Anne Arundel- Diverse Communities/Diverse Schools (Columbia, Ellicott City: for sale, renting, chapel) - Maryland (MD) - City-Data Forum

autismprincipal · 04-25-2016, 07:21 AM

Hello,

My husband and I recently moved to AA County (Tanyard Springs in Glen Burnie). We're currently renting as we did not have much time to search for a home given my husband's work. We're both African American and want to find a diverse community to buy and diverse school (elementary, middle, hs) for our boys. Our son's are currently in daycare in Severna Park. As we search for homes and schools, we've noticed the more we try to search in areas with excellent schools (Severna Park, Davidsonville, and Arnold), the less diversity we've seen. Can anyone recommend communities and schools that are diverse (not just AA Americans and Whites). We don't want our children in schools that are 90% African American nor 90% white. Thanks.

bus man · 04-25-2016, 07:32 AM

Sorry, I can't help you with Anne Arundel County. If your husband's work location would allow you to feasibly commute from Howard County, you will find a number of schools with a diverse mix of whites, blacks, Asians, and/or Hispanics from which to choose.

Alex1484 · 04-26-2016, 04:08 AM

If you are looking for diversity, i would look more towards howard county or montgomery county. The diversity just is not there in Anne Arundel county especially at the higher rated schools.

BBC99 · 04-26-2016, 09:31 AM

Ditto. While I love Anne Arundel county and all that it has to offer, the county isn't as diverse as other areas of Maryland, mainly in Montgomery and Howard county.

cjmeck · 04-27-2016, 06:03 AM

What's your budget? I see others have suggested Howard County and while I love HOCO, you might also want to look into areas nearby Fort Meade. Specifically, look at neighborhoods that feed into Arundel HS (Piney Orchard section of Odenton, Gambrills and the north part of Crofton). www.greatschools.com has a good breakdown of student data as well as test scores so you can determine whether or not it might meet your needs. Also, where is your husband's job?

autismprincipal · 05-03-2016, 06:09 AM

Thank you all for responding. Moving to Howard County seems like the best idea given what we're looking for. We were cautioned about certain communities near Ft. Meade as well as the Meade feeder schools. Our budget is $575,000 and my husband works in Hanover, MD. In visiting the Waugh Chapel community, we enjoyed the amenities; however the traffic on route 3 was rather confusing and hectic- not a deal breaker though.

thealfa · 05-03-2016, 06:15 AM

if you're kids are ready for haters and hillbilly culture and backwardness, welcome to Anne Arundel County.

bus man · 05-03-2016, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by autismprincipal

Thank you all for responding. Moving to Howard County seems like the best idea given what we're looking for. We were cautioned about certain communities near Ft. Meade as well as the Meade feeder schools. Our budget is $575,000 and my husband works in Hanover, MD. In visiting the Waugh Chapel community, we enjoyed the amenities; however the traffic on route 3 was rather confusing and hectic- not a deal breaker though.

If your husband's job is anywhere near Route 100, then look at the areas of western Elkridge and eastern Ellicott City and northeastern Columbia that are in proximity to this highway, particularly between Exits 1 and 4 (inclusive). Your budget will get you a nice 4-bedroom single family house in this area.

Alex1484 · 05-03-2016, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by autismprincipal

Thank you all for responding. Moving to Howard County seems like the best idea given what we're looking for. We were cautioned about certain communities near Ft. Meade as well as the Meade feeder schools. Our budget is $575,000 and my husband works in Hanover, MD. In visiting the Waugh Chapel community, we enjoyed the amenities; however the traffic on route 3 was rather confusing and hectic- not a deal breaker though.

I think you will find traffic hectic in general in this region and its something you have to plan around. With a budget of $575k, you can get yourself a nice single family home in Howard County. I would stick to a budget of around $525k and leave yourself $50k for small repairs upgrades to personalize the home to your liking.

bus man · 05-03-2016, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex1484

I think you will find traffic hectic in general in this region and its something you have to plan around. With a budget of $575k, you can get yourself a nice single family home in Howard County. I would stick to a budget of around $525k and leave yourself $50k for small repairs upgrades to personalize the home to your liking.

While I certainly agree with Alex about the hectic traffic, some roads are worse than others. Having used both of them during the rush hours on a number of occasions, I would take Route 100 over Route 3 any day of the week.

Also, even if you (OP) take Alex's suggestion to stick to $525,000, you will still be able to get a good four-bedroom house in northeastern Howard County. From what I've seen from being a nosy neighbor and checking the prices of the houses for sale, the sweet spot seems be currently hovering around $525k to $550k.