Moving to Southern MD!! (Frederick, Gaithersburg: apartment, condos, low crime)

[bustedstufftoo@yahoo.com]

Our family is moving to Southern Maryland soon...we have a teenager and a 6 year old...anyone have an opinion on Leonardtown High vs. Huntingtown High?? We really liked Breton Bay Landing and Avenmar in Leonardtown...Admiral Hills and Singletree were too densely packed. We haven't been to Huntingtown yet, but we've seen quite a few nice home listings there, husband's new job is at Calvery Cliffs so it's a closer commute. Can you tell me what neighborhoods are nice in Huntingtown? Is Marley Run nice? We have spoken with several realtors in Calvert and St. Mary's counties, but there is nothing like hearing from people who actually live there!! ('There' being Huntingtown) Thanks in advance!

[pkoons]

Huntingtown & Dunkirk are generally considered the nicest places to live in Calvert County. Calvert is becoming increasingly white-collar, there are some areas that you wouldn't want to be in after dark a few years ago like North Beach and Prince Frederick that are now decent areas to live. You will have greater proximity to Annapolis, the Eastern Shore, and Washington DC by living in Calvert County. One thing to note about Dunkirk & Huntingtown is there are only single family homes, really no townhomes or condos. That keeps housing prices high whether it is new or existing construction. I think Dunkirk is served by Northern High School in Owings... how recently was Huntingtown High built? I have friends from Owings and Dunkirk but never knew anyone to live in Huntingtown. You really can't find anything livable under $400K though, and those will be old split-levels. Walnut Creek is a nice neighborhood if you're looking to spend $500-600K. Any more than that and I'm not familiar with the new neighborhoods, personally I never understood why this was such a hot area for big homes - there's not as much waterfront property, shopping, or convenience as Anne Arundel County - but it's very safe and the homes are lovely.

St. Mary's County is much more affordable and you still have proximity to the water, but there's not as much to do. Leonardtown and Lexington Park are the "big cities" down there. Some people actually do commute to DC from way down there... so your husband would potentially fight a little more traffic (not much though) if you lived there instead of Calvert. My mom considered a position with the school board down there and it's a nice place to live, but it's really not convenient to anything except maybe the mall in Waldorf. I could do some research and elaborate more but I don't know too many people who have lived there except to go to St. Mary's College.

[dolphin24]

Leonardtown is definitely the best choice for schools. Housing prices are very high here. Good luck!

[Badfish]

Breton Bay is less urbanized than Huntingtown.
Leonardtown has community events and parades that are better organized and better attended than Huntingtown.
Huntington is in Calvert County, which seems to be better governed than the other two Southern Maryland counties.
Prepare for sticker shock-Maryland has the third highest combined tax rate in the nation.
Energy prices are tightly controlled by the distributer in Calvert County. Generally, prices in Calvert are 10 to 15 cents a gallon HIGHER in Calvert, which is why residents try to buy gas in St.Marys.
Crime in both counties is rising, but the levels, and seriousness are a cut below most places. The bulk of the enforcement is on drugs and Dui, and officers love to stop cars with a missing taillight or unbelted driver, then toss the vehicle for drugs.
Local newspapers still carry reports of vandalized mail boxes and stolen porch furniture in the "Crime News" sections.
Both high schools seem fairly even, but I don't have school age kids. There is a very lavish new High School serving Huntingtown, as well as a very good college prep school, Calvert, nearby.
I live in neither location, so I really have no axe to grind.
BF

[Ex-Ithacan]

I live in northern Calvert (Owings). Moved here about 14 years ago from prince Georges county(next to DC) and love the place. My daughter goes to Northern High, and the Calvert school system is one of the best in the state. Huntingtown high is only a couple years old and a very nice facility.
Compared to most of Maryland, Calvert has a very low crime rate. It is lacking as far as retail goes, but that is starting to change. Annapolis and all it has to offer is about a 1/2 hour drive from Calvert. DC is about 40 miles away, and of course there's a ton of things to do there.
Housing prices have doubled in the last few years, but seem to be leveling out now. There are some new townhouse and condo projects in the Chesapeake Beach/ North Beach area. Mostly in the 350-450 range. Single family homes run about the same, but can go up to a million. Calvert is a lovley county and I think you shoul explore it as a possibilty. Your husband's commute would be easier from within the county. And you might also want to check out The Solomon's Island area at the south end of the county. Good luck in whatever choice you make.

