Moving to the Annapolis Area and need suggestions (Baltimore, Severn: apartments, rental)

[Cardinal04]

My boyfriend and I are going to be moving to the Annapolis area and I would like some information and help on the surrounding areas looking for a place to rent. We are not interested in living in down town Annapolis, but on the outskirts and as far north as Severna Park and Arden on the Severn. He will be commuting into downtown Annapolis, and I will be going to Baltimore every day, so ease of my commute is important. We are looking for a townhouse or Single Family Home under 2k, not including utilities. Is this doable for a somewhat updated home?

In terms of community we are looking for a family oriented community, as we want to settle down soon. Access to the water, trails, and parks is a major plus (we have two dogs and are outdoorsy people). Is this type of community more prevalent in one area or another? Is there any real difference between places like Arnold and Arden on the Severn, or any other community on that area? Any major pros and cons to the areas between Annapolis and Severna Park?

Do any of the communities have down town areas that people can walk amongst little shops or is it all houses?

Taking everything into account, any suggestions? Thank you for all the input!

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Cardinal04

He will be commuting into downtown Annapolis, and
I will be going to Baltimore every day, so ease of my commute is important.
We are looking for a townhouse or Single Family Home under 2k, not including utilities.
Is this doable for a somewhat updated home?

Taking everything into account, any suggestions?

Pasadena, Maryland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Beach Boys - (It's The) Little Old Lady From Pasadena - YouTube

[Cardinal04]

Well we would really like to be closer to the water than Pasadena and closer to Annapolis, and I don't mind the longer commute. It just don't want to spend a ton of time going through back roads to get to the high ways, or be waiting in long stop light lines.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Cardinal04

Well we would really like to be closer to the water...

Look at a map?

...time going through back roads ... or be waiting in long stop light lines.

In that case you're in for a very unpleasant existence.


The rolling stones-You can't always get what you want - YouTube

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Cardinal04

Family Home under 2k, not including utilities. Is this doable for a somewhat updated home?

Your budget is fine, but your choices will be limited by your two dogs. I checked Realtor.com and there was only one house and a couple of apartments turned up as allowing pets. The house was a townhouse in Arnold close to Route 2.

Others may say pets on a "case-by-case" basis. I own a rental house, and I would allow dogs only if the house is already beat-up. So, don't expect too much availabliity.

[Cardinal04]

Thanks for the info. I know that's going to be a hard sell for most land lords. I am hoping the fact that they are older, non-shedding dogs will be something in our favor though. No doubt that it will be an up hill battle though. Thanks!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Cardinal04

Do any of the communities have down town areas that people can walk amongst little shops or is it all houses?

As far as I know, The only walkable downtown is Annapolis itself. The other areas like Arnold, Severna Park and Crownsville are just suburban developments strung out along the highway.

I read a suggestion that Crownsville has good water access. There is also one older house for rent that allows pets at realtor.com . It advertises as having views of the Severn River, and a large yard. (Please do your own search, as I can't post a specific listing.)

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by Cardinal04

Well we would really like to be closer to the water than Pasadena and closer to Annapolis, and I don't mind the longer commute. It just don't want to spend a ton of time going through back roads to get to the high ways, or be waiting in long stop light lines.

If you could answer a question for me I may be able to save you some grief. Just what is it that you're looking for in the water? Why do you want to be near the water? Did you know that Maryland's laws favor waterfront owners over all others when it comes to waterfront access? The waterfront owner owns right down to the mean high tide line and can (and 99.9999% do) deny access to everybody. An extremely small amount of the waterfront is accessible by the public.

There are only 3 ways to access the water in Anne Arundel County. Own waterfront property. Live in a water privileged community. Use the extremely limited public waterfront facilities.

Heavy traffic and sitting at traffic lights in long lines of cars is a way of life in northern AA County. If you don't want to do that then you're picking the wrong place to live.

[Cardinal04]

Well I guess in terms of distance to the water I just meant that I want to be further south, it's not about the access to the actual water. Access to the actual water would be nice, but obviously that is very, very, very unlikely.

Right now I am doing the commute from Arlington, Va to downtown Baltimore for work every day, so I am no stranger to a commute. However, within a given area there are always going to be areas with worse traffic than others, I was just looking for any insight.

Our real goal is to make my boy friend's commute as short as possible, and going up to Pasadena would give him a much longer of a commute than we were hoping for. Maybe it will need to be looked at though, we'll see. Right now his commute is really small, and we have found advantages in one person doing the majority of the commuting. We want to be out of the actual city though, so not actually in downtown Annapolis.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Cardinal04

Our real goal is to make my boy friend's commute as short as possible, and going up to Pasadena would give him a much longer of a commute than we were hoping for.

Pasadena is 3 miles north of Severna Park along Ritchie Hwy
Maybe Cape St Clair.... but that area has gotten very pricey in the last 20 years