Marley/Solley - Glen Burnie, MD

The Marley/Solley neighborhood sits adjacent to Glen Burnie, the largest community in Anne Arundel County. These neighborhoods were historically associated with farming, mining and the naval academy, but have seen residents moving in to escape the hustle of city life in Baltimore.

This neighborhood does not hold museums or art centers, but locals and tourists visit the Baltimore Museum of Industry for exhibits on early blacksmithing and metalsmithing techniques, and Baltimore’s history as a mining and industrial center in the 1800s.

Seafood and traditional American restaurants represent a large portion of the Marley/Solley dining experience.

Dine on the high seas at Mutiny Pirate Bar & Island Grille, located just off the water on Marley Avenue. Start off with crab dip and a beer from their wide selection of their imported, domestic and micro brews. Expand your stomach with the Shipwreck Burger, a monstrous concoction topped with a fried egg and buns made of grilled-cheese sandwiches. Make sure to ask your servers for their newest selection of rum; they continually stock more than 100 varieties from around the world.

Stop in for a lunch buffet at Little India Cafe. Meat-eaters and vegetarians alike love their selections of curry with fried vegetable pakoras and crisp yet buttery naan. Enjoy authentic Indian desserts such as Kulfi, an irresistible ice cream with mango and pistachios. Take time to dress up on nights out; Little India Cafe exudes a friendly yet formal vibe.

Marley/Solley residents turn to traditional sports bars for their nights on the town. Catch a Raven’s football game at Beefalo Bob’s, watching any one of the several televisions scattered around the bar. Drink up a local brew while slurping on their signature macaroni-and-cheese dish, followed by crab cakes and carved beef. Or check out Pappas Restaurant and Sports Bar for draft beers and a hot-turkey special. Arrive early during happy hour for beers at only a few bucks.

Locals tend to drive or take the bus to commute to work and run errands around Marley/Solley. A variety of buses serve the Anne Arundel and surrounding counties, providing service to Baltimore multiple times daily. However, cabs don't often appear in and around Marley/Solley, and Uber only runs as far as Glen Burnie.

Park in downtown Baltimore for $2 per hour at metered stations. Garage parking runs a bit pricier, at anywhere from $5 to $7 per hour.

Highways 10 and 173 feed into 695, which takes residents north to 295 into Baltimore. Walk or bike around the Marley/Solley neighborhood, but beware of traffic, as you don't find many bike lanes.

Parks in the Marley/Solley areas support rich and diverse hobbies from dog walking to adventurous sports. Locals head to Pasadena Paintball Park in the neighboring Curtis Bay for team-paintball matches in the one of the many sectioned-off areas. Choose from sporting areas in the woods or in a makeshift castle, purchasing thirst-quenching drinks from their in-house vendor. Make this team-building exercise an annual birthday event for your best friends or fellow employees.

Travel north on the weekends to play fetch with your puppies at Canton Dog Park, complete with several large areas for your dog to roam. Meet other dog lovers while your animals socialize with each other, or pick up an intramural team to play basketball on one of the courts. Be sure to bring a towel for your dogs; the sand in the dog park can track its way into your car.

The cost of living in the Marley/Solley neighborhoods runs about the same as living comfortably in downtown Baltimore. Ride the light rail to downtown for less than $4. A one-bedroom residence in Marley/Solley costs slightly under $1,200 per month.

The typical price of beer at a bar costs upwards of $4 for craft or imported beers, and $2 for local. Expect to pay about 4 percent higher than the national average at the gas pump.

Residents prefer to shop at large, indoor shopping centers in and around the Marley/Solley neighborhoods. Travel a couple towns over to Arundel Mills, a humongous indoor shopping mall and casino. Throw some quarters at Dave and Busters, a massive arcade with games for the whole family. Shop for clothing at Neiman Marcus, then travel to the past for dinner at Medieval Times, where knights joust and compete for your favor while you eat with your hands.

If crafts sound like your niche, take a knitting class or shop for multi-colored yarns at The Knitting Boutique on Cromwell Park Dr. Stop by after work for sock or crochet classes, available at varying times throughout the year. Sign up for an annual club membership to receive monthly shipments of yarn, or attend specialty yarn “tastings” on the first Friday of each month.

Boutique shoppers travel north to Baltimore to Party Dress, a women’s clothing store specializing in casual dresses. Browse through the extensive sales section, with clothes priced up to 50 percent off.

Large-scale grocery stores service the Marley/Solley and surrounding neighborhoods. Shop for everything from fresh lobster to Italian pastries at ShopRite, a grocery drugstore on Governor Ritchie Highway. Buy pre-packaged sushi for work lunches, or snag items from the hot-foods bar for an early dinner. Try to avoid ShopRite during rush hour; parking gets tough when school and work let out.

Although farmers’ markets don’t circulate much around the Marley/Solley neighborhoods, residents drive into Baltimore on the weekends for fresh produce from the Fell’s Point Farmers’ Market, located in Broadway Market Square. Shop for local fruits, veggies and various baked goods while you browse the shops encircling the market. Stock up on all your foods for the week, making this farmer’s market part of your weekend routine.