If you want your own private grass yard, look at Hampden and Medfield. Grass is hard to come by in Fells, Canton, Fed and Locust Point but those places all have parks (as does Hampden). There are some other grassy yard neighborhoods that I’m sure people will suggest. Do you need convenient parking? Budget? A 3bed/2 bath will be over $2K, closer to 2.5K or more in Hampden proper for an updated rowhouse.

There are some great threads / resources linked in the “about” page to r/baltimore. Check those out. If you end up in 21217, feel free to DM. My wife and I moved up from DC and have a toddler. It’s a fun town for littles :)

We are paying over 3K in NOVA (it's crazy down here so that sounds great!) and grass is a plus, but even a courtyard or patio space would be great!

Thanks! My husband got a job in Hanover, but also goes up to Philly for work several times a month and the rent down here is getting nuts, so it's time to move!

Are you looking to buy or rent?

Rent, we will likely only be there 2 - 3 years

Hamilton-Lauraville would check all these boxes but is very “suburban” city. If you want to be somewhere more walkable, you can find townhouses or row homes with small yards (and maybe even parking) in Canton, Patterson Park, Riverside, and Locust Point - all which are close to large parks that host many events, public pools, tot lots, and a large population of families with children.

Original Northwood

Rodgers Forge area could be worth checking out.

Could get lucky in the Mt. Washington area.

If he’s going upto Philly then rodgers forge might really make sense

There are several neighborhoods in Baltimore City that could work based on what you've shared already.

We're in Hamilton-Lauraville and love it. This is the third place in the city we've lived since moving to Maryland from California in 2017. The neighborhood has a mix of side-by-sides and standalone homes. I-95 is close, if that matters.

If you're willing to go further up to the county, you can always looks at Towson, Lutherville, Cockeysville, and surrounding areas.

I was looking at Townson some, and since my husband has to go to Philly for work pretty regularly up north makes sense for sure!

Towson has many, if not all, the things you're looking for. If you want to be closer to 95 in order to go to Philly or Hanover, maybe Whitemarsh, Nottingham, Perry Hall, etc.

The commute to Philly from Towson is actually longer than the commute to Philly than canton or the locust point areas. It’s so far away from 95 that the northness of it doesn’t really help out unfortunately

That's a good point, thanks!

We moved from Philly to Towson thinking that and we now live in Locust Point. Our drive to Philly went from like 2 hours and 10 minutes to an 1 and 50 minutes so not a ginormous difference. We do pay more tolls this way though.

Locust point, Riverside, would put your husband on a direct path to work and Philly. Mount Washington, Medfield, Hoes heights, Canton/Brewers hill are good alternatives

Commenting again because I’m surprised nobody has mentioned checking out Live Baltimore. Baltimore is a city of over 200 neighborhoods and this site does a good job of sorting them out for you.

Oh thanks! I'll check it out!

Why? I would suggest something closer to Baltimore Penn Station so he can take Amtrak right up.

If you want to be in close to downtown, Otterbein is great. Lots of grassy areas with seven pocket parks in the neighborhood. Many of our neighbors have little kids and everyone we’ve met is very friendly. It’s close to the Science Center, and playground by Rash Field.

Rodgers forge is a great family friendly neighborhood. Safe, great schools. Townhouses, apartments, and single family homes. Very close to 695/95 to scoot upto Philly. OP didn’t specify if their husband wanted to take a train or drive. Unfortunately how most of America’s setup, cars give more flexibility esp if you’re a parent with kids requirements.

But yes, train vs car is an important distinction that OP didn’t mention

You'll pay a lot more in rent. There's a definite inefficiency between buying and renting

I'm aware of that but in general if you can't stay in a place for 5 years a home purchase is a bad investment

Explain how

This Is a decent link to sum it up, but basically because of high upfront costs it takes 5 years to recoup that money.

It can of course vary, but buying a home should be as long term an investment as possible!

Rogers forge for townhouses Homeland Hampden