Moving from Indiana to Maryland -- where is the best, safest, family-friendly place to buy a house (on a budget)? (Baltimore: rent, crime)

[ChewyCarmel]

Hey everyone -- we're looking forward to moving to the D.C. area (for my job), but is there a family friendly place where we can afford to buy a house?

(I posted this question on the Virginia forum earlier, but have since been told that I'll be spending more time in MD than in VA.)



Here are our details:

• Married with 3 young children.
• Originally from small town Michigan, but currently living in suburban Indianapolis.
• Will be working in a territory that includes all of Virginia and Maryland.
• I will not be commuting to an office -- I'll be working from home and travelling out to appointments throughout VA and MD.
• Since much of my business will be in the D.C. metro area, we would like to be less than 75 miles from D.C.
• Ideally we would like to buy a 4 BR, 2.5 BA house with a nice yard, but our budget is only about $320k.
• Priorities: safe area, very good schools, family friendly (and reasonable access to a major highway)

QUESTION: Given this kind of flexibility (but minimal budget), where is the best place for us to live?

[PenguinSix]

If you can tolerate rural living, you can look in Calvert County. It's about a 45 minute drive to downtown DC with very good schools, but it is pretty rural. Well nothing like rural Indiana but rural by Maryland standards.

$320k is, I should note, not a lot in the DC area for a 4br with a yard. Check out realtor.com for cities like Dunkirk, Owings, Chesapeake Beach, North Beach, Huntingtown, Sunderland, Prince Frederick all in MD.

Have you considered renting for a bit? It's always a good idea when moving--rent for a few months so you can get a real on the ground feel of an area and then decide where to really invest your money long term.

[horseyjen]

Hagerstown and the EP of WV are both around 75 miles from DC. Both are affordable, great places to live. They also don't feel quite as much like bedroom communities of DC as some of the other places.

[clintsullivan]

That's what I suggested too, jen, but the OP seemed to think employer wouldn't be pleased with employee residing in WV. Although I had pointed out the centrality of this location for covering both VA & MD, with the best options for affordability, safety and laid back lifestyle. From the VA side it looks like the OP is considering Front Royal which is a great little town, atlhough that puts the MD territory at a greater distance.

[rubytue]

Although not convienent to VA, Harford County, MD (just north of Baltimore) is within 75 miles of DC and meets your price range. I have a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home on 3/4 acre that won't sell for much over $300k. Its a straight shot down 95 to get to DC/VA.

[mamaecho]

WELCOME!!! I'm also from Indiana.. hubby graduated from Butler and I'm from Southeastern (near Cincinnati).. so welcome

What about Frederick County? For 320k you can get a very nice house in a nice neighborhood, with a commute of around 30-45 minutes to Montgomery County, MD. Plus if you can you could ride the MARC train into DC if you are working there for the day.

If you have any questions about the area, please feel free to ask. I know how it is moving from Indiana to Maryland, it may be a bit of a culture shock really but you should enjoy it.

[DomRep]

Originally Posted by PenguinSix

If you can tolerate rural living, you can look in Calvert County. It's about a 45 minute drive to downtown DC with very good schools, but it is pretty rural. Well nothing like rural Indiana but rural by Maryland standards.

$320k is, I should note, not a lot in the DC area for a 4br with a yard. Check out realtor.com for cities like Dunkirk, Owings, Chesapeake Beach, North Beach, Huntingtown, Sunderland, Prince Frederick all in MD.

Have you considered renting for a bit? It's always a good idea when moving--rent for a few months so you can get a real on the ground feel of an area and then decide where to really invest your money long term.

Man, I don't know about the drive being 45 minutes. I've got co-workers who live in Calvert County, around Lusby, and it takes them an hour and a half to get to downtown DC.

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by DomRep

Man, I don't know about the drive being 45 minutes. I've got co-workers who live in Calvert County, around Lusby, and it takes them an hour and a half to get to downtown DC.

It takes a long time to get from Southern Calvert (Lusby) to Northern Calvert... If you look at the county on a map it is very long and skinny...

I second Calvert County though, if you live on the north end the commute is doable but the houses are more affordable than some of the more urban places in MD... There is also very little crime and the public schools are great...

[jkyj1976]

Another option is Kent island (Stevensville, Chester). It is about 50 min drive to DC, and there is actually bus service to DC, which is very convenient. Added to that, Stevensville is not bustling surburb... it is close to the bay, it is quiet, and has pretty good schools (Queen Anne's county). Plus it is only 10 min from Annapolis for all the shopping needs. 4 Bed/ 2.5bath 1/2 acre should run any where between $ 300k -$ 365K

[trickymost]

I live in Baltimore metro and have been commuting to DC, Reston, Falls Church, and Arlington the past few years. Do you have an idea of how much time you'll be in MD/VA/DC? And where in VA/MD your territory covers?

Depending on the answer, there may be options or you may be SOL. Some of the previous posters' responses may be valid or may not make any sense depending on where you need to go.

Personally, I would not want to be anywhere along I-95 north of Baltimore (Perry Hall, Harford County) because if you had to drive to Reston or Herndon or Arlington or Sterling, you are looking at an easy 2-3 hours each way. God help you if you need to do that trip daily for even a few weeks.

Also, there are many major road projects underway in Maryland which will cause more traffic in the near term (1-4 years) like the outer beltway/I-370 in MD or the paid toll lanes in and out of Baltimore on I-95.

If I were in your shoes, I would most definitely rent for a short while once you get here, even if it means the hassle of having to move twice. You'll find your choices will probably be either convenient but expensive, or inconvenient but better quality of life for the rest of your family. If you can stomach renting, you'll be able to find a good realtor and have them stay on top of listings to find something that suits your family. Likewise, there is no upward price pressure so you're unlikely to risk being priced out of the market.

I would check out Catonsville in Baltimore county...you are very close to 95 south of Baltimore and convenient enough to most places in Maryland, and the pain of driving to VA will be negligible since it pretty much blows anywhere in Maryland. The schools are good there and people are generally friendly.
Homes will probably be a bit smaller and a bit older, but unless you're out in WVA, the eastern shore in MD, or halfway to Richmond, probably going to be true of any place in your price range.