New to MD, can someone suggest where to live???

Jake4U · Sep 27, 2020

HarveyMushman said:
Hi, I am moving from FL to Ft. Meade for work (expecting it to be permanent). Excited for work but not very excited about losing most gun rights. (separate discussion, hope it is not as bad as I think).

So, first, I am appreciative that we have this forum and nice to meet everyone!

Second, as my title states, I have not yet decided what area to move too. I am coming from a place where I have some privacy, close to civilization but still have 1.5 acres of land, good people around all of that stuff. Do areas like this exist within commuting distance of Ft. Meade? Everything that I have searched it just seems like there are a lot of townhouses and not much as far as homes (and land) as I have discussed. I should mention too that my budget is 350-450k (which may be the issue!).

Nice to meet everyone and looking forward to getting some suggestions!

Thank you!

We're in Sykesville, the Howard County side.The bubble of the county north of 70 has home prices a little lower than so-called Western Howard and don't have the traffic as you get up into southern Carroll County.

. We're on a septic system as is everyone in our development so at least 3 acres are required per home. We're located 20 minutes from the Associated Gun Clubs so that too is a bonus. For now the schools are good out this way, but the county executive is hard at work trying to destroy them. That's another topic and related to being a blue county.

If you're headed to Ft. Meade and have a clearance that usually works as a Good and Substantial for a Wear and Carry.

Shoot me a PM if I can be any more help.

rob · Sep 28, 2020

whistlersmother said:
Unfortunately, Ft Meade is in the middle of Maryland, so PA, WV, VA, DE are pretty much out of the question due to commute.

Fulton / Highland would be very good, if you can something in your price point.

Howard County does not allow outside shooting except on county approved private ranges - there are none to my knowledge.

We're about to have the bag tax, so we got that going for us.

Carroll, as mentioned, might be a good idea. Rt 32 from I70 is finally becoming divided - should alleviate traffic a great deal, but expect higher land prices.

Mt Airy might be doable, but I've never had to drive to Ft. Meade from there.

The commute from Mt airy is doable. Plus, you have better schools and lower taxes if you buy in Frederick County.

Mt airy sits where 4 counties meet. But its mostly Carroll County. You might be able to find what you want out that way.

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Harrys · Sep 28, 2020

HarveyMushman said:
Hi, I am moving from FL to Ft. Meade for work (expecting it to be permanent). Excited for work but not very excited about losing most gun rights. (separate discussion, hope it is not as bad as I think).

So, first, I am appreciative that we have this forum and nice to meet everyone!

Second, as my title states, I have not yet decided what area to move too. I am coming from a place where I have some privacy, close to civilization but still have 1.5 acres of land, good people around all of that stuff. Do areas like this exist within commuting distance of Ft. Meade? Everything that I have searched it just seems like there are a lot of townhouses and not much as far as homes (and land) as I have discussed. I should mention too that my budget is 350-450k (which may be the issue!).

Nice to meet everyone and looking forward to getting some suggestions!

Thank you!

FT Meade has a great exchange they sell pistols and long guns. The surrounding area has over priced houses/town housed. I know you can rent a apartment on post it is open to contractors and Gov employees. I use to work out there but live in Calvert County where houses are a lot cheaper. Check out Upper Marlboro it is close to 301 and it takes about 30 minutes to get to the post.

Pale Ryder · Sep 28, 2020

Depends on what your needs for land are. Discharging a firearm, bow, or even a BB gun is a no go in Howard. You might be able to find an older home with some land in southern Anne Arundel, but price is probably higher.

LGood48 · Sep 28, 2020

Greetings! :wave:

Had a friend that lived here in Cecil County and did the commute to Meade daily. He ended up transferring to APG. Said his commute on a good day was 90 minutes.
Upside of Cecil...lots of properties with 1.5+ acres in your price range.

Biggfoot44 · Sep 28, 2020

1. Sacrifice the land And have questionable and declining local government , there are pockets a reasonable distance to the south .

2. For possibly of land , and better local government ( but still socialist state government ) , the sugguested areas to the west , with 1hr commute & up . And be forewarned that the closer fringes current acceptable will be urbanized in 5yrs .

3. Commit to 15 min more commute , and over the line in Pa .

Sundazes · Sep 28, 2020

As everyone said, take the commute into consideration. It is not the distance, but the amount of traffic, think LA bad. Rush hour 0600 - 0930 ish and 1500 to 1830 just plain sucks. God forbid if to snows.
I can make Mead in 30 mins out side of rush hour, 1 to 1.5 during. I live north of Baltimore. The route you have to take will vary the times.
I turned down a job that paid 10K more because of the commute to NoVa. I did the Balt to DC thing for years and it was killing me.

omegared24 · Sep 28, 2020

Just keep in mind that a 60 minute commute right now will not be the same commute in 6 months. The DC/Baltimore area is really bad with traffic.

