Anonymous wrote:Howard County does not have enough diversity for my tastes. Lots of korean and south asian though.

Have you ever been here? Its extremely diverse....Maybe not Western Howard County, but everywhere else is.

Yes- less likely River Hill, but definitely Atholton.

I've heard River Hill is so competitive at sports it can be hard to make a team.

Do you want a TH or SFH? Your price range would likely get you a TH in River Hill - you could get a SFH in Atholton possibly.

With a commute to Mont Co, I wouldn't do Ellicott City. Going north at Rush Hour once you hit Columbia is not great.

OP again....my budget is on the low side $300,000 to $425,000..... will this get me anything feeding into river hill or atholton high school?

OP here...I appreciate everyone's feeedback so far. I honestly don't know much about the area so anything that people can share with me about good neighborhoods, etc. would be appreciated.

The rural parts of Howard County are not extremely diverse, but Columbia (including the River Hill area, which is partly Columbia and partly Clarksville) is VERY diverse. And in a meaningful way - there aren't pockets of people separated by gates. Are you familiar with the history of Columbia?

Anonymous wrote:Howard County does not have enough diversity for my tastes. Lots of korean and south asian though.

It doesn't but I'm black and I grew up in Glenelg. Can you believe it? Believe it or not, it was pretty idealistic, even back then. I now choose to live in DC, but my husband LOVES it out there. When we visit my parents, now in Ellicott City, the kids can roam all day and we never worry about them. They even love it. I could not handle the commute into DC everyday, but it really is a great place to live.

Columbia is very diverse. River Hill is in Columbia (or Clarksville - it's complicated) and Centennial has a very diverse population. You would be surprised. Glenelg is still pretty white.

Howard County does not have enough diversity for my tastes. Lots of korean and south asian though.

Atholton high is a really good school and draws from an area with a bigger variety of housing.

Avoid Southeastern area of the County - Parts of North Laurel/Whisky Bottom. That's where I grew up and it's not great.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:River Hill is supposed to be a good high school. (Centennial was a great school decades ago - but is it still?)

Concur. Try the Clarksville, Fulton, Dayton areas -- River Hill is the best HS in the county (one of the best in the nation, see: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/howard-county-public-schools/river-hill-high-school-9131). These areas are just minutes away from MoCo, with very little traffic. Good luck!!

Yes, but what can OP afford?

Clarksville is very expensive. River Hill, however, is one of the best, but mainly b/c it's surrounded by wealth. So compare it to Churchill and Whitman. Centennial is solid, too - like a Wootten.

Dayton sometimes feeds into Glenelg, which is like a Damascus High - still fairly rural. And Fulton can have some weird zoning issues as the lines can blur btw. east and western parts of 216.

Anonymous wrote:River Hill is supposed to be a good high school. (Centennial was a great school decades ago - but is it still?)

Concur. Try the Clarksville, Fulton, Dayton areas -- River Hill is the best HS in the county (one of the best in the nation, see: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/howard-county-public-schools/river-hill-high-school-9131). These areas are just minutes away from MoCo, with very little traffic. Good luck!!

River Hill is supposed to be a good high school. (Centennial was a great school decades ago - but is it still?)

You could take the ICC into MOCO. I second the Ellicott City recommendation.

Centennial High School is supposed to be one of the best. Try to get that district. I don't think the commute will be great no matter where you go, though.

Ellicot City. It has excellent schools.

As far as commute, 695 can be just as bad as 495 at peak times, but 95 is usually ok. Personally, I prefer taking I70 to Rt 29.

Hi all,
I'm considering a move to Howard County, and am trying to acquaint myself with the area. I will be commuting into Montgomery County, although I will have a choice as to which area I will be working in. Which areas of Howard County would you recommend looking into that would have good schools (elementary, middle, and high) as well as offer the best commute times into Montgomery County.
TIA for your help!