Calvert or Eastern Shore? (Frederick, Annapolis: low crime, how much, home)

[JandJMom]

I would like some opinions about Calvert County vs Queen Annes/Talbot Counties.

We are looking for property to build our home. The very most important aspect we are looking for is a good school. Our son has high functioning aspergers syndrome. He will be in the 5th grade this year at Jessup Elementary. But then he will need to go to Meade. Right now he is reading at a 12 grade level (sorry, im proud ) but he cannot handle social situations well. He will get tronced at Meade. Plus I'm worried about his academics at Meade. Another thing that concerns him is the Bay. He wants to be an oceanographer, he wants to save the bay and he wants to save the whales. So we would like him to have more possibilities pertaining to the Bay.

Either way we will need to be worried about the commute. My husband currently works in AA, PG, Howard, some of Calvert, and Montgomery Counties. After the move we will probably pull out of the farther counties.

So I am trying to find some input about these counties and what would be better for us. Our concerns are of educations, safety, commuting. And I guess if I wanted to be honest I would say some shopping too.

I have to say that what I have seen of the Eastern Shore on the internet so far looks very charming. But if you had to choose the area for education which would it be??

Thanks so much for any input!!

[Ex-Ithacan]

I can vouch for the Calvert school system. My daughter will be a senior in high school this fall and I've been quite impressed with the schools, teachers, and her friends all along the way. Calvert has a very low crime rate compared to most of Maryland. I work in downtown DC and my commute can be a bit of a pain, but not unbearable. On the down side, shopping is not a major attraction. We usually head to Annapolis (about 1/2 hour from our home in Owings) for shopping excursions. Housing and land costs have risen quite dramatically since we moved here, but I guess that has happened in most places. Sorry I can't give you any info about the eastern shore. Hope you find what you're looking for, good luck.

[paintballer1708]

Wow Ex, didnt know you were a member on this site also. Nice to see another SSP forumer on here.

[JandJMom]

Thank you very much for the info! I didn't think that I would luck out much with the shopping. But I do like what you said about the schools. I did go on Calvert Counties school website and it seemed impressive. We drove down to Lusby to go through the county to look at it. Lusby is definately too far! But I did like the area from Owings to Huntingtown. It is not that easy finding property there though.

Thanks again!!

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ You're very welcome. If you have any specific questions feel free, I'll try to answer them the best I can.

Hey pb1708, yeah, I do around a bit for an old guy

[teleblazer]

Originally Posted by JandJMom

Thank you very much for the info! I didn't think that I would luck out much with the shopping. But I do like what you said about the schools. I did go on Calvert Counties school website and it seemed impressive. We drove down to Lusby to go through the county to look at it. Lusby is definately too far! But I did like the area from Owings to Huntingtown. It is not that easy finding property there though.

Thanks again!!

Finding actual property is going to be hard. I'm a current Calvert county resident but I'm unfortunately selling to be closer to my place of employment. Most of the land in Calvert is already developed that can be. The remaining areas are usually subdivided into small lots these days since there's restrictions on how much land can actually be worked on.

You may be in a situation for land that you have to look into buying an old farm, tear down the barn and build your dream home if you're not looking to buy something that already exists.

The Calvert county school system is wonderful, blue ribbon schools in some cases. You will have to ask specifically when buying land or an exisiting home what school district you'll actually be in for your child/children. Where I live is called Marley Run and we utilize Plum Point Middle, Plum Point Elementary and Huntingtown High schools. Not ever home or property on the market near those schools actually attend so just be mindful to ask.

As far as shopping goes there is a very focused effort in building up the library and a shopping center in Prince Frederick (about 7 miles south of where I am in Huntingtown) which should help your options considerably. It is still a small town situation so you'll probably still have to drive for bigger name stores but you're usually 45-60 minutes away from anything you could want to shop for.

Good luck in your search... I hope this helps.