Location: The southern part of Howard County, about five miles from the Montgomery County border. Laurel lies to the east, while Highland and Columbia are to the north.
Average property listing price: Condominiums begin around $400,000, while townhomes sell for $500,000 to $600,000 and single-family homes start at $700,000, says Creig Northrop, president of the Creig Northrop Team of Long & Foster Real Estate.
Size and population: Approximately five square miles were home to 2,049 people in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The history: Fulton dates back to the 1700s, when it was reportedly surveyed and settled by Quakers. In 1839, Henry Iager purchased 108 acres and created Maple Lawn Farms, which has been passed down through generations of the Iager family and is still in business. The free-range farm has expanded to 1,000 acres and is known for its turkeys and dairy cattle. Largely rural Fulton has seen a steady rise in residential and commercial development since the late 1990s.
What’s there: Maple Lawn, a 600-acre shopping and residential community, opened in 2005. It is situated at the heart of Fulton — the intersection of U.S. 29 and Route 216 — and is host to upscale housing, boutique stores, restaurants, office space and a Harris Teeter supermarket. Reservoir High School is nearby, and a hotel is planned. Maple Lawn has five neighborhoods, called districts, each with varying amenities, home styles and walking distances to the retail hub.
"It's the new Columbia," says Northrop. "It's a hidden gem. They've taken pastures and made it into palaces."
Along Fulton's northeast border is the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Why Fulton: Prasad Karunakaran and his family moved to Maple Lawn from Carroll County in September 2005. He and his wife were attracted to Fulton for its public schools and convenient commute times to their workplaces in Baltimore, Washington and Annapolis. Karunakaran was the 10th resident to move into Maple Lawn and has remained active there since. Along with other parent volunteers, he runs Hackground, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics club for K-12 students from the Fulton area. Karunakaran says Maple Lawn developers donated 3,000 square feet of communal space specifically for the club.
In the summer, Karunakaran says, his neighborhood's back alleys are busy with children playing and adults chatting over barbecues. "It's a community feel," he says. "I have nothing to complain about."