Walkable, Cute, Safe Town for Retirement

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Buy in Hagerstown, no traffic, save 100k. Visit Frederick, 20 mins away.

[NYMD67]

I say Easton by far! great downtown area with fabulous restaurants and small boutiques... waterfront areas on inlets of the bay, close to St.Michael's which also has some great restaurant areas...
Easton is growing, so it does have somewhat of a surburban sprawl to it, but they are keeping that out of the downtown area....
I think it is a great place to live & would move back there if the opportunity came!
The only downfall is that although it is growing, to do any "real" shopping (as in a mall), your choices are either Salisbury or Annapolis, Annapolis being the nicest but you have to be careful about when you choose to go over the bridge, especially during the summer months.

I think someone mentioned Westminster to you which is on the Western Shore.... I would say no. We also lived close by there and the downtown area doesn't even compare at all. It is just like any other suburb you run across actually, nothing great about it at all. It is closer of course to Baltimore but Easton is a much better community!

Good Luck

[macdebbie]

We've been to Easton, and it didn't seem to have alot going on. We liked it, it was cute, but as far as shopping and find a job, it seemed like prospects were a little slim.

I don't care much about being close to Baltimore. Not much of a fan.

Am interested, however, in learning more about Frederick. Seems like maybe it's big enough to have some opportunities and looks like a nice downtown.

[htownterp]

Frederick has a ton of jobs, especially at Fort Detrick.

[NYMD67]

Yes ,it is true, jobs on the Eastern Shore are hard to find unless you can arrange a telecommute....
many,many people either own their own business/franchise or they work from home there.... my husband actually worked in DE when we lived there....

I lived in between Frederick & Westminster in a very little town that had nothing to offer, not even a nice downtown area. Spent lots of time in Frederick vs. Westminster. Again, great downtown area but also has all the conveniences one would probably need. Not sure about the job sector, not much in the way of manufacturing, but don't know what you are looking for at this point?

[slowlane]

I concur in all the other MD, VA, and PA towns that people have mentioned here. All of those towns mentioned have historic charm, access to colleges and historic sights, modern highways, and aren't far from metropolitan Baltimore and Washington. I've heard that New Jersey has astronomical property taxes, which I assume includes Cape May, while Delaware has very low taxes (and no sales tax) but maybe it depends on your size home or income bracket.

[stephadele]

Originally Posted by NYMD67

I say Easton by far! great downtown area with fabulous restaurants and small boutiques... waterfront areas on inlets of the bay, close to St.Michael's which also has some great restaurant areas...
Easton is growing, so it does have somewhat of a surburban sprawl to it, but they are keeping that out of the downtown area....
I think it is a great place to live & would move back there if the opportunity came!
The only downfall is that although it is growing, to do any "real" shopping (as in a mall), your choices are either Salisbury or Annapolis, Annapolis being the nicest but you have to be careful about when you choose to go over the bridge, especially during the summer months.

I think someone mentioned Westminster to you which is on the Western Shore.... I would say no. We also lived close by there and the downtown area doesn't even compare at all. It is just like any other suburb you run across actually, nothing great about it at all. It is closer of course to Baltimore but Easton is a much better community!

Good Luck

I would second Easton!...I lived on Cape Cod for 5 years, Worcester, MA for 15 years, have visited Newburyport several times so Im almost a native New Englander....I was looking for something you describe....When I move from NE I was looking for a coastal town with a milder climate but with 4 seasons and a walkable community with an arts scene....We live in Queenstown due to my husbands job in DC but travel to Easton a few times a week and love it...Its got a historical theatre, great live music, a vibrant walkable, quant downtown, art galleries galore, farmers markets, festivals...and its situated near St. Micheals and lovely Tilghman Island.

[diplomat74]

Originally Posted by beilart

An 1800 sq foot home here in Maryland will cost you from 800 k to a million dollars or more. There are no cheap homes in Maryland. Your utilities bills will be high. Your property taxes will be high. Your only real coast is Ocean City Maryland and from Annapolis where I live that is 3 hours driving time if you don't get backed up on the Bay Bridge. I don't think you can afford to retire in Maryland either because of the expense.

That might be the most absurd statement I have read on this forum. The average home price in MoCo and howard the 2 most expensive counties in the state is 400k. Please use this crazy website called GOOGLE and give and educated response before responding.