Transfering to Andrews AFB and need to know where to live!!! (Waldorf: housing, rent)

[JeneBNell7]

My husband, myself, and my 3 yearl old daughter are being transfered to Andrews AFB in Maryland in a few months. I've heard many things about the crime in the area and I'm finding it really hard to try to find a place to live. We would like to rent an apartment for the first 6-12 months we are there and then rent or buy a house. I'm just having a really hard time locking down a place to start looking. Please give me city/county suggestions to go on. I'd like to be as close to the base as possible to cut down on driving time, but in a very safe area since my daughter and I like to take our dogs on walks and we will be home alone a lot while my husband is working. Thanks in advance for your replies!

[RoadTripGurl]

The only place in PG county I like around there is maybe Ft. washington or Oxon Hill down the branch Ave. area. Other than that, I would try Calvert County or Waldorf (beware of the traffic very congested area).

[vonschlichten]

My wife is stationed at Andrews (our second tour) and we've lived in PG County and now in Charles county. Feel free to e-mail me with specific questions at vonschlichten@yahoo.com

Regards,rvs

[teleblazer]

Originally Posted by JeneBNell7

My husband, myself, and my 3 yearl old daughter are being transfered to Andrews AFB in Maryland in a few months. I've heard many things about the crime in the area and I'm finding it really hard to try to find a place to live. We would like to rent an apartment for the first 6-12 months we are there and then rent or buy a house. I'm just having a really hard time locking down a place to start looking. Please give me city/county suggestions to go on. I'd like to be as close to the base as possible to cut down on driving time, but in a very safe area since my daughter and I like to take our dogs on walks and we will be home alone a lot while my husband is working. Thanks in advance for your replies!

To help you most people will need to know where are you moving from and what is your budget for rent? This will set the level of sticker shock you may have when moving to the area.

Your generally right about PG county and safety concerns and the recommendation for Calvert county is probably a good one just be ready to pay for the nice things that you (and most with families) desire.

The cost of housing is through the roof compared to many other locations, so you can find wide ranges of homes and what their mortgages or rents would be going for. My general rule of thumb has been if you're renting a single family home you're probably paying 2/3 of the person's mortgage at least in the majority of your searches.

This part of Maryland you can find every type of home imaginable, but the majority are now the "McMansions" where they are larger colonial style homes on small plots of land in planned communities. The good news is they tend to hold or gain their value so you're buying instant equity if you decide to go for the good ones.

Just give the forum an idea of what you're looking for (how many bedrooms, what size place, general idea of your budget, etc...) and you'll get a ton of suggestions.

[vonschlichten]

If you can tell me your husband's BAH, I could probably tell you where you might live based on rents in the area. Have you visited AHRN.com to see what is available for rent. This is a site where military folks rent their homes and townhouses. Hope this helps

rvs

[DCDawg]

The Cheverly part of MD is very nice. It's Prince George's county, which has been having issues as of late, but Cheverly has it's own police department, a metro, nice parks and is very pleasant and affordable. It's also about 5 miles outside of DC so you're still close to the attractions of the District.
The SW waterfront is being built up because of the new baseball stadium and the entire waterfront development, so I'd go there if I were to opt for DC.

[lscalder]

Just to let you know Pg county is the 2nd wealthiest county in the stated of Maryland. Montgomerty county is number one and Pg county is number 2 so if number 2 is bad like what others say think about 3,4,5 county. As a matter of fact pg county is right behind montgomery county. Pg county is the wealthies Minority county is the United States.

[SuzP]

Huntingtown has several developments (Calvert County), has low crime, nice safe neighborhoods and often you will find military neighbors. When my husband would travel I had lots of company, a nice house, kids had friends nearby and we all took care of eachother. The schools are ranked 3 or 4 in the state if not higher now.

[SuzP]

We sold our house on Militarybyowner.com a good place to look for resales!

[emsgoof]

Have you checked with the housing office on base for their recommendations?
A good friend of mine at Andrews lived in Waldorf while she was stationed there, and a former senior enlisted also lived down there. The area is nice, commute isn't too bad.