Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your commute would ruin your life. Not being mean, just stating a fact. If you're committed though look at Highland or Clarksville.

+1

I'd think really hard about your commute. Not something to be taken lightly, esp if you have kids. It really eats away at your day and your spirit!

Highland or Clarksville ends up a bumper to bumper mess on 32 in the mornings trying to get out to 29 or 95.

And they aren't diverse.

Excuse me? River Hill resident here, and my neighborhood is EXTREMELY diverse. Our neighbors come from all over the world and we get along beautifully. Certainly, if you move to the rural far western county, you are going to come across some good-ole-boy country folk. However, Columbia and Clarksville enjoy a wonderful group of laid-back first and second generation neighbors. The main difference between Howard County and Montgomery County is that people are far less obsessed with wealth and status.

It's one of the whitest high schools in the county and more importantly, one of the least diverse socioeconomicly.

I live in Maple Lawn and commute to Federal Triangle area. I used to drive to Greenbelt and metro in- took about 45 minutes in the morning and about an hour in the afternoon. I now take the commuter bus. There's a bus stop right outside the community and it drops me off outside my building. It's about an hour in the morning and 70 minutes in the afternoon. I use that time to sleep.

I also work 7-3:30 so I avoid the worst of the traffic. And I flex from home 3x per week.

Maple Lawn is a fantastic place to raise kids- we're really happy here. I miss my shorter commute, but the trade offs were worth it to us. Plus my husband works in Annapolis so his commute is better from here than Rockville where we were before.

Look at the train schedule and stations. I live in Ellicott Coty near the Columbia line and used to commute to DC but now work in Baltimore. I tried the commuter bus, which was slow! Then the Dorsey line train, slow but okay. Finally switched over to the Penn line from BWI. Still, it was 2.5 - 3 hours of my day. I woke up at 4:30 & was exhausted at the end of the day. But if you love your job, it could be worth it. You'd probably want to look at driving to the Laurel station or even taking metro from Greenbelt

OP here. We're new to this area and live in Montgomery County right now. I'd like to move DC into the Howard County school system. One of the prior posters nailed it. I'm doing this for the kid. So given these responses, how bad is the commute from the Laurel/Maple Lawn area in terms of time and traffic? How long would the MARC train take? Also, any thoughts on the schools zoned for this area feeding into Atholton or Reservoir High?

Anonymous wrote:
Excuse me? River Hill resident here, and my neighborhood is EXTREMELY diverse. Our neighbors come from all over the world and we get along beautifully. Certainly, if you move to the rural far western county, you are going to come across some good-ole-boy country folk. However, Columbia and Clarksville enjoy a wonderful group of laid-back first and second generation neighbors. The main difference between Howard County and Montgomery County is that people are far less obsessed with wealth and status.

In my experience, people who bring up wealth and status in order to say that they are not obsessed with wealth and status are kind of obsessed with wealth and status.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your commute would ruin your life. Not being mean, just stating a fact. If you're committed though look at Highland or Clarksville.

+1

I'd think really hard about your commute. Not something to be taken lightly, esp if you have kids. It really eats away at your day and your spirit!

Highland or Clarksville ends up a bumper to bumper mess on 32 in the mornings trying to get out to 29 or 95.

And they aren't diverse.

Excuse me? River Hill resident here, and my neighborhood is EXTREMELY diverse. Our neighbors come from all over the world and we get along beautifully. Certainly, if you move to the rural far western county, you are going to come across some good-ole-boy country folk. However, Columbia and Clarksville enjoy a wonderful group of laid-back first and second generation neighbors. The main difference between Howard County and Montgomery County is that people are far less obsessed with wealth and status.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your commute would ruin your life. Not being mean, just stating a fact. If you're committed though look at Highland or Clarksville.

+1

I'd think really hard about your commute. Not something to be taken lightly, esp if you have kids. It really eats away at your day and your spirit!

Highland or Clarksville ends up a bumper to bumper mess on 32 in the mornings trying to get out to 29 or 95.

And they aren't diverse.

As a teacher experienced with both MCPS and Ho Co, I'd take Ho Co any single day over MCPS.

just sayin'

We do what we need to for our kids.

We have friends in the 20777 zip code that borders Montgomery County. They commute via back roads to Shady Grove metro. Don't know how it compares to MARC commute from Columbia area, but something else to think about.

Do you have a spouse/partner? Where does he or she work?

I used to be a MARC commuter, from the Dorsey Station off Rt 32. I took an early train (645) to be on the Hill by 8. If you have to do drop off or pick up, this might be tough.

The train itself wasn't bad. I liked being able to read.

Anonymous wrote:Your commute would ruin your life. Not being mean, just stating a fact. If you're committed though look at Highland or Clarksville.

+1

I'd think really hard about your commute. Not something to be taken lightly, esp if you have kids. It really eats away at your day and your spirit!

Anonymous wrote:Look for the MARC stations. The issue with 29 is that it's only going to get worse over time, and there are talks of adding in BRT (bus lanes) which will reduce car lanes. MARC is your best bet long-term. Just check the train schedules -- many of them run only limited schedules like not during the day.

but add BRT as an additional transportation option.

Look for the MARC stations. The issue with 29 is that it's only going to get worse over time, and there are talks of adding in BRT (bus lanes) which will reduce car lanes. MARC is your best bet long-term. Just check the train schedules -- many of them run only limited schedules like not during the day.

Anonymous wrote:Most people that I know who work in DC but live in Howard County -- live in or near Columbia. Someplace near 29 might give you more commuting options. (My coworker who lives in Columbia drives right down 29 when coming into DC.)

You're right. Most of the DC commuters that reside in Howard County live close to 29.

To the OP, I recommend the following communities:
Riverside
Riverside Estates
Village of Cedar Ridge
Holiday Hills
Maple Lawn
River Hill
Scott Farm
Scott Acres
Clarksville Meadows
Clarksville Ridge
Also, look at the neighborhoods near Clarksville Middle School.

All of these communities are west of 29 and south of 32. Some are near the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The communities that I listed above are zoned to Lime Kiln or Clarksville Middle Schools. Ellicott City has some awesome schools. However, they're way too far for a commute to DC. Believe me you don't want to live in further north or west in Howard County because your commute will be a nightmare. So, definitely look into areas near 29.

Most people that I know who work in DC but live in Howard County -- live in or near Columbia. Someplace near 29 might give you more commuting options. (My coworker who lives in Columbia drives right down 29 when coming into DC.)