Considering a return to MD? (Baltimore, Silver Spring: to rent, condo, crime)

[gizmo980]

I was born in Maryland (Silver Spring then Rockville), but my family moved to California/SF when I was a kid... I'm now 45 years old, and my sister + her husband and two teens are moving to D.C. this summer. My niece will be attending a boarding school out there, so they decided it was a good excuse to relocate. They're really trying to convince me to follow, and honestly I have no reason not to - except the fact that I'm such a west-coaster at this point. But hey, it's good to shake things up occasionally!

So if I decide to move there too, I'm trying to narrow down where exactly to start looking. Money and job aren't much of a concern, since I have enough to live on for a while (especially after I sell my house here). But I am a professional librarian with the MLIS degree, and would eventually try to find a part-time library or school job. I am also qualified to tutor/teach ESL, so I could even do that online if need be.

Basics: 45 year-old female, unmarried, no children, 2 big dogs + 3 cats. Not really a city or suburbs kinda gal, so I'd like to be in a more rural location. Up to an hour's drive or train ride to D.C. is fine, since I'm used to living that distance from my family/friends here. I'm picturing something with a quaint downtown, maybe an old cinema and some cute casual restaurants. Dog-friendly, and also friendly people. I am fairly sociable, but not like the partying type of social - too old for that, lol. I'm also Jewish, but more culturally than religious, so that isn't a huge factor. Politically far left if you ask, but I prefer to avoid the political drama.

I'd probably rent for up to a year, and then buy something in the $400-600K price range. I'd need something with room for my dogs, so NOT a condo or tract suburban home. My sister had suggested looking around Annapolis and St. Michael, but I'm also looking maybe as far as southern PA. Thoughts? Advice? TIA!

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

I was born in Maryland (Silver Spring then Rockville), but my family moved to California/SF when I was a kid... I'm now 45 years old, and my sister + her husband and two teens are moving to D.C. this summer. My niece will be attending a boarding school out there, so they decided it was a good excuse to relocate. They're really trying to convince me to follow, and honestly I have no reason not to - except the fact that I'm such a west-coaster at this point. But hey, it's good to shake things up occasionally!

So if I decide to move there too, I'm trying to narrow down where exactly to start looking. Money and job aren't much of a concern, since I have enough to live on for a while (especially after I sell my house here). But I am a professional librarian with the MLIS degree, and would eventually try to find a part-time library or school job. I am also qualified to tutor/teach ESL, so I could even do that online if need be.

Basics: 45 year-old female, unmarried, no children, 2 big dogs + 3 cats. Not really a city or suburbs kinda gal, so I'd like to be in a more rural location. Up to an hour's drive or train ride to D.C. is fine, since I'm used to living that distance from my family/friends here. I'm picturing something with a quaint downtown, maybe an old cinema and some cute casual restaurants. Dog-friendly, and also friendly people. I am fairly sociable, but not like the partying type of social - too old for that, lol. I'm also Jewish, but more culturally than religious, so that isn't a huge factor. Politically far left if you ask, but I prefer to avoid the political drama.

I'd probably rent for up to a year, and then buy something in the $400-600K price range. I'd need something with room for my dogs, so NOT a condo or tract suburban home. My sister had suggested looking around Annapolis and St. Michael, but I'm also looking maybe as far as southern PA. Thoughts? Advice? TIA!

Maybe NW Baltimore County? You might be a bit further from DC, but you would get ruralish locations that aren't super conservative, be close to a very large Jewish community in Rt 140 cooridor, and likely find good stuff in your price range. Others are more knowledgeable than me about that part of the state, but it could be a place to start your search.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

45 year-old female, unmarried, no children, 2 big dogs + 3 cats.
Not really a city or suburbs kinda gal, so I'd like to be in a more rural location.
I am a professional librarian with the MLIS degree, and would eventually try to find a part-time library or school job.

Start there. Even with cash in your pocket the job/commute should determine WHERE to live.

My sister had suggested looking around Annapolis and St. Michael,
but I'm also looking maybe as far as southern PA. Thoughts? Advice? TIA!

ANY of these places would be fine to RENT a small house for the year or two it will take to sort out the rest.
But ALL of the rest is conditional until you figure out exactly where you'll get hired to work until you retire.

[stank1964]

Seriously, you want to move to MD. Have you looked at the numbers in terms of the number of people heading in the other direction? MD is crowded, and the infrastructure can’t keep up. As the people are getting compressed, they’re getting angrier and angrier at one another. No place is perfect, but MD is on the skids. Annapolis is full of low rent housing and crime is going up. Northern Hartford county used to be nice, but now the drive in congested and stop and start on the highway. You used to be able to drive up there largely unscathed, now it’s painful every day. Too many rats in the MD rat race.

