Anne Arundel County/Lothian (Bowie, Annapolis: for sale, rental homes, crime)

[kaydeb]

Does anyone live in or around Lothian, in Anne Arundel County? would appreciate information on traffic congestion, [specifically in the warm weather, regarding traffic flow to and from the Eastern Shore.

schools are not an issue. looking to rent for a year, to get acclimated [coming from PA], before buying.

thanks.

[appaino]

Hi there, I'm the Membership Director at Old South Country Club in Lothian. The traffic here is extremely light because there's no major labor or commercial attraction in Lothian. Rush hour traffic can become heavy outside of Lothian on Route 4 through Upper Marlboro and into DC and further north on Route 2 towards Annapolis. Your trek to the Eastern Shore should be quite relaxing.

[kaydeb]

Originally Posted by appaino

Hi there, I'm the Membership Director at Old South Country Club in Lothian. The traffic here is extremely light because there's no major labor or commercial attraction in Lothian. Rush hour traffic can become heavy outside of Lothian on Route 4 through Upper Marlboro and into DC and further north on Route 2 towards Annapolis. Your trek to the Eastern Shore should be quite relaxing.

hello, and thanks for the timely response. actually, i won't be doing the commuting to the Shore, i just want to avoid being gridlocked when everyone is coming and going to the Shore.

if you don't mind, since you are well-connected to Lothian, let me ask you a few questions?

I might be taking a job at the PG County Circuit Court. I have been down there for interviews and to drive around the commuting route, 4 to 495, 95 north, etc, to get back to PA. I plan on renting if I secure the position, for a year, maybe, to get to know the area, before committing to purchasing a home. I have not been down yet to drive around, re housing.

Lothian seems to be an easy drive to the PGCCC. within 10 miles? what is your experience in rush hour from Lothian to PGCCC in the 8 to 9 am time frame?

also, from my google searches and reading about the DC and surrounding areas, why is the area of Upper Marlboro and farther east still so sparsly populated, when everywhere else around the DC Beltway within 50 miles is like an ant hill with massive traffic gridlock?

does the sparsly populated area have something to do with the nuclear power plant in Calvert County? we have a similar situation up here in PA, at Three Mile Island, of which we're about 15 miles away. we're within the evacuation zone.

we have family that live in Arnold, Md., and the offer has been made that I could reside with them for a while, but the direct commuting route would take me south from Arnold, through Annapolis proper, and my SIL told me that the traffic is horrible becuase a lot of people live in that area that work in DC.

basically, I'm if I take the position, if I'm offered the position, I would like to live in an area that is rural/suburban; rural enough for open spaces, but maybe in a development where there's people around.

thank you so much for any information you can give.

[North Beach Person]

The areas you reference as sparsely populated have been, until fairly recently, on the outer fringe of the Metro area. Calvert County population has risen from 35K in 1980 to 87K today. There are some fairly stringent growth restrictions in southern Anne Arundel County and in the entirety of Calvert County so that has played a part in keeping the area more or less rural. The nuclear plant's impact is almost non-existent, in fact many people don't even realize it's there.

[appaino]

Originally Posted by kaydeb

hello, and thanks for the timely response. actually, i won't be doing the commuting to the Shore, i just want to avoid being gridlocked when everyone is coming and going to the Shore.

if you don't mind, since you are well-connected to Lothian, let me ask you a few questions?

I might be taking a job at the PG County Circuit Court. I have been down there for interviews and to drive around the commuting route, 4 to 495, 95 north, etc, to get back to PA. I plan on renting if I secure the position, for a year, maybe, to get to know the area, before committing to purchasing a home. I have not been down yet to drive around, re housing.

