Calvert county vs Howard county (Frederick, Bowie: crime, new home, neighborhood)

[majorswife]

We did a house hunting trip this weekend with hopes of narrowing down the towns to look in when we are ready to make an offer, budget is up to 600k, most important is great schools and then commutes to suitland federal center and bolling afb. Loved the towns of fulton and Ashton, but the homes needed work and were expensive. In Calvert,the thing that struck us was all the developments popping up in rural areas. Is the area set to expand a lot and then values rise? (Realtor indicated yes) The schools were excellent and the commute is easy but the culture and accessibility to shops and arts seems to be lacking. We would assume with more developments that would change over the next few years. Thanks for feedback- about us, military officer/fed govt worker, three young boys, one with special needs, and a dog.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by majorswife

We did a house hunting trip this weekend with hopes of narrowing down the towns to look in when we are ready to make an offer, budget is up to 600k, most important is great schools and then commutes to suitland federal center and bolling afb. Loved the towns of fulton and Ashton, but the homes needed work and were expensive. In Calvert,the thing that struck us was all the developments popping up in rural areas. Is the area set to expand a lot and then values rise? (Realtor indicated yes) The schools were excellent and the commute is easy but the culture and accessibility to shops and arts seems to be lacking. We would assume with more developments that would change over the next few years. Thanks for feedback- about us, military officer/fed govt worker, three young boys, one with special needs, and a dog.

The realtor lied to you about Calvert. There were very stringent growth controls put in place back in the late 1980s which have really started to take hold the last few years. Regardless of the recent meltdown housing starts had been declining for several years before that as those controls finally started to work.

The State is directing all new development to Town Centers (this is all over the State) which have sewer and water service already in place or planned. That does not describe most of rural, not planned to be an artsy place with culture Calvert County. What you see is pretty much what you're going to get for the future.

The County is pretty close to its projected buildout of around 33K dwelling units and population of 100K.

Who was the realtor, by the way?

[majorswife]

Well, we saw a ton of developments being built and that is expanding throughout the area (looked in Prince Frederick,Dunkirk, owings and huntingtown mostly) . She did say that the county would not allow for a lot of economic growth for fear of congestion along rt 4 and 2. Her suggestion was shopping in California and Annapolis Bowie etc. I read an article online saying some of these new developments ten years ago have already seen a quadruple value increase. Are you in north beach? Any insight to a young family moving into the area? We are looking for a long term forever home and community.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by majorswife

Well, we saw a ton of developments being built and that is expanding throughout the area (looked in Prince Frederick,Dunkirk, owings and huntingtown mostly) . She did say that the county would not allow for a lot of economic growth for fear of congestion along rt 4 and 2. Her suggestion was shopping in California and Annapolis Bowie etc. I read an article online saying some of these new developments ten years ago have already seen a quadruple value increase. Are you in north beach? Any insight to a young family moving into the area? We are looking for a long term forever home and community.

Those developments you saw were approved, in some cases, 20 or more years ago. Just working through the inventory. I hate the realtors here. Not only did she lie to you but she also misled you. The drive has been to curtail residential development and get more commercial. The problem is that most commercial here is low paid retail.

Those articles are misleading. Property values in the County have dropped. We thought this last round of assessments would see that stop but they still dropped 10% across the County. That was the average, some areas were more, some less. Overall, property values are down between 30% and 40% from their peaks.

Yes I am in North Beach, which likely doesn't offer the kind of housing you seem to be looking for based on where you were looking.

Calvert County is a good place to live. The schools are good, crime is nearly non-existent (there are some hot spots, though. Opiate use has gone up the last couple years but most of those issues are between the users and not regular people.) and the quality of life is excellent.

Having said the above, Calvert County is what it is. A mostly rural area in close proximity to DC and various military installations. It not "cultural" or "artsy" nor is going around the corner for a quart of milk very easy.

If your husband is a Major how close is he to the end of his career? He will likely have one more PCS before he's done.

[majorswife]

It's an old screen name, col now but no more pcs. Suitland is considered a pcs and bolling will be the following pcs, job site. So for next ten years, it makes sense to be md side.

The not going around the corner for milk thing seems to be only affecting me and ease of living with three little guys.

[majorswife]

North beach, I saw in another forum you have an education background. Do you know if calvert is an inclusive setting with kids and special needs?

On the area, the negative I came away with is lack of convenience in terms of shopping. I feel like overall the two areas didn't have town centers or downtowns so we need to forget about walking to get ice cream or to dinner like we do now. Any other takeaways I missed?

Thanks for your posts, genuinely helpful and honest.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by majorswife

On the area, the negative I came away with is lack of convenience in terms of shopping. I feel like overall the two areas didn't have town centers or downtowns so we need to forget about walking to get ice cream or to dinner like we do now. Any other takeaways I missed?

Just a comment: Your commutes from Calvert into Bolling or Suitland will easier than from Howard County to those places. There are no truly easy commutes in the DC area, but you might look into the MTA commuter buses.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by majorswife

North beach, I saw in another forum you have an education background. Do you know if calvert is an inclusive setting with kids and special needs?

On the area, the negative I came away with is lack of convenience in terms of shopping. I feel like overall the two areas didn't have town centers or downtowns so we need to forget about walking to get ice cream or to dinner like we do now. Any other takeaways I missed?

Thanks for your posts, genuinely helpful and honest.

Calvert has the mandated Special Ed programs, since I don't work there I can't speak to how they operate.

I will say that the school system has seemed reluctant to implement some IEP requirements over the years and has ended up in court numerous times over that. They've lost every case.

My youngest son had a 504 plan for health issues (extreme food allergies) and early on we had to threaten without threatening to make sure things were complied with. It helped that Mrs. NBP had worked in a residential facility and knew the ins and outs.

You picked up the thing I wanted you to know, the shopping. If you're used to rural areas it isn't that big a deal. If not, then you have to retrain yourself.

MD may not be what you're used to as to towns. There are really only two, the Beaches, in Calvert. Everywhere else that looks like a town isn't legally and in many cases, until fairly recently, were nothing more than wide spots in the road that had a gas station, a general store, a horse watering trough and a couple houses. Solomon's in the south end of the County, was a waterman's place with hundreds of workboats docked. It's now the bar crawl capital of Southern MD. The areas along RTE 4 in Dunkirk where you see the shopping centers were tobacco fields or woods 25 years ago.

[AeroGuyDC]

You should be able to get a nice house in Laurel/Fulton Howard County for $600K. You might even be able to find a brand-new development with homes in that price range?

Here's a sampling:

New Howard County Maryland Communities from Dorsey Family Homes, a Howard County Homebuilder

I know several Dorsey homeowners who are all quite happy with their new homes. I'm pretty sure most of them paid $600K or below.

The schools in Howard County are top notch as well.

[cjmeck]

I'm sorry I don't know what's going on with Calvert Co. development but it seems like you got some knowledgeable advice. As far as Fulton goes, I will tell you it is a fantastic area. My church is located there, I have friends there and its just a great place to raise kids. I live in the northern part of Howard County but the district has been on point in helping with my son's 504 plan. Anyway, Fulton would be a solid choice if that's where your house hunting takes you. Buy neighborhood first, house second