what's so bad about waldorf?

[(-)]

what i want the most is a reasonably safe, residential area. we have decided that we'll expand our search to upper marlboro, clinton and waldorf.

waldorf is safe. it's all in perspective. people tend to equate an abundance of black people = high crime. not the case at all. for the most part waldorf is pretty tame for metro area standards.


waldorf is attractive to me because it seems that you can get a better bang for your buck. i know it's out of the way and i know traffic is a beast. but more than any other area i've researched there seems to be an overwhelming feeling of disdain for waldorf when it comes to crime and safety. my question: is this disdain valid or is it the same as those who think that if you step foot in pg county, you'll get shot?

why not look into la plata? better housing stock, better school, safe, and quiter. wouldn't put you that far out either. also your hubby can drive up to branch ave metro (green line) and take the rail into nw. much easier than trying to drive in and out of dc. shouldn't have a problem with parking if he has to be in by 6:30 in the morning.

talk to me. tell me is waldorf unsafe and undesirable? are there areas/zip codes within waldorf that are more desirable than others? which and why?

be candid. but please be fair. perception is reality (well, kinda) so i'm open to hearing from those who may not have lived in waldorf but know "of" it. i want to read your responses and make a pretty good call to whether waldorf is a good choice or if i should scratch it off our list.

p.s. - we don't have kids yet, so schools are not a major issue for us yet.

well if you are married and you are having relations you should always consider school districts when you buy a house, you never know what will happen, ya know. better to be safe than sorry. especially now days. you can't just up and sell a house and move to a better area now.

[insthrnmd]

Waldorf is safe. There is alot of shopping and they seem to be revitalizing alot of the "older" parts but if your looking for an area that offers different options for night life, well- there really isn't anything. There are bars but alot of them are little hole in the walls. I don't really know of many sports bars except in LaPlata. We do have a minor league baseball team and stadium (and the new high school is going to be located near the stadium). We also have a ice skating rink that offers activities for youth groups. But other than that, there really is not much in Waldorf. It will depend on what you and your husband want. Some areas in PG county or Anne Arundel county may offer more activities that frankly we don't have down here in southern maryland.

You may want to visit the area to get an idea if it is for you or not. Looking online at houses can really deviate from what the area is really like. That's something you'll need to experience in person. Who knows, you might find an area outside of Waldorf that may appeal to you better. There are tons of nice neighborhoods and areas that are not in Waldorf.

I don't live in Waldorf because I prefer the more rural areas but I do most of my shopping and run errands in Waldorf.

[insthrnmd]

If you and your husband are eventually thinking of having children- PG county schools are really not that great and seem to have a lot of issues. Charles County is better but there are some schools that do not perform very well.

[jayman1981]

Well Waldorf is actually a nice community. It's full of Strip malls and trails for walking and it's pretty quite. The police down there tend to maintain a presence in the area as well. Schools are pretty decent, not Montgomery County, but they get the job done. In Charles county like P.G. I think middle and high school is really where the issues are.

Okay here is my experience with Waldorf. My wife and I bought our first house there. My wife loves the place, but myself I really didn't like it. It was too far away from D.C. and other areas I tend to hang around. Congestion is terrible down there. Both 210 and route 5 become very heavy. Route 5 is bad even on the weekends. Your husband's commute should be good. It's you I'm concerned about. Baltimore County is not a hop, skip and jump away. I worked in Arlington County and it was tough going to work and even tougher coming home.

I understand you don't plan to work in Baltimore County, but hey that is where your at right now. I would strongly advise you to look into areas closer to the beltway Upper Marlboro off of route 202 or route 4, Bowie, Laurel, Greenbelt, Crofton are all decent areas with various roadways to get to where you need to get to. Charles County has put out notification of studies in the areas to get another major roadway down there but they don't have a solid plan developed yet. Please don't get so caught up in the cheap housing, because where you all work your going to put it back out in gas. Last time I check gas prices are rising. Plus the main thing I would like to point out is your quality of life. If you can work from home than I would not hesitate to suggest Waldorf, however if your commuting everyday then that will be tiresome

Think long and hard about your commute and congestion in this ever so popular spot of Waldorf. If you can deal with the negatives by all means who am I to tell you how to live you life, but if your like me I value my time and family. I hate coming home only to send my kids to bed by the time I get home.

