Pasadena, MD (Baltimore, Bethesda, Glen Burnie: real estate, rental, condo)

[pkoons]

Here's my first new thread in awhile... Pasadena is a community that is located in Anne Arundel County near the Severn and Magothy Rivers. The main artery that runs through Pasadena is Ritchie Highway (Rt. 2), leading to Glen Burnie if you head north and Severna Park if you head south. This location is convenient to Baltimore (17 miles) and Annapolis (12 miles). Rt 100 runs east to west through the city as well. The main boundaries of Pasadena are hard to define, as the zip code 21222 encompasses other communities such as Green Haven (off of Mountain Rd & Duvall Hwy) and Riviera Beach (heading up Ft Smallwood towards Curtis Bay). Most people simply refer to all of these areas as Pasadena. Being a large area, this means a very diverse population is represented - there are million dollar waterfront communities, newer suburban communities near Severna Park, and older homes in more blue-collar areas such as Riviera Beach. To the east lies Gibson Island, a gated community that was ranked one of the top 15 in the US for highest home prices.

People in Pasadena can head to nearby Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie for most of their shopping needs, or head west to the larger Arundel Mills mall in Hanover. Except for maybe the Ritchie Hwy Pier 1 Furniture store, the strip malls scattered throughout the area are fairly short of high-end retail - though you'll find plenty of grocery stores, drug stores, fast food and pizza places, and video rental stores. If you're looking to go out to dinner, you can grab a serviceable steak at either the franchise outpost of Texas Roadhouse or Blazin' Steaks, or serviceable crabs (not the best in A.A. County) at Cheshire Crab. Bella Napoli is a good, authentic, and low priced Southern Italian Restaurant off of Mountain Road, though it is bested by Alberto's in Glen Burnie. Windows By The Bay may be your best bet for fine dining, a waterfront restaurant that is always well-received and has a good mix of seafood and classic meat entrees. My mother actually won a limo ride and dinner for 2 to this restaurant when I was a kid, she took me along and I remember it being very nice even back then.

I have to put in a plug for one outstanding independent local business called The Daily Scoop, which is family-owned and makes over 100 different flavors of homemade ice cream. Everything you could imagine from pumpkin to orange to white chocolate is represented - and almost every one is a hit. The owners are a lot of fun and put pictures of the patrons up on the walls, and their homemade waffle cones are standouts as well. It's located right by the Blockbuster video off of Mountain Rd. Everyone who lives in the area owes it to themselves to check it out.

There is a big boating community in Pasadena, which is not surprising given its proximity to the bay and rivers. One marina on Rock Creek gained distinction for being in a "hurricane hole", as the last major hurricane skipped over that area and destroyed numerous boats in neighboring marinas (I want to say it was White Rocks??) Other marinas include Atlantic, Pinehurst Landing, Fairview, and Oak Harbor. With all of the inlets and creeks, there are lots of great neighborhoods that are a short walk to the water. A friend of mine often walks his dogs over to Stony Creek to go swimming, and I understand that a lot of locals do the same.

Finally, from a real estate standpoint, some of the communities such as Green Haven, Riviera Beach, and Sunset Beach offer great starter homes (in various condition based on the previous owners) in safe areas close to the water. You can get in here for as low as $230K, but you'll probably have some work to do if you're spending less than $275K. Chesterfield & Elizabeth's Landing are better choices for starter homes if you're looking to get into something newer (1980's TH or condo, mid $200K to low $300K's). New communities like Farmington Village and Oak Hollow are good bets for the $500K-$800K range, and Annesley by The Bay is for the true elite, if youre spending $1M+, you'll get a beautiful waterfront home. Lots of people pass over Pasadena for Severna Park, Crownsville, and Annapolis, but if you're looking for a great deal on a waterfront property, this is where you should start your search.

[cholt]

pkoons,

First I woulld like to thank you for some extremely helpful information on your Pasadena, Severna Park and Laurel posts. My husband and I are both active duty military (Navy and Airforce) and we are not familiar with the Maryland area. I am from Jersey, my husband is from Pennsylvania and things are a bit different there. Anyway, the information that you gave about the ethnic diversity of Pasadena was good to know. We had been looking for a "starter home" there and based on just the info on the website it seems a bit misleading. My husband and I intend to get out of the military and stay in the area, so we wanted to find a location that would have people like us who aren't rich and people who are successful to give us something to aspire for. I will be stationed at the Naval Academy (no officer though) and he at Fort Meade. Let me get to the point I suppose. Could you tell me how is the traffic going to be in reference to us commuting to those locations? Also do you know of activities for Kids in that area? We have a 7 year old daughter that takes Karate. Once again thank you for the info any additional information will be greatly appreciated. Take Care!

[pkoons]

It all depends on what time of day you go and what area of Pasadena, Severna Park, or Laurel you choose to live in...

Generally speaking though you will miss the majority of traffic as you will be traveling more east/west than north/south. Here's a quick breakdown for each, assuming you live right in the center of each town and both want to get to work at 9 AM.

Pasadena -> USNA = 30 mins.
Pasadena -> Ft. Meade = 20 mins.

