Moving to MD - Schooling - Desi Community (Baltimore, Columbia: low income, real estate market)

[FamGuy]

Hi,

We are planning to move to MD this summer. Our eldest one will be going to 10th grade, and the youngest one to 7th grade. We're looking to buy a 3-4 bedroom house with a decent size backyard. Our ideal budget is up to 450K.

Below are some preferences and a few questions; any input will be greatly appreciated:

1. Top priority: Good schooling for middle school and high school kids
2. Area: A family town with some diversity. Somewhere between White Marsh and Silver Spring. Or between White Marsh and Sykesville. Feel free to make recommendations outside of these areas also and we'll see if any of those work for us.
3. Good to have: Desi - Pakistani and Indian community
4. Question: What's the best way to determine which towns have good schools? Looks like in MD, it goes by country, and one town can be part of multiple counties, which is very confusing. Are there any maps that show school ratings by town?


Thank you for your time and input in advance!!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by FamGuy

Hi,

We are planning to move to MD this summer. Our eldest one will be going to 10th grade, and the youngest one to 7th grade. We're looking to buy a 3-4 bedroom house with a decent size backyard. Our ideal budget is up to 450K................

Generally I would recommend Howard County Schools as the best in the State. However, your budget is much too limited for Howard unless you look at a townhouse or a fixer-upper. Columbia has some in your price range.

Sykesville in Carroll County is a good suggestion. I use GreatSchools.org for a quick overview of school ratings, and Sykesville has 9 of 10 for both the Middle and High Schools. It has a tab for the ethnic mix within the school. Sykesville has single family houses within your price range, but there are very few Indian or Pakistani families there. Overall, there 6.2% Asians in Maryland, but they cluster in Howard and Montgomery Counties. See this example: https://bestneighborhood.org/race-in-maryland/

Rating of middle and high schools gets tricky because they combine students from several different elementary schools, some of which have many low income families. As a result, the middle and high schools often have lower ratings than nearby elementary schools. Real estate listing usually have a listing of the GreatSchool ratings. Redfin will also allow you to search by school rating, and then narrow the results down by price.

I very much doubt that a map of school ratings exists, as it would reveal the racial and economic discrimination patterns that still exist in our real estate markets. I suggest that Niche.com will give you some answers. There is also a State Report Card on schools. See this press release:
https://news.maryland.gov/msde/maryland-report-card/ and the actual ratings by county:
https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/

These are a little hard to navigate, but I could confirm that Century High in Sykesville is excellent.

[goldenage1]

I am confused about whether there would be a required commute to an an office. The range from Silver Spring to White Marsh is too large to suggest a commute from the mid-point. Many of the possibilities near the mid-point are not worth recommending because of poorer school or higher prices.

A few other options: Ellicott City, Elkridge, Hanover. Also Crofton in Anne Arrundel County, although single family homes are nearly out of the price range. There are many townhouses in these communities that are within the price range.

[MidValleyDad]

Where in Maryland will the primary breadwinner being working? That will be the first thing that will affect where you look. It doesn't do any good to suggest things north of Baltimore if the job is in the DC area. You can expect heavy traffic in the metro area along the I-95 corridor, anywhere within 50 miles of either the Baltimore or Washington Beltways and down south of Annapolis down into Waldorf in Charles County.


Also withi in the Central Maryland area housing prices are very high. Be glad to provide some pointers once we know what area you want to look in

[ion475]

I guess White Marsh / SS or Sykesville is because of job location?

Columbia / Ellicott City area would be your best bet - and there is a decent size Indian community in that area. As other said due to good schools in that area, it is also somewhat pricy.

The other larger Indian communities would be Clarksburg / Urbana along 270...but that would be an awful commute.

[FamGuy]

Thanks, everyone for your great input!!

We will be working from home for the most part but will be going onsite once or twice a week to White Marsh and Silver Spring area.