Hi, We are moving from overseas to MD area. What are the family friendly areas with great elementary schools

My husband and I are retired military. We were stationed in WA for 12 yrs before coming here to the MD area. I am og from Baltimore. So we had family and ties here which made our choice of schools easier. I feel if you look on the internet and get some phone # to the schools. You made get a good feeling of what you are looking for. WA State school were very nice to the eye, but I feel here in MD my kids have gotten more of the 3 r's and stricter teaching then recieved in WA. The schools here in my area are old and most need to be up-dated, but a school is not the building, its what is in-side that counts. If your going to live on post, the schools are good too. The surrounding post area is a good area of MD to raise kids in. I hope that will help you! Good Luck.

When my husband and I found out that I was pregnant, I immediately started researching and found that Timonium's school district has excellent public schools based on consistently high testing scores, adequate teacher/student ratios, and of course, wonderful reviews from parents and students. We moved to the area and will be sending our daughter to Pot Spring Elementary next fall. I couldn't be more pleased.

We love the Catonsville area on the west side of Baltimore in the County. It is close to Baltimore (20 min), Washington DC(45 min) and Frederick (30 min) . It is also very close to the BWI airport (10-15 min) Catonsville is near the big cities but has a small town/neighborhood atmosphere. The school system from ES to HS is high quality.

I highly recommend the Owings Mills/Pikesville area. Our two children attend Woodholme Elementary and it is an excellent school. We couldn't be happier and the area in general is good as well. It is very centrally located in the suburbs of Baltimore- you can be downtown in ~25 minutes, to the airport in ~30 minutes, to D.C. in ~45 mintues, and Philly or NY in two or three hours. Housing is a little pricey, but still better than some of the other nice areas in MD.