Question About MD Eastern Shore (Baltimore, Rockville: for sale, real estate, apartment)

[bluecountry]

I was curious...is the MD Eastern Shore along Route 50 still by and large rural...or are the areas of Easton/Cambridge/Salisbury and the counties of Queene Annes/Talbot undergoing exurb/suburban sprawl?

Driving through it appeared rural..but nothing like western MD...I saw a lot of for sale land available signs.
What is going on...why are farmers selling land...is the rural beauty in jeopardy?

I also noticed a lot of commerce on RT 50, though that just might have been due to route 50 and locals trying to get tourist business.

[MikeinMD]

There was a large amount of people moving here from the western shore over the past few years with the housing boom, but that seems to have slowed down drasticly. Kent Island to Centreville and to some extent Denton and Easton are becoming bedroom communities for Annapolis and further. With the people came more businesses. WalMart is trying to build in Denton and has a few other shopping centers in the works. Target recently opened in Easton with Kohl's, Best Buy, etc. also trying to come. Easton has actually denied other shopping centers and big box stores who wanted to build. The farmers sold their land because they could get a lot more for it by selling to a developer than farming it. That too seems to have slowed down, which is why some still sit for sale. My guess is the area around Rt. 213/404 and 50 will be developed slowly, Denton and Easton will continue to grow, but slower than they have. But most of the area will stay the way it is. Cambridge seems to have more housing developments but for some reason can not attract any businesses to the empty big box stores that already exist. I am not sure the exact reason for this since 20 miles away in Easton they want in so badly. The Eastern Shore has taken some steps to preserve land, including Easton which has a "greenbelt" at which the spraw of the town will ultimately slow and stop. But then laws can be changed.

[amanda_434]

I live in Salisbury, but I haven't been here long so I might not be the best person to answer this question, but I'll try. As far as Wicomico county, once you are outside of Salisbury (Before / After the 13 Bypass exits) it is pretty rural. All of the other little towns in Wicomico county are very rural - Hebron, Pittsville, Willards, and Quantico. I can't see them getting built up much in the next few years. There are tons of places to go to for local produce and I have never been able to complain about traffic. Housing prices are still pretty reasonable compared to the other side of the bridge.

[Hashiriya]

Easton and St. Michaels and whatnot aren't ever going to really be "suburban", in my opinion, it'll always be primarily vacation real estate. I see it evolving into something like the Hamptons, with little versions of all the same stuff that's in DC. A little faux Citronelle, a little Hay Adams, etc..., lol.

[PHIL 4 SHORE]

Over 20 years ago Maryland put in place a lot of laws governing growth around the Chesapeake Bay & all the many rivers. Now this summer additional laws took effect to insure that growth would be controlled & limited many around the existing towns. The counties have also been rezoning themselves in recent years to stop growth in the counties by transfering development rights into the towns. So farms that are around the towns are for sale and being sold for future development. In Queen Annes County the total acreage is about 1/4 of a million acres and the population is less then 50,000. The big push to stop development grows stronger each year, because as folks relocate here for work or retirement once they have there place the goal is to preserve the rest.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by PHIL 4 SHORE

Over 20 years ago Maryland put in place a lot of laws governing growth around the Chesapeake Bay & all the many rivers. Now this summer additional laws took effect to insure that growth would be controlled & limited many around the existing towns. The counties have also been rezoning themselves in recent years to stop growth in the counties by transfering development rights into the towns. So farms that are around the towns are for sale and being sold for future development. In Queen Annes County the total acreage is about 1/4 of a million acres and the population is less then 50,000. The big push to stop development grows stronger each year, because as folks relocate here for work or retirement once they have there place the goal is to preserve the rest.

There's no easy solution to this. "Tranferring development rights into the towns" sounds terrible anywhere. I've seen it happen in Rockville where I used to live. Rockville was a low-density town and now it is very high density since Montgomery County wants to preserve farmland around Damascus and Poolesville. I agree with preserving rural areas (esp on the Eastern Shore) but at the same time it destroys the towns that exist by making them high density. Everyone in Rockville liked it low-density the way it used to be.

I seriously consider moving to the Eastern Shore in a few years when I'm finished with school. Cambridge and Salisbury are very nice areas. Whats very problematic with vacationers is they drive up property values and the cost of living making it hard for real locals/natives who live off lower incomes in local industries like agriculture and fishing. But small town charm is ruined when they become high-density. AT the same time capitalism and the suburban dream are as American as apple pie and we can't change that. I live in the densest place in the state now in Baltimore City and can't wait to move someplace with a lot of open space and where I drive my car everywhere and not have to pay for parking or worry about parking even being available. Where I also never have to rely on public transport which is less reliable and predictable than when I drive myself.

[Delasurf 27]

Hi
I would like to know what kind of long term rental I can find near Cambridge. Would be interested in a condo or apartment home style . Need in unit washer/dryer, and elevator. We are in our mid-50's, and have a chihuahua. No luck searching the web. Any leads?

[QtownReb.]

It all depends on where you live on the eastern shore. There is a moratorium on any future building in the area I live and grew up on. Also I'm completely surrounded by water and a protected wildlife santuary. In which case we won't have to ever worry about future building or developments.