Honest School/Neighborhood Opinions - Martinsburg or Hagerstown? (Charleston, Charles Town: crime, credit)

[NewJersey6]

My husband just started a job in Hagerstown. We are debating between living in Hagerstown or Martinsburg. I've looked up all the school reports, housing costs, town info., etc. until I'm on information overload. I would like some honest opinions on the schools in those 2 areas. I have children in the elementary, middle, and high school. I'm looking for safe schools, and good accelerated programs. We are moving from a VERY safe (as in you don't need to lock your doors) area and we don't want to move in to an area and find it filled with gangs, violence, etc. We also don't want to live in the "Boonies" with nothing for our kids to do. HELP! Thanks!

[Janipoo]

We are in the process of moving to the Panhandle and did some research. I can't say for sure since my children haven't started school there yet but we found that we wanted to stay out of the Martinsburg school district. Hedgesville and Musselman are suppose to be good. We are moving to Falling Waters and I called Spring Mills middle the other day because I was worried that they didn't offer my daughter's high school credit for Spanish but they do have that program.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by NewJersey6

My husband just started a job in Hagerstown. We are debating between living in Hagerstown or Martinsburg. I've looked up all the school reports, housing costs, town info., etc. until I'm on information overload. I would like some honest opinions on the schools in those 2 areas. I have children in the elementary, middle, and high school. I'm looking for safe schools, and good accelerated programs. We are moving from a VERY safe (as in you don't need to lock your doors) area and we don't want to move in to an area and find it filled with gangs, violence, etc. We also don't want to live in the "Boonies" with nothing for our kids to do. HELP! Thanks!

Did you think of Greencastle or Waynesboro, Pennsylvania?

I am a native of Martinsburg,WV and graduated from Hedgesville High School.

Here is my opinion:

Hagerstown, Maryland-
Hagerstown aka Hagersbush is a nice area but as with most areas now going through some major growing pains. The issues you will find with Hagerstown is taxes. Due to being in The Free State where nothing is Free, Washington County as with most of Maryland has a hefty tax burden.
Maryland has a "piggyback" tax which you pay 5% income tax followed by a county liability of 60-75% depending upon county of your total state liability.
Property tax also hinder you. Not as bad as Jersey (lived in NJ for 10 years also) but rather stinging considering your location to ammenities. Like upstate NY paying to support NYC, Washington County and the western and shore part of Marylanders get hosed to pay for the constant bailout of Baltimore City and Prince George County.

Martinsburg,WV -
The issue with the Martinsburg area is, well, Martinsburg.
Berkeley County has turned into a full "bedroom" community of DC'ites. Those being taxed out of Maryland and Northern VA coming to Berkeley feeling they are finding a bargain in cheaper housing.
The problem is, no zoning. You can place a development on top of a cavern mix most (non-natives) fail to realize that Berkeley is full of underground caverns, dry quarries, etc., filled in by stone, dirt, and any other crap, then built upon. I remember as a kid when they finished the Rt9 extension by Queen Street and half of the road disappeared into a nice big hole!
With zero zoning, you could build a nice home then wake up with a mobile home park right beside you.
Other issues in Martinsburg is pride. Downtown Martinsburg is loaded with history. From Civil War buildings, Belle Boyd (famous Confederate Spy) home, Adam Stephen, and mill work buildings. Unfortunately, the local government does not feel it necessary to be like Berkeley Springs, Charles Town, and Harpers Ferry by updating and preservation. Instead the downtown area is dingy, depressed, and in the evening hours offering crime issues.
You can find other comments on the thread called Martinsburg????
Taxes: WV income tax is 6.5%, you have car tax, license priveledge tax of 5% of the NADA when you drop your Jersey for WV plates, annual inspection, and other hidden nickle and dime specials. Hard to believe but WV ranks in the top 15 in overall taxation. Most will argue, but when I first moved from WV to NJ in the early 90's, I actually got a tax break! Of course today after McGreevey and Corzine that would not happen again.

Greencastle/Waynesboro, Pa.
This Pennsylvania area offers a Minnonite type feel with the farms, home made candy locations, minnonite restaurants like Gibbles, Antrium, etc. and still provides quality life, safe areas, and good schools.
Yeah, property taxes are a little higher but the income tax is less than Md and WV. Your not taxed on your car and right on the Maryland border to the north.


I'm running out of text so I need to cut off now.
Hope this helps.

Good Luck

[westsideboy]

This is a little off the topic of WV schools, but I want to add some comments about the MD tax structure. The previous posters indication that Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore are paying high taxes to offset the cost of Baltimore City and PG county this is not correct. The better way to describe the funding situation is to break MD down into rich and poor areas. The wealthy suburbs in the middle of the state (this includes most of PG county and, for that matter, most of Washington County except sections of Hagerstown) have high per capita incomes and are experiencing rapid growth caused by proximity to DC. These areas contrast with the poor areas of the state - Baltimore City, the inside the beltway part of PG county, Western Maryland (Allegany and Garrett Counties), and the Lower Eastern Shore. These areas are outside of the commuter loop either too far in or too far out to be desirable to the Maryland suburbanites.
These poor areas can be thought of as being on state level "welfare." These counties take out more tax money from the state than they put into the pot. This situation is very obvious in Allegany and Garrett Counties. These counties have essentially the same poverty levels and economic situations as their neighbors in the Potomac Highlands of WV. Yet a quick drive through Allegany and Garrett will show new highways, state supported resort hotels, intricate social services, completed funded police and fire depts, etc. I like to say that the only difference between Western Maryland and West Virginia is the infrastructure the state of Maryland pays for.
Being a poor community in MD does have alot of draw backs too. The high tax rate discourages residents and new business from moving in, but hey, I would drive on a MD funded mountain road over a WV funded mountain road anyday

[Georgia]

I can share in some of the statements, from WestSide however, when you look at the road system in Maryland or any other state for that matter, the funding from state coffers represent a small percentage of the cost.
The majority percentage comes from the Federal budget.
I-68 / Rt 40 / Rt 219 running through Maryland is mostly federal money supplied to Annapolis then funneled into Garrett, Frederick, or whatever county appropriated.

Present example of this is here in Georgia. Rt 324 is what it is, State Route 324. It is going though a major 100 million dollar face lift and expansion. The federal government is supplying 90% of the total cost even though it looks like the cash is coming from the statehouse in Atlanta.

With that said, Westside does have a point to a certain extend when it comes to the remainder of cash coming from the state side.

On to my point earlier. Baltimore City has required bailout time and time again due to mismanagement, when William Donald was in power in Annapolis, he pushed through many tax increases to fund his hometown and one time mayorship alumini, now with Fartin Martin O'Malley I'm sure the Free State will find itself heading for more tax increases.

The debate will always continue on why we are taxed to oblivion, but I can say one thing for Maryland. You might have high taxes, but you can see where much of the money goes unlike my homestate of Charleston controlled West By God.

[mean2402002]

i live in martinsburg and was a student at both martinsburg high and mussleman.I would say mussleman is the better school and a nicer area to live in.There is a small town called glengary that has some nice houses in a quiet area.Martinsburg is a small city it is dirty and there are some violnce issues mainly in the summer time.

[vball20girl]

Martinsburg is not all bad and dirty. I am a student at Martinsburg High School and I find it to be a good school. And yes, some parts of the city may have violence, but what city doesn't. I live in what is considered the suburbs and it is very safe here. I really don't know why everyone is so against living here.