Hagerstown vs. Frederick (theater, school district, organic)

[chipmunk226]

@ m_r2z0 - I agree, downtown Frederick looks and is a lot nicer then Hagerstown

@ trying2moveup - not to be nosey but how much would your TH go for and what are the specs?

[trying2moveup]

PM me and we can discuss there.

[vwfan]

I do like Frederick more, but just because it's more bustling and closer to where I live.

Hagerstown has the potential to be a much bigger and better city than Frederick however. Both need more tech jobs.

If you're working down 270, the closer the better. I just wish Hagerstown had some skilled IT jobs so I could reverse commute =)

[alido]

Washington County has some beautiful rural areas and homes within quaint towns. Some disparage Hagerstown, it is a work in progress. If you have not seen it lately, you would be pleasantly surprised. There is much more to Wash Co than Hagerstown.

Redevelopment has hit downtown Hagerstown. It is alive again and filled with shops, sweets, restaurants, and clubs. There are now options for after work dining & music, or late night dancing. It is also family-friendly, close to the C&O canal, hiking trails and historic parks, museum, and recreation venues. It is slowly turning into a bedroom community to Frederick, while trying to maintain its historic significance........Time will tell, the jury is out, worth the drive over to check.

Some live in the counties below and enjoy a workable drive to Frederick. Housing is a little cheaper further out from Frederick. Life is a little less rushed. Excitement is a short drive away.

Wash Co Md includes many more commutable options. Check it out, come for a visit.
Clear Spring, Smithsburg, Hagerstown, Williamsport, Boonsboro, Maugansville, Funkstown, Sharpesburg, Cave Town
Washington County Maryland Home Page
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In nearby Pa check out Greencastle and other towns.
www.co.franklin.pa.
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West Virginia has Sheperdstown
Jefferson County West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Charles Town, Shepherdstown, WV,

Downtown Live Hagerstown - Live Music, Events, Dining & Entertainment and Hagerstown, MD - A Great Place to Live, Work, and Visit

See the "Hagerstown is booming and the downtown" thread.

[pwright1]

I like both towns especially Frederick but whats surrounding Frederick is what's making it not so appealing. Frederick itself is a historic quaint little town. Its the masses of ugly suburban sprawl around the area that are hideous imo. Too many cheap housing developments, mcmansions, strip malls and way too much traffic.

[Tim Rankin]

The tech jobs are coming, to Frederick Cnty at least. The area immediately north of I-270, from the boundary of Montgomery and Frederick northwards, is being developed as a large industrial park. Not that this will help traffic any! But there will be even more and better paying jobs when it's completed.

chipmunk226 - A good website for homes across the area is HomesDatabase I used it when I found my home years ago.

[qlina321]

Originally Posted by Kentuckyyank

I may have a chance to get a job in Fort Detrick, Maryland and was wondering what would be the better place to live, Frederick or Hagerstown?

Could anyone please list the good and bad for both places for things such as shopping, outdoor recreation (golf mainly), cost of living, insurance, taxes, housing, etc.

I know that Frederick is much closer, but I would not mind a 30-45 minute each way commute to live in a nicer lower crime area.

Thanks.

if your interested just contact me. cause we have a townhouse in frederick that is about 2 miles from ft.detrick. north crossing. 4 beds, 2 1/2 bath, finished basement, 3 full bumpouts. we had originally bought it in 2004 as first owners.

[gfunkmartin]

Personally,

I would take Hagerstown any day over Frederick. That being said...

Frederick has a downtown that is better maintained, but it's starting to become a suburb of DC much as Germantown did a few years ago, and that's only going to get worse. Traffic around the 70-270 interchange is already tough around rush hour. While the downtown pics of Frederick look nice, the outlying areas in my opinion really aren't the kind of place I would like to be. There are a couple malls around Frederick, slightly more impressive than the one in Hagerstown.

Hagerstown is experiencing a revitalization of its downtown area while still having numerous small communities around it which maintain their own unique flavor. Funkstown, for example, has many antique shops and Boonsboro/Sharpsburg are known for their Civil War history. There is a golf course in Eastern Hagerstown that Bill Clinton used to frequent. Frederick lies marginally closer to hiking, but the same is also accessible easily from Hagerstown: Greenbriar Park, C&O Canal, etc.

Crime isn't bad in either area. One thing to keep in mind though isn't how things are right now, but how they're going to be in 5-10 years. Hagerstown will and already is experiencing a boom that will make it as nice as Frederick was 5 years ago as commuters head even farther out from DC, and Frederick will just be swallowed up by the beast. Go look at Gaithersburg or Germantown, and if you like it there then Frederick is where you want to be. If you find that ugly and unbearable, go for Washington County, which is cheaper anyway. I like what others have said about surrounding communities like Boonsboro, Williamsport, etc. as I think those towns will retain their local flavor pretty well even with the expansion of the DC area

[Billiam]

^ ummm....no.

Germantown or gaithersburgh don't have a downtown even close to Frederick. Frederick has historic things all around that Gaithersbugh and germantown demolished long ago. Fredericks historic downtown wont be knowcked down like gaithersburg or germantowns was. Frederick will neven end up like gaithersburg, except in the surrounding areas that have sprawl. Hagerstown gets sprawl too

[Tim Rankin]

Originally Posted by Billiam

^ ummm....no.

Germantown or gaithersburgh don't have a downtown even close to Frederick. Frederick has historic things all around that Gaithersbugh and germantown demolished long ago. Fredericks historic downtown wont be knowcked down like gaithersburg or germantowns was. Frederick will neven end up like gaithersburg, except in the surrounding areas that have sprawl. Hagerstown gets sprawl too

I have to agree with Billiam. Neither Gaithersburg nor Germantown were really ever small cities the way Frederick is. They have both become satellites of the "beast" in a way that Frederick can't - its established identity prevents that from happening.

Not that the sprawl won't get there - it will.

If it's the real Frederick you want, stay away from all the new developments, i.e the build-it-and-they-will-come sprawl. There are pockets of affordability inside the city limits in surprisingly nice areas - I kid you not. Plus they can only raise your real estate taxes 5% per year, vs. 10% per year in Frederick County areas outside the city limits.