Do you have a high school diploma? Definitely recommend checking out Howard Community College to take some classes part time while working. They have apprenticeship programs too so you get paid while going to school.

Are you drunk?

Only if people like you keep popping up on my feed.

Oh, nice

before or after the interview? because in my job i never really think about it.

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No , for coding interviews

You are going to see them every where you go

NO THANK YOU Im so glad i graduated, if i have to see another l33t code problem ill cry lol, but good luck

Just for fun? Where are you solving them from?

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Good thing a major factor in determining The Safest City in America was the vax rate.

What’s a leet?

It's important to know that the area works on a county basis, not city basis. County government, county school district, county libraries, etc. Hoco encompasses more than just Columbia, so it might help to broaden your search into other parts of the county. Savage, jessup, elkridge, Fulton, North Laurel, Ellicott City...in some of these places you could purchase a single family home in your range. Columbia may have more walkability with the trail system and may be more central, but that comes with a high price of Columbia Association or other homeowner fees. All schools have strong special education programs and systems, but I'm sure any differences you would notice would be because of the special educator, the special Ed team leader, or possibly administration. Also, in a huge district like Howard county, redistricting is a thing that comes up every few years, so don't get married to one particular feeder school, because your school path may change (there's been a ton of NIMBY complaints over the years regarding some of the redistricting decisions, we'll say). So, broaden your horizons to other parts of the county would be my recommendation (speaking as someone who moved here a few years ago from out of state). The library system is incredible, with several branches throughout the county. The Elkridge branch even has a DIY center with classes, tool check outs, 3d printing (I believe), and more. The library also offers a TON of classes and events for kids and teens. If you walk in, the chalkboard will be FULL of things going on that week...I saw an anime club recently. There's also a ton of activities through the county in the summertime based on interest and ages. I would honestly think they have a film class or something like that, because we get a magazine every year of their offerings. Check out https://www.howardcountymd.gov/recreation-parks/programs to see what parks and rec have.

I live in Ellicott City (next to Columbia, also in Howard County), and my youngest son has a learning disability. He received extraordinary care in elementary, middle, and now high school. He went to Hollifield Elementary, Pataspco Middle, and Mount Hebron High. Houses in this area start around $550k.

Check out the Antenna Man YouTube page:

https://www.youtube.com/c/AntennaMan?app=desktop

He has videos with both indoor and outdoor TV antenna reviews and recommendations.

Also check out the FCC DTV Reception Map website that shows which OTA TV channels can be received with strong signals in an area. Here is the info for Columbia/21045 zip code:

https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps

I've had okay results. My solution - I realized there was a 70s era "roof" antenna in my garage's attic already mounted. It can be powered... but I don't trust plugging it in, so it's unpowered right now. The coax cable (cox installed it - but I use Verizon for internet) ran right by it... so I just pulled the cable up, and screwed it directly into antenna and it ran directly down to my living room. I went through the TV's auto-scan settings and it picked up a whole bunch of stations. If you actually watch it (I rarely do) look for tv-guide related apps that tell you what stations/what's on.

You can install these roof mounted antennas in your upper attic too, it's just a matter of figuring out how to run the wire to your TV. The best approach is following your old cable you aren't using anymore and literally cut the cable (compression tools are less than $20, and many even come with the ends,. Antennas run less than $40).

Some great thoughts re: where to look. I recently met the woman at Atholton Elementary School who works with pre-school students, most of whom have learning disabilities, and she LOVES her job and school for whatever that is worth.

College park is going to have some heavy traffic. Use google maps on a computer and set the "arrive by" time to get a fairly accurate estimate. Know some days will go up, so a 25-45 minute estimated commute in that direction can hit extra traffic and be 1 hour. If you can depart after 9am it will drastically reduce driving time. Earlier departures don't help as much, but if you can avoid rush hour it will help.

There are a ton of camps and programs offered by Columbia Association and Howard County. There is also the opportunity to take classes at the community college - both for credit and for fun.

Library system is well funded and I think phenomenal. The East and Main branch are modern and rather nice. We don't have those soaring classical libraries (Columbia was built in the 70s) but it's also not the dumpy brick building smelling like mildew either.

400-500k is a tough budget. You're solidly in the range for town houses in some of the smaller older developments (the new ones are insanely priced). Houses up now start in the 500s and go up. However, if you're stretching your budget, remember your income taxes are probably going to be higher than Colorado, and a lot of the houses incur an additional fee for being assessed Columbia Association - a few grand a year, set based on your house's value. This does not include a CA membership, which is annoying that's an additional fee if you want to use the pools and gyms. I don't mind paying it since it goes towards maintaining about 95 miles of bike trails, a ton of tot lots and playgrounds, and a bunch of tennis courts.

Tips for the area are tough. I spent three years renting in Ellicott City before buying in Columbia - and we still spent a solid year house hunting. Sorry - it's going to be overwhelming... but your price point and commute sort of limits what's available - so just keep watching for newly available places.

Sometimes I see UM shuttles in the Broken Land Park and Ride. I wonder if those might work for the commute to College Park?

To be clear, those 3 neighborhoods feed into OMHS through OMMS. I don’t have any experience with other middle schools that feed into OMHS.

Also, a new high school is opening next year, so keep that if your 9th grader staying at the same school throughout his high school career is important.

Seconding this. For townhouses, OP budget is more than fine (and they are plentiful in KC). We were outbid on almost every SFH we looked at in the 500-550k range.

Thirding King's contrivance. It's ideal for getting onto 95S quickly for getting to College Park. Lived there for about a decade before moving. That said, 400-500k is tough in the area for a single family home these days. That's why we ended up buying in Elkridge. Townhouses are easily doable in the 300 to 400k range and there are loads of playgrounds along the trail system to make up for the lack of large backyards with those.

Also the libraries are amazing here u/RBGismypatronus. We are in walking distance of one now and our kids absolutely love it.

Looking at recent listings around me in KC, if OP could up the budget to $500 - 550k it would open more options in SFH, at least in this area. If not townhouses seem to be a bit less.

Yep, agree with you that 29 & 32 is the sweet spot. Hickory Ridge is another good area to check out, in addition to KC.

My favorite spot in Columbia. It’s more on the expensive side but completely worth it