Need help- Relocating to Fort meade area (Columbia, Severn: apartment complexes, rentals)

[Secondstar2020]

Hello everyone! My partner and I are looking to relocate to the Fort Meade area in the near future. His job would be in the Fort Meade area and I am hoping to get a job in the Howard County Public School System. We originally were looking at apartment rentals in the Piney Orchard area. It was very nice there but I realized it may be too far of a drive to a school in Howard County so we briefly drove west and came across the Columbia area. We did appreciate the stores (especially Wegmans!) in the Columbia area but from what I understand there is also shopping nearby Piney Orchards in Gambrills (we did not get to physically see this shopping area). Can anyone provide pros and cons of Columbia vs Odenton in terms of traffic, etc.? Any tips on specific apartment complexes would be helpful also!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Secondstar2020

..... Can anyone provide pros and cons of Columbia vs Odenton in terms of traffic, etc.? Any tips on specific apartment complexes would be helpful also!

The traffic for the partner would depend on exactly where he would be working, the times of day, and whether he is going thru a military checkpoint. You could test out the commute on Google maps, both with Columbia as a starting point and Gambrills as the starting point. Many people in Columbia do work in the Fort Meade area and Route 32 probably gets crowded. Columbia has many amenities such as pools and gyms that make it attractive. The development in Gambrills is newer, and I am not familiar with it.

If you like Gambrills, why not look at teaching jobs in Anne Arundel County?

[NJ2MDdude]

There's a Wegman's in the shopping center you're referring to. The center is called the Village at Waugh Chapel, and it is on Crain Highway, near Piney Orchard. Howard County is accessible from Piney Orchard by way of Piney Orchard Parkway to Route 175 to Route 32. From there, it's a straight shot into Howard County. Google it. I don't think you could go wrong living in either county.

[bande1102]

I'd look into Crofton. It's on the other side of RT 3 from the Village at Waugh Chapel (which has Wegman's, Target, etc...google it). You can jump on Rt 3 and get on 32 to Columbia and it's also pretty close to Ft Meade.

[Secondstar2020]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

The traffic for the partner would depend on exactly where he would be working, the times of day, and whether he is going thru a military checkpoint. You could test out the commute on Google maps, both with Columbia as a starting point and Gambrills as the starting point. Many people in Columbia do work in the Fort Meade area and Route 32 probably gets crowded. Columbia has many amenities such as pools and gyms that make it attractive. The development in Gambrills is newer, and I am not familiar with it.

If you like Gambrills, why not look at teaching jobs in Anne Arundel County?

Thank you everyone for your replies! You definitely gave us some things to look into. We’re going to try to travel to the area again this weekend. Someone had mentioned looking into a job for Anne Arundel County, but I haven’t heard back from them at this point.

[adave1]

I used to live in Columbia, and now live on Crain Highway, which is Route 3. Both are equal in terms of commuting to Fort Meade, about 20 minutes. Both have Wegmans. There’s one on Route 3 and one in Columbia. Odenton and Gambrills are more or less the same area. A lot of what is Gambrills now used to go under Odenton zip code. Piney Orchard and Waugh Chapel are two of the nicer areas of Odenton and Gambrills. Crofton is further south on Route 3 and is nice. Include Severna Park also in your search because it’s an awesome area with good vibes and good schools. You have many good choices.