Hagerstown - Funkstown, considering moving there?

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by MaybeMDorME?

I am basically an artist so that is why I'm thinking about this..... I might even open a gallery sort of thing. I do not need to get to the city daily or even weekly but just the occasional time for interesting things.... this could also be at times driving during off peak hours, last time I was there I made it from Greenbelt, Md to H-town in less than 1 hour, it was late on a holiday weekend and there was no traffic.... and I have a family sofa to crash on in town should I not want to return late some evening.

I think Hagerstown could be a good location for this. My fiancee grew up in Myersville, between Frederick and Hagerstown. Frederick does have a pretty vibrant arts scene for its size downtown, including a lot of hipster/DIY/young person stuff. A few of her artist and working class friends have been priced out of Frederick City and moved to Hagerstown.

There are some commuter buses from Hagerstown to the Shady Grove Metro station: http://mta.maryland.gov/services/commuterbus/schedulesSystemMaps/991CommuterLineForWeb10.pdf (broken link)

[htownterp]

The economy has slowed the growth down out here residentially, but commercially things are still moving along somewhat. Lots of housing available and for cheap right now.

I think Hagerstown has what you are looking for, and I know they are trying to attract artists downtown to open studios and live above them. I would check out Hagerstown, MD - A Great Place to Live, Work, and Visit to see if they have any news on programs. City real estate, incentives and economic development for Hagerstown MD » Hagerstown Advance may have some information as well. There is an Arts and Entertainment district downtown that has grown and has quite a few gems (Maryland Theater, a School for the Arts, a few dinner theaters, etc)

Funkstown is a neat little town on the Antietam Creek that I have always thought had the potential to be like a Shepardstown or New Market. Quaint little main street with shops and places to eat, some antique stores. Nice little place. Kind of interesting that you can drive in a straight line from Hagerstown through Funkstown and end up back in Hagerstown.

People always complain about traffic to Balto/DC, but unless you are going during rush hour, it is not bad at all. I travel to DC for sporting events all the time, and can get from my house to downtown DC in an hour and a half. From my house to both beltways is around 50 minutes non-rush hour driving 70mph. Really not a bad trip. No traffic west of Frederick.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by MaybeMDorME?

I am basically an artist so that is why I'm thinking about this..... I might even open a gallery sort of thing. I do not need to get to the city daily or even weekly but just the occasional time for interesting things.... this could also be at times driving during off peak hours, last time I was there I made it from Greenbelt, Md to H-town in less than 1 hour, it was late on a holiday weekend and there was no traffic.... and I have a family sofa to crash on in town should I not want to return late some evening.

Seems ideal in that sense.

Also, reading a few other posts after this....great that Hagerstown is trying to attract artists.

It really seems ideal for that. I found Hagerstown to be a very unique town for its size compared to just about anywhere else in the States. Set up by Germans, predominately, and just a very european-like feel to it.

I also felt it was a bit 'rough' in feel...like it was this place that should be attracted artists in large numbers because of its beauty, sense of color, unique housing, and very low prices...but for whatever reason, just seemed to be largely working-class people - in appearance.

This is just as a visitor, I'm not a MD resident. I have been to 49 states (and about 50 countries) and traveled extensively...and Hagerstown just struck me as very unique in design and everything else compared to any other city/town of its size anywhere in the States.

Mostly because colorful and beautiful houses...right up the sidewalk..no large lawns and large spaces between houses. To me, that density and such gives a more intimate feel. Makes it easier for people to walk from their front door to whatever the town has to offer.

I wish had more towns setup like that in the US, and I wish more AMericans appreciated them. Hagerstown strikes me a place, that if people KNEW how unique it was, it could turn into a tourist town of a 'european-like city in america' type of place.

[westsideboy]

The reason working class people live in Hagerstown is because it is their home. It is still a blue collar city with some manufacturing left. A lot of the other factory workers commute to Winchester or Frederick to work. The gentrification of Frederick is nearly complete, it is just starting in Hagerstown. It is important to note that removing the natives alters the cityscape in a real way. Towns become like Disney World, just shells meant to attract tourist money. Many tourist towns around the world struggle with this once the natives get priced out. Venice, Italy being the one that jumps to mind first.

So while places like Hagerstown and my home of Cumberland could use some new blood, the newcomers would ideally come in a gradual trickle so they can be assimiliated into the town culture.

[htownterp]

good points westsideboy.

[Jeff9922]

MaybeMDorME - you sound a lot like me, only I'm a few years behind you.

I live in DC and have a plan to enter "early semi-retirement" in about 4 years. The idea is to switch to part-time consultant-like work and move to Hagerstown. The plan was hatched about a year ago when I realized I could sell my condo unit in DC, and with the profit alone buy a decent small home in Hagerstown outright, leaving me with no mortgage and money left over.

Take a look at the housing available for sale (at Realtor.com, for example). The downtown and nearby areas have lots of smaller, hundred-year-old homes for $100K or less. Some of them need a bit (or a lot) of work, but plenty appear to be perfectly livable as is. I've explored the town a bit over a couple of weekend afternoons - some of these cheaper homes are in areas that don't look all that nice (at first glance anyway), but others are on very pretty (and safe looking) streets.

But I'm hardly an expert on the town. I'd be interested in hearing others' views on living in these "close-in" areas of Hagerstown. The architecture makes it appear incredibly charming, but I have to say that on the weekend afternoons I visited it seemed kind of dead. A lot of vacant store-fronts, that's for sure.

I've driven through Funkstown a couple of times. It's cute (plenty of historic charm) but tiny. Not much there, really.

I agree with others that Cumberland should be considered. In fact, I'm keeping it in mind as well, though I'd prefer Hagerstown as it's closer to where my work is

[westsideboy]

I don't know enough about Hagerstown to give you street by street analysis, other than the maxim I was told "to avoid Jonathan St."

I know Cumberland like the back of my hand, so any addresses you are interested in there, just let me know.