Moving from NYC to Baltimore with family and needing some pointers (Columbia: rent, school district)

[DAnderson37]

Like most others we are tired of the ridiculous cost of living (amongst a laundry list of other things) "the big apple" has been torturing it's residents with and I have been given a pretty decent job opportunity in the Baltimore area. My wife is a Nurse therefore finding a job for her will be pretty easy, even though we still want to make sure she's working in a great atmosphere. However my only knowledge of Baltimore are whatever scenes were depicted from the HBO series "The Wire" and quite frankly that scares the crap out of us. So we've both decided that Baltimore County is probably not were we want to raise our children (11 and 2).
We've been hearing a lot about Ellicott City and Howard County. Can anyone please share in their opinion the best places to:
A)Raise children in a great environment and great school system
B)Not feel as though we're only working to pay rent or mortgage
C)Close enough to commute to Baltimore but not deal with the big city hassle
D)Simply enjoy life and family with minimal environmental stress

Thanks

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by DAnderson37

So we've both decided that Baltimore County is probably not were we want to raise our children (11 and 2).
We've been hearing a lot about Ellicott City and Howard County. Can anyone please share in their opinion the best places to:
A)Raise children in a great environment and great school system
B)Not feel as though we're only working to pay rent or mortgage
C)Close enough to commute to Baltimore but not deal with the big city hassle
D)Simply enjoy life and family with minimal environmental stress

Ellicott City (or other places in Howard County like Clarksville or Elkridge) would check all of your boxes as long as you have well-paid jobs. The housing is expensive because the schools are highly-regarded. You might both need to work depending on your housing wants and income potential.

BTW, Baltimore County is not as bad a Baltimore City. Catonsville is also a decent place to live.

For medical jobs, your wife might look into St Agnes Hospital or the University of Maryland Health System. (I have used the Outpatient services of both.) Johns Hopkins Hospital is great, but might be more urban than she wants to deal with.

[mls012]

Continue your search in Howard County! Columbia, Ellicott City and Elkridge are the main areas in the County. Depending on where you live and your working hours, the commute is 20-30 mins to downtown Baltimore. The County is known for its school district & family friendly environment. I'm not sure what your budget it, but its not cheap to live here! Although most likely cheaper than NYC.


The Baltimore Forum would be a better place to post this question, or you should search there for other threads similar to this.....as this question is posted very often!


North Baltimore County (Timonium, Cockeysville, maybe even Towson) is also highly rated FYI and may be a good option depending on where your job in Baltimore is actually located. Commuting around here sucks for the most part (its worse going south to DC), so keep that in mind also.


Let me know if you have anymore questions. Good Luck!

[Infinite_heights77]

However my only knowledge of Baltimore are whatever scenes were depicted from the HBO series "The Wire" and quite frankly that scares the crap out of us.

*LOL! Television is a powerful drug! I'm from Baltimore and the city scares the hell out of me at times. David Simon has forever tarnished the city with his TV series.

Ellicott City/Howard County are pretty sterile enclaves. Coming out of NYC, you'll get bored.

Originally Posted by DAnderson37

Like most others we are tired of the ridiculous cost of living (amongst a laundry list of other things) "the big apple" has been torturing it's residents with and I have been given a pretty decent job opportunity in the Baltimore area. My wife is a Nurse therefore finding a job for her will be pretty easy, even though we still want to make sure she's working in a great atmosphere. However my only knowledge of Baltimore are whatever scenes were depicted from the HBO series "The Wire" and quite frankly that scares the crap out of us. So we've both decided that Baltimore County is probably not were we want to raise our children (11 and 2).
We've been hearing a lot about Ellicott City and Howard County. Can anyone please share in their opinion the best places to:
A)Raise children in a great environment and great school system
B)Not feel as though we're only working to pay rent or mortgage
C)Close enough to commute to Baltimore but not deal with the big city hassle
D)Simply enjoy life and family with minimal environmental stress

Thanks

[Infinite_heights77]

Those places are BORING!

