Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maryland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Thread summary:

Jersey transplant offered work in Chestertown, moving to Maryland, saying goodbye to rat race, Chestertown elementary schools, good school district, Chester River boundary, Kent County

Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-26-2009, 01:46 PM
 
Location: New Jersey Shore
8 posts, read 17,518 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

HI,

The post you responded to was a couple years old.
We actually moved back to New Jersey for jobs in 12/08. We loved living in Maryland but when the bottom of the economy fell out in 2007, our jobs went with it. It's a rural area so, it was hit hard to begin with and takes longer to recover. I was in real estate and in health care. I lost both of my jobs the same month due to the economic downturn. My husband is in the auto industry and business was very slow. (Good) jobs are an hour (at least) away. So, we decided to look for employment out of state and my husband landed a great position in New Jersey. It was fairly easy to find a good position myself in the medical field, compared to looking for over a year (8/07 THROUGH 12/08) in Maryland and Delaware. Queen Anne's County schools are great in regards to not a-lot of drama and confrontation with fellow students.It's a very laid back atmosphere.Sports are VERY big here. Although, the ciriculum is not as advanced as New Jersey's schools and we had issues with both of our children (one in High School & one in Elementary)when they started classes here. It was much harder for both of them, but they are finally getting the help they needed. I feel Maryland Schools are behind other school systems around the country after researching different states that we considered relocating to. They lost funding and started really cutting back when the economy started to fall. (When we moved in 1999, Maryland schools where 3rd in the nation.)Getting extra help for both of my children was a struggle for the past 3-4 years. I can't speak for Delaware school districts, it may be worth checking into. The taxes there are also cheaper than Maryland. I have heard the suburbs around Wilmington are really nice and the schools are good.
Trust me, it is so nice being close to everything. I missed that so much! We live on the shore and have an affordable home (Taxes are much less than up north, $3600. yrly) and there are jobs here.
Chestertown is a great place to visit and retire to. It's hard not to fall in love with the Eastern Shore's charm. Although, if you are from Jersey, it's hard to fit in here. I have been away from N.J. for 22 years but I can't believe how much I feel like I am home again. We felt out of place unless we where going shopping in Annapolis ha,ha,lol!!! (The Western Shore,Annapolis,Bethesda,Severna Park,etc. VERY expensive to live there. Like Northern N.J.)
Moving back was a good experience for us but it's not for everyone. Maybe the Eastern Shore is right for you and your family. And, you already have jobs. That's half the battle. I know a-lot of people in the Queen Anne's,Kent County area's in the schools and Real Estate. Look into Foreclosures and Short Sales, you can get a really great deal!
So, if you are still planning on looking into the area, let me know and I can get you pointed in the right direction.
I know this post is long, but I hope it's helpful to you.
Good luck with everything!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dawnmich View Post
hi Chinagirl and chestertown people
I am also looking to transplant from New Jersey
hub has a job that takes him to wilmington, de
and parts of MD constantly
my concern is my high school age son,
has Asperger's syndrome
i need which ever high school we decide to transplant
him into to also follow his IEP
we were looking in Galena/Chestertown
as it seems to have more what we were looking for
as far as a nice home around 250k
i'm done with huge mortgages
i just want a ranch with a 2 car garage
but in cecil county they were more expensive
or not existant...everything seemed higher priced
and higher state/city taxes
it does concern me that the whole county goes to ONE high school
I've heard there are racial fights at that school
but quite honestly, I believe someone would say that about
where we live in NJ too...and our school.

40-50 minutes to SHOP from chestertown?
is galena better?
I just need a target/walmart
grocery store
close...
and don't mind traveling to clothes shop
as we drive about 25-30 minutes for that now
anything else anyone can tell me about the area
would be most appreciated
i like the idea of country area but near water too
which is why maryland so appeals to me
thanks
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-07-2009, 06:49 PM
 
Location: rising sun, md
78 posts, read 308,622 times
Reputation: 26
dawnmich, Don' rule out NOrth east, Md. It's very close to Delaware as you probably know so your husband could commute easily. I see plenty of new construction homes for sale in the higher 200's. I relocated from NJ myself to North East.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-22-2014, 05:35 PM
 
204 posts, read 420,249 times
Reputation: 136
don't do it see my previous post on the area...the schools are horrible..go over the bridge to Churchill/Centreville..you won't be sorry
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-22-2014, 09:56 PM
 
70 posts, read 135,613 times
Reputation: 85
Quote:
Originally Posted by bartleby913 View Post
I might suggest Church Hill. Its 7 minutes south of Chestertown and If you feel the need to get to a larger town such as Dover or annapolis. They are both about 40 minutes away. Schools in Queen Anne are great. Don't know about Elementary schools per say. But high schools in Queen Anne's are ok. Knew a few people who went to Kent County High and said bad things about it.
Church Hill is a good option, albeit very country. It's a quaint charming little town. I grew up in Centreville which is a little farther south. My parents still live in Centreville and my mom works in Chestertown - her commute is 30 minutes each direction and she drives right through Church Hill on her way.

The general consensus is that schools in Queen Anne's County are better than those in Kent.

Most of the Eastern Shore has a very laid back, slow pace attitude. People keep to themselves typically. There's lots of commuters - some of whom travel long distances to be able to come home to the country life. Agriculture and watermen are still the bread and butter to the local economy. Native people may be slow to warm up to new folks, but they'll come around eventually. It will be a big change from NJ, but I really enjoyed growing up in Queen Anne's County, for what that's worth.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maryland
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top