another Navy mom moved here - love it
Hi Navy mom,
I'm also a Navy mom, originally from New York (Hudson Valley). I have a 20 month old and a just-turned 3 year old. My husband is also a Navy mustang. I had the same list of requirements that you did, choose to live in Charles County, and love it here.
We live in Port Tobacco. Our friends (more Navy mustangs) live in La Plata. After taxes, our mortgage is the same as our housing allowance. The only "extra" we pay for is utilities. I believe our neighbors make out even better with their mortgage. We both have 4 bedroom homes.
The schools are okay. Our future elementary school in particular is very good and that's all I was mainly concerned with. We live on 2 acres, our friends live on 5. If you listen very hard you can hear the neighbor's dog barking but that's it.
I think you'll like it here. I don't know much about homes or areas closer to Pax River but it looks like lots of other people on this thread do and could tell you more. I just wanted to pipe in and let you know I was in a similar situation and was happy with my decision.
It is peaceful here. That's the nice part and possibly not so nice part. But nearly everything you want to do is not too far away. I think it's a lot more fun here once you make friends, especially friends closeby with small children. There are a couple stay-at-home moms in my neighborhood that get together once a week so the kids can socialize. My kids love going to Gilbert park. Yeah, it's over half an hour away. But the way I look at it, that's the price I pay for wanting to live in a quiet area. Waldorf has every store I could want and that's about 15-20 minutes away. You can hit a beach (albeit not a California ocean) in about the same amount of time. DC is 45 minutes outside of rush hour and the kids enjoy the museums.
The weather tends to be 7 degrees warmer here than NY on any given day. Unfortunately the winters tend to hover around 32 degrees. So instead of the regular snow you're used to seeing in NY, SOMD turns into an icy/slushy mess.
Everything is here, just not right outside your door. Which is, I think, what you want. Just don't be surprise if you rack up miles on your car
If you decide to move down here, feel free to look me up - marianne@chek.com
Hi Navy mom,
I'm also a Navy mom, originally from New York (Hudson Valley). I have a 20 month old and a just-turned 3 year old. My husband is also a Navy mustang. I had the same list of requirements that you did, choose to live in Charles County, and love it here.
We live in Port Tobacco. Our friends (more Navy mustangs) live in La Plata. After taxes, our mortgage is the same as our housing allowance. The only "extra" we pay for is utilities. I believe our neighbors make out even better with their mortgage. We both have 4 bedroom homes.
The schools are okay. Our future elementary school in particular is very good and that's all I was mainly concerned with. We live on 2 acres, our friends live on 5. If you listen very hard you can hear the neighbor's dog barking but that's it.
I think you'll like it here. I don't know much about homes or areas closer to Pax River but it looks like lots of other people on this thread do and could tell you more. I just wanted to pipe in and let you know I was in a similar situation and was happy with my decision.
It is peaceful here. That's the nice part and possibly not so nice part. But nearly everything you want to do is not too far away. I think it's a lot more fun here once you make friends, especially friends closeby with small children. There are a couple stay-at-home moms in my neighborhood that get together once a week so the kids can socialize. My kids love going to Gilbert park. Yeah, it's over half an hour away. But the way I look at it, that's the price I pay for wanting to live in a quiet area. Waldorf has every store I could want and that's about 15-20 minutes away. You can hit a beach (albeit not a California ocean) in about the same amount of time. DC is 45 minutes outside of rush hour and the kids enjoy the museums.
The weather tends to be 7 degrees warmer here than NY on any given day. Unfortunately the winters tend to hover around 32 degrees. So instead of the regular snow you're used to seeing in NY, SOMD turns into an icy/slushy mess.
Everything is here, just not right outside your door. Which is, I think, what you want. Just don't be surprise if you rack up miles on your car
If you decide to move down here, feel free to look me up - marianne@chek.com
). 
]) please let me know!
Don't make suggestions without giving some street names such as Alabama Ave. That's a particularly scenic part of town.