relocating to pax riv/ lex park q's!

[ashnavygirl143]

We are not trying to scare you, just trying to get you prepared for moving here....it is very expensive. My husband died in 05 so I only have one income coming in and I just can't afford to live here anymore. I am looking for jobs in Central Virginia and as soon as one comes through I am moving.

oh no, i really appreciate everyone's input...it's just certainly not the saving grace i had hoped it would be. It's just hard, because I feel this area down here isn't very good, and I can't compare it to up there. The Indian Bridge apartments seemed like a save for me, but I've heard nothing but horror stories about the apartments around there, esp. the st.mary's landing murder thing...then the utilities on top of that...and there aren't any home rentals that would be any cheaper. Military housing is definitely becoming more of a reality, and now I'm just trying to think of ways to make that work, if that's what it ends up coming down to! Yeah, I just wish I had a choice about living there. I love my husband, and the military does have it's perks, but boy, there are some sacrifices you have to make. Such is life though...

 

[backagain39]

oh no, i really appreciate everyone's input...it's just certainly not the saving grace i had hoped it would be. It's just hard, because I feel this area down here isn't very good, and I can't compare it to up there. The Indian Bridge apartments seemed like a save for me, but I've heard nothing but horror stories about the apartments around there, esp. the st.mary's landing murder thing...then the utilities on top of that...and there aren't any home rentals that would be any cheaper. Military housing is definitely becoming more of a reality, and now I'm just trying to think of ways to make that work, if that's what it ends up coming down to! Yeah, I just wish I had a choice about living there. I love my husband, and the military does have it's perks, but boy, there are some sacrifices you have to make. Such is life though...

I am a Navy Brat so I do understand, my dad got transferred all up and down the east coast....we never made it out to California. There were a few places that we really didn't like but it seemed like every 1 to 2 years we were moving so that made it easier.
This area is not your typical navy town and I can't explain that one.....you will see when you get here.
I visited pensacola a couple of times....I loved it....clean beaches, warm weather and friendly people.

 

[Sadysue]

You might look into the Hickory Hills apartments. I think 1 bedroom loft might be in your price range. I lived there for two years and really enjoyed it. Hardly no crime, safe to walk around at night. Just be ready to fork over your money. Here is the website. Hickory Hills East Townhomes - Apartments and townhome rentals located in Southern Maryland, close to Patuxent Pax River NAWCAD NAVAIR in St. Mary's County Maryland I lived in the Virgina Dare for 1 year. If you are used to living in a small space, it is nice.

Also, you should be able to find an entry level job making around $10 an hour, esp if you have any office skills. You could probably find a job on base making around that much.

 

[chernmax]

Abby Crest apartments off Willows road is nice, near the base and only about 2 years old and right up the road from Navy Housing and 5 minutes from the base, the same goes for nice apartments around Cedar Cove just off gate 3. Don't let people discourage you, I've lived in Lexington Park for 4 years with zero problems and we own a great home. But like any other place in this world, their are places that aren't safe at night (I wouldn't go for a stroll down GMR at night) so once the rules are established, you'll do fine. Good luck, and I fully understand the frustrations of military transfer as a retired 24 year Navy man myself...

 

[kgalloway]

Okay, so I just relocated here from VA beach... we moved into our apt that cost us $1190 a month (cheaper than va beach thats for sure) The most expensive part of relocating here was registering our cars, in MD they charge you the difference in the sales tax from the state your moving from, i.e - I moved from VA and the sales tax was 3% here it is 5% I had to pay the 2% difference. It is a very small town here (NOTHING TO DO!). You should look at renting a house, maybe you can find some better deals than apts. GOOD LUCK!

 

[bullet]

I agree with the many suggestions of trying to get into base housing. I know the cost of housing here can be rather high, especially if you are comparing it to either JAX or P-Cola. I don’t know the cost of apartments though. Electric is pretty high at my house, but there’s reason for that. However, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone having an electric bill as low as $65. It’s rural here, but we have all the amenities. I like it. D.C is roughly an hour north, Baltimore a little farther. Far enough to be away from their high crime element, but close enough to enjoy site seeing. The malls (Annapolis, Waldorf, Ann Arundel Mills) range from 40 minutes to 90 minutes drive. If Indian Bridge are the places next to Great Mills High, I agree that NOT living there is a good idea. I’ve heard that the two gas stations/mini marts fight there closed because they were being stolen blind. There is another complex up on 235 near Wildwood. Maybe someone reading this blog may know something about them. Good luck. Hope you enjoy your tour.

 

[signora]

Okay, so I just relocated here from VA beach... we moved into our apt that cost us $1190 a month (cheaper than va beach thats for sure) The most expensive part of relocating here was registering our cars, in MD they charge you the difference in the sales tax from the state your moving from, i.e - I moved from VA and the sales tax was 3% here it is 5% I had to pay the 2% difference. It is a very small town here (NOTHING TO DO!). You should look at renting a house, maybe you can find some better deals than apts. GOOD LUCK!

