Anonymous wrote:A few years ago we moved to Columbia to be closer to my husband's job.
I hated it. Thankfully we were only renting. We broke the lease after being there for 40 days. (Had to pay $$$$ for breaking lease) and then we moved back to Chevy Chase/Bethesda area.

What was the problem? Columbia has many different areas with different flavors. It sounds like you didn't even give it a chance.

A few years ago we moved to Columbia to be closer to my husband's job.
I hated it. Thankfully we were only renting. We broke the lease after being there for 40 days. (Had to pay $$$$ for breaking lease) and then we moved back to Chevy Chase/Bethesda area.

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Anonymous wrote:Baltimore doesn't view Columbia as one of its suburbs.

It's a stepchild, unloved by both Baltimore and DC

I did hear a HoCo planning professional say that roughly 1/3 of Columbia residents work in the DC area, another 1/3 in the Baltimore area and the remaining 1/3 in Columbia itself.

That is entirely untrue. It is a Baltimore suburb and is well loved by many people from Baltimore (who cares about DC ). Columbia and Howard County routinely make national lists on the best places to live.

+1 Columbia also has a Whole Foods and a Wegmans now.

I grew up in Columbia and never heard of it referred to or thought of it as a Baltimore suburb. Parents worked in DC, Baltimore, and Columbia itself at different points. I really liked growing up in Columbia!

Well, it's definitely suburban and it's closer to Baltimore than Washington.

Only a little. With current rush hour traffic, Baltimore about a hour away and DC an hour and a half. Was probably half that for both when Columbia was first developed in the 70's.

+1. I just don't think of it as close enough to either to be a suburb of a city. It's a suburb, for sure, but just kinda floating out in suburb land.

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Anonymous wrote:Baltimore doesn't view Columbia as one of its suburbs.

It's a stepchild, unloved by both Baltimore and DC

I did hear a HoCo planning professional say that roughly 1/3 of Columbia residents work in the DC area, another 1/3 in the Baltimore area and the remaining 1/3 in Columbia itself.

That is entirely untrue. It is a Baltimore suburb and is well loved by many people from Baltimore (who cares about DC ). Columbia and Howard County routinely make national lists on the best places to live.

+1 Columbia also has a Whole Foods and a Wegmans now.

I grew up in Columbia and never heard of it referred to or thought of it as a Baltimore suburb. Parents worked in DC, Baltimore, and Columbia itself at different points. I really liked growing up in Columbia!

Well, it's definitely suburban and it's closer to Baltimore than Washington.

Only a little. With current rush hour traffic, Baltimore about a hour away and DC an hour and a half. Was probably half that for both when Columbia was first developed in the 70's.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore doesn't view Columbia as one of its suburbs.

It's a stepchild, unloved by both Baltimore and DC

I did hear a HoCo planning professional say that roughly 1/3 of Columbia residents work in the DC area, another 1/3 in the Baltimore area and the remaining 1/3 in Columbia itself.

That is entirely untrue. It is a Baltimore suburb and is well loved by many people from Baltimore (who cares about DC ). Columbia and Howard County routinely make national lists on the best places to live.

+1 Columbia also has a Whole Foods and a Wegmans now.

I grew up in Columbia and never heard of it referred to or thought of it as a Baltimore suburb. Parents worked in DC, Baltimore, and Columbia itself at different points. I really liked growing up in Columbia!

Well, it's definitely suburban and it's closer to Baltimore than Washington.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore doesn't view Columbia as one of its suburbs.

It's a stepchild, unloved by both Baltimore and DC

I did hear a HoCo planning professional say that roughly 1/3 of Columbia residents work in the DC area, another 1/3 in the Baltimore area and the remaining 1/3 in Columbia itself.

That is entirely untrue. It is a Baltimore suburb and is well loved by many people from Baltimore (who cares about DC ). Columbia and Howard County routinely make national lists on the best places to live.

+1 Columbia also has a Whole Foods and a Wegmans now.

I grew up in Columbia and never heard of it referred to or thought of it as a Baltimore suburb. Parents worked in DC, Baltimore, and Columbia itself at different points. I really liked growing up in Columbia!

One downside of living in Columbia and the suburbs of Howard County is that many of the areas, especially some of the more desireable areas, are not very walkable. I have been in River Hill for many years and it's a 3.5 mile walk to the nearest store. Some neighbors will bike there on a nice day but generally I have to drive anywhere I need to go. We do have bike paths and playgrounds within walking distance, though. Some neighborhoods are within walking distance to the grocery store but they are usually townhouses and apartments. You can still find SFHs within a mile of the village centers but you'll need to pay attention if that's what you want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore doesn't view Columbia as one of its suburbs.

