Best of both worlds, check out lauraville/Hamilton. In the city, stuff to do and plenty of green space and kind neighbors

Rodgers Forge neighborhood right over the city line. Plenty of young families and couples. Row homes with small yards but people are always entertaining. Easy to meet people. Some walkable shops but easy drive to grocery shop etc.

Sounds like your mind us already made up and it's in the suburbs somewhere. I recommend Pikesville, or Mt. Washington.

Get a shorter-term rental, then decide? I don’t think you should commit to anything anywhere sight-unseen for longer than a month. And the good places get snapped up fast, you want the leisure to be choosy. I would personally hate to be stuck in a Cockeysville apartment at any age.

You can get basically everything you’re looking for in Hampden. Yard, parking, people your age, boring grocery stores, easy hosting parties, etc. not all the streets have yard and parking in the back, but lots have at least one! And there’s really only certain areas of Hampden that have difficult street parking.

Plenty of air bnb places in Baltimore city. Y’all could spend a week just trying different neighborhoods out.

We're in Lutherville and I work at UMMC as well. We're at the top of the JFX and I'm downtown in 10 minutes and walking into the hospital in about 20. The area is great for having some space for your family but always being close to the city. Welcome to Baltimore and the University of Maryland Medical System.

I can tell you I do not know any couples who live in the county without kids, so I’d say it depends on what you want to do!

Cockeysville/Timonium is very suburban so yea you'll just be experiencing more suburban life. There are other suburbs that have "city-like" features; Catonsville and Ellicott City come to mind and the commute from there to UMMC will be easier than from up north since you get to avoid 83 and downtown traffic. There's also Mt. Washington that's within city limits but very suburban-like and has a small main street and other small strips with restaurants, bars, shops, and a Whole Foods. Mt. Washington is also easier to access downtown since there's a light rail stop and you could use that for commuting if you wanted to as well.

Otherwise, there are some places in the city that will give you some more outdoor space but it's going to be dependent on your budget. Hampden (anything north of 37th street) has some homes that have decent sized yards. Otterbein is a nice community that's really close to downtown and has a lot of shared outdoor space. Along the same vein with shared outdoor space, anything around Patterson Park might work too. You won't have much "private" outdoor space save for maybe a small patio/offstreet parking pad and maybe a roofdeck though.

Really the appeal of living in the city is being able to walk to so many things if you want so you'd have to figure out if that is something that's really going to stress you out or not. Also I know very few people that live in the city and don't drive to go get their groceries still. If you're lucky enough to live within a few blocks radius of a grocery store it's probably not a big hassle, but otherwise everyone I know that lives in the city (Canton, Fed Hill, Patterson Park, etc.) drives to their grocery store(s) to get groceries. Or there's always the option to get them delivered.

We just purchased an oven 2,000 sq foot townhouse in Baltimore City with a 2 car garage and rooftop deck across from a school and large park. We will be limited to gardening in raised beds and containers, but otherwise, zero compromises on what we wanted. We are within walking distance to two grocery stores and countless bars and restaurants. You can have both city life and space if you want it.

I live in Lutherville Timonium and it is indeed sleepy. We moved here in 2019 and lived a year in the city (Butcher’s Hill). Personally I never wanted to live in the suburbs but we have two young children and the schools are much better here than the city, which was the deciding factor for us- that and property taxes cheaper in the county. People are friendly here but yes most have children and you have to create your own opportunities to meet people for the most part (although I’ve been told pre-pandemic there were more block parties). I wish you all the best in this decision and hope you find something that meets your needs.

When we moved to Baltimore for work in our 20's we immediately bought what we assumed would be our forever home in Cockeysville. Seven years later we moved into the city and have never looked back.

When considering the commute to UMMC you need to consider how long it takes to get to 83 and whether there will be traffic on 83 at the times that you go. Most homes in Cockeysville are on the other side of York road from 83 and there are frequent accidents on 83 that can greatly lengthen your commute.

We did not really understand what living in true suburbs was like when we moved to Cockeysville and while there are lot of choices for groceries we could not walk to anything.

But the most important reason we did not like Cockeysville is that most of the people, in addition to being older, were born and bread in the suburbs of Baltimore and it was EXTREMELY difficult to meet/make friends. "Old Baltimore" culture is based around where you went to high school.

