Zealousideal_Tea3214 t1_j3kg07h wrote on January 9, 2023 at 4:19 AM

I’ll second King’s contrivance as a sweet spot. We agonized over where to land and I’m thrilled with our spot. The forest land surrounding us is just heaven. But there are other excellent neighborhoods, we also liked hickory ridge, but KC nudged it out for access to everything and walkability.

Columbia in general has a little bit of everyone but intention. IMO avoid the top of the top of the top schools if your kid is worried about finding friends or has some anxiety issues. Strangely, some of the “less good” schools may have more resources for you.

400-500k isn’t a terrible budget and if you’re willing to do a little upgrading on your own you’re in single-family house range, maybe barely.

Look up Columbia on misc. best places to live lists, they’re not inaccurate IME.

obidamnkenobi t1_j3lrnqu wrote on January 9, 2023 at 1:19 PM

Looking at recent listings around me in KC, if OP could up the budget to $500 - 550k it would open more options in SFH, at least in this area. If not townhouses seem to be a bit less.

zmnatz t1_j3lxa5m wrote on January 9, 2023 at 2:05 PM

Seconding this. For townhouses, OP budget is more than fine (and they are plentiful in KC). We were outbid on almost every SFH we looked at in the 500-550k range.

zmnatz t1_j3lx4gr wrote on January 9, 2023 at 2:04 PM

Thirding King's contrivance. It's ideal for getting onto 95S quickly for getting to College Park. Lived there for about a decade before moving. That said, 400-500k is tough in the area for a single family home these days. That's why we ended up buying in Elkridge. Townhouses are easily doable in the 300 to 400k range and there are loads of playgrounds along the trail system to make up for the lack of large backyards with those.

Also the libraries are amazing here u/RBGismypatronus. We are in walking distance of one now and our kids absolutely love it.