Considering relocating to Northern MD (Baltimore, Havre de Grace: for sale, real estate, HOA fees)

[mariposa10]

Hi all, I am originally from NYC and been living in Raleigh, NC for 4 years. I am considering moving to northern MD to be closer to my twins who are going to college in NYC. My husband and I and our 2 little boys (8 & 5) live in a smaller semi-rural town 20 minutes from Raleigh and are looking for a similar town that is safe, has good schools especially since my younger children have IEPs for learning disabilities, is very family-friendly, lots of trees and parks with good medical care.
Our budget for a 3 bedroom house with a good sized yard is about $220,000. Need a safe community with a lot of activities for kids and hopefully a pool.
We are just starting to consider this and don't have a lot to go by other than online research and driving through numerous times on way to NYC to visit family. Want to get as much info as possible about towns to research and visit, schools, medical care, etc to determine if this will work for our family.
I've heard about Havre de Grace in particular and wondering if that area or neighboring towns might fit. It's a difficult decision whether to move the little guys but want to be closer to my big boys, so I really need as much info as possible and I would greatly appreciate your input and suggestions. Thanks!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by mariposa10

Our budget for a 3 bedroom house with a good sized yard is about $220,000. Need a safe community with a lot of activities for kids and hopefully a pool.......
I've heard about Havre de Grace in particular and wondering if that area or neighboring towns might fit.

Good luck. That is a very small budget for a single family home, even north of Baltimore. Bulle Rock in Havre De Grace has a pool, but the HOA fees are pretty high and you are only in the price range of townhouses.

You might try Perryville or Charlestown for a less expensive SFH where you could put in your own above-ground pool.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by mariposa10

I am considering moving... to be closer to my twins who are going to college in NYC.
I've heard about Havre de Grace in particular...

A few Amtrak tickets over a few years will be a better use of time/money.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by MrRational

A few Amtrak tickets over a few years will be a better use of time/money.

I was also going to suggest that getting the college sudents some airline tickets home would be cheaper. It is very hard to match the low prices of the outer Raleigh suburbs to anything in Maryland with decent schools.

If the couple were dissatisfied with the eduaction the younger kids were getting in North Carolina, that might be more of a motive to move. Maryland certainly spends more on schools than North Carolina, but they should investigate the services that kids with learning disabilites would get in Cecil or Harford County. That might be covered better in a separate thread.

[LudditeMan]

Moving to be closer to kids in college is a silly idea.. They are in college for 4 years and have to be home all summer, and usually a month between fall and spring semester, and a week in spring..

Also MD, especially where you are looking is NOT cheap.. We have the world's best medical care sure, and the schools outside the inner cities are great, but it's not cheap.. The taxes are crazy, the home prices are crazy, the traffic is unbearable..

Anyways I'll help ya out and point you in the right direction; Look in Carroll County, MD
I'd say further west but you want to be close to top level medical care..
Carroll County will be generally agricultural in some of the area, and urban in the eastern side. It has a few towns, homes are more affordable generally, the school district is nice, and you're close to some of the best medical care in the U.S.. (Hopkins, National Childrens, NIH, UMD)
Start your search here:
Carroll Real Estate - Carroll County MD Homes For Sale | Zillow

[mariposa10]

Thank you all for the insight and information! I do get the Amtrak and airline tickets suggestions and I realize it will be more expensive in MD....it's just I really miss my big boys and want to be closer to them to be able to visit once a month and have the little ones keep their close relationship with their big brothers.
I guess I just want to explore if this is even feasible and whether a similar quality of life can be found in Northern MD that is affordale, safe, family-friendly and be able to spend a lot more time with my big boys.
I appreciate the replies and welcome more! Thanks!!

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by mariposa10

..it's just I really miss my big boys and want to be closer to them
and have the little ones keep their close relationship with their big brothers.

And how do the 'big boys' feel about this?
My son chose a uni in California to avoid this sort of Mom drop in.

From the other end of the equation:
Is there something inadequate about UNC?
(or one of the other NC colleges)