As some of the other threads recently have hinted at, Baltimore suburbs are very opposed to public transportation. I remember thinking that when they were going to put a bus stop at the entrance to our development that would be a good thing and would expand the number of nannies that I could hire but the neighborhood was universally opposed and the agreement was that the bus would go down the street but not have any stops anwywhere near the neighborhood. The listing comments included concerns that we were too close to apartment buildings, the closest which were over a mile away. Now, if this is the attitude you are looking for you might really enjoy Cockeysville.

We love living in the city..we have a yard that is just big enough for entertaining, and we enjoy being able to walk along the trails in the city and walk to the grocery store, Walgreens, our eating spots occasionally. We have been living in the city for fourteen years. Our neighbors are friendly, work together and are not limited to hanging out with their high school friends.

There are a lot of smaller family homes or townhomes with larger yards tucked away in the north baltimore corridor...Evergreen is close to the Stoney run trail, Miss Shirley's and other eateries and the homes have large enough yards to entertain...all of the neighborhoods listed in this thread are good choices.

Arbutus!

Ideally one of the detached homes in between east drive and Shelbourne because it'll put you in walking distance to the restaurants, shops, movie theatre in town and the events center on UMBC. There are sidewalks everywhere (if you have a stroller down the road), it's right off of many major roads, the elementary and middle school are good enough, they just starting building a new high school, patapsco state park is near by, and it's relatively affordable compared to other towns nearby. There's live music fairly often on campus or in town so there's some semblance of a night life but it's still a fairly sleepy blue collar town. There are also yearly events like the arts festival, 10K, and 4th of July parade.

Live in the city! You will always have a chance to move to a suburb if you don’t love the city later in life or when you have kids.

The city has plenty of places to stretch your legs and explore! The opportunity to walk to a ton of bars, restaurants, parks etc is such. In Baltimore lots of people have cars and it is easy to “escape” the city 20 mins for a nice hike or adventure.

I guess if you’re thinking about the city being a fun time this is the time in your life to try it out!

Yeah Cockeysville is like families and people in their 50s-70s. We have rowhouse neighborhoods that would give you a bit of space and not put you in a high rise. Canton, Fells Point, upper Fells point, patterson Park all have close access to patterson park which is one of the largest parks in the city. They’re also walkable areas with bars/restaurants/entertainment. Canton/brewers Hill has many grocery stores and shopping (including big chains) much to my dismay, there is a suburban style shopping center here called Canton Crossing so y’all could still have that.

Moved from Denver suburbs to South Baltimore in October. Zero regrets. South Baltimore (federal hill, locust point) and Canton have easy access to i95 which means you’re pretty much two hours from anywhere. There are plenty of hikes, museums, battlefields, beaches, historic sites, major cities, campgrounds, east coast “mountains”, and pretty much anything you’d want to do.

The city speaks for it self. It’s where the action is — theres always something going on. Sports, clubs, a really legitimate ice cream scene, and better than expected food.

The city has its downsides. Noise. Traffic. Basic things like getting groceries are tougher than the burbs. But they’re all pretty much things you can plan around.

Try to find a rental with a parking pad/spot in the alley behind the house. Find a rental on a non main street

Beverly Hills, Lauraville, Hamilton

My wife and I moved to Baltimore separately. We met each other in 2006 and then bought a house in South Baltimore where we had kids and lived until 2022. Last year we moved to Hampden/Roland Park. For what you are looking for I would try Hampden and surrounding neighborhoods. I can say my wife grew up in a small town, I grew up in the burbs, and neither of us can picture moving out of the city. It’s not perfect, but for us living a walkable lifestyle has been life-changing for the better. As others have said, give city living a try, you may like it, we met a ton of friends. If not, we have plenty of ubiquitous suburbs to choose from.

Just curious, can you explain why walking to stores if you live in the city would stress you out? I feel like finding parking, driving to/from your destination would be more stressful than say...walking a block or two.

We moved to Baltimore from AZ in December and got a long term Airbnb while we house hunt. I don’t love having all of our stuff in storage while we’re in limbo, but I’m so glad we waited and have had the chance to scope neighborhoods around the city and neighboring ‘burbs. You really, truly cannot understand the vibe of a neighborhood until you see it for yourself. I think that’s even truer here than out west where it’s pretty homogenous.

I’m not sure what part of Cali you’re from but one thing I’d keep in mind is that a lot of Baltimore suburbs are really easy to into the city especially compared to a lot of Californian cities/suburbs.

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I’m partial to living in the city. Born and raised in the suburbs but baltimore really isn’t a big city. It’s called smalltimore for a reason. Wasn’t long before we could walk into any place and know at least one person. We were in butchers hill. Still miss it. But we have kids now and wanted a yard.