True about the car registration, I couldn't believe the amount they charged and they expect you to pay the difference in state sales tax. The funniest is how they base SUV's weight size on the cost. I moved from PA were it's 6% so luckily, I didn't have to pay the sales tax difference, but of course, they claimed my SUV was in the higher weight range. In PA you do have to pay inspection, emission and vehicle registration (tags) every year so I guess in someways you do end up saving since MD only requires registration every 2 years. It also makes no sense why Calvert and Charles County have emissions, but St. Mary's County does not.

 

[RangerJohn]

The one good thing about being active duty military is that you can keep your homestate plates and drivers license for as long as you are on active duty. I kept my California plates and license right up to the moment I retired. Michigan and Florida, and even California make it easier (and cheaper) for a resident to renew these things while stationed "away" from your home of record state. I did used to get "reminders" that looked suspiciously like tickets all the time when I lived in the Greens at Hilton Run (I lived there while my house was being built.) All I had to to was mail them back explaining that I was active duty military...it was a small hassle. However, after I retired from active duty, I had 30 days to change my Drivers License and Plates....and that was a HUGE hassle. If you live in housing, you will be spared the small hassle.

 

[flyingdog]

I would recommend a road trip and taking a look for yourself for the weekend. It's a trip, I realize, but you will at least feel like you made an educated decision; or if your sailor can come early and check places out before jumping in. Any place you go it is up to you if you enjoy it...attitude is everything. Maybe the two of you can stay with someone for a day or two before jumping in? Just a thought but might not be that easy. There are definitely good/bad areas and things seem priced accordingly, so if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. It is definitely pricey here.

 

[StrawberryGal]

Indian Bridge Apartments is not a place where you want to live. Too many crimes.

Like everyone else say, try the Willows' road's apartments (The Greens, and new development apartment "Abbery Crest"). The Glen Forest is not apartments open to the public. It is off base housing for military families only. If you can try to get into that, then you should be fine. If not, try the Greens Apartment. They are cheaper than the Abbery Crest (spelling?). My friend rent a two bedroom apartment at the Green for about $900 a month and thier electric bill is only $40 a month. They do not have to pay for water since it is included in thier rent. Also, trash service is included in your rent.

The only thing you will need to worry about is phone, cell phone, cable, and internet.

You can try the St. Mary's Landing apartment. The rent included trash service, water, and electricity. Some of the apartments there have two story with one bedroom and bathroom on upper level and kitchen and living room are downstairs. About the St. Mary's Landing apartment, you have to have no criminal background at all or they won't let you rent the apartments if you do have criminal background.

A few of my friends live in St. Mary's Landing Apartments and are very happy. I know about the murder there, but the guy who got murdered was killed by someone who does not live there. This thug came out of somewhere else. This thug was trying to steal camara in the car that was left in plain view. The owner of the car caught him and got killed for it. If you don't leave anything in your car for others to see, and you should be fine. That kind of rule should be enforce at anywhere anyway because no one will break in if you don't keep anything valuable such as cell phone, camara, money, etc. in plain view in your vehicles.

I think you should try look around before you make a commit to one location. Rent an apartment/house for one year or month by month lease and then, move to where you want to be. Remember, the county have STS bus that you can use to go where you need to go anywhere in this county.

Lusby is over the bridge in Calvert County. I have no comments about Lusby except that they are very nice area. The bridge is a hassle to travel on during rush hours that cause a long "back up" line.

Good Luck in searching a place to live and Welcome to St. Mary's County!

 

[lulu belle]

I would recommend the base housing, it can get expensive living here, and only having one vehicle, that will make it easier. Plus, you can never be sure how easily you will get a job, best to save up some money until you are sure of that. Just my little 2 cents, also, here is the link to housing if you don't have it: Military Family Housing Patuxent River - Home

 

[smcop]

oh my gosh thank you so much, it's nice to hear someone say it's better than where we are! It's hard because you're asking ppl who haven't seen this crap. I don't like the city really, I would rather be somewhere peaceful and quiet, it's just too much for me here, and I'm not for the weather either. Thank you so much though, I really appreciate your guys' feedback! Is glen forest in Lusby? I was actually looking into that area I think, I'll definitely have to check it out!

This is a relatively safe place. Usually, not always but usually, victim's of crime here have some connection to the person perpetrating the crime. It is the exception rather than the rule that a citizen has a crime committed upon them by an unkown person.

 

[smcop]

Abby Crest apartments off Willows road is nice, near the base and only about 2 years old and right up the road from Navy Housing and 5 minutes from the base, the same goes for nice apartments around Cedar Cove just off gate 3. Don't let people discourage you, I've lived in Lexington Park for 4 years with zero problems and we own a great home. But like any other place in this world, their are places that aren't safe at night (I wouldn't go for a stroll down GMR at night) so once the rules are established, you'll do fine. Good luck, and I fully understand the frustrations of military transfer as a retired 24 year Navy man myself...

Hard to get around if you are at this one and only have one car?

 

[smcop]

True about the car registration, I couldn't believe the amount they charged and they expect you to pay the difference in state sales tax. The funniest is how they base SUV's weight size on the cost. I moved from PA were it's 6% so luckily, I didn't have to pay the sales tax difference, but of course, they claimed my SUV was in the higher weight range. In PA you do have to pay inspection, emission and vehicle registration (tags) every year so I guess in someways you do end up saving since MD only requires registration every 2 years. It also makes no sense why Calvert and Charles County have emissions, but St. Mary's County does not.

