Relocating to Severna Park/Arnold Area..help! (College Park, Cape St. Claire: for sale, rental)
Washington, DC suburbs in MarylandCalvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
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Hello,
My family and I are relocating to the Severna Park/Arnold area....We have a 5 year old son in Kindergarten and will be looking for a rental at least for the 1st year. I was wondering if anyone could give me the scoop about those areas. I keep hearing that SP is all great and the schools are the best, but is there any bad neighborhoods in SP or Arnold? Anything I should avoid? Is the area pretty safe in general?
We would like to live in a family/kid friendly area within close proximity to schools and parks. We are in our mid 30's, very active outdoors people, and would like to have neighbors who have young families that our son can play with easily.
There are a lot of residential neighborhoods along College Parkway from Cape St. Claire all the way up to Ritchie Highway. (the Broadneck peninsula). My feeling is that schools are slightly better than just a little farther north in Severna Park. Most of these neighborhoods feed to Broadneck High School.
Both Arnold and Severna Park have excellent schools. Most of the elementary schools in Severna Park are Blue Ribbon schools and a couple of them have the highest test scores in the state. The high school was just award the National Blue Ribbon School Award this year making it one of only 300-some in the country. That being said, Broadneck schools are also wonderful and have won awards as well, though I'm not sure of their details. Check out greatschools.org and you'll see that 4 of the 5 SP elementary schools have a rating of 10 (out of 10) and the 5th is a 9. Both the high and middle schools are also rated as 10.
That being said, both areas are wonderful for raising children. It would mostly come down to two factors in my opinion, for deciding between the two areas. First, you can most likely find slightly lower priced housing in the Arnold area (though not by much). Severna Park is pricey though they do have some lower priced houses but in very old communities with houses that would most likely need quite a bit of updating. I would stay away from some of these communities. In addition, SP (and I was born and raised and still live in the area for 40 years now), can have a very "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality. Not to say every community is like this, but many (Chartwell, Shipley's Choice - which is actually in Millersville but has it's own top rated elementary school and feeds into SP middle and high), Fair Oaks to name a few. These are lovely neighborhoods, but very clique-ish. If that doesn't bother you, then you can't go wrong with the schools or the area in general. Some more down to earth neighborhoods (in my opinion) include Stewarts Landing, Oakleigh Forest, Chartwood, Whitehurst and Chartridge to name a few. The problem with some of these at they are so desirable that there are rarely houses for sale in them!
I mentioned Shipley's Choice before. We have lived here for about 7 years and have three children. The elementary school is wonderful and I've managed to avoid getting caught up in the drama that I mentioned above. It's been worth it b/c it's a great place to raise your kids. There are a little over 900 homes in the community, we have our own elementary school, there is a community pool, tennis courts, walking distance to elementary school with playground, several tot lots and walking trails throughout the community. Kids are always outside running around and playing. It's like living in a small town in the middle of the suburbs. The houses were built from the mid-80's to early 90's, so can be somewhat dated, but many have been updated. They tend to be pricey and I'm not sure your price range. The only down side to me is that I am a down to earth person and don't care much for what everyone "has" and to me, this is important to many in the community. Still, for my kids sake, I think it's been a great place to raise them.
As for Arnold, my sister has lived there for over 16 or 17 years and her children had a great education, two off to great colleges. She lives in the Bay Hills area off of Shore Acres Road, which is very nice (older houses but very family oriented). There are several other nice communities off of College Parkway.
I hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions!
will be looking for a rental at least for the 1st year.
Depends on your rental budget. If it is under $2,000 then better off renting a townhouse in Arnold. If it is greater than $2000 then you can rent a house in Severna Park.
i went to broadneck high and Severn river junior high in the late 80's and early 90's. excellent place to raise children. Bay hills (where i lived) is great but it's kinda pricey. Cape St. Claire is an older community but very down to earth. It's got all kinds of different houses to choose from and it's a solid tight knit community. "Cape" also has an award winning elementary AND high school situated inside the neighborhood. Solid youth sporting leagues and a quaint little shopping center. The red neck bar that was in there has been replaced by a family restaurant. It's all good!!
Both Arnold and Severna Park have excellent schools. Most of the elementary schools in Severna Park are Blue Ribbon schools and a couple of them have the highest test scores in the state. The high school was just award the National Blue Ribbon School Award this year making it one of only 300-some in the country. That being said, Broadneck schools are also wonderful and have won awards as well, though I'm not sure of their details. Check out greatschools.org and you'll see that 4 of the 5 SP elementary schools have a rating of 10 (out of 10) and the 5th is a 9. Both the high and middle schools are also rated as 10.
That being said, both areas are wonderful for raising children. It would mostly come down to two factors in my opinion, for deciding between the two areas. First, you can most likely find slightly lower priced housing in the Arnold area (though not by much). Severna Park is pricey though they do have some lower priced houses but in very old communities with houses that would most likely need quite a bit of updating. I would stay away from some of these communities. In addition, SP (and I was born and raised and still live in the area for 40 years now), can have a very "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality. Not to say every community is like this, but many (Chartwell, Shipley's Choice - which is actually in Millersville but has it's own top rated elementary school and feeds into SP middle and high), Fair Oaks to name a few. These are lovely neighborhoods, but very clique-ish. If that doesn't bother you, then you can't go wrong with the schools or the area in general. Some more down to earth neighborhoods (in my opinion) include Stewarts Landing, Oakleigh Forest, Chartwood, Whitehurst and Chartridge to name a few. The problem with some of these at they are so desirable that there are rarely houses for sale in them!
I mentioned Shipley's Choice before. We have lived here for about 7 years and have three children. The elementary school is wonderful and I've managed to avoid getting caught up in the drama that I mentioned above. It's been worth it b/c it's a great place to raise your kids. There are a little over 900 homes in the community, we have our own elementary school, there is a community pool, tennis courts, walking distance to elementary school with playground, several tot lots and walking trails throughout the community. Kids are always outside running around and playing. It's like living in a small town in the middle of the suburbs. The houses were built from the mid-80's to early 90's, so can be somewhat dated, but many have been updated. They tend to be pricey and I'm not sure your price range. The only down side to me is that I am a down to earth person and don't care much for what everyone "has" and to me, this is important to many in the community. Still, for my kids sake, I think it's been a great place to raise them.
As for Arnold, my sister has lived there for over 16 or 17 years and her children had a great education, two off to great colleges. She lives in the Bay Hills area off of Shore Acres Road, which is very nice (older houses but very family oriented). There are several other nice communities off of College Parkway.
I hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions!
Amazing that someone who doesn't even live in Severna Park is telling you which neighborhoods to live in - or not to live in. Severna Park has many different neighborhoods, and within these, many different types of houses (of varying age, upkeep, etc.) to choose from. It's worth a drive around to see what works for you!
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