Resources for Newcomers to Howard County

If you are new to Howard County, Maryland or considering moving here, there are lots of resources available to help you find your way. Here are just a few to get started. If you have other suggestions, please add a comment.

Websites

The HowardLife or Howard County Tourism site is an excellent and up-to-date resource for activities, businesses and events around the county. It should be your first and best stop for county information. They also publish a HowardLife Visitors Guide that is quite good, along with a complete relocation package that I haven't seen yet, but is probably worth getting.

The MDHomeTownLocator site offers a ton of automatically generated links to other sites; not a lot of detail on the site, but the links are pretty useful.

WelcomeToHowardCounty.com is an interestingly arranged site with more than 300 local links and especially a decent set of coupons for local restaurants and shops. There's a companion blog, too, that has sporadic postings.

The GuideToHowardCounty.com is an extensive but slightly dated site developed by Patuxent Publishing (who bring you the Columbia Flier, Howard County Times, and exploreHoward.com website). It's got a few decent articles for background, at least, and lots of links.

Groups

The Newcomer's Club of Howard County is primarily for women and offers lots of ways to meet new people and make friends. Check out all their regular clubs (bunco or canasta, anyone?), day trips and activities.

The Howard County branch of Parents at Home is not just for newcomers, but offers tips and activities for parents of small kids.