Walkable, Cute, Safe Town for Retirement (Baltimore, Frederick: condos, low crime, chapel)

[macdebbie]

My husband and I are looking to retire in a couple of years.

We love where we live (Newburyport, MA) for lots of reasons - it's quaint, on the coast, has a "real" downtown with restaurants, bookstores, businesses, a library, movie theatre, and playhouse.

It has a thriving arts community, and lots of festivals throughout the year, a farmer's market every Sunday, etc.

It has a hospital in town, and is within 32 miles of Boston. It also has extremely low crime - a rating of 93 vs the US of 320.

It's very walkable, beautifully historic, and yes, there are strip malls, but they are on the edge of town and contain the dry cleaner, grocery store, liquor store and Marshalls. We also have a few - 2 - chains in town - but they are integrated nicely with the rest of the town - Starbucks and Talbots.

I've attached some pics just so people can get a sense of the town. We are not trying to recreate the town, just the "feel" of it - vibrant, safe, lots going on, etc.

nwbryprt 050924 05 emair pictures from massachusetts photos on webshots
nwbryprt 050924 05 emair pictures from massachusetts photos on webshots
nbryprt shops 050101 01 emair pictures from massachusetts photos on webshots
newburyport harbor 03 emair pictures from massachusetts photos on webshots

Why do we want to leave if we love it so much?

COLD, snowy winters. Sometimes they last 6 months. Some winters we get 100 inches of snow. Had it with that. We definitely want a 4-season climate, albeit a milder one. We're willing to trade more humid, hotter summers for the snow.

COST - the median price of a house where we live is 440K. Realistically, you can't find anything "nice" (am I am talking small 3BR/2BA) for under 550K. Just to provide some perspective, we live in a very small 1,100 sq ft. "half-house" that is valued at 400K. Our RE taxes run 5K a year. We won't be able to afford to stay in retirement because of this.

We are also looking for someplace with good job opportunities. I am a financial advisor (I know, not a great field to be in now) and also have a health care background. I will be working still. I am not opposed to commuting, but don't want to commute more than an hour.

Ideally, we'd like a smallish town (where we live now is 18K and that is great) no more than 50K, with easy access - 30-50 miles away - to a bigger city which has an airport. Not that we go to Boston much, but it's nice to have for better hospitals and the airport.

We kind of like towns that have a college, although that is by no means a requirement, and don't want a town where the college IS the town, like Chapel Hill.

Although we absolutely love the coast, we are willing to forgoe living on the coast for lower cost of living (housing). We'd love a place that was within 2 hrs driving distance, though, so we could go for a long weekend.

We're looking for a smallish house - 1,800 sq ft - 3BR, 2BA, under 350K. We'd love to be able to walk to town from our house as we do now since as we get older, we really don't want to be driving that much. A hospital in town is a must, as is a milder climate.

On our short list is:

Frederick (a bit bigger than we would like, but looks interesting). Weather is a question - how much snow do they get? And crime teeters on the edge.
Hagerstown
Havre de Grace - Intrigued by this - what is it like? Does it meet our criteria? Surprised the crime is so low being so close to Baltimore. I think it is also near Newark, DE, which seems cute.
Westminster

If anyone could provide info on these spots, that would be great. Also open to other suggestions that fit our criteria. Also looking for a site that has good weather stats. City Data is great,but the weather is in graphs, making it harder to interpret.

[beilart]

An 1800 sq foot home here in Maryland will cost you from 800 k to a million dollars or more. There are no cheap homes in Maryland. Your utilities bills will be high. Your property taxes will be high. Your only real coast is Ocean City Maryland and from Annapolis where I live that is 3 hours driving time if you don't get backed up on the Bay Bridge. I don't think you can afford to retire in Maryland either because of the expense.

[NYerinLondon]

Hi Macdebbie, from reading your post, I immediately thought of Easton and Chestertown. They are both small towns (Easton is a bit bigger, and has a bit more suburban sprawl, but both are tiny by non-Eastern Shore standards) and on the water. Easton has a nice art scene. Chestertown has your college (Washington College). Cost? Devil is in the detail, but now is obviously a great time to buy. I'm not sure that you'll find your dream house for $350k, but jump on Zillow. You can definitely find water view (bay) townhouses and condos (if not sfhs) 1600 sf+ at around 400k with some luck and patience.

