New job in Annapolis, need to find a place to live (Baltimore: rentals, movers)

[Element4lifex8]

I am moving to MD next month for a new job in Annapolis and my girlfriend and I are struggling to find a place to live that we think will be enjoyable. We are both young professionals who love the outdoors and don't mind living in a nice secluded neighborhood with a little yard for some outdoor activities. But at the same time we currently live in the suburbs of metro Detroit and are in the middle of all the exciting stuff going on in the area, from breweries to concert venues and museums, and we would really enjoy a similar location. We currently live in a house, and would like to find a reasonable house/town home in MD for under 2500 monthly rent. We have no public transit in Detroit, and would love to live close to the MARC line to take weekend day trips to Baltimore and D.C. Can anybody help us with some recommendations on nice places to live in the Baltimore/D.C. suburbs without too far of a drive to Annapolis. Thanks in advance!

[cjmeck]

Severna Park and Arnold would give you single family homes possibly in that range, or even Millersville isn't too far. Most likely older homes with your budget. By secluded... Are you looking for acreage or is suburbia okay?

[Element4lifex8]

Thanks cjmeck! We have seen Arnold pop up a lot in our search and the houses seemed nice, but we didn't know if we'd be close to anything exciting (weekend activities, bars, restaurants). But we will certainly continue looking there, and Severna sounds nice, but I thought it was quite expensive. I will look up properties there now. And by secluded I didn't necessarily mean large lots of land, although that is a dream I will have to continue to put aside to live close to the city, so for now suburbia is just fine.

[bande1102]

I'd suggest Crofton over Arnold and Severna Park and Millersville. Crofton is easy access to Routes 50/97/450/424. Crofton also has Waugh Chapel shopping and restaurants. Home | Crofton, Gambrills, Odenton | Waugh Chapel Towne Centre

I find Arnold/Severna Park, and Millersville to be a little too boring and rural. Or to put it another way: my friends in those areas always want to meet in Crofton as opposed to their neck of the woods.

Might also want to check into Eastport.

[Element4lifex8]

Thanks bande! I am certainly looking for a place that is more on the exciting side. Would you also reccomend Odenten? And is Crofton and Odenten close enough to the MARC line that it would make sense to use that for day trips to DC or Baltimore, or would driving still be the best option?

I also drove around Eastport last time I was visiting the area and I really liked it, I just wasn't sure how expensive it would be.

[bande1102]

For day trips, I drive to Baltimore (pretty easy drive, around 25 minutes) to catch an O's game or visit the Harbor. For DC day trips, I drive to the New Carrollton metro station (about 25 minutes) and then take the train into DC. I've seen bus stops in Crofton, but I've never used them.

I have actually lived in Odenton and I like certain areas, like Piney Orchard. ODenton is on the other side of RT 3 from Crofton.

I prefer Crofton because of it's location and easy access to Rt 3. Typically, I get on Rt 3 to 50 W then jump off the College Park exit to shop at Ikea (about 35 minute drive). Or I head across rt 3 (literally 10 minutes) to Waugh Chapel, shopping (target, marshalls, Pier one, etc) get groceries at Wegmann's or Safeway, and grab something to eat at the many different restaurants over there (all chains, though, so not happy about that--Green Turtle, Houlihan's, etc). For me, all of these trips were more convenient from Crofton as opposed to Odenton.

Of course, Crofton is only about 15-20 minutes from Annapolis.

I'm sure you're aware of this, too; but BWI airport is only about 20-30 minutes away, too. Often, we'll go to BWI and take amtrak to NYC for the day. I prefer the BWI Amtrak station as I find it the easiest for my Amtrak trips.

I don't know that I'd call Crofton "exciting". But I feel safe, I can afford it, and it's a nice jumping off point to all the places I want to go.

