luchini

In the military and getting transferred to Fort Meade. I am a single male, 30's, and would prefer to live in the city. I lived in the suburbs at my last duty station and became very bored. I'd like to be close to restuarants, bars, and parks.

I was looking at either downtown Baltimore or DC. I heard the commute can be hell but Im somewhat acclimated to urban commuting. I would say I could handle 30-45 minutes of commuting.

I was leaning towards DC (have spent one weekend in DC in the past) but the commute and cost of living seem to be worse than Baltimore. I do not know much about Baltimore but I heard the Federal Hill, Fells Point, Canton, Inner Harbor area are the nice areas to live in if you want to live in the city.

Any insights, advice, or suggestions would be welcome! Thanks!

WhrDLMI

First off, welcome. I hope you enjoy your deployment here.

I can't really answer your question directly but I can tell you what NOT to do. There is one non-negotiable rule that I have found while commuting in the greater DC and Baltimore region for the last 10+ years - you have to live and work on the same side of the Potomac River. There are only a few river crossings and they all get jammed up like you would not believe during rush hour. Do yourself a HUGE favor and stay to the north of the river in your hunt. I have lived in Alexandria, the DuPont Circle neighborhood of DC, Arlington, and Annandale before I moved out to Harpers Ferry and have experienced all sorts of horrors with this regions traffic but NOTHING compares to trying to get across that damn river during rush hour.

I'll let others suggest particular areas/neighborhoods in Baltimore since I do not know that area as well.

Good luck!

Langelo DeMysterioso

My wife is in the USAF and was stationed at Bolling. We had to go to Fort Meade a couple of times. She lived near the Navy yard an old but newly refurbished and upcoming area. Lots of new construction and new restaurants and shops. I visited there often and though I liked it I found it was not a very car friendly city. There is little parking and lots of parking fees and meters however public transpo is excellent however it closes overnight. If you're going to be commuting watch out for the numerous speed cameras there.

Chuck S

All the bridges seem to be toll roads as well. Even with EZpass traffic comes to a near stop at the toll stations. I avoid the area at almost all costs even drive south.

Contact local realtors about housing and commutes. BOQ for a couple of months would be my method. My daughter and her Army officer husband are PCSing to Fort Lee in late spring/early summer. Gonna be a culture shock (and traffic shock) compared to Fort Drum and North Country NY.

-- Chuck

luchini

Thank you for the input. I got the chance to look around Baltimore and DC. While I prefer the DC area the Fells Point and Canton neighborhoods in Baltimore were nice to and significantly cheaper ($800ish). Mount Vernon Triangle in DC seems to be a great area for commuting since its adjacent to US-50 and the Beltway.

So essentially trying to decide between those.

Saw the photo speed cams signs on US-50 close to DC. How active are they??

e3opian

Yes, Baltimore is significantly cheaper. Got to ask yourself why that might be..

Speed cameras in DC are a huge revenue generator. Use Waze on your smartphone until you learn where they are.

Tm410s2000

Might not be lively enough for you, but Columbia, Towson and downtown Annapolis MD may be worth checking out.

luchini

Found a place in DC. Very walkable and public transportation is great since I dont like driving in DC. Once weather is better will have to get some inputs on good driving roads and scenery.

tacocat

Congrats.

But.....living in DC and working at Ft. Meade means some driving in DC?

I'm trying to remember if the MARC stops at Ft. Meade?

Actually, DC driving is not too bad once you figure out how the streets are laid out. Radiating out from the Capital, the city is split into 4 quadrants, NE, NW, SE, SW. The streets count away from the Capital, East-West streets are lettered A-Z, then one syllable words A-Z, then 2 syllable words A-Z, and finally 3 syllable words A-Z. North-South streets are numbered. State named streets go on an angle. This was the plan, there are some areas that this is not 100% followed due to geography, ineptitude or just laziness.

kevkor2002

I was stationed there 2000-2004 in the AF. I lived on base for part of the time and then in Frederick MD. I've always had a commute...1.5 hrs at the moment. Since you might be going opposite of traffic you might not have to deal with the madness. My advice is to get here. Do some of the commutes and then make a decision on where to live.

As for places to drive come out to WV...best roads!! Plus no cameras and the back roads are so back road the cops are never there