Lothian seems to be an easy drive to the PGCCC. within 10 miles? what is your experience in rush hour from Lothian to PGCCC in the 8 to 9 am time frame?

also, from my google searches and reading about the DC and surrounding areas, why is the area of Upper Marlboro and farther east still so sparsly populated, when everywhere else around the DC Beltway within 50 miles is like an ant hill with massive traffic gridlock?

does the sparsly populated area have something to do with the nuclear power plant in Calvert County? we have a similar situation up here in PA, at Three Mile Island, of which we're about 15 miles away. we're within the evacuation zone.

we have family that live in Arnold, Md., and the offer has been made that I could reside with them for a while, but the direct commuting route would take me south from Arnold, through Annapolis proper, and my SIL told me that the traffic is horrible becuase a lot of people live in that area that work in DC.

basically, I'm if I take the position, if I'm offered the position, I would like to live in an area that is rural/suburban; rural enough for open spaces, but maybe in a development where there's people around.

thank you so much for any information you can give.

Kaydeb,

Your commute from Lothian won't take long at all. I commute the other way, from the Beltway because I come in from Alexandria, and sometimes I see a few cars on the road on that side. All-in-all, compared to the rest of the DC commuting debacle your commute will be extremely light.

If you're looking for something rural with open spaces, Lothian is the perfect place to look. I don't know if there are a lot of rental properties though. If you're looking to rent and you can handle a bit more of a commute Annapolis is VERY nice.

There are rental properties in Upper Marlboro, but I don't recommend that area. I would also avoid Southeast DC. You may find crime in PG County and Southeast DC is a bit higher than Anne Arundel County, Northern Virginia, and the other quadrants of DC.

I do know of some homes for sale near my workplace. I'm not sure what your price range is, but I'm pretty sure these go for between $800k - $1.2mil. There are less expensive homes in Lothian, as well.

Good luck with the job! If you would like to contact me in a less public manner you can find my contact information on the Old South website under Membership.

[kaydeb]

Originally Posted by appaino

Kaydeb,

Your commute from Lothian won't take long at all. I commute the other way, from the Beltway because I come in from Alexandria, and sometimes I see a few cars on the road on that side. All-in-all, compared to the rest of the DC commuting debacle your commute will be extremely light.

If you're looking for something rural with open spaces, Lothian is the perfect place to look. I don't know if there are a lot of rental properties though. If you're looking to rent and you can handle a bit more of a commute Annapolis is VERY nice.

There are rental properties in Upper Marlboro, but I don't recommend that area. I would also avoid Southeast DC. You may find crime in PG County and Southeast DC is a bit higher than Anne Arundel County, Northern Virginia, and the other quadrants of DC.

I do know of some homes for sale near my workplace. I'm not sure what your price range is, but I'm pretty sure these go for between $800k - $1.2mil. There are less expensive homes in Lothian, as well.

Good luck with the job! If you would like to contact me in a less public manner you can find my contact information on the Old South website under Membership.

thank you. I will be in touch.

[WaynokaStarr]

Hi. I apologize for highjacking this thread, but since it appears that a Lothian thread has already been started, I was hoping to continue with it. I am looking for places to move to, as I've just accepted a job with the Census Bureau in Suitland. I am supposed to be heading up that way in a week or so to look at rental homes, and one that has caught my interest is located in Lothian. I have a few of questions:

1. Can you give me any idea of the average utility costs there? Electricity, water, gas, cable, internet? I can't give any specifics, as I don't have a place yet, but I've heard that Maryland electricity is much much more expensive than it is here in NC, so I'm like to have a more realistic idea of my budget.

2. Are there any restrictions on dog breeds? I have a chow chow mix, and I have heard of county and/or city ordinances that restrict breeds, so I wanted to check on that.

3. I would be working in Suitland during regular business hours. About how long of a commute would I be looking at? I'm used to driving to work, and making a 40 mile trip one-way, but here, it still only takes me about 50 minutes to an hour to get there, but I've been severely warned about the difference in traffic and commute times. Is there a public transportation system there that would be a good alternative, or is using my car much better? I know that there is a subsidy for the metro where I work, but if there's something similar for the transportation systems between Lothian and Suitland, I'd be willing to consider it.

On a side note, I'm also looking at homes in Bowie, so if you happen to have any answers to the above questions regarding that area, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you so much, and I look forward to any advice and information that you can offer!!