Hagerstown or Frederick, MD (Baltimore, Dundalk: crime, safe neighborhoods, schools)

[19Frenchie]

Hello, we are planning o relocate to Hagerstown where I have a job offer. Im looking to compare the 2 cities but as I dont plan on driving much, I will really prefer to live in Hagerstown and see how I like it.

How are the libraries compared to Frederick?

Does Hagerstown has a lot of groceries stores as well ?

Which city is rich in public transportation?

What are the safe neighborhoods of Hagerstown ?

Any farms in the areas between Frederick and Hagerstown?

Thanks in advance !

[westsideboy]

My suggestion would be to do basic research on Google Maps/Google Earth, and Wikipedia first. Many of your questions would be easily answered by looking at a map or city directory.


In general, think of Frederick as an edge city to the D.C./Baltimore metro region. It has strong economic connections to both big cities, lots of commuters, a gentrified downtown, etc. It still retains its own history and character though. Think of Hagerstown as more of a small city/regional center for a rural/exurban region. It is more conservative in outlook and a "red county" politically, while Frederick is best thought of as a "purple county" at this point.

Hagerstown will be cheaper, Frederick more pricey. Hagerstown will be more laid back, but have less "stuff to do" compared to Frederick where traffic is heavy and more people mean more shopping, restaurants, some semblance of night life, etc.

I'll be happy to answer additional questions, but look up some basics first to give yourself a better bearing on the communities

[MidValleyDad]

Neither city has a fantastic public transit system. There are bus systems in both but have never used either in the 30+ years I have lived here.


I don't know much about the Washington County (Hagerstown) Library system but they built a beautiful new one in Boonsboro a few years ago and I see notices of programs at the Hagerstown Library on a regular basis. In Maryland you can borrow from any county with a card from another county.


Grocery stores - a wide variety in both.


Farms - not as many as there used to be 30 years ago but plenty. I am curious about the reason for the question


And as far as commuting from one to the other remember there are two ridgelines you have to cross. EIther or both of those can be a problem in winter. If the job is in Hagerstown I would look at Hagerstown primarily

[19Frenchie]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

Neither city has a fantastic public transit system. There are bus systems in both but have never used either in the 30+ years I have lived here.


I don't know much about the Washington County (Hagerstown) Library system but they built a beautiful new one in Boonsboro a few years ago and I see notices of programs at the Hagerstown Library on a regular basis. In Maryland you can borrow from any county with a card from another county.


Grocery stores - a wide variety in both.


Farms - not as many as there used to be 30 years ago but plenty. I am curious about the reason for the question


And as far as commuting from one to the other remember there are two ridgelines you have to cross. EIther or both of those can be a problem in winter. If the job is in Hagerstown I would look at Hagerstown primarily

Thank you for your input. Yes the job is in H-town. I love going to the library so I really like a rich and developped library with plenty of events all year long.

As for the farm, I actually live 20mins away from one and thats where i get my beef & poultry from. Any one with fresh berries during the spring will be Great. I dont mind commuting to Southern PA for some meat.

Its quite sad for the public transportation ...but it's not a big deal.

I will google info about schools systems and closest international airport .

[19Frenchie]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

My suggestion would be to do basic research on Google Maps/Google Earth, and Wikipedia first. Many of your questions would be easily answered by looking at a map or city directory.


In general, think of Frederick as an edge city to the D.C./Baltimore metro region. It has strong economic connections to both big cities, lots of commuters, a gentrified downtown, etc. It still retains its own history and character though. Think of Hagerstown as more of a small city/regional center for a rural/exurban region. It is more conservative in outlook and a "red county" politically, while Frederick is best thought of as a "purple county" at this point.

Hagerstown will be cheaper, Frederick more pricey. Hagerstown will be more laid back, but have less "stuff to do" compared to Frederick where traffic is heavy and more people mean more shopping, restaurants, some semblance of night life, etc.

