PING: People familiar with Columbia, MD

Celeval · 07-25-2004, 09:48 PM

So... wife and I are moving, most likely to Columbia, MD. We're looking at two apartment complexes right now and are looking for opinions on the area, and either complex. Lazy Hollow and Hobbit's Grove are the two - any thoughts on either of these by anyone?

Kevin

Radii · 07-25-2004, 10:03 PM

You don't work for Dakota now do you? My old company was headquartered there (Dakota Imaging, Inc). Also, someone I know got a porn DVD shipped from there. Not me, my porn is of the free variety.

Celeval · 07-25-2004, 10:08 PM

Nope, same job based out of ATL. Good to know, though.

Porn star neighbors - plus or minus?

henry296 · 07-26-2004, 08:19 AM

Columbia is a Master Planned Community about equal distance from both Baltimore and DC. It was designed to have all the conveniences very close together. Almost all of the town is very nice, typical upper middle class suburbia. I am not familiar exactly where those two are located. Do you know what major roads they are near? You can't go wrong with Columbia, but it is very suburban and most people who live there don't leave there to take advantage of either DC or Baltimore very frequently.

If your job is in Columbia, you can live just about anywhere and not be more than 30 minutes away.

Todd

QuikSand · 07-26-2004, 09:27 AM

Todd's description is fair.

I have no idea where those two developments are in Columbia, because I don't know where anything is in Columbia. I live about 15 minutes away, I get there with some frequency, and I still can't find my way around the damned place. The reason for this is that because of their strict zoning, practically every road and community looks the same -- even the restaurants and gas stations have to have non-intrusive signage, and it's downright spooky, to me. Yes, it's a nice area, with good schools and parks and all that -- but it's a little bit weird in that respect.

From what I understand, you'll want to consider your neighborhood very seriously for another reason. Columbia is not an incorporated city -- it doesn't have a city government per se. Instead, it has a weird amalgamation of community associations, which end up providing quite a lot of public services in lieu of a municipal government. So -- your choise of community (and community association) might bemore important in Columbia than most other places. Regrettably, I offer no meaningful insight into the particular ones you mention, just a note to consider that carefully.

CamEdwards · 07-26-2004, 09:36 AM

ya gotta live in a place called Hobbits Grove... if only for the comedy factor.

cthomer5000 · 07-26-2004, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

ya gotta live in a place called Hobbits Grove... if only for the comedy factor.

that was my thought as well, even though I know nothing about Columbia, MD.

gottimd · 07-26-2004, 10:38 AM

I grew up in Columbia, MD, spent 18 years of my life there. What info do you need?

timmyw3 · 07-26-2004, 11:18 AM

I grew up about 15 minutes to the north of Columbia and lived there for 2 years in my single days. It has it's pros and cons. Like Quik said, unless you really know the area you really need to do some exploring to find a lot of things with the way businesses are hidden. On the plus side, the school systems in Howard County as a whole are second to none in the state. It's a big reason why real estate in the area has gone through the roof.

You have to be careful though. The are some bad neighborhoods in Columbia and they are not all contained in one area. In checking out where the 2 apt communities were located I would venture to guess that Hobbit's Grove might be your best bet as far as safety is concerned anyway. It's right by Hobbit's Glen Golf Course ( they played a Senior Tour event there a few years back) and Cedar Lane Park (I play softball there on Tuesdays)

I lived on Thunderhill Rd which is pretty close to Lazy Hollow and it was pretty scary at times. But like I said the bad neighborhoods are pretty scattered.

Honolulu_Blue · 07-26-2004, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmyw3

I grew up about 15 minutes to the north of Columbia and lived there for 2 years in my single days. It has it's pros and cons. Like Quik said, unless you really know the area you really need to do some exploring to find a lot of things with the way businesses are hidden. On the plus side, the school systems in Howard County as a whole are second to none in the state. It's a big reason why real estate in the area has gone through the roof.

You have to be careful though. The are some bad neighborhoods in Columbia and they are not all contained in one area. In checking out where the 2 apt communities were located I would venture to guess that Hobbit's Grove might be your best bet as far as safety is concerned anyway. It's right by Hobbit's Glen Golf Course ( they played a Senior Tour event there a few years back) and Cedar Lane Park (I play softball there on Tuesdays)

I lived on Thunderhill Rd which is pretty close to Lazy Hollow and it was pretty scary at times. But like I said the bad neighborhoods are pretty scattered.

Wow. Hobbit's Grove. Thunderhill Rd. Lazy Hollow. Columbia sounds like it comes straight from Middle Earth...

terpkristin · 07-26-2004, 06:05 PM

It does.

Of course, these guys left out Longfellow, Clary's Forest, Clemen's Crossing, King's Contrivance, Owen Brown, Running Brook, Bryant Forest, Wilde Lake, etc...

We won't even get into street names where I can tell somebody the street name and have them say, "Oh, you're from Columbia."

Only other thing I'll add here is that the Thunder Hill/Long Reach/Oakland Mills area used to be kind of scary, but that was before the recent development. It's much nicer now. Admittedly probably the worst area is still the Wilde Lake area...granted, I went to high school at WLHS and I turned out fine.

~tk

Celeval · 07-26-2004, 09:35 PM

Hobbit's Grove is on Cedar Lane, off of Rt. 108, just past Clark's Elioak Farm.
Lazy Hollow is off Tamar Drive, near Long Reach High School.

Hobbit's Grove is in the 'Harpers Choice' village.
Lazy Hollow is in the 'Long Reach' village.

