Mt. Vernon, Alexandria.

How far up the coat in Virginia can you go crabbing? It's there crabbing in kilmarnock?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lake Anna

New Englanders don't do freshwater, FYI.

The Bostonians I know seem to be evenly split between cape and islands houses and NH lake houses. I always assumed the NH lakes were freshwater?

Most New Englanders I know own second homes, due to proximity of water, not due to bragging rights! Lake Winni would be fresh water, of course; they usually own speedboats and enjoy waterskiing! Cape Cod/MV/Nantucket for strolling and salt water.

Come to think of it, many of my D.C. friends own in New England, as they prefer it to N.C., DE, MD or VA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lake Anna

New Englanders don't do freshwater, FYI.

And apparently, aren't able to land a job in New England either.

I can't comment on that, lest we have an influx of rude, self centered people like you. "It's ALL about YOU."

What about the northern neck of VA? It's more than 1.5 hours but very nice and should be some properties under $1million. Also look at Chestertown MD.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lake Anna

New Englanders don't do freshwater, FYI.

The Bostonians I know seem to be evenly split between cape and islands houses and NH lake houses. I always assumed the NH lakes were freshwater?

Not true, pp. Check out Sherwood Forest area of Annapolis on the Severn river.

There is soon much hope about Annapolis. It's a shit hole. No accessible water front, lots of ugly parking lots, and traffic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lake Anna

New Englanders don't do freshwater, FYI.

And apparently, aren't able to land a job in New England either.

http://franklymls.com/AA8339702

Severna Park...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you say near the water, do you mean any body of water, or the Atlantic?

Annapolis, MD (1hr distance)
St. Michaels, MD (1.5-2hr)
Alexandria, VA (30min)
National Harbor, MD (15min)
North Beach, MD - though not a ton of dining options here
Norfolk, VA (1.5-2 hrs from DC)

Area all coastal towns with ports and connect to Atlantic.

I've never been to New England so cannot compare on the feel but all have nice residential communities w/ local and commercial retailers.

Sorry, but unless you're flying or going 100+ mph, Norfolk is at least a 4 hour drive from DC.

I laughed my ass off at this too. But then I looked at the rest of the list, saw it included National Harbor, and realized PP must have been joking about it all. Except Annapolis, which would be the viable option here.

Uh yeah. I drive to Norfolk 3 to 4 times a month for work and from DC its a 3.5 hr minimum.

Oh, good grief people, I am PP and misspoke. Sorry for the error. Blame pregnancy brain, multi-tasking, stress, and my mind being in a zillion places while I was trying to be helpful to OP. So many people corrected me without offering any other suggestions, I didn't see the need to burn the blood.

So OP, yes, it is indeed a 3.5+ hour drive from Norfolk to DC -unless you have a helicopter or friends that do , or perhaps Amtrak it, which does go right into Union Station in DC.

Also, since first post I thought of another great town that is close without a horrendous traffic commute - Colonial Beach, VA (90 min from Downtown DC). It is a coastal beach town on the Potomac River, right off of MD-301 on the MD/VA state line and not as far a trek up the Potomac as other places I originally mentioned. There are really nice homes there and it is a community with older residents retiring too. Outside of the communities, I think that surrounding areas are VERY rural until you get to Waldorf, so something to think about. There are a two great wineries very close though!

Also Kent Island which was recently suggested is close to Annapolis, know someone from there who said it was a great place, but a very small town.
North Beach, MD is also a very small town, I don't think many dining options there though, its more of a close knit residential beach community than a coastal town.

I think Annapolis (capital of MD) is the best option given budget, parent's interests in dining options, activities, and town feel. And your fellow New Englanders are co-signing on it's charm. Annapolis is less than 1 hour away from downtown Washington, D.C. (45 min), Baltimore, MD (30 min), Columbia, MD (30min), and it's only a 2 hour drive to either Ocean City, MD or Bethany Beach, DE.

We love Annapolis, it's beautiful there, GREAT food, decent shopping/medical, and the people are VERY nice.

Good luck!

Kent Island

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you say near the water, do you mean any body of water, or the Atlantic?

Annapolis, MD (1hr distance)
St. Michaels, MD (1.5-2hr)
Alexandria, VA (30min)
National Harbor, MD (15min)
North Beach, MD - though not a ton of dining options here
Norfolk, VA (1.5-2 hrs from DC)

Area all coastal towns with ports and connect to Atlantic.

I've never been to New England so cannot compare on the feel but all have nice residential communities w/ local and commercial retailers.

Sorry, but unless you're flying or going 100+ mph, Norfolk is at least a 4 hour drive from DC.

I laughed my ass off at this too. But then I looked at the rest of the list, saw it included National Harbor, and realized PP must have been joking about it all. Except Annapolis, which would be the viable option here.

Uh yeah. I drive to Norfolk 3 to 4 times a month for work and from DC its a 3.5 hr minimum.

Anonymous wrote:How's their health? None of these areas have quick access to quality doctors or emergency care. I'm always surprised when older folks retire to areas without contemplating such things.

AAMC is a great hospital.
So is Hopkins.

Both near Annapolis.

Annapolis is close enough to medical care, but that's it. I have family on the eastern shore of MD and they schlep to Baltimore for medical care. I also know a couple who retired to Fairhope, AL and they fly back to DC twice a year to see specialists. Ditto for folks i know who "winter" in FL.