Here's a link to MD transportation. Maryland Transportation

[AeroGuyDC]

Originally Posted by bande1102

For day trips, I drive to Baltimore (pretty easy drive, around 25 minutes) to catch an O's game or visit the Harbor. For DC day trips, I drive to the New Carrollton metro station (about 25 minutes) and then take the train into DC. I've seen bus stops in Crofton, but I've never used them.

I have actually lived in Odenton and I like certain areas, like Piney Orchard. ODenton is on the other side of RT 3 from Crofton.

I prefer Crofton because of it's location and easy access to Rt 3. Typically, I get on Rt 3 to 50 W then jump off the College Park exit to shop at Ikea (about 35 minute drive). Or I head across rt 3 (literally 10 minutes) to Waugh Chapel, shopping (target, marshalls, Pier one, etc) get groceries at Wegmann's or Safeway, and grab something to eat at the many different restaurants over there (all chains, though, so not happy about that--Green Turtle, Houlihan's, etc). For me, all of these trips were more convenient from Crofton as opposed to Odenton.

Of course, Crofton is only about 15-20 minutes from Annapolis.

I'm sure you're aware of this, too; but BWI airport is only about 20-30 minutes away, too. Often, we'll go to BWI and take amtrak to NYC for the day. I prefer the BWI Amtrak station as I find it the easiest for my Amtrak trips.

I don't know that I'd call Crofton "exciting". But I feel safe, I can afford it, and it's a nice jumping off point to all the places I want to go.

Here's a link to MD transportation. Maryland Transportation

I was waiting for someone to say this. Except for living **in** or **very near** DC, Baltimore, or Annapolis there's not really much in the way of "exicting places to live in Maryland. What you've pointed out here....and I agree.....is that there's a good number of places that offer easy ACCESS to the exciting places. Maryland is basically one big suburban area. Suburbs aren't typically considered "exciting"....and Maryland's suburbs are no different.

The upside is for $2,500/month rent, the OP should be able to find a place to rent in or very near Annapolis/DC/Balitmore. That's a pretty decent budget to work from. Personally, i'd start looking in Annapolis (decently exciting place) and go from there. Shouldn't be that difficult to find what the OPs' looking for before relegating them to a place like boring ass Crofton. LOL

[beasley106]

If you are young professionals and are working in Annapolis, then I would just recommend living in Annapolis. Crofton is basically just one huge suburban strip mall so it is pretty low on the excitement factor, and I guess you and your girlfriend would probably be bored living there. Besides from Annapolis it is relatively easy to get to either Baltimore or Washington DC on the weekends if you want.

[Element4lifex8]

I do like that Crofton has the new Wegman's, and I love Wegman's! You don't see those in the mid-west or southeast where I've lived before. And that is great to know that DC has an IKEA, I've been fortunate to live close to an IKEA here in Detroit.

And thanks for the MD public transit info bande because I am looking to take the train to visit places like Philly and New York City, which was another reason I was interested in being near a MARC line. So is there a difference between the Penn line that runs through Odenten and the Camden line that runs through Laurel because according to Google Maps the Camden line takes a good hour or more to get to either DC or Baltimore from Laurel but the Penn line can get you to each city from Odenten in 30 minutes (according to Google). So I was just wondering the difference here.

But I did like downtown Annapolis from what I saw so this is certainly somewhere that I will be viewing houses, but living right off the MARC line and having a direct shot to all the major cities is just about a good enough reason for me to consider living in Odenten or Laurel.

Well I will be viewing houses this weekend in Annapolis, Arnold & Severna park, Crofton, and one in Odenten so I am hoping that this will give me a wide enough selection to make a decision on a rental because my movers are coming in two weeks!

[cjmeck]

If you want excitement just outside the front door, or perhaps a few minutes drive, you'll want to live close to Annapolis, which is why I suggested towns near there. Crofton is a fantastic little town but as another poster pointed out, people living there will have to drive to Annapolis, Baltimore, or DC. What is great about Crofton is that it is kind of centrally located to all 3 cities. Rentals of single family homes tend to go quickly so when your realtor finds one, don't delay.