I have decided to fulfill my Public Service Announcement requirement with this post. I have taken the time to rank the top 9 neighborhoods in the Annapolis metropolitan area, using several criteria.
The purpose of this exercise is twofold:
1. Help me stay awake longer so I can enjoy watching my new flat screen tv in the background.
2. Serve as a reference for myself later in life when I can actually afford to buy a home in any of these neighborhoods.
The criteria used, all on a 1-10 scale, are:
-awesomeness of houses: sheer 'wow' factor of interior and exterior
-uniqueness of houses: all the same from a builder or custom, different designs
-exclusivity: how many people in the neighborhood, and how many non-residents travel through regularly
-accessibility: access to highways
-convenience: ease of parking, proximity to services/stores
-water privileges: % of homes on the water, marina, boat slips, which body of water
-seclusion: how intimate the neighborhood is
To see all of the scoring, click.....nevermind, can't figure it out....email me.
And the order is................
1. The Downs ------------Score: 61
Diverse, amazing homes. Plenty of water, great access to 97, decent access to 50. Very secluded, only 1 entrance. Only semi-problem: too damn far from downtown and not really part of the city culture.
2. Fishing Creek Farm ----------Score: 54
These are probably the most incredible houses I have ever seen. Almost all the way to the Bay, which is good for water, but bad for being close to the city or highways. Although the score is somewhat not close, this is a close substitute for The Downs if you want to live on the peninsula.
3. Hillsmere-----------Score: 45
Houses are not as exciting on the whole, but some are very impressive. Great water stuff, decent accessibility. Good, secluded location, not a lot of rif-raf. Plus, my parents still live there. Not an outright winner in any category, but the classic tortoise/hare success story.
4. Murray Hill ------------Score: 43
Good location, nice houses, but overall pain in the ass. Tourists messing with your area all the time, limited (although adequate) parking. Annoying to get on the highways. But within walking distance to almost anything you want. No neighborhood marina/water access (that I know of.) Cumbersome historic conservation requirements.
5. Eastport--------------- Score: 41
Good scores for water and convenience, accessible to downtown, fairly pedestrian for everything else. Some houses are nice, but most are vanilla if you ask me. Major downfall: accessibility. A horrible pain to get to highways or the other side of town. Plus, dealing with civic association can be frustrating.
6. Bay Ridge --------------Score: 41
Perfect water options, slightly out of the way. Houses are OK but you have to drive down to the water to find the nice houses. Plus, a ton of people live there--the community is big enough that there can be cliques within the community, which is not ideal.
7. Monticello---------------- Score: 40
Nice, new houses. Convenient to mall and highways. But, boring neighborhood with houses that all look the same. No water, no trees. But the governor lives there. Whoops, ex-governor.
8. Hunt Meadow------------------- Score: 34
Nice houses, but not awesome houses. Outside of the city but not too far outside. No water stuff located in the neighborhood, although it is nearby. Not terribly unique. Fox Hollow Ct. has a lot of republican activism.
9. Kingsport----------------- Score: 31
Big, cool, new houses, but that's about it. Definitely not secluded, no water, no uniqueness, no character to neighborhood. No such thing as a 'cute little district', as Mrs. Politics would say.
So there you have it, the end-all list of the best places to live.
Email me with any comments, or if you want your neighborhood rated!
