Moving for a New Job in Baltimore — Torn Between Montgomery County and Howard County for Our Family

[Anonymous]

I live and work in DC and drive to montco and Howard a lot for sports on nights and weekends

Would definitely do Howard in your situation

[Anonymous]

Why not Baltimore County? Lots of good options here.

[Anonymous]

LOL for schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look into Anne Arundel county!

Again LOL for schools

[Anonymous]

You should look in Baltimore county - depending on what city you office is actually in. Montgomery county is expensive, the commute will be unbearable ( think 2 hours each way).

[Anonymous]

I agree with others, definitely howard county.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered the area north of Baltimore (Ruxton, for example)? It’s beautiful and IMO less “white-bread suburbia.”

You are, I think, massively underestimating how awful the commute from north Potomac or Rockville will be. You are also, I think, underestimating how rough the commute is going to be from most of Howard County.

The area is a sh$t show in regard to traffic. Try out any commute you’re considering.

[Anonymous]

Howard County schools are better than Montgomery County schools, you can get more house for your money and your commute will be shorter. Howard County all the way

[Anonymous]

Where in New England are you from? Are you a city, country or suburban person? What kind of schools are you looking for?

I grew up in Howard County, left and never looked back. I’ve lived in Boston, NYC (UWS) and DC since then. I would never, ever return to Howard County. Instead, I would live in an affluent part of Baltimore City (which are not terribly expensive especially compared to DC). I would send children to one of the Baltimore private schools. When I wanted to explore DC, I would take the Marc train down. This would also put me close to Philadelphia (~90mins) and NYC (3-4 hrs)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where in New England are you from? Are you a city, country or suburban person? What kind of schools are you looking for?

I grew up in Howard County, left and never looked back. I’ve lived in Boston, NYC (UWS) and DC since then. I would never, ever return to Howard County. Instead, I would live in an affluent part of Baltimore City (which are not terribly expensive especially compared to DC). I would send children to one of the Baltimore private schools. When I wanted to explore DC, I would take the Marc train down. This would also put me close to Philadelphia (~90mins) and NYC (3-4 hrs)

I’m in north baltimore with kids in the (much less $$ than DC/NYC privates) and really like our life here. We are in a very walkable community (kids both can walk to school) and very family focused area.

[Anonymous]

If you go to work in Baltimore - choose HoCo. They have good schools and lots of Asian students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you go to work in Baltimore - choose HoCo. They have good schools and lots of Asian students.

That's not always a good thing.

-Asian American

[Anonymous]

OP here. We’re currently living in a suburb of Boston and really enjoy aspects of city life—exploring different restaurants, museums, and cultural activities.

I might be underestimating the commute. My current commute is around 70 minutes on a typical day and can stretch to 1.5 hours on bad days. From what I’ve heard, commuting between DC and Baltimore can be pretty brutal—is it not considered counter-traffic?

[Anonymous]

Hoco

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We’re currently living in a suburb of Boston and really enjoy aspects of city life—exploring different restaurants, museums, and cultural activities.

I might be underestimating the commute. My current commute is around 70 minutes on a typical day and can stretch to 1.5 hours on bad days. From what I’ve heard, commuting between DC and Baltimore can be pretty brutal—is it not considered counter-traffic?

The areas you’re consider in Moco are still pretty far out and suburban. I don’t think QoL will be different than in a further burb. You won’t be popping into dc on weeknights. Have you visited?

Are you totally opposed to Baltimore? It has a lot of nice aspects to it. Schools in the County (not city) are pretty good.

The reverse commute is “better” but not great. I think you are looking at 2+ hrs each way on “bad” days.