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Hey all, new forum poster here. I've read every thread on Cumberland I can find on here, so hopefully I'm not retreading any ground.
Long story short, I'm looking to move to a small historic town/city with affordable historic SFH options and local amenities reachable by walking/biking. I've visited the city 3 times over the last year to get a feel for the different neighborhoods and amenities.
Sorry for the long post, but I'm hoping I can get some expert guidance from locals or at least people familiar with the area.
1. How much longer is Baltimore street going to be torn up?
2. Long-term, what have the shopping and dining options been like on Baltimore street?
2. What's the deal with the bridges over by the Washington street historic area? They've been down each time I've visited. Redirecting around them is PITA and I've only driven through as a visitor.
3. Would you say the city is bikeable/walkable in general?
4. What are the actual daily impacts and risks of the drug/crime problems? I have 2 teenagers that I'm thinking of primarily. We have a condo in the NoVA suburbs where they would be spending most of their time, but would be living out here on the weekends and in the summer. We mostly just know the suburbs, but get the concept of situational awareness, etc.
5. How consistent is the stock of historic SFHs? I see alot of smaller row home style properties. The larger estate homes on Washington Street seem to go in the 400k-1mil range. I'm realistically looking for a property in the 200k range.
Again, kudos if you actually read all this. If you have any thoughts to share on the above, I'd appreciate it!
I've visited the city 3 times over the last year to get a feel...
If you have any thoughts to share on the above, I'd appreciate it!
That you have actually visited before asking is impressive in itself.
We have a well informed regular poster from the area who I'm sure will be along soon with all the deets.
hang tight.
meanwhile ... have a look at this thread old thread LINK
That you have actually visited before asking is impressive in itself.
We have a well informed regular poster from the area who I'm sure will be along soon with all the deets.
hang tight.
meanwhile ... have a look at this thread old thread LINK
Hey, how is it going? If you read the Cumberland threads, you should recognize my name, so I'll just jump on in.
1. How much longer is Baltimore street going to be torn up?
Not sure, but I would expect it to be opened back up by next Spring or Summer. They are already filling back in the street, so paving, putting in the sidewalks, trees, and other stuff is next up.
2. Long-term, what have the shopping and dining options been like on Baltimore street?
Substandard, to be blunt. But, literally new shops/restaurants are being opened, and other buildings are being renovated to be opened as I type this. I am on some volunteer boards for the city, and we are very optomistic about the direct investment being made into the downtown buildings and business. Also, check out Centre St. It is the healthiest street right now.
2. What's the deal with the bridges over by the Washington street historic area? They've been down each time I've visited. Redirecting around them is PITA and I've only driven through as a visitor.
Long story, but don't expect Washington St. to ever open back up. It is too low for double models, and CSX's plan to replace it would take out 1/2 a city block in either direction. Cumberland St. bridge will be the first repair, then hopefully getting Fayette St. bridge back to 2 lanes.
3. Would you say the city is bikeable/walkable in general?
The town is really hilly, so the answer depends on what neighborhood you live in and what your tolerance for walking/biking up and down hills is. Overall our streets are very narrow and not well suited for cycling. Obviously, we have some great biking trails, so if you live near the C&O Canal or Allegheny Highlands Trail, you have direct bike access to most of the cool parts of the city.
4. What are the actual daily impacts and risks of the drug/crime problems? I have 2 teenagers that I'm thinking of primarily. We have a condo in the NoVA suburbs where they would be spending most of their time, but would be living out here on the weekends and in the summer. We mostly just know the suburbs, but get the concept of situational awareness, etc.
If you live in a good neighborhood, the answer is "minimal." If you live in a mixed neighborhood, the answer is "moderate." If you live in a bad neighborhood, the answer is "every day." So, pick your neighborhood carefully and DO NOT get suckered by a really cool house with a really cheap price tag that seems too good to be true....because it almost certainly is.
Like most places, if you aren't associating with the drug users and dealers themselves, you aren't going to have many interactions with the crime associated with the drug trade, which is most of Cumberland's crime when added to rough neck domestic stuff.
