Where to live in Baltimore with kids?

[braxtonhicks]

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I posted a few months ago asking about family friendly living in Baltimore. Now, I've been fortunate to have matched at Hopkins and need to find a nice area to live near good elementary schools.

I'm looking for a suburb that's a reasonable commute to Hopkins (20 min or less) with a good selection of townhomes and reputable schools. Any suggestions? I would very much appreciate it! I've been told to look at Towson, Owings Mills, Lutherville, maybe White Marsh. Are Columbia and Ellicott City reasonable commutes?

Thank you so much for any help!

 

[Rapid Decomposition]

Columbia and Ellicott City are a little farther out than the others you mention, but I know of a lot of residents and attendings that live in those areas, so it's doable. Commute is probably 30-45 min. Owings Mills has the benefit of having a Metro stop which runs directly to Hopkins Hospital, so you don't have to worry about driving to work. Towson is the closest suburb of the ones you mentioned, and is about a 20 min. commute to Hopkins. There are also areas in the northern part of the city (just below Towson) that are beautiful and safe to live in, about 15 min. from JHH, but I hear private schools are the only way to go in the city if your kids are school age.

 

[Coalboy]

I grew up in Towson, and went through the public schools the whole way through high school. They were excellent when I did it, and still are so far as I know. The houses aren't cheap, but some of the row/townhomes are nicer on the inside than they look from the outside. The commute is kind of long, but if you live in relatively close proximity to I-695/I-83, it wouldn't be that bad at the hours you are likely to be commuting as an intern/resident.

I can't really comment on any of the city schools, but my impression is that they aren't all that hot in general.

 

[funkless]

Try Winston-Salem. 😉

 

[Roll the Bones]

Check out Perry Hall on the north side of th city. Nice area. Borders White Marsh where the Avenues at White Marsh are however White Marsh Schools aren't that great. Perry Hall schools are actually good. Chapel Hill Elementary is a very good school. Check it out on the MD School Report Card. There is a newly delevoped area in Perry Hall called the Villages of Honeygo that has a lot of new townhomes. It seems to me that living on the south side of the city is more expensive as far as price of homes. You start to compete with two market as many people live in Baltimore and commute to DC.

 

[Loopo Henle]

What about Reistertown? Is that too far out? It looks to be about the same distance as Owings Mills, but has some stand alone housing for sale.

 

[NewEastCoastRN]

I live in Timonium. It is a nice area with good schools. It is also an easy commute down I-83 - takes me 20-25 minutes to get to the hospital.

 

[NinerNiner999]

I'm guessing you are going into OB? Great Program! I live in Owings Mills - very convenient, metro is easily accessible (even with OB hours), and it is quiet. Resale is great too. I don't know about the schools (no kids yet).

 

[Tater]

For someone else who might look, as far as the University of Maryland is concerned, I've been told that Federal Hill, Fell's Point, and Edgewater are good neighborhoods to live. For some reason I think that Columbia is closer to U of Md than Hopkins, but I'd have to drag out the city map again.

Any word on what to do if you are single, poor, and don't want to mess with a roommate in Baltimore? (I'll be at U of Md for surgery.) It seems like if I don't want a significant commute, then I'm going to have to bite the bullet and live in the ghetto. Or get a roommate just so I can afford to have a roof over my head.

 

[alpo]

Columbia is closer to U of Maryland (since U of MD is one of the first things in the city that you hit when driving up fromt the South). I live in Ellicott City. Takes me 24 minutes to get to the downtown Hopkins campus, with most of that time spent driving through the city. It takes 20 minutes to get to the bayview campus, where if you are doing OB, you will spend some time. Several of my fellow residents live in the Ellicott City/Columbia area. A good number of residents also live in Perry Hall.

 

[bjolly]

Tater - depends if you're willing to have a commute at all. I'm a student at Md and I live in NE Baltimore, in a nice family neighborhood. Takes me 20 min to get into school. A lot of people in my area rent apts/rooms in their houses. It's a lot cheaper than living right by the school and a better area as well.

 

[Tater]

Tater - depends if you're willing to have a commute at all. I'm a student at Md and I live in NE Baltimore, in a nice family neighborhood. Takes me 20 min to get into school. A lot of people in my area rent apts/rooms in their houses. It's a lot cheaper than living right by the school and a better area as well.

Thanks! I'll look into the area. Everytime I look at places around the U of Md campus, I get reality checked and my heart rate increases. 😳 I still haven't quite decided if a commute will be worth it, though. As a surgery intern, those 20 minutes might become a daily torture. What is the commute like when you go home for the day?

 

[Tater]

Actually, let me put it this way...where do I really need to avoid?

I have this zip-code map: http://www.mdp.state.md.us/MSDC/Zipcode_map/2000/bacizc00.jpg
that I've been using to figure out where all the properties are at. All I've heard is that the area around Hopkins is a little sketchy...anywhere else?

 

[1SwtWrld]

Actually, let me put it this way...where do I really need to avoid?
All I've heard is that the area around Hopkins is a little sketchy...anywhere else?