I'll be happy to answer additional questions, but look up some basics first to give yourself a better bearing on the communities

Hello i did sone research prior to posting here. Not much info about great neighborhoods in H-town except of Fountainhead as I read from previous posts. I had to google groceries stores and pharmacies in Htown to have an idea. Then I got lazy to do the same for Frederick. Looking at schools,hospitals, libraries, groceries , housing in 2 cities in order to compare its quite time consuming,reason why i post here. I read about the commute in the winter, comimg from someone who lives in Massachusetts now and commute 1h10mins each way , i had no idea how worst could it be over there.
Thanks for your input

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by 19Frenchie

Hello i did sone research prior to posting here. Not much info about great neighborhoods in H-town except of Fountainhead as I read from previous posts. I had to google groceries stores and pharmacies in Htown to have an idea. Then I got lazy to do the same for Frederick. Looking at schools,hospitals, libraries, groceries , housing in 2 cities in order to compare its quite time consuming,reason why i post here. I read about the commute in the winter, comimg from someone who lives in Massachusetts now and commute 1h10mins each way , i had no idea how worst could it be over there.
Thanks for your input

You're welcome. No offense meant by the suggestion to do your own research. We can be much more useful in giving advice if the poster already has some basic sense of the area (for instance the very large amount of farm land present in both Washington and Frederick Counties.)

Both cities are going to have the typical big box type stores like supermarkets, etc.. More variety in Frederick, but Hagerstown is no slouch either. Where Frederick pulls ahead is in the diversity of food and small market offerings. Frederick is a more diverse area and has more variety in restaurants and ethnic markets.

Winter can be bad in the mountains of Maryland. The bigger issue is bad drivers and heavy commuter traffic. All it take is one driver to act foolishly in bad weather and the whole interstate becomes a parking lot. I would agree with MidValleyDad that it would be easier and cheaper to live in Hagerstown if that is where your job is.

I can't speak too much for the good and bad neighborhoods in Hagerstown. I lived in Frederick about 12 years ago now, so my information is a bit outdated. Back then, the places that were higher crime were the areas immediately off Rt. 40, and South St. in the downtown. I have no idea if that information is still true or not.

[MidValleyDad]

International Airports are easy Washington Dulles and BWI. Dulles is better for most International flights but there are a few that are good out of BWI.


FOr fresh produce in season there are some 'pick your own' farms in the area plus a lot of independent stands and farmers markets. You can get dairy products straight from the producing dairy at South Mountain Dairy between the two.


There is also a Frederick subgroup where you can get more local information for the Frederick (and Wshington) county area.

[bus man]

Both Frederick and Hagerstown have transit systems, though I wouldn't call them "rich." Both systems operate hourly during daytime hours, Monday through Saturday. Hagerstown has a very, very limited amount of early-evening service as well. Frederick has more and later-evening service. Also, some of Frederick's routes operate every half-hour during the weekday rush hours. There is no service on Sundays.


Frederick Transit:
https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/20...le-Information

Washington County Transit (Hagerstown):
https://www2.washco-md.net/transit/routes.shtm



Both places also have commuter bus service (weekday peak hours only) to Shady Grove Metro Station.

From Frederick:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/mta-website...edules/515.pdf

From Hagerstown:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/mta-website...edules/505.pdf

Frederick also has a route to College Park:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/mta-website...edules/204.pdf



Finally, both cities have a bus route that serves BWI Airport, as well as the nearby Amtrak station and the Greyhound station in Baltimore. I do not know if there is any kind of service to Dulles or Reagan from these cities or not.

Service from Hagerstown is very limited:
https://bayrunnershuttle.com/locations/hagerstown/

Service from Frederick is noticeably more frequent:
https://bayrunnershuttle.com/locations/frederick/

[SouthernHon]

Later comer to this thread. Can anyone answer a question honestly about Hagerstown crime/drug problem? Is it as bad as some places in Baltimore county?

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by SouthernHon

Later comer to this thread. Can anyone answer a question honestly about Hagerstown crime/drug problem? Is it as bad as some places in Baltimore county?

How do you expect anyone to answer that? 'Some places in Baltimore County' That in itself is so vague I don't know what level of drug activity you are asking about. Secondly Very few people (except someone in the drug business or law enforcement) would know enough about two geographically seperated areas. Also what do you mean by 'a drug problem' Over prescription of opioids? Diversion and misuse of drugs by other family members? Street drugs?



That said in some areas of Hagerstown (like Frederick, Rockville, Salisbury, Towson, Dundalk, ...) There appears to be problems associated with street drugs. Overall there is a drug problem everywhere and I don't believe it is worse in Hagerstown than most areas.