[From DC to NC]

Originally Posted by jayman1981

Well Waldorf is actually a nice community. It's full of Strip malls and trails for walking and it's pretty quite. The police down there tend to maintain a presence in the area as well. Schools are pretty decent, not Montgomery County, but they get the job done. In Charles county like P.G. I think middle and high school is really where the issues are.

Okay here is my experience with Waldorf. My wife and I bought our first house there. My wife loves the place, but myself I really didn't like it. It was too far away from D.C. and other areas I tend to hang around. Congestion is terrible down there. Both 210 and route 5 become very heavy. Route 5 is bad even on the weekends. Your husband's commute should be good. It's you I'm concerned about. Baltimore County is not a hop, skip and jump away. I worked in Arlington County and it was tough going to work and even tougher coming home.

I understand you don't plan to work in Baltimore County, but hey that is where your at right now. I would strongly advise you to look into areas closer to the beltway Upper Marlboro off of route 202 or route 4, Bowie, Laurel, Greenbelt, Crofton are all decent areas with various roadways to get to where you need to get to. Charles County has put out notification of studies in the areas to get another major roadway down there but they don't have a solid plan developed yet. Please don't get so caught up in the cheap housing, because where you all work your going to put it back out in gas. Last time I check gas prices are rising. Plus the main thing I would like to point out is your quality of life. If you can work from home than I would not hesitate to suggest Waldorf, however if your commuting everyday then that will be tiresome

Think long and hard about your commute and congestion in this ever so popular spot of Waldorf. If you can deal with the negatives by all means who am I to tell you how to live you life, but if your like me I value my time and family. I hate coming home only to send my kids to bed by the time I get home.

duly noted! i really appreciate your input. i'll certainly keep commuting time in mind.

[funkytrader]

how about the commute from waldorf to afb?

[ATL_II_DMV]

Originally Posted by RamblingMan

I also want some interesting architecture in my next home...Waldorf is cookie cutter suburbia blah to me. Ft. Wash offers more variety of home styles in my view. Right now my decision making is between suburbia blah in Fairfax, smaller home in Arlington but excellent commuting location or waterfront McMansion/unique contemporary in Ft. Wash. for my next move...all between $700k and $800k. There are so many nice homes in financial distress available closer in in Ft. Wash right now.


Techlawyer,

If Potomac riverfront within commuting distance of DC is an attraction for you, I think you'll find there's nothing in the metro area that compares to Fort Washington unless you are prepared to spend at least several million dollars. I think Fort Washington's waterfront homes qualify as one of the metro area's best kept secrets. First of all, there's very little Potomac riverfront available in either Virginia or Maryland. Most of it is parkland, military, federal, or otherwise not available for homes. The very few properties upstream of DC are grotesquely expensive and not suitable for anything bigger than a canoe. Downstream of the District, on the Virginia side there's really only Southdown road in Alexandria and one small development just a little further. From there it is all park until you get to Mount Vernon. There's some nice waterfront past Mount Vernon, but from there, the commutes start to become prohibitive. Homes in Southdown and Mount Vernon cost several times more than their equivalents directly across the river in Fort Washington. I guess that a lot of folks don't want to buy those waterfront houses in Fort Washington because they're scared they'll be killed instantly if they set foot in PG. On the other hand, if people really knew the truth, I wouldn't have been able to afford my house in Fort Washington just as I can't afford a house on Southdown Road. Their ignorance is my gain.

True, the hell with the Alexandria side. My mother lives up the hill from the waterfront properties in Fort Washington and I always wanted a property right on the waterfront.

I moved to Alexandria (don't know what posessed me to move to VA), but if I return to Maryland, I'll buy a waterfront in Fort Washington.

Best value for your dollar. The Oxon Hill/Fort Washington school system isn't the greatest, but I survived middle school in Oxon Hill and would just send my kids to private school if worst came to worst

[Reklaw86]

Just avoid buying in suburbia. Those are the bad areas as far as I'm concerned. There's so many nice 3-5 acre lots with houses just a few miles east and south. Privacy, and as far as I can tell, zoned so that they can't build that cookie cutter stuff out that way.