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Old 01-08-2011, 07:18 PM
 
6 posts, read 23,882 times
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I'm a recent Engineering graduate and currently live in Houston, Texas. I think there may be an impending job offer for me at Motorola there and looks like I may have to relocate. Motorola is located around Columbia Gateway Dr at the Micro Systems building and I'd really like to live as close as possible but don't want to spend a ridiculous amount on housing. How is the area around there? Are there any recommendations or suggestions on where to stay? I'll be moving with my wife and 3 dogs. Also, what is a good Salary to live comfortably in Maryland?

Oh and anyone work at Motorola?

Thanks!
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Old 01-10-2011, 02:50 PM
 
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eeguy, I'm not going to be able to give you the overall numbers you want, but Gateway is a very convenient area to work in. You'll have all kinds of housing options available with a very short commute. Unfortunately, the price of housing is going to be much higher than in Houston. We have family there and I'm very jealous of the house they were able to buy. Twice the size for about half the price of ours. And with those nice southern touches that seem to be standard down there.

If you plan to rent, plan on $1200 for a 2-br apt or condo in the county. A decent townhome would probably start in the upper $200s but you could probably find cheaper if you aren't too picky.
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Old 03-15-2011, 08:56 PM
 
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I will be flying over there this Thursday and leaving Sunday to find housing. Anyone know a good Realtor that could show us some houses or apartments for rent? We really need to find something. Please PM me.
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Old 03-21-2011, 05:35 PM
 
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My neighbor works for Motorola & we live in the Sykesville/Eldersburg area.
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Old 03-21-2011, 09:58 PM
 
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Thanks for the input. I'm actually looking specifically at the condos at 8703 Hayshed Ln. I'd like to know if that's a good area. I drove past there during the day and night and it seemed okay. The condos are a bit ugly but it's very convenient for me since I'll be working in Columbia.

Also I would be very interested in someone offering their home for rent near Columbia. If anyone knows someone PM me.
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Old 03-22-2011, 04:10 PM
 
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eeguy, I just saw your other post on the same topic. The Hayshed Ln condo is in an older village that looks run down in many areas. It's down the street from a village center that many people avoid because of the groups of teens hanging around - there are a lot of apartments nearby. I don't know that it's unsafe or anything, but it's an area with a lot of older rentals and it is what it is. But for someone just starting out who needs to rent for a while, I'm sure it's fine. And it's close to the big shopping areas off of Dobbin.

I'm not familiar with the other area you mentioned, but it sounds like it's near Whiskey Bottom, which has a reputation of being somewhat rough. If you don't need to be further south for some reason, I think Columbia might be a better choice.

Good luck on your visit - I hope you can find an agent to help!
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Old 03-23-2011, 06:07 AM
 
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I'm not overly familiar with the area, but I looked for housing in the columbia area last year.

I viewed several nice homes in the 350-400k range.
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Old 03-23-2011, 10:22 AM
 
6 posts, read 23,882 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newhart View Post
eeguy, I just saw your other post on the same topic. The Hayshed Ln condo is in an older village that looks run down in many areas. It's down the street from a village center that many people avoid because of the groups of teens hanging around - there are a lot of apartments nearby. I don't know that it's unsafe or anything, but it's an area with a lot of older rentals and it is what it is. But for someone just starting out who needs to rent for a while, I'm sure it's fine. And it's close to the big shopping areas off of Dobbin.

I'm not familiar with the other area you mentioned, but it sounds like it's near Whiskey Bottom, which has a reputation of being somewhat rough. If you don't need to be further south for some reason, I think Columbia might be a better choice.

Good luck on your visit - I hope you can find an agent to help!
Thank you for your input. Yeah, the condo complex looks a bit ugly from the outside but the condo is really nice in the inside and I like how it's very convenient from where I'll be working at. I figured I could live with it being ugly atleast for now until I find something better. I just want to make sure that the area isn't really "bad". "Bad" is always so relative, over here in Houston I can name you some bad areas but I dont know if they would be considered as bad as a "bad" area in Columbia.
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Old 03-23-2011, 01:29 PM
 
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I think thats in Long Reach, I used to live in another part of Long Reach. I had a few issues with cars being vandalized, but nothing major. That village center always seemed to have shady characters hanging around. I avoided it. Bottom line, its not that bad, but there are much nicer areas in Columbia that probably arent much more expensive.
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