What town(s) do you guys recommend? (Baltimore, Columbia: real estate, renting)

[Arithian]

Hello Everyone, I am starting to plan a move to Baltimore Co. to work in Baltimore City (all around the city not one location in the city). I have currently been doing A LOT of research on this topic and am finding it very difficult to find information that applies specificly to myself and my family. We are heading down later this month to look around at the surrounding areas but some suggestions would be fantastic.

Who we are:

My wife and I are 29 with 1 child and a possibly a second on the way. We are white and, while we have nothing against other ethnicities, would prefer to be in an area that is predominately the same. We lead boring lives! Nightlife is not an issue.

What we are looking for:

Most Important
- Easy commute into city.
- Will commute up to 45 minutes but would prefer around 30 or under.
- House price range up to around 300k (good size, 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, colonial)
- Nice area, we currently live close to Trenton, tired of seeing the ghetto people spill over the borders!

Less Important
- We love the shore and think the bay would be awesome. However, looking at some of those pictures of the huge flood in '03 we are a little nervous about being too close.
- Visiting family would be taking 95 North, but then again its mostly her family so this is definitely LESS important!

Areas we have researched so far and our current thoughts (may be completely off base and if we are please let us know).

Towson and Ellicott City- Awesome but out of our price range.
Randallstown - Seems nice but 79% African American, we would prefer not to be the minority.
Bowleys Quarters - Seems nice, any thoughts?
White Marsh - Nice but really high taxes.
Parkville, Carney, Dundalk - Ghetto? I read some people making jokes about these areas in that regard.

Havent looked too much into towns south of Baltimore because I read that the commute was the worst coming from the south, is that correct?

If anyone has any recommendations that would be GREAT! We will definitely like to add them to our list of places to look at while we are down there later this July.

[End-User]

There really isn't anything wrong with Dundalk, although it can be the butt of many jokes they are mostly comedic exaggerations. The area is lower class, but not ghetto at all; I'd describe it as lower middle class with lots of blue collar workers, though class mobility might not be what it once was.

Parkville is pretty solidly middle class. Another option I suggest is Owings Mills, which is adjacent to Randallstown but is more than half white (though that is changing thanks to a growing number of SE Asians).

Commute times won't be too much worse from any of these areas, but for your price range you might get less house than you want. Real estate agents on this board who might be able to help you.

[davecj]

I think you would like Columbia. It's a pretty easy commute into the city and the community is very family oriented.

At 300k there are a couple nice homes in the Towson and Lutherville area. As you go more East they tend to get let expensive.

[barante]

Many posters here say I'm nuts. And perhaps I am. But some sections of Dundalk are nice and have a small-town America feeling. Plenty of shopping, White Marsh 15 minutes away. Little League! Fishing.
What I am saying is that in these difficult times Dundalk makes a compelling economic argument. Not everyone can live beyond their means in a hooty-tooty development.

[catsy girl]

Originally Posted by Arithian

Hello Everyone, I am starting to plan a move to Baltimore Co. to work in Baltimore City (all around the city not one location in the city). I have currently been doing A LOT of research on this topic and am finding it very difficult to find information that applies specificly to myself and my family. We are heading down later this month to look around at the surrounding areas but some suggestions would be fantastic.

Who we are:

My wife and I are 29 with 1 child and a possibly a second on the way. We are white and, while we have nothing against other ethnicities, would prefer to be in an area that is predominately the same. We lead boring lives! Nightlife is not an issue.

What we are looking for:

Most Important
- Easy commute into city.
- Will commute up to 45 minutes but would prefer around 30 or under.
- House price range up to around 300k (good size, 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, colonial)
- Nice area, we currently live close to Trenton, tired of seeing the ghetto people spill over the borders!

Less Important
- We love the shore and think the bay would be awesome. However, looking at some of those pictures of the huge flood in '03 we are a little nervous about being too close.
- Visiting family would be taking 95 North, but then again its mostly her family so this is definitely LESS important!

Areas we have researched so far and our current thoughts (may be completely off base and if we are please let us know).

