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Why Towson, MD is a Best Place to Live

A college town with urban opportunity and suburban charm

By Marc Acton on November 13, 2014

Towson, MD, might be a college town, but there’s nothing sleepy about it. This community on the north side of Baltimore has all the career benefits of living in a major metropolitan area; all the shopping, entertainment and family activities of living in a cultural center; and all the charm of a suburban boom town. Towson’s complete package made it an obvious choice as one of our best places to live. 

Something for Everyone

The area certainly benefits from its proximity to more than one big city.

“No matter what you’re looking for in Towson, you can find it within a short car or train ride,†says former Towson University student Lacy LeBlanc. “If it’s not in Towson, it’s in Baltimore. And if it’s not in Baltimore, it’s in D.C. And if it’s in not either of those places, New York City is only a train ride away.”

Towson’s livability isn’t just about proximity to big-city life, either. It’s also the county seat of Baltimore and the location of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services headquarters, both of which bring a lot of high paying government and state jobs to the area. Retail is another important local industry with Towson Town Center, the largest indoor mall in Baltimore County, anchoring an industry that brings the local municipality revenue while adding major livability factor for its residents.

A Great Place to Live and Learn

What puts Towson at the head of its class is its education offerings. Towson University is a public institution with over 20,000 students, bringing energy to the community and a strong emphasis on the arts. “TU” is what brought LeBlanc to the area. “If you take [the university] and put it in any town in America, it would probably be a great place to be. It’s a great place to be a part of that college atmosphere. But the fact that you can combine the educational environment with the access to everything that the bigger area has to offer makes it a great place to live whether you’re a college student, big family or even a single mom.”

The area’s high education score in our 2015 Top 100 Best Places to Live rankings doesn’t just come from one great college, either. There are also several exceptional public and private schools at the secondary level, several of which have been training area kids for over 100 years. Calvert High College High School is one, having been established in 1845 by one of the oldest groups of religious educators in the world, the Roman Catholic Institute of Christian Brothers.

Property values in Towson also reflect its enviable position as one of the premier towns in the area. The median home value is $339,400, with a medium home income of $74,287. But maybe the statistic that speaks the most about the quality of life of Towson residents. Their average commute time is only 24.8 minutes. And for a town smack in the middle of one of the largest urban areas in the world, where commutes regularly stretch into the one-hour-plus times, that speaks volumes.

It’s a great place to be a part of that college atmosphere. But the fact that you can combine the educational environment with the access to everything that the bigger area has to offer makes it a great place to live whether you’re a college student, a big family or even a single mom.

Lacy LeBlanc
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