5. How consistent is the stock of historic SFHs? I see alot of smaller row home style properties. The larger estate homes on Washington Street seem to go in the 400k-1mil range. I'm realistically looking for a property in the 200k range.
We have a large stock of historic SFHs. Your best bets for the 200k range are in West Side and the Johnson Heights/Maple Side area of South End. Prices are inflated right now, but you can still buy into those South End neighborhoods (my home for over 15 years despite being "Westsideboy" from my youth) for about 200k. West Side is priced up a bit from there, but is still the best neighborhood in town IMO.
Housing stock will vary. Honestly, Cumberland has very few true "rowhomes" because of our geography. You only see them in and around downtown where the flood plain is. Most of Cumberland is either duplexes or single family homes on smaller lots. Brick houses with hard wood floors dominate, our city has great "bones' compared to our neighbors because of the historic wealth in the area.
Feel free to ask me anything you want, or send me specific streets and I can give you my opinion on them. I am not a real estate agent, so I don't have to beat around the bush if a street or house is bad news.
We have a large stock of historic SFHs. Your best bets for the 200k range are in West Side and the Johnson Heights/Maple Side area of South End. Prices are inflated right now, but you can still buy into those South End neighborhoods (my home for over 15 years despite being "Westsideboy" from my youth) for about 200k. West Side is priced up a bit from there, but is still the best neighborhood in town IMO.
Housing stock will vary. Honestly, Cumberland has very few true "rowhomes" because of our geography. You only see them in and around downtown where the flood plain is. Most of Cumberland is either duplexes or single family homes on smaller lots. Brick houses with hard wood floors dominate, our city has great "bones' compared to our neighbors because of the historic wealth in the area.
Yes, you definitely are the go-to source for Cumberland info. Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post!
So, currently seeing some prospects on the western part of Avirett Avenue / Braddock Road in the west and Louisiana & Kent Avenue to the south. They're all a bit further out from downtown then I'd like, with Avirett maybe being an exception.
I'd prefer to be closer to Washington, Greene, Fayette, and Cumberland streets, but I may be priced out. Does anything around 200k ever show up around central westside? Some gorgeous Queen Anne / Victorian architecture there.
I had actually almost put in an offer on the Wright Butler house, but Columbia street was, to put it politely, not ideal.
Oh another question, how reliable is street parking? I don't see many places with garages. My main fear is break-ins, with a secondary fear of visitors not finding spots or having to scramble to get a parking spot in the evenings.
Yes, you definitely are the go-to source for Cumberland info. Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post!
So, currently seeing some prospects on the western part of Avirett Avenue / Braddock Road in the west and Louisiana & Kent Avenue to the south. They're all a bit further out from downtown then I'd like, with Avirett maybe being an exception.
I'd prefer to be closer to Washington, Greene, Fayette, and Cumberland streets, but I may be priced out. Does anything around 200k ever show up around central westside? Some gorgeous Queen Anne / Victorian architecture there.
I had actually almost put in an offer on the Wright Butler house, but Columbia street was, to put it politely, not ideal.
Oh another question, how reliable is street parking? I don't see many places with garages. My main fear is break-ins, with a secondary fear of visitors not finding spots or having to scramble to get a parking spot in the evenings.
Oh, I know who owns that Wright Butler house, and yeah, he wants off of Columbia St. I would not recommend buying there.
I've never had to park more than a block from my house, or any house I have visited in 40+ years of life and even parking that far away is rare. To be blunt, we have lots of vacant houses and many 1-2 person households (older people/couples) so parking is not a problem that I have every encountered.
Braddock Rd. is the side of Haystack Mtn. If you are at the bottom of the road, that would probably work. Any higher up that mountain road and cycling would be impossible. Good neighborhood though.
