Renting within 50 miles of Andrews AFB (Columbia, Bowie: apartments, rentals, low crime)

[haydensmomma7407]

Hi,
I'm Melissa and my fiance, AJ, is in the Navy and stationed at Andrews Air Force Base. We can't live on base since our wedding isn't until September so we are looking for an off-base apartment/townhouse/house to rent within 50 miles of base... We are only going to be there until October, as he re-enlisted and we will be moving to the next duty station then. We have a 2 year old son and safety is of our utmost concern. We currently live in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia so it's about 108 miles each way for him to commute to Andrews and it's just TOO much...
I have made a list of places we are considering, if you know anything about them, good or bad, please help me. Also, if you know of other cities/communites to check out, I would be SO grateful. And if anyone knows pros/cons of living in MD versus NoVa.
THANK YOU!

Westwinds
Annapolis
MD 21403
$1079 - $1419

Avalon at Fairway Hills
Columbia
MD 21044
$930 - $1595

Camden Russett
Laurel
MD 20724
$968 - $1931

Rolling Brook
Lake Ridge
VA 22192
$1025 - $1535

Lancaster Mill Apartments
Woodbridge
VA 22191
$1125 - $1155

[fjennell]

VA ones are too far - 50 miles away in this area could mean hours in traffic - I would look much closer to base, especially since it's temporary and you won't need to be there for long.

[PenguinSix]

50 miles in the DC area is unrealistic. You should gauge in terms of minutes, for example you can live in Virginia and have a 60 minute commute but only go 15-20 miles.

That said, it depends a bit on what you want. If you go South and East of Andrews AFB into areas like Upper Marlboro or 'South County' Anne Arundel or Calvert County you'll find some rural areas with slightly better schools than say if you lived right around the base. What kind of lifestyle are you looking for? Big city urban, trendy and hip, suburban Americana, rural?

Have you looked at rentals at militarybyowner dot com? They often cater to folks moving to miltary bases.

[haydensmomma7407]

Thanks. Like I said in the OP, we're 106 miles away now and he commutes each way on the same major roads that he'd commute from VA on so tho I'm not 100% sure, I don't THINK he would hit much traffic at his duty time. He works nights. But, I've never traveled it, so I don't know...
Really I'm trying to gauge where we could "check out" that is safe. I hope not to offend anyone but I've been to base numerous times and outside of base is extremely unsafe and I wouldn't even STOP there, much less, live there.
We're looking more for a rural to suburban lifestyle. I'm from the eastern panhandle of WV, and he is from York, PA...
I did look at the rentals on militarybyowner and a few sparked my interest but I know NOTHING about the area. The AD# is MBO102836 for the one I like in Great Mills, MD but, like I said, I know nothing about that area...and when I plug the city into google maps it says 50 miles...military regs require us to be WITHIN 50 miles so that might be a tad too far.
I know you said Anne Arundel or Calvert...do you have city names I could use to plug into different rental sites and check out? What is the safety like in those areas?
Thank you SO very much!

[PenguinSix]

In Calvert, areas such as Chesapeake Beach / North Beach (30 minutes to the base) would be worth looking at. Also Dunkirk, Owings, Huntingtown (20-30 minutes). These are all very rural areas with small commercial centers (grocery, gas station, maybe a few box stores like a walmart or autoparts place). In Anne Arundel, you could look around Deale, Lothian, Harwood (the latter two being more of general areas in farm land). Take a look at realtor.com to get an idea of the housing stock. You can find some rentals on craigslist (they have a Washington version of craigslist and another for 'Southern Maryland' which you should check out).

Most of these places have relatively minor crime, probably what you are used to where you are coming from (petty stuff, kids, occasional bad guy passing through town).

Upper Marlboro is an area of Prince Georges county, some parts safe than others though.

[haydensmomma7407]

Thank you SO very much! I didn't see any apartment/townhomes near there, but maybe we could see about renting a house.
Thanks!!!

[jayman1981]

My friend you will quickly realize that 50 miles is a bit too far, especially factoring in traffic. I would recommend, Upper Marlboro, Laurel, Accokeek, Mitchellville, Bowie, Fort Washington. Check out Charles County, a lot of military folks live in Waldorf, Bryans Road and White Plains. I was stationed at Andrews from 2001-2003. I don't know how traffic is going that way, but my suggestion is to live close to the base. I would rule out VA unless it's Alexandria. Woodbridge is too far and the commute will stress you out.

[haydensmomma7407]

Thanks! I have no commute, but he does. He already commutes 106 mi each way from WV on I81, I70, 270, 95, 495 so I think he is already used to that...but thank you!
I will check out those areas though I am looking for something with relatively low crime and am having a hard time finding that.

[PenguinSix]

Originally Posted by haydensmomma7407

Thank you SO very much! I didn't see any apartment/townhomes near there, but maybe we could see about renting a house.
Thanks!!!

Yea, you are going to be looking for houses. Very few apartment buildings in these parts. But crime is quite low in Calvert.

[North Beach Person]

Burnt Oaks Apartments in North Beach.

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Also lots of single family houses, mostly beach cottage design, mostly upgraded or nearly so.