One other note Annapolis is expensive. I'm new to Columbia so I don't know everything, but a lot of people love it and we chose to buy here. Howard and Montgomery counties are really diverse. Painting with a broad brush, its less diverse the closer to Annapolis you get and headig further south or east. I've heard good things about odenton and Crofton. Laurel seems more hit or miss in terms of safety. Prince Georges county has some hit more miss locales too. South of Anne Arundel county and you get rural quickly. Same with north and west of Ellicott city.

Come visit! We have crab cakes and old bay! Direct flights from LAX to BWI are a thing.