It's a stepchild, unloved by both Baltimore and DC

I did hear a HoCo planning professional say that roughly 1/3 of Columbia residents work in the DC area, another 1/3 in the Baltimore area and the remaining 1/3 in Columbia itself.

That is entirely untrue. It is a Baltimore suburb and is well loved by many people from Baltimore (who cares about DC ). Columbia and Howard County routinely make national lists on the best places to live.

+1 Columbia also has a Whole Foods and a Wegmans now.

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore doesn't view Columbia as one of its suburbs.

It's a stepchild, unloved by both Baltimore and DC

I did hear a HoCo planning professional say that roughly 1/3 of Columbia residents work in the DC area, another 1/3 in the Baltimore area and the remaining 1/3 in Columbia itself.

That is entirely untrue. It is a Baltimore suburb and is well loved by many people from Baltimore (who cares about DC ). Columbia and Howard County routinely make national lists on the best places to live.

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Anonymous wrote:I think the poster was saying that the commute from DC to Columbia is quicker than the commute from Columba to DC (and this is pretty much true). What she was also saying was that you could start working in Columbia and buy a house in Columbia, but a few years down the road you get a better job in DC or close in but you're now stuck with a much longer commute. You could potentially avoid this by buying closer to DC and commuting to Columbia, which isn't too bad, and if you get a job in Bethesda later, you are better positioned.

It's a lot of ifs, of course, but as someone once said to me, everyone works in Columbia for a few years at some point before moving onwards and given the number of people I know who have actually had this happen to them, I didn't laugh. Columbia seems to have a high concentration of companies especially in the Gateway area that seem to be "transitional" workplaces where people work for a few years in some anonymous corporate position before moving onwards to something better paying or more professionally satisfying.

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Anonymous wrote:You may want to look in other areas. My husband works in Columbia. We live in DC because it opens the entire area up for job change. His commute time is often shorter than those who live in Columbia. It is very suburban.

That makes no sense. Your husband's commute from DC to Columbia is not going to be shorter than his coworker's commute from one part of Columbia to another unless he is flying between locations.

Columbia is also a lot cheaper.

It really depends on if her spouse will be staying at his job for awhile.

Silver Spring is also a straight shot down 29 to Columbia and an easy commute to DC.

I don't believe that commute either. Idk why ppl always want to stear ppl to DC. He's working in a Baltimore suburb. They should live on that side of town.

Not everyone is looking for DC jobs though. Buying in a more expensive place with a longer commute because of a remote possibility you MIGHT work in DC at some point is stupid. It is completely dependent on the job. There are also many Feds in Columbia - HHS is in Woodlawn, for example.

It's not just DC. If you look at where most of the jobs are concentrated in this area, it's DC and N VA and places like Bethesda and Rockville. It's not Columbia. All people are saying is that people often change jobs every few years or so and many people find it worth to live closer to the center of jobs, even if you never end up working in DC. And reverse commutes to farther out places aren't as bad. It really just depends on how much you hate commuting. I hate it a lot so would rather have a smaller house closer in than what we could get in columbia.

OP's spouse has already found a job. If she hates commuting as well she would want to live in Columbia.

Anonymous wrote:My husband might be taking a job in Columbia, MD. We formerly lived in Bethesda, but most recently live in Texas.

What are the best neighborhoods in Columbia? What are the schools like? Is there a downtown area in Columbia? Should we be checking out any other areas in MD to live in?

I'm most familiar with Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, and Gaithersburg. Would living in Columbia be totally different than these areas?

Thanks!

I think it's worth noting that Columbia does not have its own school system. It is part of the Howard County school system. Columbia also has nebulous borders so you may have a Columbia zip code and the school your child attends 1/4 mile away is in Clarksville or Ellicott City. For that reason, if you go searching only for schools with Columbia addresses, you will get a very incomplete list of available schools. Some of the village centers and shopping centers also do not have Columbia addresses so you really need to look in the vicinity of Columbia when you look for a place to live. All of the parks belong to Howard County so you'll need to expand your searches while researching the area.

What are the best neighborhoods? That really depends, doesn't it? If you're looking for high SES and highly ranked schools, you should look in the village of River Hill or the town of Clarksville, which is adjacent to River Hill. These areas are zoned to Pointers Run Elementary, Clarksville Elementary, Clarksville Middle, River Hill High, and Atholton High. The villages of Long Reach and Oakland Mills have the lowest SES and lesser performing schools. Hickory Ridge and Kings Contrivance are middle ground.

Columbia has a large downtown area with a shopping mall, many restaurants (mostly chains, but some independent ones, too), a lake with a lakefront area, and lots of office buildings and condos (so many condo buildings!).

