Searching for Charm & Community in MD (Silver Spring, Frederick: house, high school)

[tercel95]

I might have to take the drive up there and check it out sometime. The biggest reason SOMD works for me is the job market. I am a software developer and there are an abundance of defense contractors out here for me to work for without having to live in the city...

[cancan]

Easy detour up here then over to Felton De (below Dover) and then down to the beaches on Route 113.

My Brother worked at Pax River on thier computer systems, now he has moved to Pheniox and is doing the Pheniox school systems computers. I am also contemplating a move out west.

Delaware has some defence jobs i would imagine with the bases in Dover and New Castle area but not like Pax probably.

[bowian]

For the southern MD folks, doesn't Leonardtown have a small-town-like Main Street, or has it changed in the last 10 years? I don't remember seeing many places to live in Leonardtown, but it had a small-town feel than LP.

[tercel95]

I wouldn't call anything in Leonardtown a main street. There is nowhere where you can walk and cover a good distance or get to anywhere worth while...

[trying2moveup]

The entire state of Maryland is becoming, sllloooowwwly but surely, gang infested. it starts primarily in the surrounding counties near DC (Montgomery being the safe haven county in particular, then PG) and spreads outwards.

Yes, there are gang members in Frederick, MD. I lived there for almost 9 full years. I never felt like I was in the middle of a bloods/crips/ms13 war. you stay out of areas that are known for criminal activity - just like you'd stay out of those areas in any other city in Maryland. . .or any other state for that matter.

I just want the OP to be clear that Frederick, MD IS NOT ANYWHERE NEAR AS BAD IN GANG ACTIVITY TERMS AS "STELLAR AND SNOWY-CLEAN" MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD (where I grew up, so I know a thing about it).

[mtcbell]

I appreciate the gang postings, but having grown up in Prince George's County (including 4 years at Central High School in Capitol Heights - go magnet programs!) I am pretty familiar with the pervasiveness of gang activity. I managed to avoid it myself, and hope that I can keep my kids active enough that they, too, will see how stupid and pointless it tends to be. It's really all a parent can do these days - if it's not gangs near major cities, it's meth in the cornfields or drinking and driving just about everywhere...

[KCP_1980]

I grew up in Calvert County and, although it was a positive experience, I don't think it really matches the OP's description of a "quaint town with a main street feel." I'm 28 years old and I lived there until 1998. I had a great academic experience and didn't have much exposure to crime, but I don't think the county had much in the way of "main street USA" charm. If you are looking for a town off the old NBC show "Ed" ... Calvert's not the place. You could maybe argue that the Ches Beach and North Beach have somewhat of this vibe... but not really.

My in-laws still keep a house in Calvert County, so we get down there several times a year. It feels more like Waldorf every time we drive through Dunkirk or Prince Frederick... and I do not mean that as a compliment.

I hear good things about Urbana but I think that would require a 270 commute. There's always the manufactured "main street" of a place like the Kentlands in Mont Co.

If you come up with a good place, let me know. I am raising my young family in Hyattsville (our kids are 6 and 5; I work in DC and my husband telecommutes) and I have extremely mixed feelings about being here. There's a lot going for Hyattsville, as compared to other parts of PG, but it's still PG. Coming from a Calvert County upbringing, and then 5 years as renters in Mont Co, this has been a tough adjustment. We're trying.

[NYMD67]

My opinion is to go to the Eastern Shore where there are still many of those smaller ,main street communities. Easton has a great,walkable downtown but is building up just enough that you don't have to drive over the bridge all the time for every day conveniences. Great Place to raise a family!

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by tercel95

I wouldn't call anything in Leonardtown a main street. There is nowhere where you can walk and cover a good distance or get to anywhere worth while...

check out this past Saturday's real estate section in the Washington Post - they did a big article on Leonardtown. Sounds like a nice place to live!

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by trying2moveup

check out this past Saturday's real estate section in the Washington Post - they did a big article on Leonardtown. Sounds like a nice place to live!

It is a nice place to live, but there is no main street. You have a couple major businesses right in the center that make it seem populated but nothing of interest. Just the hospital, community college and both county and state police stations... Leonardtown is not bad but I would lean towards something further south in the county. I might even consider Mechanicsville...