It seems both of these are part of the Columbia Association, through which all the pools, fitness centers, etc. are all run.

What I'm mostly looking for is info on how safe Long Reach & Lazy Hollow is, as well as any info about the particular complexes themselves. HG is a bit more expensive, but we're less sure about the complex itself.

timmyw3 - are you looking for a new player on your Tuesday night league? :-D

Kevin

07-26-2004, 08:19 AM	#4
henry296 College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	Columbia is a Master Planned Community about equal distance from both Baltimore and DC. It was designed to have all the conveniences very close together. Almost all of the town is very nice, typical upper middle class suburbia. I am not familiar exactly where those two are located. Do you know what major roads they are near? You can't go wrong with Columbia, but it is very suburban and most people who live there don't leave there to take advantage of either DC or Baltimore very frequently. If your job is in Columbia, you can live just about anywhere and not be more than 30 minutes away. Todd __________________ "It's a great day for hockey" - "Badger" Bob Johnson

07-26-2004, 09:27 AM	#5
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Todd's description is fair. I have no idea where those two developments are in Columbia, because I don't know where anything is in Columbia. I live about 15 minutes away, I get there with some frequency, and I still can't find my way around the damned place. The reason for this is that because of their strict zoning, practically every road and community looks the same -- even the restaurants and gas stations have to have non-intrusive signage, and it's downright spooky, to me. Yes, it's a nice area, with good schools and parks and all that -- but it's a little bit weird in that respect. From what I understand, you'll want to consider your neighborhood very seriously for another reason. Columbia is not an incorporated city -- it doesn't have a city government per se. Instead, it has a weird amalgamation of community associations, which end up providing quite a lot of public services in lieu of a municipal government. So -- your choise of community (and community association) might bemore important in Columbia than most other places. Regrettably, I offer no meaningful insight into the particular ones you mention, just a note to consider that carefully. Last edited by QuikSand : 07-26-2004 at 09:29 AM.

07-26-2004, 09:36 AM	#6
CamEdwards Stadium Announcer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Burke, VA	ya gotta live in a place called Hobbits Grove... if only for the comedy factor. __________________ I don't want the world. I just want your half.

07-26-2004, 10:38 AM	#8
gottimd Dearly Missed (9/25/77-12/23/08) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: DC Suburbs	I grew up in Columbia, MD, spent 18 years of my life there. What info do you need? __________________ NAFL New Orleans Saints GM/Co-Commish MP Career Record: 114-85 NAFL Super Bowl XI Champs In memory of Gavin Anthony: 7/22/08-7/26/08

07-26-2004, 06:05 PM	#11
terpkristin Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: Ashburn, VA	It does. Of course, these guys left out Longfellow, Clary's Forest, Clemen's Crossing, King's Contrivance, Owen Brown, Running Brook, Bryant Forest, Wilde Lake, etc... We won't even get into street names where I can tell somebody the street name and have them say, "Oh, you're from Columbia." Only other thing I'll add here is that the Thunder Hill/Long Reach/Oakland Mills area used to be kind of scary, but that was before the recent development. It's much nicer now. Admittedly probably the worst area is still the Wilde Lake area...granted, I went to high school at WLHS and I turned out fine. ~tk __________________ GO TERPS! https://www.flickr.com/photos/terpkristin https://twitter.com/terpkristin

07-25-2004, 10:03 PM	#2
Radii Head Coach Join Date: Jul 2001	You don't work for Dakota now do you? My old company was headquartered there (Dakota Imaging, Inc). Also, someone I know got a porn DVD shipped from there. Not me, my porn is of the free variety.

07-25-2004, 10:08 PM	#3
Celeval Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Cary, NC, USA	Nope, same job based out of ATL. Good to know, though. Porn star neighbors - plus or minus?

07-26-2004, 11:18 AM	#9
timmyw3 H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Baltimore, MD	I grew up about 15 minutes to the north of Columbia and lived there for 2 years in my single days. It has it's pros and cons. Like Quik said, unless you really know the area you really need to do some exploring to find a lot of things with the way businesses are hidden. On the plus side, the school systems in Howard County as a whole are second to none in the state. It's a big reason why real estate in the area has gone through the roof. You have to be careful though. The are some bad neighborhoods in Columbia and they are not all contained in one area. In checking out where the 2 apt communities were located I would venture to guess that Hobbit's Grove might be your best bet as far as safety is concerned anyway. It's right by Hobbit's Glen Golf Course ( they played a Senior Tour event there a few years back) and Cedar Lane Park (I play softball there on Tuesdays) I lived on Thunderhill Rd which is pretty close to Lazy Hollow and it was pretty scary at times. But like I said the bad neighborhoods are pretty scattered.

07-26-2004, 09:35 PM	#12
Celeval Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Cary, NC, USA	Hobbit's Grove is on Cedar Lane, off of Rt. 108, just past Clark's Elioak Farm. Lazy Hollow is off Tamar Drive, near Long Reach High School. Hobbit's Grove is in the 'Harpers Choice' village. Lazy Hollow is in the 'Long Reach' village. It seems both of these are part of the Columbia Association, through which all the pools, fitness centers, etc. are all run. What I'm mostly looking for is info on how safe Long Reach & Lazy Hollow is, as well as any info about the particular complexes themselves. HG is a bit more expensive, but we're less sure about the complex itself. timmyw3 - are you looking for a new player on your Tuesday night league? :-D Kevin

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