Our trip to the Eastern Shore (Annapolis, Salisbury: house prices, buy, utilities)

[mdswines]

Originally Posted by cancan

eastern shore of maryland folks there were alot of watermen and locals, they fished crabs with crab pots....recreational crabbers (mostly from the western shore) fished crabs with chicken necks on a string....thus the name chicken neckers.

To some its just a joke to others its no joke....I think the native eastern shore folk believe they are being overrun (and they are) by transplants.
you will also hear the terms "born heres" and "come heres".

That said its really nothing to worry about...its the same in any state with rampent growth....some will feel overrun. In maryland we seem to have this thing where people move to the country becuase they love the idea of living in a rural setting....then they bring all the chain stores, fast food and poor driving habits and soon the country looks just like suburbia.

Mdswines where do you live? it is a dieing term but still used in areas with lots of old locals....I would imagine on Kent Island and Easton its not heard much anymore. I hear Born heres and come heres much more often now.

I live in Sby - so that's probably the reason I have never heard it. Sby seems to be a lot of transplants & college students, with some locals too - but probably not as many in proportion to some of the smaller towns.

There were some watermen at our old church in Cambridge - I'm sure they've heard it

I'm a transplant myself, and I like having the convenience of stores, etc. To me, Salisbury feels small but I HATE Rt. 13 business going through town. It's just one UGLY strip mall after another with little to no planning or cohesiveness at all. PLUS, the traffic on 13 business is AWFUL for a city with fewer than 30k people!

I've lived in actual suburbs of large cities that had waaaay more charm, much better traffic and access to much more than SBY ever will. I guess that's what I don't like about SBY.

Our neighborhood is very nice and the people are great, but the city itself leaves a lot to be desired.

[oncesir]

Originally Posted by mdswines

I'm a transplant myself, and I like having the convenience of stores, etc. To me, Salisbury feels small but I HATE Rt. 13 business going through town. It's just one UGLY strip mall after another with little to no planning or cohesiveness at all. PLUS, the traffic on 13 business is AWFUL for a city with fewer than 30k people!

I've lived in actual suburbs of large cities that had waaaay more charm, much better traffic and access to much more than SBY ever will. I guess that's what I don't like about SBY.

Finally someone w/out the rosey glasses on. The locals talk about how bad all the development is but without the higher population from the influx of come heres there wouldnt be a Target, Kohls or Best buy. You'd be stuck with a Walmart and Lowes. There are many advantages to a higher population that benefit the entire area but those with the rosey glasses on tend to have a very closed mind about the pluses. Im still wondering what it is all the development and growth is supposedly ruining in the first place. If its planned accordingly it will have a positive effect, more jobs, more local revenue, more things to do(which is one of the reasons the shore isnt my cup of tea)and more conveniences.

I, too, moved from an area that IMHO is far nicer than the shore and the population is MUCH higher and there is less crime than here. Different strokes. Every town/area has its flaws but overlooking them to the point of ignorance isnt gonna make it seem better than it is.

[LauraC]

Is there a reason why you want to retire to Maryland? You know, is there some activity you want to do there that makes it attractive for retirement?

Unless they have lived there a long time or have family ties in the area, I think most people leave the state when they retire. Maryland rates #42 of the 51 states (they count DC) for the number of in-migrants vs out-migrants over the age of 60 with a net loss (more out-migrants) of 12,049 between 1995 and 2000. Only CT, Mass, PA, Ohio, Michigan, NJ, Illinois, California and NY have more people over 60 leaving than coming in.

[macdebbie]

Maryland is "on our list" at this point.

We now live in an area that is cold and snowy 6 months out of the year. The cost of living is so high that we will be able to do nothing when we retire to sit in our house. Housing costs are so high that the house, all 1,100 sq. feet of it will most likely need to be sold for the 400K or so value it now has. Oh, and the taxes, did I mention, 5K+ per year? And the high unemployment - which won't be a factor in retirement.