UMMC is easy access from Elkridge area (just south of town). It's Howard County, which has exceptional schools, incredible parklands, bike trails, and it's not as expensive as Ellicott City. I'm a Baltimore City boy, and proud city booster, but time has softened my views on County life. Catonsville is also just a fantastic place to live and raise kids! WELCOME!!!

In Baltimore City north of Cold Spring rd between Falls rd and York rd. Towson is technically the suburbs but has undeegone a lot of development in the past several years, so it would be a nice compromise of the 2.

Cockeysville is fine, too. Geographically, Baltimore is a small city, and when you consider the actual areas you'd never want to set foot in, it gets much smaller so it's very easy to drive into the city

Check out Live Baltimore https://livebaltimore.com/ for a great overview of hundreds of neighborhoods in the city. Many good neighborhoods have already been mentioned (Hamilton, Hampden, Medfield, Roland Park, etc.). I'll second Charles Village (as a resident of the Abell neighborhood) and add Oakenshawe, Harwood, Tuscany-Canterbury, and Wyman Park to the list of great neighborhoods to live in.

Moved to butchers hill 15 years ago from chicago. We were in our 20s, loved patterson park, and being walkable to fells point. Now 3 kids later happy to report our local public school is truly amazing (and about to go through a $48 million upgrade). If you’ve never done city life, Baltimore is a great place to try it out. Super friendly people and relatively affordable. Our area is very walkable with a ton of waterfront paths and many restaurants and bars between fells, canton, and highlandtown.

We live in Canton currently and we absolutely love it. A ton of young families with babies/young kids. We have ALL the things you mention wanting in terms of community and then more - especially with a baby, we are loving being so close to restaurants and coffee shops. Parking is actually much easier in Canton than in other urban areas where we have lived (Washington DC), and we have a lovely roof deck and have Canton Waterfront and Patterson Parks for nearby green space. Best of all worlds and no soul-diminishing cookie cutter suburb life.

Agree with folks’ advice here to rent first to feel things out before making a more permanent move!

I work in a school near Cockeysville and it is the ideal suburbs to raise a family as well as the surrounding neighborhoods (Timonium, Towson, Sparks, Phoenix etc.). However, many adults in the area are parents and most interactions happen through their children’s school, hobbies, sports, birthdays, community events etc. So just like many other replies to your thread, I would suggest initially living in the city. The Mt. Washington and Hampden communities seem to meet your immediate needs. They are both relatively safe, walkable, and accessible neighborhoods with friendly people. If you choose to live within one of these communities, the warmer seasons ahead will give y’all lots of opportunities to meet people through events, pop ups, etc. and for you to host your own events, and to just enjoy the outdoors. Also it’s awesome your partner works at UMMC. Your partner will come across a big community of people that include plenty of transplants that can offer advice and support. Best of luck to you and I hope you find what you’re looking for!

As someone who has lived in the area for 75% of their life and whose parents live in Towson, if you confine yourself to Cockeysville or anywhere that survives off of driving down York Rd, you just might go stir crazy. Especially if you're in your twenties. It's a sleepy little area.

I live sort of at the border of Roland Park and Hampden, work at UMB... where North Baltimore City and Baltimore County meets has so many lovely kind of "hybrid" suburban/city neighborhoods with lots of character and great schools around. You can get green space (Stony Run, Lake Roland, etc) and have access to loads of cultural aspects of Baltimore, restaurants, but still get that safety and quiet at times.

*edit: and places like hampden are gonna have that older 20s/starting families kind of feel, it feels very community oriented. i would love to live in the neighborhood directly east of moms in hampden if i was starting a family.

Cockeysville/Timonium is a great location for late 20s+. I regret moving away from Timonium seven years ago. I often go back to the old neighborhood to see friends. When my youngest finishes school, I might move back. I moved to a place called Baldwin, MD, but it feels too rural. Timonium was a great balance. I also like being just outside that 695 beltway loop.

I don’t know what kind of environment you’re comfortable in, but some of these suggestions are very far off in culture and crime rates from where you are looking in the Timonium area. Some are awesome pocket communities, but they are in areas that are slowly being consumed by the worse parts of Baltimore. If you’re in the right pocket you’re okay, but if not, you might have a problem. Very heavy traffic inside 695 too.

Timonium doesn’t have much of that other than the one apartment community in Cockeysville, and that’s not exactly bad. Be cautious. Overall, the tide is rising in that area. Some of these other places, not so much.

