Best area to live in Maryland for an single person (Baltimore: lease, homes)

[aajohnny]

Hey,
I am trying to get an idea of where I would like to move to Maryland and I need some help I would need to be remotely close to to Rockville since that's where my job will be. What are some safe, and affordable areas/places near/in Rockville? also are there any areas that may be "young" or appeal to an single, early 20s male? (side note I'm currently in Austin,TX)

Thanks for the help

[beasley106]

Either Baltimore city proper, Annapolis, or various Montgomery County suburbs such as Bethesda and Silver Spring. Other places in Maryland tend to be more dominated by single family homes with families and/or retired folks so I would not necessarily recommend them for someone in your situation. Considering that your job is in Rockville I suggest finding something in either Bethesda, Rockville itself, Wheaton, or Silver Spring as traffic here is no joke plus you would have relatively easy access to the Metro if you wanted to go to DC for example.

Anyways Maryland in general is very expensive compared to Austin or anywhere else in Texas for that matter (even more so the closer you get towards DC) so be prepared to spend a lot more on rent/taxes/etc compared with where you are from.

[MidValleyDad]

Baltimore City or Annapolis probably AREN'T going to cut it if the job is in Rockville. I'm not in the demographic you're in but I would suggest living close to work since that is going to be your constant trip. Rockville probably is pretty good. There is good Metro access. My son lived there for a while and I've worked with a fair number of younger software folks who seemed happy there.

[mapmd]

Well if you're a twenty-something male then you won't have to worry about safety too too much, but there are plenty of areas to avoid. I'd focus more on affordability. Montgomery County is one of the most expensive counties in the entire country.

But there is no such thing as a "BEST" area. There is no one size fits all, but for some reason this question keeps appearing in this forum, usually at least one a day. Everyone likes to do different things. Everyone has a different price range they can afford (and a price range they want to pay). People work in different areas. Some people like a more urban setting, others suburbs, others like rural areas. Again, there is no such thing as "best". You'll just have to get here, sign a six or twelve month lease and use that time to explore the area a bit.

Of course you will have a bit of culture shock (and price shock) if you're coming from Texas.

[TheCaliforniaMarylandPers]

Maryland is very expensive compared to Texas, however, there are many affordable areas too. My suggestion is Silver Spring. Its a lot closer than Baltimore or Annapolis is to Rockville. Bethesda is too pricey, but however does have a downtown area where you're likely to meet singles. But on the plus side, there's a Downtown Silver Spring too (which is also a great place to meet other singles), and you're still within reasonable distance from Downtown Bethesda and DC. And if you live in Silver Spring, you can still visit Downtown Annapolis or the Baltimore Inner Harbor every now and then as they are still not too far from you. Another suggestion I have (which is a bit further) is Frederick. There's also some young people there, its less expensive, and somewhat far, but not too far from Rockville (like 30 minutes).

[aajohnny]

Thanks for the feedback everyone How is Germantown?

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by aajohnny

How is Germantown?

Lots of married with young kids. Also a longer commute to Rockville. I suggest sticking with Rockville or Bethesda if you want to meet other singles.

[King_of_DC]

Originally Posted by aajohnny

Thanks for the feedback everyone How is Germantown?

If you want to spend a lot of time driving or on city-data.com, then Germantown would be great!

You want to be in DC, if single... can't afford, then as close to DC as possible, up to Rockville. Rockville has one center and then Rio. All that is great, but it gets old fast. Living close to the metro helps a LOT.. more than you know since it opens more options.

All depends on what you can afford, and what you are trying to do.... if you want to watch movies and not be bothered on the weekends, Germantown would be great. Not even near a metro.

[aajohnny]

Thanks I'm more intrigued by the fact Wegmans is in Germantown haha, I'd really want to live there just because of that alone! (Grew up in Western,NY and always went to Wegmans, I miss that here in Texas). I don't mind driving, I googled and Germantown is 20-30min from Rockville? I'm looking for affordable places more than anything else.

[King_of_DC]

Originally Posted by aajohnny

Thanks I'm more intrigued by the fact Wegmans is in Germantown haha, I'd really want to live there just because of that alone! (Grew up in Western,NY and always went to Wegmans, I miss that here in Texas). I don't mind driving, I googled and Germantown is 20-30min from Rockville? I'm looking for affordable places more than anything else.

It all depends on what you call "affordable". Put some numbers out there and maybe some people can help.