I concur with everyone who said Calvert or St Mary's counties in southern MD. There's fun stuff to do with little kids (hunting for fossils at Calvert Cliffs state park, walking around Historic St Mary's City, the Amish markets over near Leonardtown, the maritime museum in Solomon's, nice beaches up at North beach, summer concerts at St Mary's College, etc) and you don't have to deal with the Bay bridge. It really is about 90 min most of the time.

The Woods?

Anonymous wrote:PP again. Also, I SAH with 2 young children and you couldn't pay me to spend the summer alone with the kids and only seeing DH on weekends. That is not a vacation, that is a relocation.

No shit.

Calvert County on the water or Annapolis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shenandoah County in the valley on the Shenandoah River. We live there full time now and we love it.

If you can get there in 1.5 hours from D.C., I sure don't want to be on the highway at the same time as you.

You probably have been, but I've been flying by you too fast for you to notice - Get out of my way city folk!

Anonymous wrote:Trappe is not "scene-y" You said you wanted that right?

We have a house in Oxford and I think you'd like St. Michaels or Easton (no water, but cute and historic).

But your budget won't go super far there. it takes me 2 hours on the dot from dupont with only a touch of traffic in and out of town and a brief wait on the bridge. Coming home on a Sunday in the summer can take 3 hours.

She said they were not scene-y people. But I still wouldn't live in Trappe. I agree with St. Michaels or Easton or anywhere in between the two (closer to Easton will mean a shorter drive than your drive from Oxford). Parts of "Easton" are on the water; just not the downtown area.

If you want to come back on Sundays you just have to leave at the right time.

Anonymous wrote:I would love St Michaels...

Me too, Oxford and Tilghman Island are also good choices if you like the water. Lake Anna is also very nice but you'll have to deal with NoVa traffic which is worse than the Bay Bridge 90 percent of the time.

St. Michaels or Kent Island sound ideal for you

My retired parents recently moved to North Beach, MD on the Bay in northern Calvert County. They love it there. It's less than an hour from DC.

I would go for the Eastern Shore. Without water around, it just wouldn't seem relaxing or different enough to justify the hassle. Also, houses by water or in the woods are not going to require the massive lawn-mowing operation that the houses you linked to will need.

If you are serious about spending summers at the house, I would look for a community where there might be other moms and kids doing the same thing, if that exists anymore. I know one family that does it, but they are selling their house because the mom is so lonely during the summer. It's hard to make mom friends if you are in a vacation area and everyone else is there as a family.

I would look at Solomon's Island. Good roads to get there, and it's big enough to have some restaurants and other things going on year-round. We had a house in a really remote area, and it completely shut down in the winter time.

If you want water (sailing, etc), pick along the Chesapeake. If you want horses, go with VA. The world is 75% water, so I vote (as a sailor and not knowing you at all) with the former. Good luck, I wish we were in your position. Update and let us know what you decide! Sounds like you are in a great position. I have to say, I'm jealous!

Anonymous wrote:Around Washington, VA or Amissville or Sperryville area (near Shenandoah).

Oh and I love the neighborhood in that area where the Marriott ranch is - Hume, VA, with all the wineries.

Around Washington, VA or Amissville or Sperryville area (near Shenandoah).

I have a colleague with a second home in King George, Va. Might be worth a look. Annapolis has beach communities. My father's cousin lived in Highland Beach year round. I think some of her neighbors were just summer residents, though. Also Solomon's Island. Have friends with a home therw,but have never visited, don't know the scene.