Not sure if it has been mentioned but for friends you and your wife should scout VOLO and join a league

Also, beware any 5 over one building in Canton. It will have extremely thin walls

As someone who moved from CA to Baltimore I have some idea of the move here. First, if you’re in your twenties and have no kids…just no to the burbs man. Y’all can be boring later in life. Move to Canton and the surrounding areas near the Patterson park (south of Baltimore street) and Fells Point. The other option is Fed Hill/Locust Point/Riverside. Get a row home, get a rooftop deck to throw 4th of July parties and watch the fireworks in the harbor. Check out the many restaurants and bars and nightlife all around the city has to offer. You’ll meet new people, have lots to do, and have fun. And to be clear I’m not saying you have to love bar crawling to enjoy the city, lots of cool local restaurants and bars to catch a game, enjoy a happy hour and some food on the patio. If you want to live in strip mall hell then go for the burbs but that sounds awful.

Edit: I didn’t see the part about kids. My wife and I have a toddler and another on the way and live in Canton. Love it. One day sure we will move out and settle down when they need to be in good schools but for now there are so many activities for the kids here.

Edit 2: You won’t drive into the city for fun if you live in the burbs. People in the county think we live in Afghanistan. You’ll worry about parking and not know where to go and probably end up in a tourist trap crappy restaurant when you do come.

Why not be spontaneous. Move to the city and try a new way of living? Try to find a place with a parking pad that way you only have one car to find parking for. You get used to not having a yard. Instead of a yard you might have a back patio and a rooftop deck instead.

You mention you don’t want the same as you’ve had and you want something new, but you’re choosing more of the same.

If you dislike it after a year, move out to the county(outside the city).

I would definitely not recommend Cockeysville if you’re looking for city vibes/making friends with younger people. In your shoes I’d choose one of the many great areas people have recommended within city limits and sign a year max lease. If you hate it, I promise the suburbs aren’t going anywhere and you can move there once your lease is up!

You may not be able to get everything you want but you can probably get at least some of what you want in a place. Parking is tougher in some of the more popular neighborhoods but it’s not unmanageable. If you’re commuting to UMMS main campus there’s a bunch of public transportation options if you decide that driving and parking every day is too much of a hassle. If you’re unable to get a house with a yard there are community gardens that you can try to get a plot in. I’ve had no problem hosting parties at my place in the city, if you make friends with other city dwellers they’ll be able to figure out how to get to your place.

There are TONS of things to do aside from drinking at bars all over the city—if there’s anything particular you’re fans of this is a great place to get recommendations and I’m happy to recommend stuff as well.

I personally am not a huge fan of the suburbs and I think the pluses of city life are very much worth some of the inconveniences. If it’s something you’ve not experienced and have the desire to try I think doing it while you’re still in your twenties and before having kids is the ideal time.

Welcome to Baltimore!

The one good thing about Cockeysville, as far as suburbs go, is the easy access to 83, making it convenient to go into many city neighborhoods. But you'd probably be happier in one of those places.

I’m on the West side of the city and Catonsville/Arbutus is also a good option.

I live in Hunting Ridge but understand it might be a bit too hood adjacent for you. With traffic I am a 12 min drive to UMMC straight down 40 and a turn on Greene. I have both a front yard and a backyard. A driveway + street parking. And very nice neighbors.

If you are in your 20s I would definitely recommend trying out the city. So much to do in Baltimore. Mt Washington would be a good choice and you could have a yard. But also close to stores. The neat thing is that the light rail is there and will take you about two blocks from work and also easy access to theater bars etc. You may or may not decide to raise kids in the city -everyone is different- but at least enjoy the city now.

You might like Catonsville or Glen Burnie.

anywhere between roland park and hampden should work, but mt wash is a personal fav.

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Take this from someone who moved to the area a year ago but would prefer not to live here, based on the parameters you laid out above (which nearly describes what I’d be looking for), Towson north to hunt valley or Catonsville/ellicott city are going to be your best bets. Sure not as many young people, but If you’re going to be having kids in the near future, better off in the burbs and most likely Lutherville timonium or ellicott city. Honestly, a lot of the young people are going to be bar people. You can always live in a suburb and join a league or something in the city.

I live in Catonsville area now. Moved here from Cleveland a year ago. I’ve been to downtown Cleveland as many times in the last year as I have been to downtown Baltimore. I’m not a bar person myself. I grew up in northern Baltimore county and have been dealing with this area for the better part of 40 years so I do have a solid grasp on what the area is like.