In terms of jobs? Commutes out this way tend to be a bit longer. Wilmington, Annapolis, Easton, or even Phillie.

Good luck!

[macdebbie]

Thank you NYerin London. We have visited Easton and it is our "short list". Chestertown is a bit too small for us.

Beilart, you make quite a blanket statement about the whole of MD. Surely not EVERY house in EVERY town is 800K. I have researched the towns I listed and the median house price is nowhere near 800K. Looking at houses in these towns on Realtor.com confirms this. As I mentioned, we do not need to be near the coast.

Can anyone comment on the flavor of these towns and how they compare to what we are seeking?

[beilart]

Originally Posted by macdebbie

Thank you NYerin London. We have visited Easton and it is our "short list". Chestertown is a bit too small for us.

Beilart, you make quite a blanket statement about the whole of MD. Surely not EVERY house in EVERY town is 800K. I have researched the towns I listed and the median house price is nowhere near 800K. Looking at houses in these towns on Realtor.com confirms this. As I mentioned, we do not need to be near the coast.

Can anyone comment on the flavor of these towns and how they compare to what we are seeking?

Perhaps I am so used to living in Annapolis which is the only town in Maryland I would personally live in and it is very expensive to live here and we have looked at other cities with homes at the 400K range. I would not live in any of them. Too much remodelling, too many kitchen updates, too much crime etc...

[htownterp]

My heavens, 400K would get you a nice place in Hagerstown. Three newer communities near me are Emerald Pointe (55+, new construction), Courtland Park (Villas and one story townhomes, both new and recently built options) and Summerland Manor (gated community, newer construction). Of course, many other options within your price range too.

400K would get you a nice place in other parts of MD as well. Honestly, you may want to check out Shepherdstown, WV (a college town that meets your criteria) and Boonsboro,MD. Also Middletown, New Market, and Westminster sound like they may be up your alley.

[macdebbie]

Thank you htownterp!

Do you happen to know anything about Havre de Grace? Looks really cute. And is coastal, which we would love. How is the crime there?

[LittleBlackDogs]

Originally Posted by macdebbie

Frederick (a bit bigger than we would like, but looks interesting). Weather is a question - how much snow do they get? And crime teeters on the edge.
Hagerstown
Havre de Grace - Intrigued by this - what is it like? Does it meet our criteria? Surprised the crime is so low being so close to Baltimore. I think it is also near Newark, DE, which seems cute.
Westminster

Hi macdebbie,

I have a friend who works in or near Newburyport- she's a chef at David's Tavern. She loves the area so I understand why you like it there.

While I'm not familiar with Havre de Grace, I have lived in Frederick, Hagerstown, and Westminster. The weather is basically the same in each town. We had a ton of snow this past winter but that was extreme, to say the least. Most winters we have a couple of snow events with 2-4" as typical. Sometimes more, but more often less.

I grew up in Hagerstown and my family still lives there. The best thing about Hagerstown is that the homes are more affordable and there's a nice outlet mall there now.

I went to college in Westminster. It's a bit more rural overall but all the chain stores are on Rt. 140. Lots of people commute to the Baltimore area.

Frederick is my favorite of those three. I lived in Frederick city for several years, but also several years in Middletown and Jefferson. You have a nice mix of quaint shops & restaurants in downtown Frederick, rural areas with lovely mountains outside the city, and cute little towns. It's the biggest town of the ones you listed, but there are really nice towns within Frederick County that you might like.

Crime is not a problem in Frederick, unless you are walking around late at night in the poorer areas of town. I never felt unsafe, ever.

Also, beilart has no idea about housing prices. Absurd post, honestly.

[beilart]

"Also, beilart has no idea about housing prices. Absurd post, honestly."

I am assuming you do not live in Annapolis?

[htownterp]

Don't know much about Harve de Grace, never been there. I would imagine it is a low crime, quaint town due to its size and location near the bay. They may get a little less snow over in that part of the state, but this year we all got rocked.