Severna Park is nice but there isn't anything there as far as services go. You'll have to drive to find upscale shopping, dining and activities. The high school is good. There are a variety of neighborhoods and housing styles but not much diversity. I would guess that during rush hour, traffic will be crawling to Baltimore. I would look at the older areas of Linthicum but the nicer part over around the library or over the line in Baltimore County in Catonsville.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why you want to take on these commutes. HC to Baltimore one hour each way during rush hour. HC to DC 1.5 hour each way.

OP here. No one is commuting to DC as I said in my post. I will take more insight into the commute to Baltimore for any of these communities.

All the hc locations are one-hour plus commutes during rush hour, with Ellicott city beingbtje closest. The traffic is often bumper to bumper on that sidevofvthe halfway and 40. Severna park also about an hour.

If you want a half hour commute, thou need to live in Baltimore county or city.

Sorry for all the typos, I am on my phone. Beltway not halfway

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why you want to take on these commutes. HC to Baltimore one hour each way during rush hour. HC to DC 1.5 hour each way.

OP here. No one is commuting to DC as I said in my post. I will take more insight into the commute to Baltimore for any of these communities.

All the hc locations are one-hour plus commutes during rush hour, with Ellicott city beingbtje closest. The traffic is often bumper to bumper on that sidevofvthe halfway and 40. Severna park also about an hour.

If you want a half hour commute, thou need to live in Baltimore county or city.

All of those areas are nice but if was only concerned about a Baltimore commute, I would pick Ellicott City. You will get much more for your money in EC or Columbia than in Clarksville because Clarksville is considered a DC suburb and EC is a Baltimore suburb. Columbia is sort of in the middle as you will find a lot of people who commute to both DC and Baltimore. There is a big difference in price between northern and southern Howard County and you have the advantage of not having a daily commute into DC, which drives up prices. Schools in Columbia can be hit or miss (though mostly good) whereas I think you are safe with most schools in Ellicott City. And EC has the cute downtown area if you want that with all of the big box stores as well.

I like Severna Park though I would think it is a bit further from Baltimore than EC (I could be wrong though). I know people who commute from SP to DC and it's awful but Baltimore could be much better. Close to Annapolis so you have the small town feel and it has all of the big stores as well. And it's closer to the beach, which is a big plus for me. I also think your money will go further in SP than Clarksville or Columbia. Severna Park HS is great (I used to sub there) but do your research if you are not in that district as Anne Arundel county schools can also be good or bad.

I have family and friends in all of the areas that you listed and I would go with Ellicott City if I was commuting to Baltimore. If you think one of you will eventually have a DC commute, Clarksville.

Anonymous wrote:We are nearby in Crofton. I'm 20 minutes from Annapolis (great mall, lots of other shopping areas) but have all of the day to day stuff I need within a few miles (Wegmans, Tatget, HomeGoods, etc). It feels very small town to us (just moved within the last year) with a good mix of new families and those who have grown up here and decided to raise their families here as well. Kids bike the neighborhood, we walk to school, there are town parades, people say hello when you walk past etc - we really like it.

OP here again: thanks, this wasn't on my radar

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why you want to take on these commutes. HC to Baltimore one hour each way during rush hour. HC to DC 1.5 hour each way.

OP here. No one is commuting to DC as I said in my post. I will take more insight into the commute to Baltimore for any of these communities.

Not sure why you want to take on these commutes. HC to Baltimore one hour each way during rush hour. HC to DC 1.5 hour each way.

We are nearby in Crofton. I'm 20 minutes from Annapolis (great mall, lots of other shopping areas) but have all of the day to day stuff I need within a few miles (Wegmans, Tatget, HomeGoods, etc). It feels very small town to us (just moved within the last year) with a good mix of new families and those who have grown up here and decided to raise their families here as well. Kids bike the neighborhood, we walk to school, there are town parades, people say hello when you walk past etc - we really like it.

OP here: this is very helpful. Thanks! Lol at "jousting" in the one post. That's the Midevil Times, right? That was there when we lived in DC before. HA!

