Thoughts on Rodgers Forge (Baltimore, Towson: houses, neighborhoods, buying)

[bottep]

My family is moving to Baltimore this summer. We are looking at the Rodgers Forge neighborhood. Thoughts on this area? We are looking for a family friendly area, with good schools, but we are not looking for an ultra conservative area. How would locals describe this area?

[Alex1484]

I would consider rogers forge pretty conservative. Its a pretty close knit community with many generations there and is home to the towson school district which are above average for schooling. I grew up in the area and would consider most of my former neighbors pretty conservative.

[bottep]

I got a very good vibe from Rodgers Forge and we liked the architecture and seeing kids in the neighborhood. I've found the neighborhood association website and such, but usually don't see the neighborhood mentioned many other places in my research.

What is the vibe of Idlewylde comparatively?

[seanlax]

It's been a while, so my knowledge is probably 5-6 years old on the area, but Idlewydle would be at the top of my list of "affordable, safe, entry level, urban suburb with few kids, great neighbors and enough nature" in the Baltimore area. I'd buy a house there if I took a job in Towson. It just needs a small family-friendly tavern.

Be careful of flood-prone houses.

[pwduvall]

Originally Posted by Alex1484

I would consider rogers forge pretty conservative. Its a pretty close knit community with many generations there and is home to the towson school district which are above average for schooling. I grew up in the area and would consider most of my former neighbors pretty conservative.

With so many city people in search of better schools moving just across the county line to places like Rodgers Forge, I doubt that the population will be super conservative in a southern kind of way. It is probably conservative relative to the norm in Baltimore City.

[Alex1484]

Originally Posted by pwduvall

With so many city people in search of better schools moving just across the county line to places like Rodgers Forge, I doubt that the population will be super conservative in a southern kind of way. It is probably conservative relative to the norm in Baltimore City.

You are right, by no means is it super conservative like the south. It is one of more conservative areas in the baltimore area relative to the city.

[springmorning]

I live in Rodgers Forge and I would not call it conservative at all! I was actually shocked when I found out that a neighbor was a Republican....I just automatically assumed we were all Dems.

In regards to how it compares to Idlewylde (we rented in Idlewylde for 2 years prior to buying in "The Forge"), for what my family was looking for, RF is the winner. Idlewylde obviously gets points for having single family homes on larger lots, but we noticed that kids mostly played in their own yards there and we rarely saw any of them out riding bikes or mingling with neighbors. In Rodger's Forge we have an alley that is literally teeming with kids on bikes and scooters on nice days. On our block alone there are at least 12 kids under 10. Both neighborhoods have excellent elementary schools and are safe, pretty areas so you really can't go wrong with either. One interesting thing about Rodgers Forge Elementary School is that there are only about 10 bus riders in the whole school! The rest of the kids are walkers, which is very unique and makes it feel like a party everyday at pickup!

[bottep]

Thank you! This is refreshing to read. We really liked the neighborhood when we looked at houses, but it's sometimes hard to tell just from appearances. We just don't want to end up in a one party neighborhood.

Is there a particular street that's good for kids? We have looked at a house that doesn't have an alley. We've also looked at Gaywood because we liked West Towson elementary school as well as Rogers Forge.

We have two boys under 6 and are moving from out of state, so we are trying to find a balance between privacy and wanting our kids to easily meet new friends. Thanks!!