Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're currently building on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis; we live in Tysons so the house will be about 45 mins away with light traffic. The waves are magical; the swimming is lackluster but proximity is the biggest plus. We have young kids so we can still make birthday parties and such and drive back to the bay house for the rest of the Saturday afternoon. Anyone have real-world experience with homes in Annapolis on the Bay?

Tyson's to Annapolis will be a lot more like an hour with light traffic than 45 minutes.

Anonymous wrote:Make the decision based on commute/accessibility. I grew up with a cottage on the lake - loved it. Now my parents have a beach condo - love it. But both of these places are in non-DC areas of the country where I used to live, and were very accessible from our home. Everyone I know with beach houses near DC have to contend with horrific traffic if they want to get out for just a weekend. Not sure if that's the same with lake places around here. Everyone who has ever owned a second house will tell you that you don't use it much if you have to deal with traffic or get on a plane.

Anonymous wrote:We live in a lake house and wouldn’t trade it for a beach house. We retired here. We swim in the lake from May through October..... and for those of you who don’t like to “land” on plants - easy solution - wear water shoes.
We chose lake over ocean mainly because of upkeep. A lake house requires almost no maintenance (other than any land-locked home), whereas a beach house requires a good deal of maintenance because of the salty air. And, with young children (and adults as well), you don’t need to worry about rip currents.

I like visiting the ocean. I do like hearing the waves and feeling the breeze, but I much prefer to own a home at the lake.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beach house for me but they tend to be way more expensive. It would probably have better resale value though. Personally I hate lakes. I hate touching down on the plants. Shudder.

Well at a beach house/ in the ocean, you might get touched by more than plants; like maybe jellyfish or sharks!

Anonymous wrote:We're currently building on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis; we live in Tysons so the house will be about 45 mins away with light traffic. The waves are magical; the swimming is lackluster but proximity is the biggest plus. We have young kids so we can still make birthday parties and such and drive back to the bay house for the rest of the Saturday afternoon. Anyone have real-world experience with homes in Annapolis on the Bay?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about places like Fort Washington, MD (like mentioned in the other thread).

It's a Bay house, but close enough that you will use it all the time and the downsides to that part of MD (lack of amenities - stores and shopping, and schools) aren't a big deal when its a weekend home.

I think being close is really important - anything over an hour and it's going to be tough. Then again, maybe it's my perspective - I would want a weekend beach/lake home vs a beach/lake vacation home that you get to 3-6x a year. I would want 15-20x a year usage (twice a month)

Fort Washington is on the Potomac River. Not the Chesapeake Bay.

Anonymous wrote:How about places like Fort Washington, MD (like mentioned in the other thread).

It's a Bay house, but close enough that you will use it all the time and the downsides to that part of MD (lack of amenities - stores and shopping, and schools) aren't a big deal when its a weekend home.

I think being close is really important - anything over an hour and it's going to be tough. Then again, maybe it's my perspective - I would want a weekend beach/lake home vs a beach/lake vacation home that you get to 3-6x a year. I would want 15-20x a year usage (twice a month)