Bowie or Crofton?? (Odenton, Largo, Upper Marlboro: crime, home, high school)

[murron1314]

We are relocating from Central Florida. We are trying to decide between Bowie or Crofton. Which area is safest in terms of crime? Also, which area has more in terms of activities, shopping, etc.? Are there any specifically BAD areas in both cities that we would stay away from? We are super concerned about crime as we have children and are not used to living in a metropolitian area.

Also, what would a commute to Largo, MD be like from Bowie or Crofton. That is the real challenge in choosing an area to move to b/c a map and miles only tells half the story. We need a comfortable commute to Largo and we want a nice, safe family oriented area to live in. Please advise!

Thank you!

~

[jessy0780]

I would say that Crofton is the nicer area, all-over. Bowie has the better commute to Upper Marlboro, and it has some very nice areas, but also some areas that aren't so great- same with the schools. You'd have to check the particular school to figure out which ones are better, but Crofton in is Anne Arundel County, and Bowie is in PG. I have a buddy who lives over by Bowie Town Center, and he calls it Bowie Crime Center. Of course, Bowie also has Rips (restaurant), which is a big plus in my opinion! Aside from that, personally I would choose Crofton over Bowie in a second, but that's just my opinion. You'll get some people on this board who will tell you to pick Bowie simply because they can't stand when someone chooses anything else over PG County, but please do your own research as well as listening to other people's opinions.

[KRB97]

I agree with Jessy0780, Crofton is nicer and probably a little cheaper. And I much prefer AA county to PG, although Bowie is probably one if the nicest areas in PG county. Crofton has great schools and is really only between 5-10 minutes away from Bowie so you can enjoy all the shopping and restaurants and it really won't add much time to your commute.

[BrianC350]

I to am looking to move to Crofton. It seems like a very nice area of AA Co and housing is reasonable affordable. My only concern is traffic. In your opinions, is the Crofton area unreasonable congested during normal peak hours?

[KRB97]

Sometimes route 3 can get backed up during rush hour, and between the congestion and lights, it can be pretty annoying. But in my opinion it is worth it to live there, and once you know the area there are back roads depending on where you live. I find Bowie traffic to be much worse than Crofton.

[lscalder]

You can never judge school base upon the entrie area of a city. Do your research first. As far as nice. I think bowie is nicer. I drive to crofton all the time and alot of Crofton is not develope. You will see run down buildings. All of Bowie is nice and I do think Bowie is cheaper then Crofton. The school in Bowie is also good as well. What I think you should do is visit both areas and then decide. Somone please list one area of Bowie that is not nice?

Bowie is right next to Largo. They are about a 5-10 minute drive from each other depends upon where in Bowie you will live.

[KRB97]

Bowie definitely has more shopping and restaurants than crofton, but crofton is a quieter, safer place to live IMO. Wherever there is more shopping, there is always more crime. As far as not so nice places in Bowie, I definitely wouldn't want to live over near Bowie High school or the old safeway, I have lived in both Bowie and Crofton and have family that still lives in bowie and has for the past 30 years, and crofton schools are better if that is a concern. Check out 2007 Maryland Report Card for facts about this. As a teacher who has subbed for both counties and now teaches in PG, I can tell you about any school you are interested in in either town, (since I have worked at almost all the schools in both areas) if you want to message me.

[jessy0780]

Crofton can sometimes be confused for Odenton, which I'm personally not a fan of- and which has areas that appear run down, and is just not as nice.

MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2007: Crofton, MD snapshot

Interesting info for Bowie, from 2007.
Note the quality of life info, esp. personal crime and property crime index for both cities
Here's Crofton, from 2007-
MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2007: Crofton, MD snapshot


Crofton was ranked 72 in CNN's Money magazine best places to live 2007.
Crofton has higher percentages in math and reading test scores above state average. Also, Crofton has much lower incidents of personal and property crime per 1,000 incidents. The median home price is a little higher (by about $4,000) in Crofton, for obvious reasons.
You can use the site to compare the cities, I think it's pretty obvious which has the better stats in crime and education.

[lscalder]

Money Magazine 2007 for Bowie:
MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2007: Bowie, MD snapshot


Moderator cut: link to a competitors site removed

[jessy0780]

Oops, I posted Crofton twice- thanks for posting the link for Bowie from Money Magazine, lscalder. My copy and paste skills need work!