Avirett and nearby streets are among my favorite neighborhoods at that approx. price point. Small lots, but good housing stock and a very intact neighborhood feel. I would call that neighborhood between good to average. Just check the houses around you to see if they are rentals or home owners. If they are rentals, give them as a close a look as the house you want to buy to see if they are well maintained, etc. It's a good lead though. It's not really that far from downtown, just head down Greene St., which is mostly flat, and you are there.
Louisiana and Kent are good streets, very close to were I live, actually, but a little nicer! You are a bit further from downtown, some sketchy streets and hills in between. Not impossible to bike in and out, but not ideal. I am partial, but I really like living up on that hill and we have been a neighborhood on the rise since the pandemic. Again, lots of direct investment from homeowners (including us) and rehabbers that are looking to sell to homeowners, not create cheap rentals.
As for prices..........my opinion is that they are inflated by about 20-25% right now at least. Now, I say that because in my lifetime, Cumberland housing prices have been EXTREMELLY flat. Like my house may have sold for 20-30k more than we paid for it 15 years ago (roughly 100k,) in the housing 2020 market which is barely keeping up with inflation. Now folks are putting houses like ours up for 200k and a few have sold.
The risk for folks like you is that what is happening isn't a bubble, but a market correction that will stick. I don't know the answer. As a homeowner, I would love for the housing price increase to be real, but we will see.
Interesting! Looks like my read on the good neighborhoods seem accurate so far.
Any historic societies? Preservation efforts? Though I don't work in the field, I got my bachelors in history and it would definitely be a pro if Cumberland had some opportunities to get involved in that area.
Also, I see there's a couple theaters. There's the stage down by the waterfront and railway station. How often is there live music, plays, films shown in town?
What do you think about a house on east Harrison street? Neighborhood looks rough (esp. Baltimore Ave), but the house is definitely in line with what I'm looking for (garage, covered porch, small yard.)
Interesting! Looks like my read on the good neighborhoods seem accurate so far.
Any historic societies? Preservation efforts? Though I don't work in the field, I got my bachelors in history and it would definitely be a pro if Cumberland had some opportunities to get involved in that area.
Also, I see there's a couple theaters. There's the stage down by the waterfront and railway station. How often is there live music, plays, films shown in town?
What do you think about a house on east Harrison street? Neighborhood looks rough (esp. Baltimore Ave), but the house is definitely in line with what I'm looking for (garage, covered porch, small yard.)
Yes, and if you do move here, DM me I can get you introduced to those circles. My volunteer board is preservation related (and we are always looking for members) and let's say I am VERY close to the people who run the local historical society.
Harrison north of the tracks (near Park St.) is a questionable street. Lots of cheap rentals, and worse still, a ton of food traffic from every other not so great street in that general area to the Martin's supermarket, which means a higher chance of the random break-in and crime of convenience opportunities. If you have 200k to spend, you can do much better. South of the tracks (downtown) is a different story, but there aren't many houses there on that street (any?).
There is live music or theatre every week in the summer, and lots of weeks "off season" too. If you add in close by communities like Frostburg and Keyser, there is always cultural weekend activities to go do.....now sometimes that may be listening to a mediocre band you haven't heard of or watching a children's production of Aladdin Jr., but our arts scene is strong for a community of our size.
3. Would you say the city is bikeable/walkable in general?
The town is really hilly, so the answer depends on what neighborhood you live in and what your tolerance for walking/biking up and down hills is. Overall our streets are very narrow and not well suited for cycling. Obviously, we have some great biking trails, so if you live near the C&O Canal or Allegheny Highlands Trail, you have direct bike access to most of the cool parts of the city.
For walkability....are there neighborhoods where someone could reasonably walk to restaurants or a supermarket from their home? Or is that quite limited?
For walkability....are there neighborhoods where someone could reasonably walk to restaurants or a supermarket from their home? Or is that quite limited?
Yes, there are many neighborhoods that have walkable restaurants either in the neighborhood, or close enough to downtown to walk there and eat.
We have one supermarket, and it is rather centrally located, and thus fairly walkable. It is also in a sketchy part of town, so trying to live in "walkable" range to it is difficult unless you are aiming to live in a lower income neighborhood.
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