Neighborhoods in Severna Park (Annapolis, Arnold: HOA, affordable houses, purchases)

[howtochoose]

Hi. We are contemplating moving to Severna Park. Of course we hear lots about it being "snobby" or upscale, but right now there are some very affordable houses (mid 300's to low 400's) that are quite nice and access those awesome SP schools. My question is are there certain neighborhoods to avoid--Carrollton Manor is one that has a home in it we are interested in, but we have no knowledge about the little nooks of SP. Also, my husband would need to travel Benfield to 97--is that horrible traffic-wise?

Thanks for any input!!

[7th Direction]

Originally Posted by howtochoose

Hi. We are contemplating moving to Severna Park. Of course we hear lots about it being "snobby" or upscale, but right now there are some very affordable houses (mid 300's to low 400's) that are quite nice and access those awesome SP schools. My question is are there certain neighborhoods to avoid--Carrollton Manor is one that has a home in it we are interested in, but we have no knowledge about the little nooks of SP. Also, my husband would need to travel Benfield to 97--is that horrible traffic-wise?

Thanks for any input!!

Carrollton Manor looks like a very nice community - I looked at the HOA website.

I know that Benfield does get backed up during the morning rush hour, but if he leaves early enough, it isn't that bad.

[howtochoose]

Good to hear. I'll check that out and of course, just taking a run out there will probably give me a good idea of the types of houses and what else is around. There is one house on Arleigh that is exactly up our alley and it just sounds so nice with water privileges and all the neighborhood amenities. And as far as people being snobby goes, I figure if I don't plop myself in the middle of million dollar homes, I'll probably be okay and even if I did, the reality is that most people are nice and if they are snobby I wouldn't want to deal with them anyway. Mostly I don't want my kids to be harassed if we can't provide a new outfit for every day of the school year! (Literally read that on one blog about a girl!).

Good news is that my husband works nights, so traffic will probably be a nonissue for him, but I figured I'd better check in case there is any change in his schedule.

Thanks for the feedback!!

[jemeh5]

I've lived in SP my whole life (give or take a few years here and there), so I know about many of the communities here. Carollton Manor is a nice neighborhood that has some waterfront homes - may have a community waterfront but not sure. Over the last several years many older homes have been renovated or knocked down and re-built, so you'll find a wide variety of house types in that community. Still, it's nice and a great one for families. It's very near the Safeway grocery store. Not sure if it feeds into Benfield Elem or Oak Hill Elem, but both are good (Benfield is a Blue Ribbon School).

For your price range you should be able to find something, but it will most likely be an older home, but that's common in most of SP. If you can find a house you like, I recommend the area for the schools alone. Yes, there are snobby people but like you said, just ignore them! There are also nice, down to earth people all over the place too. I have a 13 year old, and yes, name brands are a big deal to her, but she does babysitting and saves her own money for the big ticket purchases she wants.

A few other nice neighborhoods to check out are Chartridge, Berrywood South, Westridge.

Finally, have you thought about the Arnold area? They are the next town up Rt. 2 towards Annapolis and they also have a wonderful school system. My sister's children have gone there - one in college now - and she's enjoyed it. Some nice neighborhoods in there are Foxmoor and Hunters Pointe.

Good luck!!