considering moving from NJ for job in Aberdeen MD (Baltimore: crime, schools)

[whirledpease]

What might be a safe not hyper expensive residential location that is close enough to DC,and museums with a reasonable commute to Aberdeen MD for a start?

Also should jobs change want to be within reasonable commute to columbia/va.

Any advice appreciated
thanks
W

[Dan3086]

I live in Fallston and work in DC. I drive about an hour and fifteen minutes and don't mind at all. It's worth it because Harford county is beautiful. I prefer the country though, it's all about what type of living you like.

[whirledpease]

is the metro between dc and aberdeen regular on weekends too?
thanks
w.

[Dan3086]

It's called the MARC train. Here's the link. Looks like it just runs Mon.-Fri.
Penn_Line_Index. (http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/marc/schedulesSystemMaps/penn.cfm - broken link)

If that doesn't work for some reason just google "MARC train MD"

[jland]

Most places in either Harford or Cecil counties would probably fit the bill. Harford is a little more expensive than Cecil, Cecil is more rural than Harford. In both cases, there are mostly good areas (lots of choices), and a couple of bad areas (mostly south/east of Rt 40).

Going to DC on the weekends is not a problem, about 1-1/2 hours from Aberdeen, door to door.
During the week, it can get ridiculous.

[whirledpease]

thank you all. Is it better then, to live near DC or in it and commute to the Aberdeen area?
Just want to be within reach of a good metro, weekends included, and the museums and such. Trying to make up for leaving the NYC area.

And allow for the possibility of some Virginia area jobs should the Aberdeen options not be sustainable.

IS there a good online map tool thatd allow one to look at the 3 county- Va,MD, DC area?

thanks
W.

[jland]

I would recommend against that. You would have to deal with both the DC traffic (completely insane) and Baltimore rush hour (sometimes bad, but an order of magnatude less).
Amtrak does have trains to/from DC that stop at Aberdeen on the weekends, but I'm thinking that it would be pricey.

If one of you is working at Aberdeen, that should be your primary search area. Driving to DC on the weekends is not that bad from Aberdeen, straight shot down 95/295 until you get to New York Ave. It'll take about an hour to get to DC city limits, plus some time inside DC to get where you are going (but that would be the case anyway).

Other things to consider:
Housing prices close to DC are about 150% of what you would pay in Aberdeen for the same house/land.
Crime in Harford/Cecil county is less than 10% (number of incidents) of that close to DC.
Schools close to DC (especially PG county) are not as good as those more distant, although there are exceptions to the rule.
Traffic in DC is insane during rush hour. Rush hour near where I live (about 20 miles from Aberdeen) consists of seeing more than 3 other cars on the road.

I used to live close to DC, and made the decision to move away (to Cecil county), even though my job was downtown DC and in Northern VA. I used the Marc train, and while it made for long days, it was far better than living close to DC or driving the DC rush hour.

[slug1]

First, I would concur with previous posters. I do not believe that a Harford County to Va commute is sustainable for a long period of time. The drive time in the DC area is horrendous. I live in Bel Air and my daughter used to live in Herndon. Forget, I mean forget using the capital beltway (495) to get around. From your short blip I would guess that Fallston/Abingdon/Bel Air would be worth considering.

[RoadTripGurl]

Yes I think you should wait until you know for sure where you are working before the move. I live in Bel Air and commute to the Silver Spring area and it is a long enough commute. To DC on the MARC it was 1.5 hours each way. Also, not sure what the salary is but in my opinion, DC jobs pay more than jobs north of the toll. It is worth it to commute from Harford to DC but I wouldn't be so sure of the reverse commute. The Aberdeen jobs I've seen have lower pay and the cost of living in the DC area is so ridiculous the reverse commute wouldn't even be worth it.

[Huggie821]

I to am looking to move from williamstown N.J. to Aberdeen, I have a wife and child 14 im in concrete field she in the counseling can someone tell me is aberdeen the place?