Why not live in Annapolis? The historic part is super cute, lots of places to walk and things to do. Columbia is as suburban as it gets. If you live in Columbia, there are walking paths for exercise but they don’t go to any real destination - just tot lots. If you like a city feel, you might be bored in Columbia. You will be driving every time you want to do something.

I love Columbia, I was born there, went to Howard County schools my whole life, have never lived more than 10 miles away. We do a lot of driving 20 minutes, it’s hard to meet new people, and you don’t get much space/land of your own. There are lots of rules to keep it suburban, nice and safe, fitting in, being a middle class person. If you like that, come visit!

I suggest visiting in Spring. That’s a nice time in Maryland. This time of year is kinda gray and damp. But there’s Christmas lights and displays if you come before the end of the year.

I grew up here, and live near by in Ellicott City. One nice feature we have around here is the Patapsco State Park. I think we have a hundred miles of dirt trails for hiking and biking. It is a great park, and has some decent fishing too. A google image search gives you a nice idea of what the park is like:

https://www.google.com/search?q=patapsco+state+park&sxsrf=ALiCzsYtB7dnY2iokVbtw2tE1_5q3Pc4XA:1670777993228&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLo6OGhfL7AhUNGFkFHZQrAsMQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1536&bih=711&dpr=1.25

Old Ellicott city is a nice chill spot too: https://visitoldellicottcity.com/

Feb is typically the worst snow month, something about President’s Day snowstorms seems common. January and Feb are when it will be coldest. It’s not unusual to have the first snow the second week of December. I’m actually kind of surprised we haven’t had a dusting yet.

It will get a little colder than it is now, but the super cold temps (20s) don’t usually last too long. We natives hate the really cold weather too.

It can snow anytime from now until late March, but usually the big snows are in late Jan into early March.

I recently just moved from Florida where “winter” doesn’t exist. Does it get much colder than it is now and when does it snow?

The owners at the dog parks are the worst. They sit there and pretend nothing is happening when their dog is harassing other dogs, and then they have the audacity to tell you to leave when the other dog has had enough

Love to hear it

I grew up in Columbia and it’s one of the best places to live. Extremely diverse. Everything has a “small town” feel to it. Great non-chain restaurants and bars. A lot of recreational activities. And like everyone is mentioning, close to Baltimore and DC

Appreciate the feedback. I’m actually planning a trip next month, yes in the winter lol, jumping in with both feet so I can see how I manage.

Yea 32 between 95 and bw parkway is not fun. Those 4-5 miles are the slowest of my afternoon commute

One other note Annapolis is expensive. I'm new to Columbia so I don't know everything, but a lot of people love it and we chose to buy here. Howard and Montgomery counties are really diverse. Painting with a broad brush, its less diverse the closer to Annapolis you get and headig further south or east. I've heard good things about odenton and Crofton. Laurel seems more hit or miss in terms of safety. Prince Georges county has some hit more miss locales too. South of Anne Arundel county and you get rural quickly. Same with north and west of Ellicott city.

Come visit! We have crab cakes and old bay! Direct flights from LAX to BWI are a thing.

I have a very very reactive rescue and the number of terrible dog owners in Columbia is the worst I've ever encountered. I have to carry pepper spray too because of people's out of control animals. People with friendly dogs often don't train them well, I guess because they don't think it's a big deal.

Very true. Thanks

As you look for places to work/live, you can put departure and arrival times in google maps (when you think you could commute) and it will give you estimated drive time with traffic.

No problem! I should add that Annapolis is on the Chesapeake bay so it’s out of the way from most places you go to. 97 only goes from Annapolis to Baltimore. It’s easy for it to get bottlenecked.

I see ok. This helps!

That’s without traffic. Annapolis only has 2 highways but only one (I-97) is accessible from Columbia. The other highway is only accessible from PG County/NOVA. That means 97 is the only highway for the entire Baltimore Metro region. Traffic will vary but it can get real ugly. It’s the only highway for people and it’s only 2 lanes. Trips can be as fast as 35 minutes but it usually takes an hour in rush hour traffic. More if there’s an accident.

This is helpful. I ask about Annapolis specifically only because my current company in CA has a location there, but I don’t know that I wanna live in Annapolis.

That would be my goal, as close as possible. My main goal in a community is safety, which may mean driving into work. I like an urban feel without city congestion. Drivable distance to errands and good eats, diversity, and proximity to friends.

That'd be out rt 32. The area between 95 and Ft Meade (Army base in the area) can get really congested, as can 97 down into Annapolis. Light traffic -and depending on your start/end points - probably around 30 minutes. Rush hour, more like 50 (but can vary).

I would highly suggest living as close to work as you can find an affordable safe place to live. I have not done Annapolis/Columbia commute. As long as there isn't an accident on 97/32 you should be about 40-60 minutes. Personally I'd try and live closer to Annapolis.

Do you have kids, S/O tagging along?

What characteristics are you looking for in a community?

Not terrible, alright! This is helpful. Really appreciate it.

Ah ok. So it may be good to look for work closer. How about driving to Annapolis from Columbia?

Columbia to Annapolis is about 35 minutes down 32 without traffic.

Ok great! Also, if you are living within a few miles of your work you should be able to get their without too much hassle. I would not work at a hospital in downtown Baltimore or DC and expect to have a fun time getting there from Columbia. The major traffic roads are 95, bw parkway (295), 32, 197 then both DC beltway (495) and Baltimore beltway.