Severna Park -> USNA = 15 mins
Severna Park -> Ft. Meade = 25 mins

Laurel -> USNA = 35 mins
Laurel -> Ft. Meade = 10 mins

To put things in perspective, I get to work at 9 AM but work on the west side of DC. I live a few minutes from Severna Park in Crownsville. It takes me 20 minutes to get to Ft. Meade, and from Ft. Meade to Bethesda is another hour, maybe a little more. Traffic tends to back up a bit at the Rt 32/175 intersection between 7 AM and 845 AM, but nothing major.

Regarding kids activities, Severna Park is the best because it is the safest. The high school is head and shoulders above Chesapeake and Northeastern(Pasadena) and Laurel. Pasadena would be second and Laurel third. I grew up in Laurel and it was very different for a kid 15-20 years ago than today - I used to ride my bike around by myself at age 7-8, and go play in the woods behind Patuxent Greens country club. No way would I let my kid do that now... Each area has Little League teams, martial arts studios, ice cream parlors, roller rinks, etc. Let me know if this answers your question.

Best of luck to you in your move!

[DeenJay]

Hi My husband and I plus 4 childrens are moving to Md from Houston TX
We are going to rent at the moment, and there is two places that I would like your opinion on. The first one is in Pasadena subdivision Lakewood 21122 and the other one is in Severna Park Subdivision West Riverdale 21146 I have a 13 year old boy that will be going to 8th grade, a 9year old boy that will be going to 4th grade and 4year old twin girls that hopefully will be going to prek if not then a good preschool or daycare. Can you please tell me which one will be my best choice? I am a Flight Attendant for AA and I will be flying out of BWI my husband is a Surgical Tech and we are hoping he can find something around the area. Any hospitals, same day surgery places around? What about schools? Are these choices ok or should I look somewhere else? We are looking for a single home 4/2 paying no more than $2,000. Please help, I need to be settle by Aug 1st. Thank you so much for any information you can provide. Dee

Originally Posted by pkoons

It all depends on what time of day you go and what area of Pasadena, Severna Park, or Laurel you choose to live in...

Generally speaking though you will miss the majority of traffic as you will be traveling more east/west than north/south. Here's a quick breakdown for each, assuming you live right in the center of each town and both want to get to work at 9 AM.

Pasadena -> USNA = 30 mins.
Pasadena -> Ft. Meade = 20 mins.

Severna Park -> USNA = 15 mins
Severna Park -> Ft. Meade = 25 mins

Laurel -> USNA = 35 mins
Laurel -> Ft. Meade = 10 mins

To put things in perspective, I get to work at 9 AM but work on the west side of DC. I live a few minutes from Severna Park in Crownsville. It takes me 20 minutes to get to Ft. Meade, and from Ft. Meade to Bethesda is another hour, maybe a little more. Traffic tends to back up a bit at the Rt 32/175 intersection between 7 AM and 845 AM, but nothing major.

Regarding kids activities, Severna Park is the best because it is the safest. The high school is head and shoulders above Chesapeake and Northeastern(Pasadena) and Laurel. Pasadena would be second and Laurel third. I grew up in Laurel and it was very different for a kid 15-20 years ago than today - I used to ride my bike around by myself at age 7-8, and go play in the woods behind Patuxent Greens country club. No way would I let my kid do that now... Each area has Little League teams, martial arts studios, ice cream parlors, roller rinks, etc. Let me know if this answers your question.

Best of luck to you in your move!

[Njrover0216]

I live in Severna Park. I have been here for 4 years. Let me tell you why I didn't choose Pasadena. After driving around Pasadena, as you said that boundaries are hard to define, and there are some very sketchy areas of Pasadena. It was hard to decide what area was good and what was not. Also the school ratings left a lot to be desired for. It just seemed like I would have to do a lot of research, whereas when I moved to Severna Park I could live anywhere and it was safe with great schools. Any input on homes that are in the 330K price range in a nice area with great schools there?

[DeenJay]

Hi My husband and I plus 4 childrens are moving to Md from Houston TX
We are going to rent at the moment, and there is two places that I would like your opinion on. The first one is in Pasadena subdivision Lakewood 21122 and the other one is in Severna Park Subdivision West Riverdale 21146 I have a 13 year old boy that will be going to 8th grade, a 9year old boy that will be going to 4th grade and 4year old twin girls that hopefully will be going to prek if not then a good preschool or daycare. Can you please tell me which one will be my best choice? I am a Flight Attendant for AA and I will be flying out of BWI my husband is a Surgical Tech and we are hoping he can find something around the area. Any hospitals, same day surgery places around? What about schools? Are these choices ok or should I look somewhere else? We are looking for a single home 4/2 paying no more than $2,000. Please help, I need to be settle by Aug 1st. Thank you so much for any information you can provide. Dee

[DeenJay]

Hi
Here in Houston there is alot of wonderful places to lived, if you have children Katy is the best, you can buy a 3,000 sq home for under $300.000. is best if you can find a job locally since a commute can be very BADDDD, horrible, ugly (get the picture) specially going to the city. We are moving due to our jobs, but if I would have a choice I will spend the rest of my life here. Housing is very affordable, very good school system, good salaries, good weather (no Snow) overall a very nice city to be in.

[lau3]

DeenJay,
Where are the locations in Severna Park and Pasadena? I live in Severna Park and I teach first grade in Pasadena. I can give you a list of schools and or daycares. It is much more expensive to live in Severna Park, but the schools are better. Just let me know the communities, and I will help you out.

Laura