Moving To Baltimore from Mass (Towson, Glen Burnie: day care, townhouses, neighborhoods)

[testcase]

Hi,

I am planning on taking up a job at JHU @ San Martin Drive. Currently we are in Shrewsbury, MA, which is about 30miles west of Boston.
We are family with 3 small kids, two in elementary school and one in day care.

I am trying to find out a decent neighborhood which would have:
a) Good schools,
b) Convenient to shopping the big box stores :-), yes, with 3 kids we visit those a lot.
c) Bank of America branch within 2-3miles, :-) my wife works there.

I dont mind a 30mile commute each way since I am used to that right now.

I have been reading the threads and trying to find a suitable place, but what is confusing me is that unlike the towns here, which are clearly demarcated, down there, people refer to neighborhoods and I am never quite sure where one neighborhood ends and the other starts. Keep in mind that I have not been to Baltimore, except the one time for the interview.


I was hoping to find a newish 3-4 bedroom house for about 250k.
The one place which seems to have it all is Glen Burnie, am I correct?
What other streets/places/towns should I look at which might fit the bill?

We are planning to visit later this month to finalize the schools and housing before I start my job there.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[testcase]

The other area that I found interesting is Manchester, it seems to be out in the boonies but I could be wrong. Ryan Homes has new construction there in my price range.

[AlicynD]

Welcome to MD - Loved Boston area - I'm a Boston University alum


Manchester is "out there" near the PA line. It is pretty rural but 15 - 20 min drive to the Westminster area. Great prices but this area will give you a commute.

Based on your criteria - price and age and vicinity to Hopkins - I would say that Baltimore County and Harford County are your best bets and these would be Townhomes. It will be difficult to find Single Family for below 300K in these areas.

[fabirt]

WELCOME!! I would check out Crofton...it was number 72 on the list of top
100 places to live in the U.S. The schools are excellent...we live on what is
called the crofton parkway which is a 3 mile loop of houses that
surrounds a golf course. We will be selling our our
house on the parkway this month, it backs to the golf course and is
500k....To find something nice in that price range will be difficult. I do not want to say anything bad about Glen Burnie but it was crossed off our list quick. We find our community to be very nice.

[Scudder]

OK, you want to work at Johns Hopkins, but live in a nice burb within 30 minutes for under 250? Its not going to happen. I hate to steer people away from Baltimore, but I think you'll find what you want in PA -- except your commute would be 45 - 60 minutes. (PS, when you hear people talk about neighborhoods here, its usually within the City). Suburban areas, Towson, Glenn Burnie, etc are less likely to refer to specific neighborhoods as the differences between one and another are generally not as extreme as they can be in the City. Baltimore's neighborhoods range from some of the best to the absolute worst in Maryland -- often within blocks of each other.

[sobo16]

I do not recommend living in Harford County or Pennsylvania if you will be working at Johns Hopkins. You'll be spending more than 2 hours a day in the car, and that is 2 hours that could be spent with your family. Manchester or elsewhere in Carroll County would be a little closer in, but you would still have a bit of a hike to get to work.

Are you only looking for single family homes, or townhouses, too? Have you looked in the White Marsh area (zip code 21236)? Have you completely ruled out Baltimore City? There would be several neighborhoods in Northeast Baltimore that would fit your criteria and would provide you with a short commute (and a Bank of America Branch, and Big Box shopping at White Marsh). Try searching for zip codes 21206 and 21214.

You are correct in that towns in Maryland do seem to blend into one other. They often do not have a town center; the sprawl just runs into the sprawl of the next town (and I use the term "town" loosely).

Good luck in your search.

[testcase]

Thanks for the excellent responses.

Scudder, thanks for your insight. What I do want to learn is where the good commute areas are in/around Baltimore.
I imagine, just like up here, down there too, people who work in Baltimore dont necessarily live in Baltimore, but live in a 'burb. I am trying to find out some of those 'burbs.

Sobo16, thanks for providing the zip codes, that definitely helps me in narrowing my search. Do you know of other towns in Carroll country besides Manchester?

fabirt and AlicynD, what about Anne Arundel county? Thats the county most mentioned in these forums, but what are the good towns in that county?

Thanks a ton everyone.

[emsgoof]

Carroll County towns you may want to look at would also include Hampstead (a little closer to Baltimore on Rt 30, but Hampstead and Manchester bump up against each other), New Windsor or Pleasant Valley (both just out past Westminster), Reese (about 1/2 way between Reisterstown and Westminster), or Gamber (on the back side of Reese, closer to Sykesville).

[testcase]

Thanks emsgoof, thats exactly the kind of info I am looking to get started in my search.

fabirt, the 500k is a bit out of our budget, are there other towns near Crofton which may offer what we are looking for?

[bberlan]

We're long-time Baltimore County residents who moved to Boston for 2 years and came back last year. We have found that the traffic seems to have doubled in volume while we were living in Mass. I'm not sure you can find something in your price range in the Towson-Lutherville-Timonium-Hunt Valley area, but that would be your best best for proximity to the campus and to all the amenities you describe. There are some smaller, older homes in these areas that may be in your price range. I would discourage going as far out as Harford or Carroll County - the commute is tough and the whole vibe changes as well. There are some nice city neighborhoods also, but private or religious school would then be a necessity.