Thats a little bit of an understatement............much of baltimore is a little sketchy.

I comuted from Columbia to Hopkins all summer and it took 20-30 minutes max even during rush hour. Though housing is really expensive there.

 

[Tater]

Thats a little bit of an understatement............much of baltimore is a little sketchy.

I comuted from Columbia to Hopkins all summer and it took 20-30 minutes max even during rush hour. Though housing is really expensive there.

Heh, I'm from Texas. West Texas. While I will most certainly not be riding in on my pony wearing a cowboy hat (as the coordinator asked over the phone), I will admit that I'm a complete stranger to Baltimore City.

What I have to even out in my head is where my priorities lie...more expensive without a commute? Less expensive with a commute? Alone? Roommate? House? Apartment?

The commute is actually the hardest part to figure out in my head, because I've never driven in Baltimore (or its surrounding vicinities). As it is right now, it takes me 15 minutes to get to work, but that's driving straight there on I-10 with three other cars on the road. That just really doesn't compare.

 

[dinosaurcrumpet]

If your kids are small enough to fit in the oven then I suggest you just roast 'em up and make sandwhich meat out of them. That way you'll have a good supply of lunch materials for residency and you can just buy an apartment wherever the hell you damn well want. Simple.

 

[braxtonhicks]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the input on where to live in the Baltimore area. I ultimately chose to live in the Perry Hall area - I actually purchased one of the Honeygo townhomes recommended. The real estate market on the east coast was a big change from the midwest, but I'm very excited to make the move.

 

[FDoRoML]

I caught this post too late for Braxton... but, for those looking at U of MD and wanting to live outside the city (a little cheaper: in the city, nice neighborhood = mucho dinero!), I'd suggest Catonsville. There are parts that can get a little scary (as most of BMore can!), but there are other areas that are really nice and it's a hop skip and jump to U of MD by way of 695/95/395. There are also back ways in for bad highway traffic days.

Places around Hopkins that are 100% OK to live:
(closest to furthest)
Canton/Fells Pt
Highlandtown (Patterson Park and south only)
(disclaimer about the above locations: home break-ins still very common)
Mt. Vernon
Roland Park (near Homewood campus and JHMI shuttle!)
Homeland
Rogers Forge (just south of Towson)
Towson
Parkville
Perry Hall

As for schools-- if you're in the city, everyone at JHU who can afford to defaults to high-end private schools. Those on a budget go for either city public schools' GATE (gifted and talented) program-designated schools or catholic (or other church-funded) schools.
Chapel Hill, as someone mentioned earlier, is a really good school for Baltimore County (Perry Hall).

For those of you moving for residency, I imagine it's too late to mention this, but those going for school this Aug/Sep, try looking at your propective neighborhood on the Baltimore City Police website. You can only map small time periods at once, but it gives you an idea of crimes committed. And this is a good time of year to do it. Murders peak out around June/July, as do most other violent crimes. Of course, we also have the XMas rush, too. 🙄

It takes a bit of getting used to to use this site, but make sure you have your address in hand and be prepared for what you will see. Yes, the neighborhood around Hopkins is one of the worst in the city, as is U of MD. Ironic, but good for EM training. 😳)

http://141.157.54.34/bpdmaps/

Best,
FD

 

[Gradient Echo]

Let me just say that I would not recommend living in the suburbs west of Baltimore cause the transit is an absolute NIGHTMARE, unless you live along the rail stops (e.g. Owings Mills)

695 is the loop that runs around the city. The east side of the loop is manageable, the traffic isnt too bad.

But the west side of the loop, from the intersection of I-95 around to I-70 is terrible. It doesnt matter what time of day or night you drive there it will be bad traffic.

My first year at Hopkins, we were stupid and lived in Catonsville. Driving around 695 to I-95 and then into downtown and over to Hopkins was a minimum hour long drive. Alternatively you can take in route 40 eastbound, but still there are about 5 billion traffic lights you have to go thru.

We learned our lesson and moved to the south/east suburbs. Now we use either 895 or the east part of 695 which are much more manageable.

 

[Joel Fleischman]

IMHO

Be careful with fells...
there used to be a few sketchy parts with a big collegey bar strip.
Canton is up-and comming...schools may be tough.

Towson is safe... not sure about the schools.
Mt washington and Pikesville would be my top choices though.
Also try the Homewood area north of the JHU undergrad campus.

 

[tec]

Eight miles south of the city in Anne Arundel county is an area called Linthicum, which is where the airport is. It is a midddle class neighborhood with good public schools and some private schools to also choose from. The commute into the city is very easy from this area (easy access to I-695 or MD 295, right onto 95). Traffic coming from this direction is nothing like the west side of the beltway (I-695) and makes for a very quick commute in and home.

 

[sblau001]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Pikesville yet. I attended the University of MD for med school and lived in Pikesville for 4 years. the houses there are a little pricey, but apts are more than affordable and it's a great, safe area. And it's only a 20 minute commute to U of M and a 25-30 minute commute to JH.