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We are living Charleston, SC burb now, originally native New Englanders, think of possibly relocating further north when I retire. Love Newport, have been to Annapolis once but a long time ago.
Would like to hear some comparisons on these two with regard to:
1) Beauty/aesthetics - both natural beauty and architecture, cleanliness, etc.
2) Vibrancy - stuff going on, people out and about
3) Shopping - Independent boutiques vs chains, but also "day to day" stores like Home Depot, Whole Foods, some sort of department store to buy clothing, etc.
4) Restaurants - Organic, farm to table, healthy type independent places
5) Housing stock - varied and abundant - apartments, condos, townhomes, smaller single family homes
6) Services - EMS, fire, police - is it county based or city based? Responsiveness? Well-staffed?
7) Safety - Violent crime, burglaries
8) Dog-friendly - Good vets, 24hr vet, dog parks, groomers, doggie day cares
9) Friendly - People look you in the eye, talk to you, are accepting of "outsiders"
10) Health Care - Sufficient number of specialists without having to travel too far, good hospital
11) Jobs - Good mix of good paying professional jobs vs retail and food service type jobs
12) Weather - Most interested in winter weather. Live in SC now so used to blast furnace summers
13) Critters - Mostly concerned with venomous snakes
14) Airport- How far? Quality? Are there direct flights? International flights? How are prices?
15) General Livability- easy of getting around, conveniences, traffic, road conditions, density, public transit, walkability
No poll?? Newport in a landslide.......
Not just because it's an iconic summer oasis w/ way better weather.
Not just because it was the go-to summer retreat for the robber barons....
Newport has 5 world class breaks inclu Ruggles, Elbow Ledge, Tuckerman's, etc.......
@0:30 Ruggs in front of the Vanderbilt Mansion.....
I prefer Newport RI. It's right on the ocean and has a prettier setting IMO. The Chesapeake doesn't do much for me. Newport also seems to have more shopping and dinning options in the downtown.
Annapolis does have closer proximity to DC/Baltimore. I would put BWI Airport above Providences. Maryland also has a healthier economy.
The weather is really a personal preference. Annapolis has muggy gross summers and the Bay isn't great for swimming. But, the other 9 months a year, I would prefer Annapolis's milder winters and earlier springs.
I really can’t speak to Annapolis since I haven’t been there in 20 years.
Vacation home buyers have made Newport housing expensive. The buying window was 2012. This isn’t a good time to buy there. The local economy isn’t strong so prices will drop in the next recession.
Critters- Lyme disease from ticks is a big issue. My mom was in Newport Hospital with it 5 years ago. We’re now seeing eastern equine encephalitis from mosquitoes 15 miles east of Newport.
Health care- My mom’s physician was on Memorial Bvd. I was in Newport Hospital a few times between the ER and mammograms. It’s adequate regional health care. Anything serious, you’re going to Providence. We covered this ground in a RI thread.
For international flights, you’re going to Boston-Logan. I fly on Saturday as much as possible for leisure travel. Otherwise, I try to fly between noon and 4pm to avoid the traffic. Boston has two morning flights to Heathrow so you can get to Europe without having to fly during sleeping hours. PVD mostly goes to the east coast hubs and Florida.
Yeah, Newport walking away. It would take dining, nightlife, beaches, shopping, summer weather, iconic architecture. To me, it is the East Coast summer at its finest. Downsides include cost, pretension, maybe crowds?
Annapolis would win Winter & Spring weather, cost, and location may be debatable depending on where you are (but for me, nothing beats coastal New England in the summer.)
I'm a native New Englander but would take Santa Barbara over all three of them.
That said, Annapolis has its quaint downtown area around the capitol, but not a huge fan of surrounding Anne Arundel County. Much less diversity (especially small Asian and Latin communities) compared to the DC area just 30-40 miles west. If you want an international flight, BWI is exceptionally lacking, and you'll likely need to drive well over an hour to Dulles, so not much different than going from Newport to Logan, or Newport to Providence for a Southwest flight. Areas around Annapolis can also feel kind of redneck and uneducated.
Baltimore is an absolute pit of a city, and is dangerous all over, there are only tiny pockets that are safe to walk around in. Its cultural offerings might be at a Providence-level at best. If you want something more, you need to go to DC.
Biggest difference in weather will be in the Spring. Comes on much faster and earlier in Annapolis than in Newport.
There are very few critters or mosquitoes in Santa Barbara, it's got better weather than your three East Coast choices, better cultural attractions, LAX a couple hours away for int'l flights, progressive attitudes, much better restaurants, it's far more scenic outside the downtown area, and it has an incredible wine country just outside of town.
Never been to Newport, RI but grew up in MD for the last 18+ years so I can bring you up to speed on Annapolis. I'll respond to all the ones I'm familiar with
Beauty/aesthetics - both natural beauty and architecture, cleanliness, etc.
While Annapolis doesn't have the geographic extremes of sitting on actual ocean, It's by no means ugly. It's more tranquil and relaxing if anything. In regards to architecture downtown Annapolis hasn't changed much, it still looks like it was teleported from the 18th century.
Vibrancy - stuff going on, people out and about
Downtown is very busy on weekends or during summer, but fairly quiet during the normal work day.
Shopping - Independent boutiques vs chains, but also "day to day" stores like Home Depot, Whole Foods, some sort of department store to buy clothing, etc.
Westfield mall is a 10 minute drive if you need your "day to day" goods.
Main St., Annapolis has essentially become one high-head retail/boutique road
Restaurants - Organic, farm to table, healthy type independent places
Annapolis lacks in this, but again.... you always have Blue Crab lol
Housing stock - varied and abundant - apartments, condos, townhomes, smaller single family homes
Annapolis has all them, but they are on the fringes of city proper. The cities zoning laws prevent significant development in the inner core.
Services - EMS, fire, police - is it county based or city based? Responsiveness? Well-staffed?
Annapolis has a local EMS, Fire & Police force on all levels. I've never had to call for them but i'd assume any difference in response between them is marginal at best
Safety - Violent crime, burglaries
Annapolis is substantially safer than its bigger siblings (Baltimore & DC). The total violent and property crimes reported where 2018 were 1,125 with the most of them occurring in the out fringes near Anne Arundel Co.
Friendly - People look you in the eye, talk to you, are accepting of "outsiders"
Probably not as friendly as the south but friendlier than RI
Health Care - Sufficient number of specialists without having to travel too far, good hospital
Clatanoff Medicall Pavillion would be your go to for medical.
If it's something realllyyyyy serious... Johns Hopkins and UMD are a 30 minute drive up the road.
Weather - Most interested in winter weather. Live in SC now so used to blast furnace summers
Summer in Maryland is brutally humid similar to SC, while summer in RI is supposed to be as close to perfect as one can get. Winter on the other hand is very mild in Annapolis, while RI..... yeah I'll pass.
Critters - Mostly concerned with venomous snakes
MD has Cottonmouths, but you have to go looking for them to run into one.
Airport- How far? Quality? Are there direct flights? International flights? How are prices?
BWI is 30 minutes up the road, and is arguably one of the best airports in the country regarding ease of access, navigation and amenities. That being said, it's not the regions international airport so it lacks decent international connection. That claim belongs to Dulles which is everything BWI is not.
General Livability- easy of getting around, conveniences, traffic, road conditions, density, public transit, walkability
It's a fairly dense Mid-Atlantic town. It's not going to have Charleston level amenities because it's 1/4 the size. That being said... traffic on the highways around it are a nightmare due it's location next to the Bay Bridge which is the regions only cross point of the Chesapeake.
Cost of Living
I'd argue it's not more or less expensive than RI
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