You don't have to change your car registration if you are active duty military.

 

[chernmax]

Hard to get around if you are at this one and only have one car?

Our local bus have stops in all the areas I mentioned, she'd have similar issues even if she lived in base housing...

Regardless mine are just recommendations...

 

[ashnavygirl143]

wow, thanks for the overwheliming reponse everyone! I had a blonde momenth last night with the whole glen forest thing, i did know they were on base housing, but in all my frustration of trying to figure this out, I didn't even realize that's what people were talking about! Lol, I get wound up pretty tightly about things, and this was no exception. It's nice to hear all these things about the community though....I think our number one priority will definitely be military housing right now...because when it comes down to it, we'd basically have $400 after housing if we lived off base and rent was $850, and seeing how the places we actually would be considering are $1000+, living off base would hurt us....plus, I didn't realize, but because of the way the split your pay and bah into the two week pay periods, we'd also have to hope to find a landlord flexible enough to let us split the rent! I'm definitely going to keep all your tips in mind though if on base housing doesn't work out for some unforseen reason. Does anyone know if there's a wait? I know someone previously mentioned they didn't think there would be, just wondering if anyone else had any input. Also, with on base housing, I know we're looking at trying to get into glen forest, but if you go to lincoln military housing's pax river page (the people who run mil. housing there), they have pictures that aren't any of the layouts I've seen, and I was just wondering if anyone knew what those homes were, because they looked really nice. Anyone have any suggestions as far as jobs? I'm thinking of trying to get a job at jcpenney or old navy over in california, and I know people have mentioned trying to do secretarial work for contractors....I'm looking to work full time, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open! To be honest, I do think I'm going to like the area. Believe me, I'm sure it sounds weird, but I'm looking forward to having nothing to do. Where I come from, life isn't so fast paced like it is down here, and I do like it down here but the traffic and some elements of city life just aren't my cup of tea. Again, thank you all so so much!

 

[Jamiemar21]

Even though a good portion of the onbase housing has been torn down??

That has been my experience... and just about everyone else I know that went into base housing here...

 

[Jamiemar21]

really? Well that's slightly discouraging...how about st. mary's landing, or spring valley? anyone have any contact info, and rent info for this glen forest place i keep hearing of? I can't find anything for it online...wow, this is so frustrating, I can't go talk to anyone on base yet because my husband hasn't got a hard copy of his orders...I just want to make the right decision for us, and I feel like I'm being steered in so many different directions. I'm really thankful for all the help you guys have given me though, I've never been there so I'm totally clueles...this is just rough

https://www.housing.navy.mil/onestop/menus/Default.aspx

All the info you need...

 

[Jamiemar21]

didn't someone mention that lusby was over a bridge to get to the base? Because if it's the bridge I'm thinking of, i've heard alot of complaints about the traffic

We're in Lusby... hubby starts work at 630am.... he has never had a problem with the brudge... maybe hes just lucky...

 

[signora]

wow, thanks for the overwheliming reponse everyone! I had a blonde momenth last night with the whole glen forest thing, i did know they were on base housing, but in all my frustration of trying to figure this out, I didn't even realize that's what people were talking about! Lol, I get wound up pretty tightly about things, and this was no exception. It's nice to hear all these things about the community though....I think our number one priority will definitely be military housing right now...because when it comes down to it, we'd basically have $400 after housing if we lived off base and rent was $850, and seeing how the places we actually would be considering are $1000+, living off base would hurt us....plus, I didn't realize, but because of the way the split your pay and bah into the two week pay periods, we'd also have to hope to find a landlord flexible enough to let us split the rent! I'm definitely going to keep all your tips in mind though if on base housing doesn't work out for some unforseen reason. Does anyone know if there's a wait? I know someone previously mentioned they didn't think there would be, just wondering if anyone else had any input. Also, with on base housing, I know we're looking at trying to get into glen forest, but if you go to lincoln military housing's pax river page (the people who run mil. housing there), they have pictures that aren't any of the layouts I've seen, and I was just wondering if anyone knew what those homes were, because they looked really nice. Anyone have any suggestions as far as jobs? I'm thinking of trying to get a job at jcpenney or old navy over in california, and I know people have mentioned trying to do secretarial work for contractors....I'm looking to work full time, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open! To be honest, I do think I'm going to like the area. Believe me, I'm sure it sounds weird, but I'm looking forward to having nothing to do. Where I come from, life isn't so fast paced like it is down here, and I do like it down here but the traffic and some elements of city life just aren't my cup of tea. Again, thank you all so so much!

Since you mentioned you only have one car and your finances are pretty tight, I think you would be better off trying to get a full-time secretarial/ clerical work w/a Contractor so that you could possibly work on base and too the salary would probably be better. Otherwise, if your looking for retail work there is Marshalls, Target, Walmart, Fashion Bug, Dress Barn, Payless to name a few.