Now that I think about it, I’d even consider Severna park or Annapolis.

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The real question is are you interested in an interesting living experience or what is comfortable? The suburbs offer the predictability of a chain restaurant. Many middle class Americans come from this environment, and only seek it out when moving to a new town. Baltimore city has many very different neighborhoods. Some are very city-like, and some are more pre wwII suburban, and a few places are 1970s suburbs which sit uncomfortably in the city. We have mill-town neighborhoods (Hampden/Woodberry & Dickeyville (which is like an English village), we have up-scale upper middle class town houses (Bolton Hill, Mt Vernon). We have downtown apartment living. Then there are the neighborhoods which are a mix grill of gentrified middle class rubbing elbows with working class (Charles Village, South Baltimore) Then there are our gold coasts. Roland Park, Homeland, & Guilford.

Please do not buy until you have visited and been given a tour of the neighborhoods. It is best to rent, with most of your items in storage, so you can roam around and see the neighborhoods.

Keep in mind Uni of MD is in the city. It and Hopkins Medical are huge entities which press hard on their neighborhoods and are controversial in what they give back to the city. By living in the city, you will be supporting a great historic city of the country. If you are in the burbs, all your earnings will go to support the county and will be a drain on the city.

I'd do Canton over hampden. Canton has more of night life then hampden. Plus Canton is right by the water. They're building up a lot apartments and condos in Canton. Hampden I dislike because the parking sucks and it's crowded. It doesn't offer much like Canton does.

It doesn't sound like you want city life, other than to be social. But Baltimore is a city of neighborhoods, each has it's own feel and resources. For example, I'm in Mt. Vernon with what you described (no yard, parking difficult for friends, no grocery chains) - but I have 10+ restaurants, the Lyric, the Hippodrome, and the Walters within walking distance. I can even walk to the harbor in about 30 mins!

But there are other city neighborhoods offer what you're looking for. I would avoid Canton if you want a yard and parking. North Baltimore might be the best fit for you, but I second the folks recommending you come here first before deciding which neighborhood.

Also, it'll be hell to drive either into the city or out of the city at various parts of the day regardless where you are. Many of us feel trapped from 4-6pm everyday due to rush hour.

Anneslie and Rodgers Forge neighborhoods.

Close to the city, little shops in the area as well as bigger ones, walkable, good schools very close by, lots of young families to get to know. I grew up in Anneslie and it was absolutely wonderful. Made some really great childhood friends and it was very safe and still is. Honestly, would love to live there again one day.

I live in northeast baltimore. You may be able to find an affordable single family home in that area . We like it because we have a yard and a driveway and no attached neighbors. Pretty decent things to do in nearby Belvedere square, or rotunda. And downtown is only like a 17 minute drive.

You know that scene in Coming to America where Eddie and Arsenio first pull up in Queens with all their luggage and stuff?

Transplant from Los Angeles to Maryland here. We just bought our house in Woodlawn. It is suburban, but a short drive to Baltimore City. (20-30min depending on traffic.) Catonsville is also next door. (Another great place.) The best I can compare our general area here, is what Pasadena and Orange County might have been in CA. I highly recommend sticking to a suburb and driving out to “fun” spots. I’m a stay at home mom and plan to work from home eventually. The city will not offer the space and peace your wife will need. Being a young couple in the suburbs doesn’t have to be isolating. Once you’re settled, you can look up local meet ups. I’m also sure you’ll end up making friends amongst your coworkers. Good luck with the house hunt! :)

To me, your post reads like list of reasons you are using to talk yourself out of living the city life you've never experienced. At first I read this post as purchasing a home and I would have put my support behind living in the county. But renting? I'd do a year or two in the city (plenty of suggestions where in this thread), experience the good and the bad, then figure out what you want to do when the time feels right.

FYI, I moved out of downtown (fed hill) in my late 20's for some of the reasons you mentioned. Knew a kid was on the way, wanted a large yard, dog, room to host, etc. I'd lived in the city for 6+ years though, and got to experience a lot of great times in my mid 20's. We made the move to Arbutus (which I've recommended in the past) and are now looking to upsize yet again. Arbutus/Catonsville/Ellicott City are all areas that I'd recommend looking at if you decide against city life.

Homeland would be “suburbs” but still in the city. That would be my recommendation.

You wouldn't have the yard, but I'd recommend Canton if you can find a nice place with a large rooftop deck for grilling/entertaining. If you're renting anyway, you can always move in a year or two if it's not your speed, but I don't know what the hell I'd do if I moved to a new place where I didn't know anyone and then wound up in a Cockeysville apartment.

