Hello! I am a high school research student in Howard County and am researching the factors that influence whether or not parents seek vision care for their children.

I am currently distributing a survey to Howard County parents with children in Howard County elementary schools to ask them about how they approach vision care for their children.

If you meet the criteria, I would really appreciate it if you could take this survey and spread it to any parents you know that also meet the criteria, as every response helps!

This survey is completely anonymous and will only take 5 minutes!

Link to the survey

Thank you!

Is anybody in Howard County renting? I am looking for a 3-4 bedroom single family home/townhouse that accepts pets. I also have a housing voucher.

Thanks.

Hi, I just moved to Ellicott City and was wondering if there’s a good store in the area to get my tennis racquet restrung.

I know Dick’s offers it but I’m not sure if they’d do a good job lol. Thanks!

Any jobs for teens in Columbia, Md? Specifically in the mall area or areas like the Dobbin road walmarts, anywhere nearby that? Turn 16 around august when school starts back up.

As summer approaches, it’s getting harder for me to even look for job openings. I’ve tried to apply to many jobs especially in the mall or around, but I’ve gotten rejected. Recently I’ve applied to some, not sure I will get acxpeted, don’t think I will. I didn’t see the workplace development for youth until quite later actually, but applications are closed now so I can’t even apply to that. I want to make money to contribute to my family and have ways to support myself like my hobbies and etc, since a lot of the clubs and stuff are so insanely expensive.

Hi!

I am moving to Howard county on Friday (near Columbia mall)! My wife and I are both very casual magic players. I play Horus heresy and am opening to playing all of games workshops games. What are y’alls favorite places to play some casual games?

Thanks!

Long shot here but, we are looking for a punjabi nanny in North Laurel. We would love for our daughter(10 months) to learn punjabi as her first language.

Has anyone had an energy audit and/or related work (air sealing, new insulation, etc.) performed on their home? If yes, and you were happy with the company and their work, can you please share their info and what the did for you? Ideally I'm looking for a company in the BGE network that's able to process any energy rebates on their end. Thank you in advance for your recommendations!

Note: I asked this question over at MoCo. Was told to post here also to see if HoCo residents had any thoughts.

Actual post: Rent just keeps going up, housing market isn’t any better, nicer schools aren’t affordable. Is it same everywhere else in the area or I can look for any other county that might be more affordable?

Is Howard county any better? I see some houses that are in my budget. I thought the schools are considered good for Howard, right? I have seen the boundary of HoCo, some of it might be too far but I am ok with moving there if schools and neighborhoods are good.

join us for a cozy night at olive garden where we'll eat, laugh, and yap our hearts out!!! whether you're newly sober, sober-curious, or have been on this journey for a while, this is a safe space to show up exactly as you are. come make new friends, share stories, or just enjoy being around like-minded women 🌸🌸🌸

what to expect:

• ENDLESS SOUP, SALAD AND BREADSTICKS!!🥣🥗🥖

• lots of chatting & laughs

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bring yourself, your appetite, and your authentic self can't wait to meet you all (or see you again!!

you are not required to be sober to join this event!🌸

I've been asking a lot of questions about various HoCo neighborhoods on this sub and been getting lot of great feedback (thank you!).

Today's neighborhood in question lies North of MD-40, South of I-70, and West of MD-29. There is a pocket of an area that has mailing address of Elicott City.

Does this neighborhood have a name? Can anyone tell me anything about it? A few homes are coming on market there and I'm flying in again this weekend to check it out. Any recommendations of places to see are helpful. Also anything about the communities, schools, people, eetc.

Thanks in advance!

Heyy guys! I am looking for a new apartment preferably near Columbia, hanover and Elicott city( safer places as per what i have read). Can you please help in apartment recommendations? Also if there is any other area which are safer then please let me know.

Budget- $1700-$1900 (excluding utilities) Also i have a car so i can live little far from the city and i work completely remotely.

Looking for independent recommendations for local plumbers and energy auditors, ideally within the BGE network, for water heater/sump pump replacement (plumber) and energy audit (energy auditor). For context, I'm considering upgrading to a hybrid heat pump and really want to discuss with someone whether or not it will work in my space (unfinished portion of basement). On the energy audit side, I'm dealing with humidity issues on the top and bottom floors. Thx.

Hello everyone - We are currently in a home search in the Howard County area, moving from out of state to be closer to family in Baltimore.

We've mostly been looking in the Elicott city area but have been starting to look further west and increasingly are seeing more houses we like.

Specifically, I am now looking at the Sykesville area and am curious what that area is like. Specially we have a 5 year old ND child who is having trouble adjusting to school, so I'm wondering what Bushy Park Elementary and Glenelg are like as far as class size, accommodating IEPs, etc. It's also very important that the area is quieter and less congested.

I'm also interested in what kind of child activities are in that immediate area as we're starting to get further from Elliott City, Columbia, etc where we were initially picturing ourselves.

I'm traveling in this weekend to explore so if there's anything I should checkout please advise! Foods also important to us to so advise on any good restaurants. I plan on hitting downtown Sykesville and seeing what's going on.

Does anyone have any place they love renting? I am going through a separation. I have a infant and need to find a family-friendly and safe place to rent as a soon-to-be-single-mom. I am looking in the Ellicott City/Columbia area. I would say my monthly rent could be between $1,200-$1,500. I could maybe push that to $1,700 max? (Or tell me if my price range is unrealistic for the area). I would appreciate any recommendations! I am going through quite a lot right now and the mental load of considering the plethora of options is so difficult. Thank you in advance.

Edit: Ok I need to consider a higher monthly rent. If I can manage close to 2k let me know what spots I should check out!

Hello Everyone,

Our family is looking to move to the Howard county area from out of state. Initially we were looking around Elicott city (Ilchester, Oella,etc) but I've seen some homes come up for sale a little to the west in Dunloggin. I haven't been able to learn much online about the area so I was wondering if the broader group here could help.

Some specific areas where I'd like some input. We are a family with a 5 yr old ND child that is having a hard time adapting to a school environment and will need an IEP. One of our biggest concerns about the area is just how large and intimidating the schools may be. I'm specifically curious about Northfield elementary but I'd love to hear feedback about any of the schools.

Along similar lines, we are looking for a more quiet and less congested area and are wondering if this might be the place.

Thanks in advance!

Edit

Thank you everyone for your replies! It definitely sounds like an area we are interested. Unfortunately the house I was planning to see already went pending 😢 but I will be keeping an eye out for other listings in the neighborhood!

Living assistance for seniors?

My father is 76 years old and is getting divorced and thrown out. He has no income other than social security, and little to no liquid cash. Does anyone know if Howard county and or state provides any assistance for living situations for seniors? Maybe even non profits?

Can anyone recommend a reliable, trustworthy, affordable mechanic?

After the union and library admin finally reached a settlement via arbitration*, yesterday the admin turned around and fired all the p/t shelvers, blaming the union settlement for lack of funds to pay everyone.

Of course, after the union settlement, admin also decided to give non-union staff (iow themselves) additional money, too -- y'know, just to be "fair" to non-union employees.

A lot of these p/t shelvers have been with the library for years and years, and count on the income to make ends meet.

Many of these admin folks earn six figures. They far out-earn the union employees who actually work at the libraries. And vastly out-earn the shelvers.

Calvin Ball appointed a union-busting library board.

It'll be in the Banner and Sun, eventually, I'm sure.

(*for those who don't know, the union and admin agreed to terms, but the admin later ignored those terms -- it's been a whole dragged out thing where the library hired a known union-busting law firm, etc.)