Baltimore County is a pretty big place, it's like a 45 mile drive from Sparrows Point to The MD/PA Line. I'll assume since you're asking for places that aren't too suburby that you're thinking closer to the city.

Up on the north side Towson is a university town with a walkable downtown, plenty of good places to eat, etc. Towson has definitely gone upscale over the years (it has a lovely Whole Foods) so it might be pricy, but it's certainly not short on young people.

The east side - especially the southeast side - and especially especially Dundalk are often perceived as a white trash area. That's sometimes true, although I've known some fine people from the east county as well. In the northeast, I know one Parkville resident who swears by it but I find it a bit generic.

On the west side some of the the inner suburbs - Owings Mills and Randallstown for example - have large black populations so you'll find lots of soul food, black hair places, etc. And Pikesville is a heavily Jewish suburb on the northwest side if kosher food is your thing. As you head out to Reisterstown the population gets much whiter and you start seeing more Trump stickers.

On the southwest side Catonsville has a walkable Main Street, but doesn't feel as upscale as Towson. It's a part of the county that used to be very white, and is slowly becoming more diverse. It's the home of UMBC, but Catonsville feels much less like a college town than Towson as UMBC is more commuter-heavy and smaller overall. It's not a bad area if you want to have one foot in the suburbs and one foot in the city - it's an easy 15 minute drive to popular spots in South Baltimore, but it's also close to big box stores and suburban stuff on route 40.

If you're don't have a specific reason to be in the county but you're just looking for something that doesn't feel like full-on city, there are areas within the city limits that might work. Mt Washington has a nice little walkable area with bars and restaurants, but most of the residential streets around there feel pretty suburban and car-oriented.

The county is definitionally suburby because all its growth in the last century was for white flight from the city. There is almost no mixed use development and where it is its usually insanely expensive to live there. If its walkable, its like a single road of shops surrounded by parking lots with limited access highways abound.

Towson has a young crowd because TU is right . I’m not sure what you mean by not too suburby is since the county is the suburbs.

I (29M) grew up in Baltimore County and I loved it. I’ve lived there in various areas up until last year. Lived in the city with my GF for a bit and now we live out in the country. Towson is probably going to be a place of interest for you. It contains Towson U and Goucher so plenty of college age people. Good restaurants, a music venue, a mall, etc. and it’s walkable. North of Towson up through York road is cool (Lutherville, Timonium, Hunt Valley) it’s suburban but lively. Also lots of good food and bars and shopping. Bars like High Tops will have a younger crowd. Also plenty of light rail stops to get to conveniently into the city. East of Towson toward Parkville and White Marsh can become a bit more blue collar. Again tons of great restaurants and convenient shopping. Probably less of a scene for a young twenty something (Das Bierhalle is a popular spot).

Hope this helps. Baltimore County is bigger than t what I described but those are notable mentions. Let me know if you wanna know more about any of that.

It’s all very suburby except for Towson.

I spent one year in the suburbs in my 20’s and it was boring as hell. Everything closes early, neighbors are weird (diff than city weird), and you have to drive to everything.

Moving into a cool city neighborhood was a relief!

Towson, but it’s a college town. So if you’re mid-20s you’ll be the old person around. Catonsville, but it’s mostly families. Check out Canton, Fells point or Federal Hill.

I wouldn’t recommend it. Towson is college-y and when the kids are gone it’s kind of dead. The bars are kind of grimy and the food scene is not all that great.

The rest of the county can have some good food and bars but it’s mostly middle-aged people and families.

I would stick to the city to have more options.

Catonsville is very "inner suburb" or "edge of the city" kind of vibe. I absolutely love it. Safe, mostly quiet, but still tons of stuff that's walkable, a cohesive community and neighborhood, but also very diverse. Not as many "young" people here but you'll find younger folk in Parkville and Towson, I think.

Most parts of Baltimore County that are right off the Beltway are pretty nice and even some are affordable. But I'd stay away from Dundalk.

I (32F) bought my first house in Nottingham when I was 24. I loved my house but was bored out of my mind. My neighborhood was all families and there was nothing to do within walking distance. I stayed there for 3 years, then moved to the city and still live here today.

Don't forget lower SW BalCo. Arbutus is below Catonsville, has several neighborhoods of differing socioeconomic levels from working class to middle class. Its an area which was part of the new suburbs in 1910-1920, Haelthorpe is post WWII single family subirban. St Denis is an interesting late Victorian village.

Elkridge might be inserted here, though I think it may be more Howard County.

Going farther south is Landsdowne and English Counsel. Similar to Dundalk & Essex, working class whites, but not as big an area nor has the large amount of tacky commercial.

I almost forgot Paradise. This is along Frederick Ave inside the Beltway, often glomed in with Old Catonsville. It is a real mix of working class, middle class, mostly pre WWII housing, but in fairly good condition.

Oddly the north central part of the county is bucolic horse country. Large amounts of that area were put out of the reach of developers (yes several developers have/had their estates in this area) Most of the land is kept to multi acre plots so the wealthy can live like English royalty.

Having worked in the County for years, though a transplant from MoCo, I think what struck me as odd, when I moved to the area, was how much bile county people have against the city. The city that many of the families of those angry people fled in the post war years.

I’m in my early thirties and live between Pikesville and Owings Mills. Been here most of my life and while you won’t just randomly meet others the same age, it’s a relatively safe and easy area with quick access to everything. Towson/Timonium might give you more access to people closer in age.

No, everybody in Baltimore county is 50 or older. We had everyone else forcibly shipped to Hagerstown.

Not sure what you mean about "less suburb-y", but denser areas with business/retail/restaurant districts exist. What are you looking for?

It’s like living in Baltimore City if the city was a county