Any of the areas in Howard County are worth investigating. If you like Bethesda, check out Maple Lawn in Fulton. If you want straight suburbia, check out Ellicott City. If you want chickens in your backyard, check out Clarksville or Highland. I used to drive through Gaithersburg for work many years ago and I thought it looked quite a bit like Columbia.

We live in Ellicott city about 5 minutes from Columbia and it's great. Amazing parks, great schools, great hiking in Patapsco state park, about 20 min to Baltimore w/no traffic, 30 min to Annapolis & 30 minutes to Frederick. Great central location with lots to do in the county but plenty of options around for quick day trips too. My husband works in Columbia and has a 5 minute commute. I'm a fed working in Woodlawn and have a 15 minute commute. We love Ellicott city. Other areas id recommend are river hill and glenelg

OP, I livery in Takoma Park MD and commute to Columbia-- 30 mins door to door. We chose to live closer to DC because husband works in DC. I would consider Kensington, downtown Silver Spring to balance cost and commute.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the poster was saying that the commute from DC to Columbia is quicker than the commute from Columba to DC (and this is pretty much true). What she was also saying was that you could start working in Columbia and buy a house in Columbia, but a few years down the road you get a better job in DC or close in but you're now stuck with a much longer commute. You could potentially avoid this by buying closer to DC and commuting to Columbia, which isn't too bad, and if you get a job in Bethesda later, you are better positioned.

It's a lot of ifs, of course, but as someone once said to me, everyone works in Columbia for a few years at some point before moving onwards and given the number of people I know who have actually had this happen to them, I didn't laugh. Columbia seems to have a high concentration of companies especially in the Gateway area that seem to be "transitional" workplaces where people work for a few years in some anonymous corporate position before moving onwards to something better paying or more professionally satisfying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You may want to look in other areas. My husband works in Columbia. We live in DC because it opens the entire area up for job change. His commute time is often shorter than those who live in Columbia. It is very suburban.

That makes no sense. Your husband's commute from DC to Columbia is not going to be shorter than his coworker's commute from one part of Columbia to another unless he is flying between locations.

Columbia is also a lot cheaper.

It really depends on if her spouse will be staying at his job for awhile.

Silver Spring is also a straight shot down 29 to Columbia and an easy commute to DC.

I don't believe that commute either. Idk why ppl always want to stear ppl to DC. He's working in a Baltimore suburb. They should live on that side of town.

Not everyone is looking for DC jobs though. Buying in a more expensive place with a longer commute because of a remote possibility you MIGHT work in DC at some point is stupid. It is completely dependent on the job. There are also many Feds in Columbia - HHS is in Woodlawn, for example.

It's not just DC. If you look at where most of the jobs are concentrated in this area, it's DC and N VA and places like Bethesda and Rockville. It's not Columbia. All people are saying is that people often change jobs every few years or so and many people find it worth to live closer to the center of jobs, even if you never end up working in DC. And reverse commutes to farther out places aren't as bad. It really just depends on how much you hate commuting. I hate it a lot so would rather have a smaller house closer in than what we could get in columbia.

Anonymous wrote:I think the poster was saying that the commute from DC to Columbia is quicker than the commute from Columba to DC (and this is pretty much true). What she was also saying was that you could start working in Columbia and buy a house in Columbia, but a few years down the road you get a better job in DC or close in but you're now stuck with a much longer commute. You could potentially avoid this by buying closer to DC and commuting to Columbia, which isn't too bad, and if you get a job in Bethesda later, you are better positioned.

It's a lot of ifs, of course, but as someone once said to me, everyone works in Columbia for a few years at some point before moving onwards and given the number of people I know who have actually had this happen to them, I didn't laugh. Columbia seems to have a high concentration of companies especially in the Gateway area that seem to be "transitional" workplaces where people work for a few years in some anonymous corporate position before moving onwards to something better paying or more professionally satisfying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You may want to look in other areas. My husband works in Columbia. We live in DC because it opens the entire area up for job change. His commute time is often shorter than those who live in Columbia. It is very suburban.

That makes no sense. Your husband's commute from DC to Columbia is not going to be shorter than his coworker's commute from one part of Columbia to another unless he is flying between locations.

Columbia is also a lot cheaper.

It really depends on if her spouse will be staying at his job for awhile.

Silver Spring is also a straight shot down 29 to Columbia and an easy commute to DC.

I don't believe that commute either. Idk why ppl always want to stear ppl to DC. He's working in a Baltimore suburb. They should live on that side of town.

Not everyone is looking for DC jobs though. Buying in a more expensive place with a longer commute because of a remote possibility you MIGHT work in DC at some point is stupid. It is completely dependent on the job. There are also many Feds in Columbia - HHS is in Woodlawn, for example.