I live in North Laurel (Emerson Community) which is also in Howard County. Nice schools, great neighborhood but not really walkable. You may want to also look into Maple Lawn. It's a newer community in Fulton, close to 29, 32, 95 and is walkable to most of your immediate needs, grocery, restaurant, schools. It's on the higher end, depending on what you are looking for. Columbia isn't that big, so you could live many places in Columbia and still be very close to the mall area. Columbia has 10 villages, which are anchors to the neighborhood. You may want to check out the Hickory Ridge area. It's zoned to Atholton, a lot of older homes, but still very nice. Ellicott City is another nice one. It's priced higher, but has been voted one of the best places to live in the country. Most things you mention are within close driving distance.

I lived in the Elkridge/Columbia area for two years and have some very close friends still living there--so we're up there a lot. None of us have kids (at least, didn't at the time, so I don't know anything about the schools other than rumors that they're great) and we were/are all renters. That said:

- Columbia is very, very suburban (so keep this in mind as you read everything below!)
- The main stretch of shopping in Columbia/Elkridge is along 175 from the Columbia mall to 95. We still go up there and shop on the weekend. It has everything from the mall to Walmart to Carters to Target to Costco, Trader Joes...everything you'd ever want. Wegmans, Hobby Lobby, HomeGoods...seriously, any store you'd ever want. The convenience is nice.
- There are some pretty decent restaurants that aren't chains, but don't kid yourself: there are a TON of chains. Check out: Ale House, Sushi King, Cindy Soft Serve, Stanford Grill, Rumor Mill and Elkridge Furnace Inn. The good chains are Seasons 52, Cheesecake Factory.
- Things to do: Historic Ellicott City (shopping, bars, restaurants), Arundel Mills (movie, jousting, shopping), lots of parks, trails for riding, Wine in the Woods (happening next weekend actually--live music, tons of wine)--right next to Merriweather Post Pavilion
- To get anywhere assume at least 45 minutes (to Annapolis, to DC, to Baltimore). We found it convenient to be between the cities so we had more to choose from if we wanted to get out and do something (Baltimore, Annapolis or DC this weekend?)

I personally LOVE Clarksville and if we stay in the area plan to live there. Bigger houses, more land, a bit more remote/less city. More "mid-west" in terms of housing and land. Also more expensive (though not compared to downtown DC)

The other thing you'll soon take for granted if you move to Columbia/Elkridge: big parking spaces!

Good luck!

From Ellicott City (but really Clarksville). Great place to grow up. I would not live there and commute to DC. Columbia is more convenient, but Clarksville is more beautiful. I live in DC b/c I never want to see grass again!

I looked into Howard County on and off. It's unlikely we'll move there.

One of the main issues I had, which may not be accurate, is that most of the areas that I would want to live in are not close to anything.

The one area that I seriously considered on and off are the areas that feed into Atholton High School because it's close to Columbia Mall and sounds like a decent school. Although there have been some threads on here where people offer differing views on Atholton.

In the Columbia area there is a Columbia Association where you pay $40 to $60/month that gives you access to all of the gyms and facilities. However some Yelp reviews kind of make me question them and $50/month is a little bit more than I'm willing to pay for a gym membership, regardless of what it might include.

Most of the gyms that I could find, ie Lifetime, Golds, etc are closer to 95. I have heard that the Lifetime fitness in Columbia is really nice.

The people that we know that either currently or have lived there like Howard County for the most part. You definitely get a lot for your money in terms of house and good schools.

OP here: Elkridge is another one, or if you have any recommendations, we are very open. Would like to be around 30 minutes to Baltimore.

We have a potential move to Baltimore and are interested in these communities for proximity to DC and Baltimore, but one only one of us would be commuting and that is to Baltimore. I am curious about the housing stock/pricing; "life conveniences" aka grocery stores, gym, target, restaurants; and sense of community/community events etc. We are moving out from out of state but have lived in the DC in the past, in a walkable community, but we know that this area will be more suburban and we are (mostly) okay with that. We will get out to look around before buying, but I'd like to know how/where to narrow it to. The schools look to be good in all places with some exceptions. Truly appreciate any insights you have--thanks!