[teleblazer]

Originally Posted by bustedstufftoo@yahoo.com

Our family is moving to Southern Maryland soon...we have a teenager and a 6 year old...anyone have an opinion on Leonardtown High vs. Huntingtown High?? We really liked Breton Bay Landing and Avenmar in Leonardtown...Admiral Hills and Singletree were too densely packed. We haven't been to Huntingtown yet, but we've seen quite a few nice home listings there, husband's new job is at Calvery Cliffs so it's a closer commute. Can you tell me what neighborhoods are nice in Huntingtown? Is Marley Run nice? We have spoken with several realtors in Calvert and St. Mary's counties, but there is nothing like hearing from people who actually live there!! ('There' being Huntingtown) Thanks in advance!

I think the others really covered the area well in their descriptions. You do pay a premium to be near the good schools in Calvert County. Almost everything is a single family home, there are several new homes being built as we speak and many on the market that are like new at the present time. Sticker shock is a big deal since most homes I've seen that are of higher quality are high 600s and above.

We just had a house in Marley Run (where I live) go under contract a month ago for a really nice gentleman and his family working at Calvert Cliffs and the home is being sold by someone relocating from Calvert Cliffs so I guess they had that mutual thing to fall back on. It's a great neighborhood especially for kids, I have a 14, 6 and 2 year old myself and if I didn't work so far away I'd hold this house till it was paid off.

We're around the corner from Huntingtown High school which is only a year or two old, and Plum Point Elementary and Plum Point Middle schools which have been lauded for being near the tops in the entire state. It was part of why we moved to Marley Run. There are about 4-5 homes on the market now and a new Marley Run portion selling a couple of brand new homes at the present time if you're interested. Good luck!

John
removed

[Tinabell]

Looking for a safe, low crime, people friendly,not to high housing town or city in MD.

[Sarah From East to West]

I'd much prefer Montgomery County cities such as Rockville, Chevy Chase, Gaithersburg. Gaithersburg made it on the top 25 safest cities in America.

[Tounces]

We live in St. Mary's County. We drive to Prince George County where my husband is stationed at Andrew's AFB. We like it here because it is away from the crowds. When we first moved here we rented in Waldorf. We soon found out we didn't want to stay there. The schools are nice in St. Mary's. We can shop down in California, MD, Hollywood or go over the bridge to Calvert Co. We are in a nice country style neighborhood where we have lots of trees surrounding us. We moved here going on 3 years ago from Minnesota. You should try the Northern part of St. Mary's. Its the perfect location close to Charles Co., Calvert too. Its half way between everything, so you're closer to events in DC. The drive isn't bad at all until you hit 301, but you can learn the backroads. They will soon complete the new interchange in Hughesville which will help with traffice a lot. Its a short drive to Calvert Co. from Charlotte Hall. If you like the Amish made furniture and food, this is great here. They have shops in town and a farmer's market every Wed. and Sat. with the Amish selling the produce and products themselves. It is so neat to see the buggies in town and their farms down the country roads.

[pokey939]

Originally Posted by Tounces

We live in St. Mary's County. We drive to Prince George County where my husband is stationed at Andrew's AFB. We like it here because it is away from the crowds. When we first moved here we rented in Waldorf. We soon found out we didn't want to stay there. The schools are nice in St. Mary's. We can shop down in California, MD, Hollywood or go over the bridge to Calvert Co. We are in a nice country style neighborhood where we have lots of trees surrounding us. We moved here going on 3 years ago from Minnesota. You should try the Northern part of St. Mary's. Its the perfect location close to Charles Co., Calvert too. Its half way between everything, so you're closer to events in DC. The drive isn't bad at all until you hit 301, but you can learn the backroads. They will soon complete the new interchange in Hughesville which will help with traffice a lot. Its a short drive to Calvert Co. from Charlotte Hall. If you like the Amish made furniture and food, this is great here. They have shops in town and a farmer's market every Wed. and Sat. with the Amish selling the produce and products themselves. It is so neat to see the buggies in town and their farms down the country roads.

Hi Tounces:

I am so glad you have worsen my fears. I am about to relocate from Prince George's County MD to St Mary's Co. I am moving because of the high crime in PGCo. and that my Board of Directors for my condo community is ineffective in enforcing the rules and regulations. They rather take your condo fees than to do what they were elected to do. In any event, I am a bit scared because buying a townhouse in St. Mary's Co to include the commute is and will be a big change in my life. The biggest change is the commute since I have always used the Metro and/or drive to work to include having more expenses than living in either an apartment or condo. However, I do look forward to some peace and quiet, and decent neighbors that care about their community.

I hope to be able to communicate with you within this thread soon in the future and thank you for the confidence in knowing that St. Mary's Co. is an excellent choice that I made.