Looking east from Gambrill State Park over Frederick, Maryland.
Hopefully in about a month I'll be leaving Frederick, Maryland and moving into my new home in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. I'm having some flooring redone and need to whip the backyard into shape (aided now by the cooler October weather) but otherwise I'm ready to call a realtor and get the ball rolling.
I moved here about three years ago after taking care of my dad in Bellingham, Washington. It sounds crazy to move a 90 year-old with dementia across country, but effectively it was the only way for him to have contact with his entire family based here in Maryland short of very expensive, very stressful cross-county plane flights by visitors. (There was no way my dad could fly by this point.)
Frederick is basically north of D.C. and west of Baltimore, making it an exurb. Lots of people here commute to the big cities and end up spending three hours a day driving. The job market in Frederick itself isn't great. I worked as a substitute teacher, then for about a year in local government. There are some nice things about the place (walkable downtown, a variety of good restaurants) but it's one of those towns that has a very inflated opinion of itself.
Parts of it are pretty, as you can see.
But at the end of the day I want to live near the ocean. My dad passed two years ago and I miss him, but it's time for me to set my own direction. Again, I've made good friends here and had some good experiences, but it's never felt like home. Then again, what does?
Also, the property taxes here on my two-bedroom home are ridiculous. Yes, I am the old man now who is concerned with these things. Just by leaving Maryland I'll be saving a significant amount of money, and I can walk to the beach every day.
Sounds pretty good.
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