Is Annapolis the right choice for us? Advice please!

[mdusa2011]

Hi there,
Like the previous posts said, it all depends on what you're looking for. I just recently relocated to Maryland with my family as well (early 2011), and I work near Fort Meade. My entire family LOVES Annapolis. At first, people we talked to originally said it might be too far, but I never seem to hit any heavy traffic. My commute is a little over 20 miles, and it only takes me 25 minutes from door to door usually (I leave rather early--traffic gets heavier around 7:30am). I originally ruled it out myself, but after driving through Annapolis for the first time, I simply fell in love. After being here for almost a year, I can honestly say it's the best decision we've made as a family. I love the city dock (with various weekend events in the summer), the nice and historic downtown, the Naval Academy (many retired Navy apparently like to settle down hire), the river, the playgrounds, and Quiet Waters Park (huge park south of downtown which has free concerts in the summer). I highly recommend it.
Some areas you should avoid are--most of West St areas (until you get closer to the historic downtown portion), and Cape St. Claire (traffic gets worse if you have to cross the Severn River bridge). Other than that, it's been great. We spend weekends taking walks to downtown, to the park nearby. My wife is from a small European town, and she loves it. I myself wanted anything but the "suburbs", such as Colombia, Laurel, Bowie, Crofton, etc, with nothing you can actually walk to. Annapolis is rather walker-friendly, depending on which neighborhood you decide. Best advice I can give you is, check it out for yourself, because then you'll know if it fits you. Welcome to Maryland, and maybe I'll see you around town next year.