Just outside the city is Arbutus. You've got bars, restaurants, a good coffee shop, movie theatre, and MD's oldest comic book store all on the little main street surrounded by single family homes. Cheaper than Catonsville and depending where you live, less than a mile walk from the MARC train to Baltimore, DC, and the BWI. It's not too crowded and the UMBC campus is nearby so there are occasionally major concerts or events you can walk to (if Limp Bizkit and AEW wrestling is "major", lol).