Towson and Ellicott City- Awesome but out of our price range.
Randallstown - Seems nice but 79% African American, we would prefer not to be the minority.
Bowleys Quarters - Seems nice, any thoughts?
White Marsh - Nice but really high taxes.
Parkville, Carney, Dundalk - Ghetto? I read some people making jokes about these areas in that regard.

Havent looked too much into towns south of Baltimore because I read that the commute was the worst coming from the south, is that correct?

If anyone has any recommendations that would be GREAT! We will definitely like to add them to our list of places to look at while we are down there later this July.

i lived in baltimore- inner harbor, towson, ellicott city- all of my life except for the last ten years. i traveled to many neighborhoods in balto. county and city as a part of my job, and i still go back often to visit friends.

if you would consider a town house- there are a few 4 bedroom ones- i'd suggest rodgers forge in balto. county. this has been a stable family neighborhood for many years, with top-rated schools, elementary through high school, and very convenient to shopping, transportation, as well as downtown. adjacent to this neighborhood is anneslie with older single homes and in the same school district. another possibility is catonville in western balto. county, near shopping, transportation, and close to#95. i'm not as certain on schools. there are many older homes in this area, some out of your price range, but i think many would be affordable, as you describe it.
these are just some possibilties that come to mind. although i no longer live in balto. i have friends who live in these areas, i keep abreast of neighborhood activity through the local paper, and i am in and out of the city frequently.

baltimore is definitely a city of diverse neighborhoods and i wish you luck in finding a good fit.

catsy girl

[barante]

Arithian -- What do you mean White Marsh has "really high taxes?" Number 1, that is factually incorrect. But if you insist they are high, then you can exclude all the other Baltimore County communities as well because the tax rate is identical.
Anyway, one community that I recommend is Linthicum in Anne Arundel County. It is on the Amtrak, MARC and light-rail line, with a great access to interstates. BWI airport is nearby but there is very little aircraft noise, less than in Columbia.
With your budget, you should be able to get a nice house in Linthicum. Depending on what's happening at the National Security Agency and Northrop Grumman, you might even get a steal.
I have good friends living in Linthicum. They told me not to tell you how nice Linthicum is.

[KLynch10]

Commuting from south of the city is the easiest of any direction. No beltway or 83 to deal with and downtown is the southern end of the city. Severna Park is really nice, but $300k won't happen. I would check out Arnold and Pasadena, both heavily on the water.

[catsy girl]

Originally Posted by barante

Arithian -- What do you mean White Marsh has "really high taxes?" Number 1, that is factually incorrect. But if you insist they are high, then you can exclude all the other Baltimore County communities as well because the tax rate is identical.
Anyway, one community that I recommend is Linthicum in Anne Arundel County. It is on the Amtrak, MARC and light-rail line, with a great access to interstates. BWI airport is nearby but there is very little aircraft noise, less than in Columbia.
With your budget, you should be able to get a nice house in Linthicum. Depending on what's happening at the National Security Agency and Northrop Grumman, you might even get a steal.
I have good friends living in Linthicum. They told me not to tell you how nice Linthicum is.

i forgot about linthicum as a possible neighborhood choice, but i'm glad someone else remembered. it is a a very convenient, somewhat tucked away area with a variety of house styles, some on large lots. i have friends who have lived there for forty years and describe it as a modern day mayberry.

i'd agree you should consider adding this neighborhood to your list as ones to explore.
again, good luck with your search.

catsy

[J_Lurk]

Originally Posted by Arithian

- House price range up to around 300k (good size, 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, colonial)

We moved up here 18 months ago and looked in Severna Park, Columbia, Ellicott City, Linthicum, and Catonsville.

You are not going to find a Colonial house of that size in any of those areas for that price. You might find a townhouse of that size. You might find older construction Cape Cods with that many small bedrooms, but an overall small square footage and probably 1-2 baths.

If the size of the house and colonial style really matters, consider Carroll County (Sykesville, Eldersburg)

[barante]

If mobility around Baltimore is a major concern, I urge the OP not to go into Carroll County because that will increase commuting considerably without increasing accessibility. As to prices, there are lots of sellers willing to do deals at this point.
A totally different thing is whether the OP feels secure enough in this market to buy. I would look really carefully into the possibility of renting.