Moving to Frederick from California (Germantown, Gaithersburg: rentals, low crime, transfer)

[OChousewife949]

My husband is being transferred to Frederick, MD in July. We have 3 kids ages 13, 7 and 3. I am extremely nervous to move since we have always lived in Ca. I looked at the city data and am not to impressed with school ratings. My husband current work commute is 30 min drive. What is a nice area near Frederick that has good schools and safe? We live in South Orange County, a little cookie cutter but that's our taste. We plan to rent since this is a 2 year transfer. We are willing to pay no more than$2500 month. I realize there are many small towns but I am a true city girl and need that feel otherwise I will go nuts in a small town. Please help!
We currently live in Foothill Ranch, newer area, extremely safe, great school, affluent and predominantly white neighborhood.

[htownterp]

I'd look at Urbana, but that may be too country for you. You might want to consider Gaithersburg MD, about 20 minutes south of Frederick. Leesburg and Ashburn Va are further away but offer lots of cookie cutter living in a new area.

[goldenage1]

I think North Potomac would be most like what you are looking for.

[MidValleyDad]

I would look at the Urbana area. Probably as gentrified as you want. Excellent schools (All of Frederick County has very good or excellent schools. I don't know what Data you are looking at but Frederick County has some of the best schools in Maryland and Maryland is one of the best states in the country.

[David_J]

Frederick County has very good schools, not as good as MoCo's though; Urbana's is the best and I'd recommend that as it is a rapidly growing, safe, gentrified area. Urbana itself is not country, but the surrounding area is. Think Clarksburg.

[StayLucky]

If you're looking for "a little cookie cutter" but more city than country, I'd suggest any of the new suburban developments in Frederick and immediately surrounding it. I personally feel that all of the schools in this area are completely fine and they all rank highly. I'm a graduate of one of the slightly lower quality schools in Fred. Co. (and I use this term lightly). I, along with most of my peers, did fine. Ballenger Creek (which has numerous subdivisions within), Clover Hill, and Monarch Ridge all come to mind as fitting your criteria. There are certainly plenty more, too. Some areas right near downtown probably have rentals in your price range (north of 9th Street, Monocacy Village, etc) and feed into good schools. If you're a city girl, you might want to be as close to downtown as possible, as the rest of Fred Co is formerly small, rural towns that are rapidly sprawling.

[DaveinMtAiry]

I think you have your answer on the schools. Now comes the big question: do you want to live in a nice small town (Frederick) or do you want to live in the DC burbs (Germantown, Gaithersburg etc) of Montgomery County, or something in between such as Urbana or Clarksburg? Having spent time in all of the above I can tell you they all have their advantages and disadvantages. If you are looking for good schools and very very low crime you may want to consider the small towns outside of Frederick such as New Market and yes my town of Mount Airy.

The good news is the famous DC traffic won't be an issue. If you decide to move south into Montgomery County the drive north into Frederick will be against traffic and a breeze, not to mention a pretty ride. But be assured Maryland is not California and I hope you don't come here understanding this and keep an open mind. Hate to say it but many Californians have that Texas atttitude about their state, and for good reason. CA is great. Another thing is the weather. The entire east coast is hot and humid in summer. Frederick, Mt Airy etc will give you a few degrees break due to the elevation and that is pretty big in July.