what's so bad about waldorf? (St. Charles, Clinton: real estate, 2013, crime)

[From DC to NC]

or maybe i should be positive and ask what's so right about waldorf? <sigh>

ok, a little background. anyone who has answered any of my dm's or posts knows that me and my hubby are on a diligent hunt for a new home in a desirable, reasonably safe neighborhood in maryland. i've posted questions about just about everywhere: bowie, clinton, brandywine. and now 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 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?

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.

thanks in advance for your input. i didn't mean to write a book; i really didn't.

[Internal Breathing Fire]

-Too country/rural
-One way in one way out
-No transit access to the rest of the region
-Too cookie cutter
-Southern....

[pcity]

Originally Posted by Internal Breathing Fire

-Southern....

LOL... and it begins again...

[From DC to NC]

Originally Posted by Internal Breathing Fire

-Too country/rural
-One way in one way out
-No transit access to the rest of the region
-Too cookie cutter
-Southern....

safe?

[North Beach Person]

Is crime in Waldorf bad? No, but. Crime has gone up in the general area the last few years with the population. A fair proportion of it is committed by non-residents who come down Rte. 5 from inside the Beltway or DC.

Waldorf in general is the receiving end of Black Flight from Prince George's County. That in itself has created a lot of friction/tension.

Rte 5 can be, and many times is, a linear parking lot, and quite frankly is unattractive in the way businesses are strip malled along its length. It is a poster child for "what not to do" in planning.

Welcome to Charles County Sheriff's Office

Charles County Government

Charles County Government

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Is crime in Waldorf bad? No, but. Crime has gone up in the general area the last few years with the population. A fair proportion of it is committed by non-residents who come down Rte. 5 from inside the Beltway or DC.

Waldorf in general is the receiving end of Black Flight from Prince George's County. That in itself has created a lot of friction/tension.

Rte 5 can be, and many times is, a linear parking lot, and quite frankly is unattractive in the way businesses are strip malled along its length. It is a poster child for "what not to do" in planning.

Welcome to Charles County Sheriff's Office

Charles County Government

Charles County Government

co-sign. Waldorf is not planned out well at all. I recall a report two years ago, with county officials talking about making a planned city.......umm, but you already built like a zillion strip malls so what is left to plan out? It just isn't smartly developed. Waldorf badly needs an expressway, but there really isn't any land left for it. Overall it's not a bad place, it's diverse, has nice shopping options, decent schools, but it's when you are there you feel trapped because like a previous poster stated it's basically one way in one way out. I also don't like the fact that the closest hospital is in either La Plata or Clinton. If you like being being in traffic and close to shopping this is your place. Oh by the way, they are building a new high school there in the St. Charles subdivision that is scheduled to open in 2013. They have done a good job of expanding their school system with the population.

[North Beach Person]

The thing about hospitals in MD is that any additional construction has to be approved by various State departments (Health and Mental Hygiene is one) or there is no state money available.

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by meatkins

co-sign. Waldorf is not planned out well at all. I recall a report two years ago, with county officials talking about making a planned city.......umm, but you already built like a zillion strip malls so what is left to plan out? It just isn't smartly developed. Waldorf badly needs an expressway, but there really isn't any land left for it. Overall it's not a bad place, it's diverse, has nice shopping options, decent schools, but it's when you are there you feel trapped because like a previous poster stated it's basically one way in one way out. I also don't like the fact that the closest hospital is in either La Plata or Clinton. If you like being being in traffic and close to shopping this is your place. Oh by the way, they are building a new high school there in the St. Charles subdivision that is scheduled to open in 2013. They have done a good job of expanding their school system with the population.

Thats BS because they can easily convert US 301/MD 5 into a Multi-lane Expressway + they can extend I-295 down MD 210 Corridor and have the highway split off i Charles County to connect with US 301 within the Waldorf City-Limits.........

[RamblingMan]

Have you considered PG County from Fort Washington or further south? When my wife and I were looking in the area we found great values and a lot to like in places like Fort Washington and Accokeek. Public schools in the county are not highly regarded, but if you don't have kids of school age, you can take advantage of the much lower real estate prices. We liked the fact that both places offer waterfront. We wound up buying in Fort Washington, but we were very attracted by the 5+ acre lots in the Moyaone Preserve in Accokeek.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by $mk8795

Thats BS because they can easily convert US 301/MD 5 into a Multi-lane Expressway + they can extend I-295 down MD 210 Corridor and have the highway split off i Charles County to connect with US 301 within the Waldorf City-Limits.........

They've looked at the above a number of times. The cost is in the high hundreds of millions. Doing it isn't as easy or cheap as saying it. A bypass has been designed and some property acquired but there turned out to be major environmental issues relating to wetlands that made the price skyrocket to, again, the hundreds of millions.