HarveyMushman · Sep 28, 2020

Hey guys! So many awesome responses I am overwhelmed (which is good) and so thankful to everyone. I wanted to respond to each one but there are so many I just thought to do one response. I really appreciate everyones time I feel like I have a few days of info to research now. I am looking forward to becoming a part of the community and forum, thank you!

:thumbsup:

SkiPatrolDude · Sep 28, 2020

Welcome from Timonium MD!

Aside from the illogical and infringing laws that dems have placed on the good citizens of MD, I think you will find MD a very nice place to live. It's always good to have a fellow patriot come to this fine state.

As with any "nice place", MD is pay to play. Want land but close to convenience? Pay up. Don't care about land and are willing to be further out? Good deals abound.

Carroll County is probably going to be your best bet. Manchester is still relatively inexpensive and a few acres is still relatively reasonable.

If you can find a larger piece of land that has been designated as a conservation zone, you can usually find it cheaper since it's useless to developers/ investors. My friend purchased 112 acres in Westminster with 2, albeit very run down houses on it, for under 500K. They're fixing up the houses as we speak and it's a very very nice piece of land, but essentially can't develop it to anything more than it is (which is just fine by them).

Hereford County is also a very nice area, but prices have gone up over the years. Also not sure how accessible to Ft Meade it would be for you. I hope to one day settle down up around Monkton. Great history up there and a nice rail-trail that goes between Timonium and PA, not to mention excellent fly fishing.

Blacksmith101 · Sep 28, 2020

Maryland housing for any given price point:
Short commute
Large lot
Nice house/neighborhood

Pick two of the above!

gmoney_downtown · Sep 28, 2020

HarveyMushman · Sep 28, 2020

gmoney_downtown said:
Welcome! Haven't seen it posted here yet, but I'm in Pasadena (20-25 minute commute to Ft Meade), living on 1 acre for $325k. My neighbors are on 3 acres for maybe ~$425k. It took me a long time waiting for it to pop up though. If you're set on having land, might be worth renting for a while so you can keep a hawk eye on the market. They're not common, even less common with a move-in ready home, but they do come up every so often. Otherwise, like others have said, best bet is to move 45+ minutes away.

Wow this is good to know, yes sounds like that is a good plan that was mentioned before. Rent and keep the hawk eye for something and then don't hesitate. This thread has been UNBELIEVABLY helpful so I am very appreciative to everyone! Now I just have to figure out which firearms I can bring and which I have to leave behind

dist1646 · Sep 28, 2020

Winfield is just west of Eldersburg, not a bad commute and several ranges are within reasonable distance. There are a number of places just east of Eldersburg that are for sale too so, if you look, you might find a bargain. The Louisville/Gamber area is worth a look, I have seen several nice properties for sale in the area recently.

Mike · Sep 28, 2020

HarveyMushman said:
Wow this is good to know, yes sounds like that is a good plan that was mentioned before. Rent and keep the hawk eye for something and then don't hesitate. This thread has been UNBELIEVABLY helpful so I am very appreciative to everyone! Now I just have to figure out which firearms I can bring and which I have to leave behind

I suggest you post those questions in the Maryland 2A Issues forum. https://www.mdshooters.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9

There is also Moving to MD Need Advise sticky thread there. I'd read the first page and then the last two or three pages there, because some of the posted info is out of date now; (mostly ignore posts before 10.1.2013)

Lowerguk · Sep 28, 2020

Something I didn’t immediately realize when looking at houses here. Keep in mind houses in Columbia have an extra association fee. I think it’s about the same price as the property taxes. So a fair amount.

County income tax varies too. Ann Arundel is slightly lower than Carroll and Howard. Just something to be aware of.

Ammo Jon · Sep 28, 2020

Didn’t read the thread, are kids/school a factor?

Mack C-85 · Sep 28, 2020

Ammo Jon said:
Didn’t read the thread, are kids/school a factor?

Post #28....

"39, single chance of kids is slowing fading but still have some hope!"

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Sundazes · Sep 28, 2020

Lowerguk said:
Something I didn’t immediately realize when looking at houses here. Keep in mind houses in Columbia have an extra association fee. I think it’s about the same price as the property taxes. So a fair amount.

County income tax varies too. Ann Arundel is slightly lower than Carroll and Howard. Just something to be aware of.

Don't forget the HOA's. They can be brutal around here.

Ammo Jon · Sep 28, 2020

Mack C-85 said:
Post #28....

"39, single chance of kids is slowing fading but still have some hope!"

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Plenty of young single women to have kids with if your boys are still swimming

Personally if I was buying, even in his situation I would look to move where the good schools are. It will help retain resale value and increase it as well, regardless if he utilizes them or not.

Sundazes can speak to that as well.

New to MD, can someone suggest where to live???

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