permanentvacation 03:45 PM 01-31-2015
I've been hoping to move in about 1 1/2 years when my younger daughter graduates high school. So far, I've set my sights on the Frederick, Maryland area because my older daughter lives there and through visiting her, I've come to like the area. However, it is a bit on the expensive side. So I recently started looking about 1/2 hour away from Frederick and found affordable houses in both Cascade and Hagerstown, MD. But I don't know anyone there or anything about the area. So, I thought I'd see if any of you know anything about those areas.
LysesKids 12:45 AM 02-01-2015
I lived in Hagerstown 2 times - a piece of advice... stay away from parts of downtown because it's just like what you are trying to get away from (S Potomac/Memorial, Burhans, West Washington/N Prospect and surrounding streets) - the neighborhoods closer to Frederick are safer (Robinwood, Paramount, Mt Aetna) Halfway isn't bad and will be cheaper than North Hagerstown which is more "old Money" type homes.
The one good thing that still happens is the
Farmers Market by the Post office downtown
Second Home 07:23 AM 02-01-2015
From what I have seen Cascade seems to be a high forclosure area . There may be good deals on homes but you may not find clients.
permanentvacation 08:35 AM 02-01-2015
Thank you both. Well, maybe that's the reason the homes are more 'affordable' in those areas. I was wondering why the prices were so good. I guess I'll stick with trying to go to the Frederick area. I really want to move to a safer, better paying, cleaner, friendlier area. I don't want to wind up with an area just like what I'm already in. I don't want to be too close to a troubled down town. I've already seen that the downtown folks often find their way into your neighborhood, bringing the crime with them. And, SecondHome, you're right, empty, foreclosed houses don't have daycare clients in them.
LysesKids 11:52 AM 02-01-2015
Cascade was never in my equation just because of where it's located... too small town by the PA border and in the Mountains... I never considered Thurmont for same reason, too small and alot of KKK type families - not something I wanted my kids growing up around...Ladiesburg/Keymar I would avoid for the same reason ( I left Ladiesburg to move to Hagerstown... not a wise move back in 2000 because I ended up moving again within 6 months)
Now, I live 8 hrs from family, but it's quiet, inexpensive and safe
Silly Songs 12:14 PM 02-01-2015
Permanentvacation, If the area you live in is pretty bad, how is the school your daughter attends ? If that is also pretty raunchy, maybe she wants to leave also ?
permanentvacation 01:20 PM 02-01-2015
In her school, she sticks to herself and her handful of friends. She's figured out who's who, who's two-faced, who says something just to start trouble, who's a true friend and who will stab you in the back, which kids are the real bad ones, which are alright to talk to in school, but you don't want to really become friends with them because they get in too much trouble, etc. She's been with this group since elementary school and knows all the kids. She also knows and is comfortable with the school counselor and one of the assistant principals who helped her through a few issues.
The school is not one I would have chosen for her to attend. There's fights often enough. The kids' constantly cuss. Many of them are true hood rats, gang members, drug dealers, etc. It's not a classy bunch! My daughter actually got attacked a couple of months ago by a girl who has been out to get her for years. We don't even know why the girl doesn't like her. Honestly, I'd love to rip her out of that school today and put her in a better one. But I know that she'd have to get to know the kids all over again, try to make friends, which is pretty hard for her as she's shy, even in good schools, there are mean kids which she'd have to learn about and figure out how to keep them from bothering her, and she'd have to catch up with what they are learning in in each class, might be told that the classes she's taken don't apply to a specific program of theirs, etc. It's a lot to move from one school to another.
However, she's been with the same kids since elementary school and would rather finish school here. I've asked her a few times if she'd rather move to Frederick so she can go to a school that has nicer kids, a safer environment, and offers a better education. But she keeps saying she wants to stay with her friends. Also, she and I both know from experience when we moved here from Florida and my older daughter was in high school, that moving throughout your high school years can really mess up your course work. Some schools don't offer the same classes or programs as others. She doesn't want to take a chance on not being able to graduate on time just because we moved. If she doesn't want to switch schools, her father would start a lot of crap with me if I tried to force her to. As much as I'd love for her to go to a better school, I do agree with her that she might as well finish her last two years with the kids she's known and with her classes already figured out through graduation.