Considering a return to MD? (Frederick, California: real estate, rental, homes)

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

I'm not in school and don't have children (likely won't ever, since I'm 45 lol) - so would that affect me? Is it a tax everyone pays? Even if that's the case, I'm happy to pay taxes if they're actually funding schools. Education should be more supported by taxes!

School taxes will be part of your county property tax. If you lived in MD before, and CA now, the tax load shouldn't be shocking to you. Other posters are better suited to compared tax burden in MD compared to our neighbors, but I doubt it would be a deal breaker in your case based on your posts here.

[slowlane3]

Originally Posted by bus man

Charlotte Hall or Leonardtown could work. I think the OP would find the rest of them to be not as rural as she'd prefer. Of the two, Leonardtown has the cuter downtown, what there is of it. La Plata has a good downtown, but I think it's not rural enough, unless she were to live on the outskirts of town. Chesapeake Beach, North Beach, and Solomons might be too touristy for what she's looking for, but she would know that better than I would.

LaPlata has a great community theater, a hospital, a Walmart and Target, but its poised for enormous growth in this decade. There are 4
big commercial /residential projects in the works. The new wider Highway 301 bridge will open by next winter, and will bring even more interstate traffic thru town. LaPlata's main street is also clogged during rush.hours and all Friday afternoon. All county commissioners there are Democrats (vs. all Republicans in Leonardtowns county).

[Middlin]

Keep in mind that traffic even on the weekends can be awful. The 1 hour requirement will likely not get you too rural if that is a requirement. What part of DC will they be living?

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by Middlin

Keep in mind that traffic even on the weekends can be awful. The 1 hour requirement will likely not get you too rural if that is a requirement. What part of DC will they be living?

I'm not sure yet, but probably the west side around Georgetown. What's the most upscale and yuppy - yet still urban - neighborhood? Likely there, knowing them. lol

We deal with a lot of traffic here too, so usually plan our hang-outs accordingly. I have no idea what kind of schedules we'd have once there, but we are all night owls by nature. It's not unusual for me to be at their house until after midnight, which makes for a nice traffic-free drive back to my place.

And to clarify, I wasn't necessarily seeking a RURAL location; I just meant that I'm not into city or tract home-type suburban living. Where I am now, for example, has that quaint feel while still being a 30-45 minute drive from the cities. So it's more about "vibe" than actual remoteness or population. The "hour from DC" is also not a hard-and-fast rule, since I have my own life and they have theirs. Just a general vicinity to help narrow it down, as I don't want to be HOURS from my family.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

School taxes will be part of your county property tax. If you lived in MD before, and CA now, the tax load shouldn't be shocking to you. Other posters are better suited to compared tax burden in MD compared to our neighbors, but I doubt it would be a deal breaker in your case based on your posts here.

To be fair, I was only 6 when we left Maryland.

But yeah, I doubt it will be a shock coming from California. And certainly not a deal-breaker, since I'm happy to pay my share for education! As a librarian and educator, that's exactly where I want my money going. Not to mention, property taxes have covered (at least part of) my salary for almost 20 years. lol

[gizmo980]

Since I still have some folks reading this, can I request more general advice/opinions? I'm sure I could figure out exactly where to settle now, based on the suggestions here + going to see the region for myself. But how do you think someone like me would fare in Maryland today? Aside from the weather differences, would anything be a shock to someone who's lived mostly in California (Bay Area) for the last 40 years? Still debating if it's even worth considering this move, or if I should stay put until I'm ready to relocate somewhere on the west coast.

[Greenvalleyfan]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

I'm not in school and don't have children (likely won't ever, since I'm 45 lol) - so would that affect me? Is it a tax everyone pays? Even if that's the case, I'm happy to pay taxes if they're actually funding schools. Education should be more supported by taxes!

I live in MD on the PA line. I know many people that live in the York and York County and Adam's County which border the MD line. You get more house for your money in PA. BUT! The school wipes out any benefits. The school tax doubles your total taxes. For example, let's say you buy a home in MD and your property taxes are 5 grand. That same house in South PA with a combined property tax and school tax would be 10 grand. Property tax isn't that bad in PA. The school tax is a killer. And most realestate agents conveniently leave that out for obvious reasons. Yes, everyone pays it. Kids or no Kids.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by Greenvalleyfan

I live in MD on the PA line. I know many people that live in the York and York County and Adam's County which border the MD line. You get more house for your money in PA. BUT! The school wipes out any benefits. The school tax doubles your total taxes. For example, let's say you buy a home in MD and your property taxes are 5 grand. That same house in South PA with a combined property tax and school tax would be 10 grand. Property tax isn't that bad in PA. The school tax is a killer. And most realestate agents conveniently leave that out for obvious reasons. Yes, everyone pays it. Kids or no Kids.

Ah, okay - thanks for explaining. Sorry if I sound ignorant, but I literally JUST became a first-time homeowner at the age of 45. So I've never really had to worry about these things, nor have I ever paid much attention. Especially as a Californian, it gets a little depressing to break down those numbers. If you only knew how much I pay in taxes (including property) every year... oy.

[bus man]

I live in Howard County, Maryland, which is located between Baltimore and Washington. Probably not what you're looking for. In any case, I'm not sure how representative my property tax is as compared to elsewhere in the state, but here is the breakdown of property taxes in this county:

The County Tax is about 65% of the total tax. It's broken down as follows (percentages shown are of the County Tax, which is in total about 65% of the overall tax):

Education: 64%
Public Safety: 12%
Public Works: 7%
General Government: 2.5%
All Others: 14.5%

So that's 65% of the total. The rest is as follows:

State Property Tax: 7% (again, this is a percentage of the overall total)
Fire Tax: 15%
Ad Valorem Charge: 5% (no, I don't know what this is)
Front Foot Sewer: 1%
Front Foot Water: 1%
Watershed Protection: 1%
Trash Fee: 4%

[bus man]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

Since I still have some folks reading this, can I request more general advice/opinions? I'm sure I could figure out exactly where to settle now, based on the suggestions here + going to see the region for myself. But how do you think someone like me would fare in Maryland today? Aside from the weather differences, would anything be a shock to someone who's lived mostly in California (Bay Area) for the last 40 years? Still debating if it's even worth considering this move, or if I should stay put until I'm ready to relocate somewhere on the west coast.

It rains a lot more here. (Of course, that's a weather difference.) Related to this, it's a lot greener here. It's rare to have drought conditions serious enough to require water-use restrictions. The Fall Line is the dividing line between fairly flat terrain (eastern side of the state) and hillier terrain (western side of the state). I-95 runs along the Fall Line and serves as a good proxy for it. Only in the far western side of the state (essentially everything west of Hancock) will you find mountains that resemble what they have in the Bay Area.

Is it worth it to move here? Only you can answer that, of course. But I would highly, highly recommend coming out here and scoping it out before you worry about whether it's worth it or not. Once you see the places we've named, you'll have a much better sense if you'll want to join us or stay put where you are.

Edit to add, if you come when the leaves are down (approximately mid-November through mid-April), everything has a much different appearance than the rest of the year. I'd recommend coming first when the leaves are up, as I think it's much prettier. Then, having narrowed your choices, come again when the leaves are down and see if the difference is enough to make you change your mind. Yes, it does snow here; but unless you've going to move to Garrett County (our westernmost county), it's usually not that bad.