Nice Neighborhood Between DC and BWI Airport (Baltimore, Columbia: transplants, crime rates)

[atmaynard]

Hello,

My fiance and I are a young, early/mid 20's couple who will be moving to the DC area pretty soon from Southern California. He will be working at BWI and I will be working downtown in DC. We want to live somewhere halfway that is nice, safe, semi-affluent and relatively inexpensive (looking to pay no more than $1,600). I've looked up maps, etc and have concluded that a good halfway point would definitely have to be somewhere off the green line. The only problem is, everything I've read about those areas (Fort Totten, Prince George's, College Park, Greenbelt) have been bad - ie. they're "ghetto," high crime rates, etc. What areas would you recommend that would be a good commute for the both of us? If necessary, he can take the longer commute to BWI because there'd be less traffic going in that direction. Any help would be appreciated!

[RoadTripGurl]

All of those areas are in Prince George's. I would skip college Park (crowded college town) and Fort Totten. Greenbelt would be a nicer alternative or try Anne Arundel County which is closer to BWI.

[Roby]

Try crofton, it's nice but a little pricey. Down the road is bowie, a little more affordable and not as affluent. If you can stand the drive, there are better places closer to BWI than there are to DC. Try Pasadena, Severna Park, Crownsville, Annapolis. Those are all nice (there are a few neighborhoods in Pasadena which aren't).

[terryandtouey]

How do you want to commute?

There are some really nice parts of Greenbelt and Laurel. The DC Metro goes to Greenbelt. A friend of mine commutes from there to Capitol Hill.

If you prefer to be close to the city, you might consider Silver Spring, which has Metro access to DC and your husband would be going north to BWI, opposite the DC rush.

Baltimore has limited commuter train service to Washington, designed for the traditional rush hour commute. There are people who like living in Baltimore, though they work in DC.

If you go to Anne Arundel County, you will have to drive into DC on Rt 50, and will have weekend beach traffic to contend with on Rt 50.

A lot of people like Columbia, which allows a number of different routes to DC, but is also not too far from BWI.

What part of SoCal are you coming from? I have family in Santa Barbara.

[terryandtouey]

I almost forgot, Ellicot City -- or is it "Ellicott" 2 t's -- has received some pretty favorable reviews as a nice small town to live. It's just outside Baltimore, close enough to major arteries for commuting purposes. I go there for antiquing and to eat at the Forest Diner, a favorite old haunt.

[Tom Lennox 70]

You want to avoid anywhere in Prince George's County. College Park is great though. I'm a student here but if you don't like a lot of drunken frat boys running around or living with a lot of drinking and partying I won't recommend it here. Its an oasis of relative calm in the sea of chaos that is PGC, a county with a lot of crime, drugs, gangs, illegal immigrants, and poverty.

Howard County is halfway, but it is KIND OF expensive depending on which part. But it has a great reputation with great schools and is very safe. What I would suggest though is to actually live very close to BWI Airport. There are some very nice-looking suburban areas directly next to the airport grounds in Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County and there's the MARC commuter train that leaves very regularly from the BWI rail station to Union Station in downtown Washington, D.C. where you can get connections to the Metro system and avoid traffic altogether. 95 is packed both ways, the Beltway is a mess. Look into Linthicum, Maryland which is the city BWI is located in. Its VERY close to central Baltimore and major transport links, shopping, entertainment, etc.

And closer to Baltimore is more down to Earth, less snobby. Here around DC its either ghetto people and illegal immigrants or snobby, obnoxious transplants from the New York-New Jesrey or Philly areas.

[Tom Lennox 70]

I think anywhere in the Baltimore suburbs should be fine. At least in Baltimore the ghetto is limited to the inner city areas whereas in DC it is spreading outward. The city of Washington wants to gentrify but then all their scum is pushed here into Maryland. Virginia's been largely immune to this mostly because of its heavy policing, higher prices and tough local laws that let illegal immigrants know they are not welcome there.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by atmaynard

Hello,

My fiance and I are a young, early/mid 20's couple who will be moving to the DC area pretty soon from Southern California. He will be working at BWI and I will be working downtown in DC. We want to live somewhere halfway that is nice, safe, semi-affluent and relatively inexpensive (looking to pay no more than $1,600). I've looked up maps, etc and have concluded that a good halfway point would definitely have to be somewhere off the green line. The only problem is, everything I've read about those areas (Fort Totten, Prince George's, College Park, Greenbelt) have been bad - ie. they're "ghetto," high crime rates, etc. What areas would you recommend that would be a good commute for the both of us? If necessary, he can take the longer commute to BWI because there'd be less traffic going in that direction. Any help would be appreciated!

What does your husband do btw? I've always been fascinated by the air travel business, seems pretty cool. Despite all the bad press about delays and flying and all I still love flying and have never ever run into any problems except weather and you can't control the weather. BWI is a very nice efficient modern airport. WIsh ya'll the best in Maryland. I personally actually hope to leave for the South or West someday.

[lscalder]

Now first of all I live in Pg county in a very nice wealth community. The house prices in my commuinty is the same as potomac so please do not for one second think people in Pg countya re not living th eAmerican dream. We know our county is not perfect but we are improving as a matter of fact the county is pushing out lower income folks to the suburbs of Baltimore and harford county. Pg county is doing the same thing dc is doing inflating the prices of homes. Pg keep on talking about pg and the same folks are moving into dc when infact dc have worse schools then pg county.,

[jaylang]

I live inside the Beltway in PG county, near the New Carrollton station for 1. Amtrak, 2. Metrorail 3. Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC), 4. Greyhound, and 5. MTA Buses. Most people don't know about the MARC trains, that there are two different lines from Baltimore snaking through PG county with 8 or 10 stations, relatively cheap monthly tickets by mail, employer subsidies, on-line schedules, etc. If you are going to get into a downtown job with a ~ predictable schedule, then MARC is the way to go, especially from Capitol Hill.

The cruel generalizations about PG county are like saying avoid California because if the wildfires and mudslides don't kill you after the earthquakes, then the Hispanics or cult-members surely will. Your worse culture shock will be the new development stacked on top of little roads built for 1979 traffic, and constant fighting leading to nothing but studies for more studies. PG county has rich black folks and poor white folks, and vice versa, with slews of immigrants. There are wonderful neighborhoods and pitiful neighborhoods, just as there are students.

You did well to find the Metrorail green line. Find the MARC Penn Line and the Camden Line named after the Baltimore train stations at http://www.mtamaryland.com/index.cfm and you'll have a leg up on most people who live here. And unless you enjoy gridlock, don't plan to drive to work in DC. Good luck.