[GunsMass]

I was going to suggest Westminster, an exurban satellite with dashes of Southern PA, since it matches your description of a main st with an old cinema. Any of its artiness stems from being a college town, though, and apart from the school the political/cultural sentiment is largely red. Population ~ 20,000.

The college itself does have a pretty good library, putting the Carroll County Public Library system a bit ahead of most other counties.

Then I read you'd like to be within an hour of DC, which it isn't, nor is anywhere above the Mason Dixon line. In which case one would have to recommend Frederick, which might still retain a rural flavor, and would definitely fulfill the boutique element. Its population is ~70,000, so perhaps more suburban than you'd like.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by GunsMass

I was going to suggest Westminster, an exurban satellite with dashes of Southern PA, since it matches your description of a main st with an old cinema. Any of its artiness stems from being a college town, though, and apart from the school the political/cultural sentiment is largely red. Population ~ 20,000.

The college itself does have a pretty good library, putting the Carroll County Public Library system a bit ahead of most other counties.

Then I read you'd like to be within an hour of DC, which it isn't, nor is anywhere above the Mason Dixon line. In which case one would have to recommend Frederick, which might still retain a rural flavor, and would definitely fulfill the boutique element. Its population is ~70,000, so perhaps more suburban than you'd like.

SE Frederick County is a possibility though. Maybe Rt. 80 or Rt. 75 as they near Montgomery County? I guess you would call it the Green Valley Rd. or the Ijamesville area, sorta the outskirts of Urbana.

The area has some nice houses in that price range, it is still fairly rural/exurban, but within about an hour to an hour and a half of DC depending on the time of day and purple to light blue these days in politics.

[K-Luv]

I am also from Nor Cal (but Not SF/Bay Area).

Your best bet, in my opinion, is anywhere from Frederick south towards the Potomac River. You can check out Point Or Rocks (no theater...or anything for that matter except for a pizza shop that sells subs, a sub shop that sells pizza, and a gas station that sells subs and pizza), or Brunswick. All three are on the MARC line with stops.

Carroll County could be good, but no MARC line.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by stank1964

Seriously, you want to move to MD. Have you looked at the numbers in terms of the number of people heading in the other direction? MD is crowded, and the infrastructure can’t keep up. As the people are getting compressed, they’re getting angrier and angrier at one another. No place is perfect, but MD is on the skids. Annapolis is full of low rent housing and crime is going up. Northern Hartford county used to be nice, but now the drive in congested and stop and start on the highway. You used to be able to drive up there largely unscathed, now it’s painful every day. Too many rats in the MD rat race.

I mean… have you been to Silicon Valley lately? I bought a house in the mountains, 45+ minutes up/down a winding road from where I work. That was the only way to escape the rat race here, and get a house for less than a million dollars! So I know all about that, lol.

I’m only considering the area because it’s where my sister is going (they’re planning to live in D.C. itself), plus I have other family around Potomac and Rockville. But I’m flexible in terms of exact location, as long as I’m a reasonable drive or train ride from D.C. Currently it takes almost an hour to my sister’s house in San Jose, so that’s about what I’m used to already.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Start there. Even with cash in your pocket the job/commute should determine WHERE to live.

That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid, though. I want to prioritize my happiness and quality of life over work, and FINALLY I am in a position where I can do that! I'd rather not go into my entire financial situation, but I'm good for a while - and then I can do part-time until my pension kicks in (6 1/2 years from now).

ANY of these places would be fine to RENT a small house for the year or two it will take to sort out the rest.
But ALL of the rest is conditional until you figure out exactly where you'll get hired to work until you retire.

See above.

I probably will start looking for a job first, to help me narrow down where to live. But I won't be using work as the basis for my choice, at least not solely. I already have a good job here in California, so this move is for family and a fresh start. Not work. Otherwise I may as well stay put, especially since I just bought a house here last year.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

I am also from Nor Cal (but Not SF/Bay Area).

Your best bet, in my opinion, is anywhere from Frederick south towards the Potomac River. You can check out Point Or Rocks (no theater...or anything for that matter except for a pizza shop that sells subs, a sub shop that sells pizza, and a gas station that sells subs and pizza), or Brunswick. All three are on the MARC line with stops.

Carroll County could be good, but no MARC line.

Thanks, I'll look into that area! And to clarify, I didn't mean the cinema thing literally - it was just supposed to paint a picture of what I'm imagining, as far as the "vibe" of a town. I rarely even go to the movies, especially since COVID.