Originally Posted by mls012

Continue your search in Howard County! Columbia, Ellicott City and Elkridge are the main areas in the County. Depending on where you live and your working hours, the commute is 20-30 mins to downtown Baltimore. The County is known for its school district & family friendly environment. I'm not sure what your budget it, but its not cheap to live here! Although most likely cheaper than NYC.


The Baltimore Forum would be a better place to post this question, or you should search there for other threads similar to this.....as this question is posted very often!


North Baltimore County (Timonium, Cockeysville, maybe even Towson) is also highly rated FYI and may be a good option depending on where your job in Baltimore is actually located. Commuting around here sucks for the most part (its worse going south to DC), so keep that in mind also.


Let me know if you have anymore questions. Good Luck!

[DAnderson37]

Thank you everyone for your feedback!!!.
We do plan on coming to the area in the near future to check out the areas that seem to be "the best". I did forget to mention this key point, we lived in the south for a few years and LOVED the slower pace and great hospitality (why we're back in NYC is beyond me), so we are seeking that same kind of environment.
Pleasant people, good food and family friendly events.

[Chaofan]

A safe environment with outstanding schools, a thriving economy, and a wide range of dining, entertainment, and recreational opportunities hardly constitutes boring.

[seanlax]

DAnderson37,

Do not let a silly TV show shape your view of the city. I don't assume New York City is full of white collar rapists and murderers just because I watched a lot of Law and Order right? But by your standard I should...

In any event, Baltimore County is night and day compared to the city, generally speaking. Howard County has excellent schools and a price point that probably won't scare someone from the Tri-state area. But then so does Baltimore County, and its likely far more convenient to potential jobs. Come take an actual look around once you narrow your results down a bit.

In addition to the Howard County locales stated by others, check out Towson, Lutherville, Cockeysville, Catonsville and even the Kingsville/White Marsh area out (all in Baltimore County). They may satisfy your tastes without suffering from the absolutely sterile environment that Howard County most certainly is. Although people clearly love that.

[cjmeck]

You're on the right path with looking into Howard County. Ellicott City, Columbia, Elkridge will all be easy commutes into Baltimore. There is a fantastic hospital in Columbia called Howard County General. Also, Howard County gets awards for the schools, CNN Money Magazine rated EC/Columbia a "top place to raise a family", ect.. I know you said no to Baltimore County but there is a great city called Catonsville that sits just over the Howard County line in Baltimore County. A little lower cost of living there. That said, when we relocated we chose Ellicott City and our street has several New Yorkers who made it out of the city too. I have to laugh when I hear about the "sterile environment" in Howard County... I guess compared to the big city maybe but as far as suburbs goes; it is enormous, diverse, lively and tons to do. And not at all like The Wire Welcome!

[Infinite_heights77]

It is STERILE and it's always been like that!!!! Columbia, MD is one major social science experiment, using Columbia as its bonafide petre dish. Stop playing mental games! Like I said, Howard County, Elllicott City, Columbia, Elkridge are sterile, boring places to me. Columbia, with all it's bragging of some post-racial integrated confused mix-raced Black children (another story), is a very boring place! The diversity in those places you mentioned, is not the same DIVERSITY you have in New York, LA or London.

Originally Posted by cjmeck

You're on the right path with looking into Howard County. Ellicott City, Columbia, Elkridge will all be easy commutes into Baltimore. There is a fantastic hospital in Columbia called Howard County General. Also, Howard County gets awards for the schools, CNN Money Magazine rated EC/Columbia a "top place to raise a family", ect.. I know you said no to Baltimore County but there is a great city called Catonsville that sits just over the Howard County line in Baltimore County. A little lower cost of living there. That said, when we relocated we chose Ellicott City and our street has several New Yorkers who made it out of the city too. I have to laugh when I hear about the "sterile environment" in Howard County... I guess compared to the big city maybe but as far as suburbs goes; it is enormous, diverse, lively and tons to do. And not at all like The Wire Welcome!