neighbourhood safety question about Columbia (Oakland: for sale, apartments, condos)

[andychen]

OK, I know there are so many threads about Columbia already and I read almost everyone of them and got to know a lot of Columbia thanks to all the warmhearted people on the forum, but I still did not find the info I want. My wife and I am looking for a house right now. After looking around for a while, we have decided that wilde lake, long reach, oakland mills are not good. Housing in Riverhills area is too expensive. Ellicott city is too far from DC. Kings contrivance is OK, but the houses for sale at this point have various problems that we don't like (we are picky!). The only houses that meet our criteria are near the intersection of cedar ln/ceder wood dr. The schools are Clemons crossing/ harper's choice middle/wilde lake high, so at least the elementary school is decent.

So the question is, is that particular neighborhood safe? I checked the crime statistics and the village of harper's choice does not look very good, but this neighborhood is far from its village center. This neighborhood is close to the hospital area which is not nice according to many posters here. I would appreciate any suggestions.

[SmokeyLisa]

Are you looking for SFH, townhomes, condos? My guess is townhomes because of the location although their are SFH in the area. I agree with other threads that the crime in the apartments do not spill over to the SFH, so you will probably be okay in the SFH no matter where you go. Are you sure you are looking in Harper's Choice? I would have thought that the property was in Hickory Ridge. The school could be Harper's Choice but your village does not have to be nor does your town have to be Columbia.

Look at the crime statistics for your area or your police beat. I'm not sure if the police website gives you population statistics so that you can look at the numbers as a % vs. a whole number. For instance that section of town has more incidents than the section of town that I'm looking at in Harper's Choice but unless you apply the population to it you do not know if it is truly a higher crime area or not.

Also from what I have seen an experienced the closer to 108 you are, the better, at least in the Dorsey Search, Harpers Choice, and Wilde Lake area. In my opinion people make a lot generalizations about the communities and people steer clear of them because of overall perceptions but Wilde Lake near Centennial is pretty calm and peaceful too me, but that is just me. It seems really safe but I could be wrong. A lot of the villages run into each so you could live closer to a high crime area in a village that people say/perceive are safe vs. one that people say/perceive are not safe. That is true for where Dorsey Search and Wilde Lake run together. Dorsey Search seems really safe to me (at least that has been my experience) but if you live in the section closes to 7-11 perhaps it is less safe then the sections closer to 108.

Also, what do you consider safe? Theft/Burglary/Vandalism/Drugs/Gun Violations/Pedophiles? Good Luck.

[andychen]

SmokeyLisa, thank you very much for your reply. I agree with you that many info I got here usually refer to a general big area and may not necessarily apply to a specific neighborhood. That is why I am looking for opinions about this specific neighborhood. I am looking for townhomes.

[SmokeyLisa]

I can't speak to the townhomes but I have been to the SFH in that area and thought that they were nice and never had a problem when I was there. I do not know if you live in the area or not but their are few upcoming events in the different villages, look on the village website to see the dates and time and attend an event and ask people what they do and do not like about the neighborhood. You can also try going to the police station to inquire.

Also, are you sure that you are not in Hickory Ridge vs. Harpers Choice? In general Hickory Ridge has a pretty good reputation as does most of Columbia.

[boreatwork]

100% of all neighborhoods in Columbia are safe....anyone that tells you different must live in fort knox

[SmokeyLisa]

boreatwork,

I agree that I have found columbia to be safe but I have not been everywhere in Columbia, From what I have read, a few years back the the clerk at the 7-11 was killed, a gang member killed someone and then was killed, a stabbing near 7-11 and I also read that there was a driveby shooting that killed a toddler in Long Reach. I'm sure there was a few more very serious crimes that have taken place in the area because I only read the articles related to areas that I was researching to live in.

Granted I'm not from Maryland so I'm not sure what level/type of crime people in the area are used to or expect but random killings is too scary for me. I'll take my boring, quiet, little Fort Knox town, I'm hoping that these random violent crimes will not continue in Columbia because that is where I have chosen to live. I hate when people say it is only one incident/shooting/death, and that the area is very safe because if that was your family member who was injured or died, you would not think it was safe.

The good thing is that most of the families here seem to be good hard working people, unfortunately a few criminals can make people concerned about the area.

[boreatwork]

No...It is safe no matter how baggy some kids jeans are or what not ...I would say one of if not the safest community in MD for a town of 100k+ residents

[SmokeyLisa]

I agree, I think some people perceive that it is not safe because you get a lot of youth hanging out and the village centers attract people. I do not care about the perception, only actual crimes. I have found it to be safe and I'm sure it is very safe for a place of it's size.

What is amazing to me about Columbia is that there are 100k people here but it is the burbs, period. Of course, I like the burbs. Since, I feel that Columbia is the burbs, too me, there should only be petty theft crimes, vandalism, teens having parties in the woods, not random shootings. Like I said, I like Columbia and I have chosen to live here but I do not think we should accept shootings at all, random or not.

[dealmaker74]

Take it from me as one of those baggy kid jeans that used to hang out by the 7 elevens, and up at the mall... I dont know how else to say it then offer you the opportunity to go to google maps, and start from say...Columbia Mall..and do street view...just take the time to cruise the streets of Columbia..its breathtaking, the trees, the open spaces, so many positive reasons to live there, a few bad apples could never spoil that. Even growing up there in the early 80's to 90's (I went to Stevens Forest Elem, Oakland Mills Middle, and Wilde Lake High) And after reading some of these posts on here, I began inquiring with some school mates online..and the response was overwhelming..Columbia has not changed..just a bit more built up and had a downtown now. Thats all folks..this is as close to Mayberry as you can get..as a matter of fact, im not fighting it anymore..im moving back!

[SmokeyLisa]

Dealmaker74, I'm glad you are coming back. I like Columbia as well and think that the treelined streets are great. I'm also looking to buy a home in the area. I have not been able to find the demographics of columbia over the years to see if it has changed. I do see mainly petty crime and a lot of it centering around the mall which I think you find that at a lot of malls. That is where the people are and they are easy targets, especially during the Holidays. My guess is that the demographics of Columbia has changed, with more caucasians and asians moving to River Hill. I do not know if it is true or not but people have mentioned that there is a lot of secion 8.

As I have said, I like Columbia and have found the post really exaggerate the crime problem. When I first got here I was afraid to drive around and walk around the neighborhood because of the post. I have looked at the crime logs for (real) crime to see if it is safe to walk around and I have not found too many issues. I do think that there are some bad apples out there robbing people on the pathwayss (this is very infrequent) which gives people the impression that it was unsafe.

Also, someone mentioned the Columbia mall being really bad and scary. I definitely did not find it to be scare, in fact, I started to take a picture of the people who were hanging out at the entrance that I was at, it was mainly well dressed (dress shirts/ professional work attire) people (I'm assuming professionals) enjoying the day.