Relocating to MD, somewhere - feasible commuting (Baltimore, Bethesda: lease, crime)

[maddo1ck]

My boyfriend and I are moving to Baltimore in the next few months. He is starting graduate school at Towson and I am currently looking for a job. I will most likely be working in Rockville or Bethesda (based on all the jobs I have applied for thus far.) We are trying to figure out where we can/should live. I don't know if it is better to try to find a place to live between Towson and wherever I will be working or to live closer to one of the respective locations. We will have one car so one person can commute by car if necessary, but driving to a metro station and going seperate ways is an option too, possibly a better one.

I have been reading posts on various neighborhoods and counties of Maryland, but first I need to get a better idea of what commutes are feasible to sort of narrow down some general areas. I know that as with any city there are definate areas to avoid and those that better areas (i.e. less crime etc.). I am just trying to get a headstart on narrowing down areas to look at more closely.

Other info. that is pertinent...we are looking to rent a 2 bedroom apt. we will have one car, can ride bikes or walk if close to a metro. We would like to be in an area where we can fairly easily access food (shopping and restaurants), night life, things like that. We are coming from a small town in Michigan, and are looking forward to moving to some place where we have different options. I don't want to come off as sounding too naive about moving to a large city. We are aware of the bad that comes along with city living too.

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

[silverspringer]

This is probably too obvious to even say, but it would be a whole lot better if you could find a job in Baltimore or the surrounding area. Easier said than done, I know. But you guys could live in Baltimore or Towson and enjoy "city life" and have reasonable commutes.

If you look at a map, you will see the difficulties in getting between Towson and Rockville. There just aren't many highway routes. You could take the Baltimore beltway (695) down to 95 S to the DC beltway (495) and then north on 270. This is a tough drive. Public transit options aren't great, either, as Bethesda and Rockville fare on the DC "transportation grid" (Metro/Metrobus) and Towson is on the Baltimore one (Balty has a subway but it's not called Metro). You might consider living in Baltimore near a train station. You could take MARC to Union Station and Metro to your job (if you have a metro-accessible job), and your boyfriend could drive to Towson. You could live somewhere between the two areas, but you might have to sacrifice "city life" and get a second car, depending.

Anyway, I would really calculate out the commute and how long it's going to take before signing a lease or taking a job. But welcome to the area! Baltimore's a great city, still relatively affordable (compared to DC) and there's a lot of fun stuff for young people.

[maddo1ck]

Originally Posted by silverspringer

This is probably too obvious to even say, but it would be a whole lot better if you could find a job in Baltimore or the surrounding area. Easier said than done, I know. But you guys could live in Baltimore or Towson and enjoy "city life" and have reasonable commutes.

If you look at a map, you will see the difficulties in getting between Towson and Rockville. There just aren't many highway routes. You could take the Baltimore beltway (695) down to 95 S to the DC beltway (495) and then north on 270. This is a tough drive. Public transit options aren't great, either, as Bethesda and Rockville fare on the DC "transportation grid" (Metro/Metrobus) and Towson is on the Baltimore one (Balty has a subway but it's not called Metro). You might consider living in Baltimore near a train station. You could take MARC to Union Station and Metro to your job (if you have a metro-accessible job), and your boyfriend could drive to Towson. You could live somewhere between the two areas, but you might have to sacrifice "city life" and get a second car, depending.

Anyway, I would really calculate out the commute and how long it's going to take before signing a lease or taking a job. But welcome to the area! Baltimore's a great city, still relatively affordable (compared to DC) and there's a lot of fun stuff for young people.

Thanks for the reply. I figured it would not be easy, but I was hoping that maybe it was easier than it really looked. I too am still hoping for a job opportunity closer to Baltimore (only 1 of the 16 I have applied for have been in Baltimore). I'll keep my fingers crossed because I would really like to be able to enjoy the amenities of the city...not just the traffic while commuting

[NChopeful]

What is your occupation that you can't find a job closer? Like the pp stated it would be much easier to get a job closer unless you don't work a regular schedule. My husband worked in Bethsda and we live in Randallstown (BA) and it took him about 45min -2hrs to and from work.

[maddo1ck]

I am a biologist. More specifically a molecular biologist with a fair amount of DNA analysis experience, but not too much clinical. I am still trying to find openings that are closer to Baltimore and I have had some luck. It just seems that there are so many really good genomic/molecular bio scientist positions out that way.