My aunt lives in Roland Park and it's very nice.

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Northwest Baltimore is great. Calmer and more quiet than downtown. Bike or hike the Jones Falls trail from Mt. Washington to Woodberry or Druid Hill Park (Rawlings Conservatory and the zoo)and stop by the Cylburn Arboretum along the way. Nice restaurants and lots of shops in the area. Some of the best public schools in the city (Mt. Washington, Roland Park, Medfield Heights, Poly and Hampden) and several private schools as well. Easy access downtown via 83 and the light rail. For groceries: Giant, Eddie’s, Whole Foods, Mom’s Organic market. Baltimore Museum of Art and The Walters Art Museum are a short drive away.

We just moved from Cockeysville to SD! We lived in Hampden before kids and loved it. We were from Baltimore County so Hampden was a good intro to city life. Mt. Washington/Hampden is good for city life without being completely in the middle of the city and Towson/Rodgers Forge area has Belvedere Square and you’re right on the outskirts of the city.

Catonsville is the vibe. Plenty of young people. It’s “Music Town, Maryland” mostly because it has a lot of music stores, notoriously, Bills Music. I grew up in Catonsville and I’d love to move back there but unfortunately I’m priced out right now. There’s a bunch of great restaurants (Taneytown has the best MD crab soup IMO), some nightlife (State Fare), lots of green space. To me it’s kind of the closest thing to a hippie town we have in Baltimore. It’s very safe west of the beltway and mostly safe in the neighborhood “Paradise” east of the beltway. It’s also super close to Ellicott (Pronounce like Ella Kit… don’t say Elli COT) City which has tons of cute shops and can be a fun little switch up. Catonsville also has a college, UMBC, which is know for its academics and grad programs so there are plenty of young people who are professionals or soon to be professionals.

Suburbs I’d stay away from are anything in east Baltimore like Essex(move close to the water if you go this route), Dundalk or Rosedale and Randallstown, Glen Burnie, Brooklyn, Lansdowne and parts of Arbutus/Halethorpe.

Recent transplant to Baltimore.

I’ve lived in two areas, outskirts of Baltimore 5 min from Catonsville and around Bolton Hill, a hip “up and coming” part of Baltimore.

This might be sacrilegious here, but unless you go to Hopkins or need immediate access to Penn Station, there’s no real need to live in Baltimore proper.

Near Catonsville I am 20 minutes away or less from anywhere worth visiting in Baltimore. Charles Village, Fells Point, Fed Hill, I am 20 minutes and in many cases only 15 away. In this case I was also only 40 away from DC, and 30ish from Rockville, and 20 from Columbia. I’m relatively free of any traffic in the morning or afternoon.

Now I live in Baltimore proper due to desire for proximity to Penn Station…. More expensive, more dangerous, worse schools, and I don’t go to Charles Village, Fells Point, or Fed Hill often enough to make its short commute worth it. Tbh Baltimore nightlife can’t hold a candle to DC’s.

As someone who LIKES living in Baltimore, it’s really a case of a suburb of a city being better than living in the city itself.

Also, you can get to the city any time for the various things to do.

Suburbs

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Based on reading some of your responses to comments, I’m going to suggest the following:

Columbia Towson Timonium

In that order. I really think you and your family would enjoy these places. Columbia is very family oriented and has a bunch of youngish adults and new families. Good school system. Tons of entertainment. A good social fabric there. Moved to Columbia from Baltimore during the pandemic and have been really happy.

Live in thr burbs,travel to city.

I would checkout Annapolis and the surrounding areas closer to Annapolis. Your only 30 minutes from Baltimore and you can enjoy the water. While living in a nicer area. This suburban area will also give more space than any area around Baltimore while also being close to everything.

Edit- enjoy the water

Live in the county, any county. If you plan to have children you want to avoid city schools unless you go private. If you don’t believe me just look at the test scores.

Suburban is better. Going to be honest. You can always just drive into the city. Traffic is usually fine.

Are you into roving dirt bike gangs?

I wouldn't live in the city if I had a choice. I am right on the Southeast county line. I believe all bills like water, etc are higher in the city.

Maybe towson is a good middle ground? It has a small downtown area but still not a big city. Lots of rowhomes that could give you the yard / entertaining space you want but still have proximity to suburban style shopping.

Suburbs don’t live in a dangerous shit of a city

It’s all dangerous but there are nice areas