95]

Please provide a budget so we can better point you in the right direction..

[michaelcarter2008]

Originally Posted by jschoen

I just graduated college a year ago and am going to be moving to Maryland for a job. I can live anywhere in the state and I'm not sure where the best places are. I want an apartment, and I also want to be around a lot of young people. I want a safe area ... does this exist??

towson is nice. around the mall and towson state college.

[BigDragon]

Originally Posted by jschoen

I just graduated college a year ago and am going to be moving to Maryland for a job. I can live anywhere in the state and I'm not sure where the best places are. I want an apartment, and I also want to be around a lot of young people. I want a safe area ... does this exist??

That's a very broad request. There are a lot of places that would meet your requirements. Based on where the jobs are, I'd point you towards Frederick first. You'd also have good highway access to everything, although commuting during peak hours will be very stressful.

[jschoen]

I will have between 1000-1500 (at the absolute highest) to spend on rent. I've heard Annapolis is a great city and have also heard a lot about Baltimore. I dont necessarily need to be directly uptown but I would like to be around a lot of young people. I like the suburbs but I realize it might not be as young of a crowd..

[tercel95]

If you want more of a suburb than Annapolis will be your ticket but there will be less young people there and rent will be at your upper limit. I think that Towson is really nice, with a lot to do and a lot of young people...

[cpterp]

As a young college grad you probably would want to somewhere close to either DC or Balt (where the jobs and acitivities are). If you can afford it, go with Silver Spring. It is located on the border of DC, but lacks DC's crime for the most part (the downside is that it's insanely expensive). If you don't have to live in MD, and if you have the cash try Arlington (Rossyln, Ballston) or NW/NE DC (Adams Morgan, Mt Pleasant, Dupont Cir., Columbia Heights, anywhere else on CT Ave). Bethesda is also nice but extremely expensive, even for the area. In Baltimore, which I don't know as well as DC, I hear Mt. Vernon is nice.

Now for (realtively) affordable areas: College Park and Hyattsville are all I can think of, that's inside the DC Beltway, but not really expensive or knee-deep in crime. Again, I'm not too familiar with BC but Catonsville, Towson, or White Marsh would probably be okay. Most of these places have excellent transportation options so you can easily get around if you don't have a care.

[tercel95]

I lived in Silver Spring on Dennis Ave and that place was the pits... It was close to DC but it was pretty ghetto... College park is not too bad, I would seriously avoid Hyattsville though. If I was to recommend a more suburban area closer to DC I would have to go with Germantown. There are crappy parts but it is really rent friendly. I still think Towson would be the right place for the OP though...

[OrdinarySoul]

Originally Posted by jschoen

I will have between 1000-1500 (at the absolute highest) to spend on rent. I've heard Annapolis is a great city and have also heard a lot about Baltimore. I dont necessarily need to be directly uptown but I would like to be around a lot of young people. I like the suburbs but I realize it might not be as young of a crowd..

Kentlands or Rio in Gaithersburg are good areas to live. You might need to get roommates to cut down on the housing cost.

[needsmoreshallot]

In the Baltimore area- I would look at Hampden and Mt. Vernon (but near the square area), both are easy to get to main highways for commuting. Hampden has lots of restaurants and shops and is a little better for parking.

In the suburbs..I would look at historic ellicott city or columbia ..but both are expensive..but nice. Columbia is in between every main highway around, 29, 695, 95, close to 495..and there are some bars there..like the Green Turtle and the Dog pub..and nottinghams ..Ellicott city is cool, and you will probably meet people your age in both suburbs..especially if you take a class at Howard community college or work at a restaurant part time or something.

Silver Spring is a great area, with a metro station, lots of restaurants and bars and pretty safe. But stay in the downtown area..

If I was 23 and moving to Maryland..I would go to Hampden in Baltimore.