I could really use some advice, please!

[DaWrestla]

Hey all, it's been awhile.

Long story short: After graduating college, I took a job. Said job is terrible, and I am/was oh-so-unhappy. Now, I have a new job that I begin Monday, May 15. My last day by Trenton, NJ will be April 26.

The new job will be with a large consulting firm in Aberdeen, MD (by the Proving Grounds). So, my question is this: where can a 23 year old single male live that would have a vibrant social life? I'm assuming some place near NE Baltimore, with a commute up I-95 in the morning to get to work (against traffic!). Preferably, no more than a 40 min drive, so try and keep that in mind.

I need to find an apartment ASAP before I start and I honestly don't have a CLUE where to look! LUNAR-NET was honestly the first place I though to come to for help; can anyone offer some advice?

Thanks, all.

[Scorpioeyez]

Craig's List.org is a great place to look for a place and get a general idea of life style/night life of an area.

[Erroneous]

Classifieds at MySpace.com is good, then there's always roommates.com I believe.

[Kizyr]

A 40-minute commute by car gives you a really large window. Traffic starts getting heavy around 8 to 8:30AM, but still you'll not want to have to commute through Baltimore. (Even then it's a reverse commute, so not a big problem.)

If you want a good place to live that's not too expensive, you might want to look just outside of Baltimore. You can check Craigslist, but I actually recommend Rent.com and Apartments.com. Check those places, get a list of apartments in the area you want, and call in to check for availability and ask some questions.

Find some time before you move in to drive down and check out the area; that way, you can get a sense of things like safety, quality, etc. I don't know Baltimore too well, but you should definitely get a place outside the city limits as it'll be safer, cheaper, and won't be a pain on your car.

If you're worried about lifestyle, then just find a place that connects via mass transit. If it's close to a metro, you can ride that into the city and get around via light-rail; or, if you'll be out after schedule, just drive in--don't worry so much about parking, since the lower rent outside the city will more than offset that. KF

[DaWrestla]

Thanks to everyone.

However, I was actually looking for some names of towns (if anyone knows of any, that is).

For example: I've heard of both Federal Hills and Canton as being great to live...except they don't come up on Google Maps or Mapquest.

[Kizyr]

Those are both suburbs / sections of Baltimore--SE Baltimore, more precisely. Although spots like the Inner Harbor have been cleaned up in the last few years, I don't think I'd recommend living around the harbor while within the city.

Check Google Maps (or Google Earth, you might need that) for ZIP codes nearby where you're looking to live, and then search by ZIP on Rent.com and/or Apartments.com. KF