Dual Academic Careers in College Park and Baltimore (townhomes, neighborhoods)

[nyc2007]

My wife and I will most probably be working at the University of Maryland-College Park and Johns Hopkins University (Homewood Campus) in Baltimore. We are trying to find a place where only one of us has to have a long commute and are leaning more on the DC side (we would like to spend our free time mostly in DC).

It seems I would have to take the MARC Penn line which gets me close to Johns Hopkins for my commute from DC, but don't know what neighborhoods near DC stations of the Penn line are safe to live in. There is also the option of living in College Park itself which is on the Camden line, but that would add another 30 minutes to my commute since I have too use the light rail in Baltimore from Camden station to Johns Hopkins.

Any suggestions on this conundrum?

Thanks

[theburro]

I regret I don't have specific advice on neighborhoods and communities. However, I know a married couple that was in your situation. Both PhD's in biological research fields, one at NIH and the other at Johns Hopkins. They elected to live in Baltimore near JHU-Homewood and never regretted their choice. The area was affordable and reasonably safe and easier to get around than DC or its suburbs. They subsequently both found tenured positions at U of North Dakota - my God, it was 35 below zero there this morning!

There are dozens and dozens of communities between the 2 cities; you have a lot to choose from and its a buyer's market now. I've heard good things about Columbia and Howard County; lots of other places near the rail stations.

[silverspringer]

Are you willing to drive? Using public transit to get to Hopkins from DC means taking metro or bus to Union Station, MARC train to Penn Station-Baltimore, and then a Hopkins bus to get from the station to campus. (fyi, the nearest light rail stop to Homewood campus is pretty far).

If you live in NW DC, especially NW west of the park, the commute to College Park could take an hour and is probably best done by metro (plus a U-MD bus from the metro to campus).

Near College Park, you could live in Hyattsville, which is affordable and getting trendier, or University Park, which is very nice. I know several people who live in Baltimore and commute to College Park. There's traffic, and it takes awhile, but it's cheaper, it's charming, and there are walkable neighborhoods with a real city vibe which you don't get in neighborhoods close to College Park. Maybe a neighborhood like Federal Hill close to the Camden Line in Baltimore?

[saganista]

Well, I'll assume you've done your homework on the Baltimore end of a Penn Line commute, and would be happy with that part of it. At that point, I wouldn't see much reason to look any further than the Bowie area. The Penn Line stops at Bowie State University, and it's about a 35-minute run from there up to Penn Station in Baltimore. There is plenty of service, and it costs five bucks each way. For your wife's hop, she'd be about 12 miles from College Park and could use either Greenbelt Road or Good Luck Road to get over there. Probably 25 minutes in non-rush...maybe 40-45 if traffic were bad, which it often is during peak commuting hours. Bowie itself isn't quite upscale yet, but it's getting there. Population is 55K or so, and it's fairly young and fairly well-to-do. It's a safe as any place else, which means quite safe. Bowie Racecourse and the Bowie BaySox (AA affiliate of the Orioles, and with a very nice new ballpark) are there. All in all, that area would seem to fit the bill...ought to be worth looking into in any case.

[KittiKat]

I was in your same position a few years ago and we moved from Alexnadria, VA to Laurel, MD. We found a piece of heaven right off of I-95 in Howard County. It is Stone Lake, a rock quarry with a lake and a gated community. There are Townhomes as well as Single Family Homes. We love the location and community but are moving to NC to be near family. Actually, our house is on the market. Take a look in the Howard County area. The traffic is much better than we experienced in VA and the location between DC and Baltimore is great. There are a few other people here in your same position.
Good luck!