How's Elkridge/Hanover? Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly please. (Baltimore: homes)

[ChocolateTae]

Hey there!

It's been awhile since I've posted here. My husband and I are looking to buy a home in Howard County. We're looking for a decent sized home with a decent amount of land. We need enough space for me to restart my vegetable gardening (our current home barely has a backyard and what I've tried growing on the deck have been eaten by our fury little friends) and for our 8 year old and any future little ones we have to run around and play safely.

We've looked in various neighborhoods throughout Columbia with no luck. Our realtor has been sending us quite a few homes in the Elkridge area which we really aren't interested in because of it's proximity to BWI airport. However, after over a year of this I'm starting to pay a little more attention to those listing. Some of the homes are really nice and the school ratings seem to be pretty decent. My only concern is the potential noise from the aircrafts.

Any here that currently lives in the Elkridge/Hanover area or that has in the past? Is the noise from the airport really that bad? Are there decent shops and grocery stores in the area? How are the schools in your opinion?

TIA for any help with this.

[cwitty]

Lived not too far from Elkridge years ago. I cant really say I remember BWI interfering with that part of MD too much.

Elkridge is not too far from Arundel Mills and Columbia Mall. Both are regarded as some of the better malls in MD. Especially Arundel mills.

[personone]

Elkridge is very close to Columbia, Arundel Mills, and Laurel. It is a relatively easy drive to Baltimore and DC as well.

There is some new housing scattered throughout, and it will likely feel different depending on where you are located.

I grew up in Columbia, and years back it was a very blue collar area. There are still some areas with trailer homes and a heavily blue collar feel. The general feel is very different than Columbia (which is much more diverse and has a more liberal feel). Of course these are broad generalization, and likely dated, since this was the general feel of the area when I was growing up. This whole region continues to grow and gentrify, so it likely has a slightly different feel now. My family and friends still live in Columbia and I frequently visit, but I am not familiar with the ins and outs of Elkridge. Hanover has a "newer" feel to it. More newly built housing and communities.

[bus man]

There are two main runways used by jet traffic at BWI Airport. Runway 10-28 runs roughly west to east, while Runway 15R-33L runs roughly northwest to southeast. About 70 percent of all takeoffs use Runway 28 (heading west) and about 70 percent of all landings use Runway 33L (heading northwest).

Flight arrivals come from all over the place, but they funnel into certain predefined paths as they get closer to the airport. One of the paths comes in from the west-northwest, roughly following Route 100 and then easing a bit to the south towards Route 175, before turning (starting at roughly the Baltimore-Washington Parkway) to funnel into the landing path for Runway 33L.

Flight departures from Runway 28 head west, and slightly northwest, with many of them following an essentially straight line from the end of the runway to overfly the Columbia Mall. But they're already at about 2,000 feet in altitude by the time they pass over I-95, so the departure noise is less burdensome than the arrival noise.

All that said, I live near I-95 and Route 100, and I hear the planes in the background, sometimes, but it's not bothersome to me. Others who live closer to the airport might have a different opinion.