What can you tell me about Hunt Valley? (Baltimore, Cockeysville: apartment, renters)

[sobo16]

Originally Posted by trickymost

Property taxes in Baltimore County are among the lowest in Maryland...you can check it out for yourself here:

SDAT: Property Tax Rates

Not true. Baltimore County has the second highest property tax rate of 1.10 per $100 of assessed value. It's second only to Baltimore City, with a rate of 2.268 per $100 of assessed value.

Nevertheless, Hunt Valley is a nice area. Even this city-dwelling suburb hater likes it there. I do all my grocery shopping at Wegman's (quality food and great prices compared to city grocery stores), and when I need my chain restaurant fix, HV is where I head (via car or light rail). Good luck in your housing search!

[frogandtoad]

I'd also suggest checking out Phoenix, MD which is right next to Hunt Valley. Very pretty with similar housing costs. I prefer Phoenix a bit b/c it's a bit more rural although for others that could be a drawback...depends what you like. Great area out there though.

[pamptrecy]

I'd advise really checking into the schools. MD's way of dealing with No Child Left Behind has been to bus kids from failing schools to blue ribbon schools such as Cockeysville Middle and Ridgely. I would stay away from Warren Elementary school district as well unless you plan to send your kids to private school. Too many children from the apartments go there. Sparks is nice and so is Phonenix....definitely more rural though.

[dickens]

I live in Hunt Valley/Cockeysville. It is the nicest of the suburbs in Baltimore County (that's not saying much....). The element is encroaching here as well. I've lived here four years and we routinely get the ghetto bird (police helicopter) flying overhead. Most of the crime is bank/convenience store hold ups, muggings and break ins. Still it is disturbing to pay the price in housing and commuting time and not be able to get away from the poverty, ignorance and violence of Baltimore. Choose wisely and if you can afford it, consider Sparks or Phoenix.

[pamptrecy]

I second what dickens said! I live here and send my kids to private school and a big reason is the violence in the schools...and I'm talking about the elementary schools! And let's not get started on the "Rob and Ride" as we now call it (light rail)!

[jonjj]

Originally Posted by pamptrecy

I second what dickens said! I live here and send my kids to private school and a big reason is the violence in the schools...and I'm talking about the elementary schools! And let's not get started on the "Rob and Ride" as we now call it (light rail)!

Rob and Ride---cute.... You are a real swifty! Bunker down and have a safe night!

[p.a.gal]

As to your question about 450-500k for housing, look a bit north, up the I83 corridor, if you want a single-family home in that range. You won't get a brand-new home but Hunt Valley/Cockeysville, Sparks, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Monkton, etc, are all pricier than a few minutes further north. If you can, look from roughly Mt Carmel Rd north. You'll get the terrific Hereford zone schools which can certainly handle mild special needs, more house for your dollar, and a short commute if your DH works in Hunt Valley. The drawback is that you will have to drive everywhere, but neither is the Hunt Valley area set up for walkers.

[losingmylycosa]

Hunt Valley, Sparks, ect. are havens for white flight. So if that's what you're looking for, Hunt Valley would be great for you. As far as county living, Towson is close to Hunt Valley but at least it offers some sense of community and a large local university. Hunt Valley is more of a shopping area than a real community - same with Lutherville and Cockeysville. Driving through some of the residential neighborhoods in these places makes you feel like your in a Zombie movie because they are so dead (particularly in Lutherville, where I canvassed the neighborhood for a political campaign). Cockeysville is mostly a place for renters.

There is no town center or anything like that in those places. Personally, if I'm looking for somewhere to raise kids, I'd look at Towson because it has a lot more going for it - including some of the best schools in the state. And it is a tad more diverse than Hunt Valley or Lutherville, so you're children won't be as sheltered...

Towson might have more crime than Sparks or Hunt Valley, but it's manageable to most people who live there. It's not like it's so unsafe that people aren't out on the streets on a Friday night, and Towson does have a nice night life to it.

Just use common sense and lock your car doors at night. People want the suburbs in major metropolitian areas to all be like Montana, but it just doesn't work that way. With population and jobs comes crime, so they go to live in "places" like Sparks - which has no character, history, or community and contributes to sprawl and higher gas prices. Anywhere with high populations of people will have crime. People act like Towson is turning to crap, but you still see it has a thriving night life and great shopping. People like to run away from the problems of the city, but they don't realize that makes them part of the problem.

[Rollersk8]

Yes, Towson was recommended to us as well. So I take it it's got more of a town vibe to it with people walking around during the day and night to shop and eat? That may be more our speed.

[Tallybalt]

Well, people want different things. Community isn't just a neighborhood around a local elementary school, communities are people with a common interest. I live in Roland Park, but my friends aren't necessarily my neigbors.

Sparks is beautiful, with country lanes meandering through the rolling hills of Northern Baltimore County. The region encompassing Sparks, Monkton, Butler, Belfast, Phoenix and the My Lady's Manor certainly has a lot of history, and is fairly pricy, but there are more modest houses that can be had without shelling too much money. While there are people who do move there to get away from "crimes drugs and prostitution," most people up there specifically want to be in a more rural, country atmosphere. There's certainly a real community among the various subsets of the population that lives in northern Baltimore County. If you love horses, you won't find a better place to live in the state, as that's where the horse crowd congregates.

The towns along the I-83 corridor are mostly post-office names with the strip malls and chain stores along York Road. But the post office name encompasses a large area. There are clusters of apartments and townhouse developments, particularly in Cockeysville, near York Road. But the further away from York you go, the character noticeaby changes. The same Cockeysville stretches towards Falls Road and takes in some of the most expensive neighborhoods in the suburbs. For convenience, it's hard to beat living along the I-83 corridor, but you will certainly be dependent on driving.

Towson is pleasant, with some parts more walkable than others, and a good public school. But if you don't want an older, smaller house in a more dense area, Towson isn't going to appeal to you. Towson may have the mall and a downtown that's going to see some significant reinvestment in upcoming years, but people in Cockeysville or Sparks are only ten minutes away by car.

Originally Posted by losingmylycosa

Hunt Valley, Sparks, ect. are havens for white flight. So if that's what you're looking for, Hunt Valley would be great for you. As far as county living, Towson is close to Hunt Valley but at least it offers some sense of community and a large local university. Hunt Valley is more of a shopping area than a real community - same with Lutherville and Cockeysville. Driving through some of the residential neighborhoods in these places makes you feel like your in a Zombie movie because they are so dead (particularly in Lutherville, where I canvassed the neighborhood for a political campaign). Cockeysville is mostly a place for renters.

There is no town center or anything like that in those places. Personally, if I'm looking for somewhere to raise kids, I'd look at Towson because it has a lot more going for it - including some of the best schools in the state. And it is a tad more diverse than Hunt Valley or Lutherville, so you're children won't be as sheltered...

Towson might have more crime than Sparks or Hunt Valley, but it's manageable to most people who live there. It's not like it's so unsafe that people aren't out on the streets on a Friday night, and Towson does have a nice night life to it.

Just use common sense and lock your car doors at night. People want the suburbs in major metropolitian areas to all be like Montana, but it just doesn't work that way. With population and jobs comes crime, so they go to live in "places" like Sparks - which has no character, history, or community and contributes to sprawl and higher gas prices. Anywhere with high populations of people will have crime. People act like Towson is turning to crap, but you still see it has a thriving night life and great shopping. People like to run away from the problems of the city, but they don't realize that makes them part of the problem.