Don't get me wrong - I love the town we live in. I grew up in the next state over. We are a block from the ocean in a basically crime-free town of 18K. We have great restaurants, activities of a small town, a strong art community, great health care, but the cost factor and weather factor do not make it conducive to a great place to retire.

We want to move somewhere for retirement that we can LIVE - simply stated. Good healthcare, a lower cost of living, low crime, cheaper housing, things to do, an attractive environment in the town we live and around. We want to keep the four seasons we have now, just milder versions of them so that we can be out of doors more than we are. And we want to stay near the water. Since we live on the East Coast and have family here, we want to stay on this coast if we can.

We don't need much. What we are going to be "doing" is occaisionally going out to eat, reading, walking, biking, kayaking, boating, all of which the area we visited seems to support very well.

We're not looking for eutopia - it doesn't exist. We're not foolish enough to believe that any place is perfect, but we do believe we can find a place that meets our needs in retirement moreso than where we now live.

I don't find it all so unusual that someone would want to find themselves a better situation. People are leaving where I live in droves, mainly because of the high cost of living and cold weather.

[lisat]

Macdebbie, a friend of mine has a house on the market in Easton, somewhere between $300-350k, I believe. I've never been out there, and I'm sorry I don't know exactly where the property is located. I do know they hand-built a nice deck last year and they've done many improvements on the place. If you think you might be interested, PM me and I'll get more details for you.

[macdebbie]

Our move is 3 years down the road, but thanks.

[cancan]

you'll find the high cost of living here too and high taxation. It wont be any better in 3 years....only worse.

Not trying to change your mind just being realistic.

Good Luck.

[MikeinMD]

I would check out the local newspaper, stardem.com, maybe even subscribe since they don't offer everything on their website. But that would give you an idea of what goes on around here, crime, activities, etc. I agree that its far from perfect here and the area is what you make it, depending on how much you get involved in community events.

As far as fitting in, when I was growing up around here it used to be you knew most everyone or when you spoke to someone you could always find a connection to someone you mutually knew or was related to. Now its different, there are definately a lot of new people around and anyone new would blend right in.

Oh and yeah there are grocery stores, 4 or 5 of them I think and a few more that would like to build one here. There are also a few specialty stores, natural foods, hispanic foods, etc. And there is a fairly new Amish Market and also produce market on Saturday mornings which nice to visit.

[laxmom]

Rehoboth Beach does have a gay section but by no means is it known as a gay beach. It is a large beach town with charming, unaffordable old beach homes, some hotels and condos and a large shopping and dining area on Rehoboth Ave. which runs perpendicular to the beach. Bethany Beach is a tony small upscale beach town that is charming and less populated, more unaffordable quaint somewhat larger beach homes. Fenwick doesn't have much to offer, just a main strip with some decents shops here and there. Ocean City is just that, a city with everything one could imagine. It sometimes feels overrun by those with loud engines and tattoos. But it has the nicest beaches. OCMD spends money every year to replenish the sand after the winter N'or easters which provides for nice wide flat shallow-water beaches with life guards every block. Rehoboth and Bethany are dense on the beach because they are narrower and steeper. but the trade off is a nice downtown.

The Narrows is a nice restaurant on Kent Narrows with good food. Don't know if that was the question? We stop there several times a year on our way to the beach.

[macdebbie]

Thanks. What is Lewes like? I hear it is quaint with a nice downtown but on the bay, not the ocean, but there is a state park with ocean frontage?

As to the people who commented about cost of living. Yes, we are well aware that it is expensive to live in MD, however, the housing prices are nowhere near what they are hear. You cannot find an old ranch needing updating with 3BR/2BA for under 500K here. We saw several homes in the 300s in Easton that we would live in.

Additionally, we are considering the move due to the weather. We know also that it gets cold and snows where you are, but the winters are definitely more mild.