Please help me. We are thinking of western Md, around hagerstown or any other places we might find.We are looking for great places to eat, culture, upscale shopping,progressive, etc. We want a home reasonable with property in a rual area (mountain area maybe) yet convienances close by. Any suggestions? I'm open to other areas in MD if other parts would suit us better.

Not to offend you, but I think you're looking for the impossible. Most rural areas (not just in MD, but nationwide) do not have hip restaurants, upscale shopping and a "progressive" culture . . . That's why many people choose to live there!

I think the closest balance to what you're looking for might be Frederick. While it's growing fast (because of the perpetually expanding D.C. sprawl), it's close to the mountains, and it's not too terribly far away from all of the more upscale restaurants and shopping of southern Montgomery County and Fairfax County, VA.

You don't have to get too far outside of Frederick to find a nice piece of land on which to build, but I'd imagine property values (like most areas in MD) are not as reasonable as they used to be.

I know you said Maryland, but it sounds like Shepherdstown, WV would satisfy your requirements, and it is just across the river from MD.

HI again!
Well I naturally didn't mean nice restaurants and shopping right in the "rual" town. I don't think they will place a Nordstroms next to a farm LOL. I am willing to drive 30 min. or so to get to it. I just don't want to be 4 hrs from decent store or restauraunt. Thanks!

Frederick is a really nice area. It's about an hour from Baltimore and DC. Lots of rural areas around, and the town is very quaint.

How about the eastern shore?

easton and talbot county on the eastern shore has what you are looking for except for the reasonable priced property. though prices have come down recently.

If you are thinking of western MD or Frederick, I suggest you think a bit north, maybe Gettsyburg PA where the income tax rate is substantially lower. MD income tax rate on everything over $3000 is as high as 7.95 % depending on which county. PA tax is in the 3% range with retirement income untaxed. I live in MD but would move to G'burg area in a heartbeat except that my adult children live here also.

Although Maryland as a whole may seem "progressive" to people from other parts of the country, most of its countryside is rather conservative. In some years, "progressives" win statewide by winning wide margins in Baltimore City, Montgomery County and PG County and losing the rest of the state.

Frederick County has plenty of suburban sprawl but a few good restaurants to eat at. Shephardstown, West Virginia is a quaint, trendy town and my folks ate at a very mod restaurant two Sundays ago and loved it. Shephardstown has a small college but a race track with slots as well.

Hagerstown is a small town that is experiencing quite a bit of sprawl. Expect prices to be high. Further west, Cumberland is much poorer, doesn't have the sprawl, so house prices are reasonable. But I would not call it a top-flight cultural center, that is for sure. Furthest west is Garrett County, heavily rural and Republican, but home to man-made Deep Creek Lake which has hundreds, if not thousands, of second homes for the affluent of Washington and Baltimore.

A poster mentioned Maryland's Eastern Shore. I live on the Shore and can tell you that few lands are as flat (and barely above sea level) than the Shore. The top cultural towns are Chestertown (home of Washington College) and Easton. Both are within striking distance of fine dining (the Washington Post critic raves about the Inn at Easton). Although both towns are increasingly expensive, they lie within fifteen minutes of towns like Denton, Ridgely, Church Hill, Centreville and Crumpton that do have homes at a reasonable price. I would never call the Eastern Shore "progressive" in its values but it has many areas that could not be described as rural backwaters. Annapolis is only on the other side of the Bay Bridge. Where I am at in Queen Anne's County, I am within an hour of Washington and Baltimore when the traffic is normal or light.

Thanks for all the great Ideas. Could anyone tell if there are great areas to bike, hike, etc. I enjoy the outdoors as much as possible.

Also, we are interested in looking in areas where there are older homes with property ( barn, etc) any specific neighborhoods I should look?
Thanks

Jenny, LT and other are correct in that you are not going to get everything you're looking for in rural Maryland. You're going to have to compromise on some things if you want to live in the country.

Western Howard County is probably closest to what you are envisioning, but it comes with a hefty price tag.

Frederick County has lots of physical beauty and more reasonable prices, but the progressive attitudes and cultural activities may be - let me put this bluntly - lacking.

Norther Carroll County, MD and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia are other areas you could look into.

Keep in mind, however, that even though the shops, restaurants, and cultural activities of the big city may be only an hour away, your day-to-day life revolves around your immediate vicinity. When the nearest grocery store is 10 miles away, it puts a damper on your ability to do much spur of the moment food shopping. If you're not used to living in the country, you'd be surprised how much your life is affected by the weather in ways you may never have thought of. Do you have a pick-up truck? You're probably going to need one.

One other word of caution - be careful of the environmental conditions. A place may look beautiful, but if it's located downwind of a concrete plant or a pig farm, you might not be too happy. Before you buy any property, have an environment assessment performed for water quality and other issues.

Good luck on your search.

Hi Jenny, I grew up in Hagerstown,was born in Cumberland and now live in DC. Hard, base on info you've provided, to give advice. . . One important factor I think you haven't mentioned - will you be commuting from this location to another for work (ie. to DC or to Balto)or are you just looking to retire (no job necessary) or settle and look for job nearby ? Very important info in terms of evaluating the location.

Hagerstown is a nice little town. NOT a place with much culture/restaurants. Wasn't when I was growing up there a couple decades ago and still isn't in the visits I've made since then - except for chain restaurants and outlet shopping (and you can't really count that as progress can you?). But I can only say this now having left. I believe it still maintains the small town character it had decades ago. It's surprising to me how relatively unchanged it is after 30 years. In DC people hear that I'm from Hagerstown and they say "Oh, so you're a native (of DC) and I say "NOT." In the late 60s we never went to DC, and only occasionally Baltimore (though both were 1 1/2 to 2 hours away then. I always say that growing up there was like growing up in a small town in Ohio (e.g.) Current pop of Htown and area is what 40,000? But there are many parts of the town that have some nice houses (look at Fountainhead, Paramount, and, for old house, Hamilton Blvd, Oak Hill Ave, and the Terrace in town.). As part of a family where each generation moved east (Westernport - Cumberland - Hagerstown - Washington) toward more urban circumstances - I can say that Hagerstown seemed always to me light years' more progressive than Cumberland. You asked about biking - well, there's a great new rail to trail "western maryland bike trail" that begins at Big Pool near Clear Spring and goes to Flintstone near Cumberland. 20 miles of macadem treed flat path. Lovely and relatively untraveled. Also there's the C&O canal towpath there for riding. And Htown itself is flat without much traffic. Plus lots of relatively untrafficed surrounding roads - and interesting nearby spots like Sharpsburg and Antietam. The difference, I believe, between Frederick (definitely an exurb these days) and Hagerstown and Cumberland (still small towns for better or worse depending on your point of view) is huge. However, none of these places, to my mind, have "upscale shopping, great places to eat, and culture." Nor are they "progressive." That's why many of us who grew up there left. On the other hand, in retrospect, they seem like good places to be "from." Or, in retrospect, good places to have grown up, or good places possibly to raise a family or retire to. So, it's all what kind of life you're looking for. I couldn't wait to leave at 18. Yet could see returning at 75. If you get my drift. . .