# What is the eatern shore of MD and VA like?



## themechanicguy (May 24, 2014)

Eastern Shore of VA and MD
Not sure if anyone is familiar with this area but I just happened to find some good deals on small potential homestead properties. Most are less than 10 acres but they have livable houses.

Anyone know of pros or cons of the area?

Thanks.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I love the area, lots of good seafood,good people> My grandpop lived in New Church ,Va spent my childhood summers there..If I had an inkling to move it would be to the EasternShore of Virginia.....My ancestors came over from England around 1644 and arrived in Accomack County, Va......Where are these small tracts of land, I might be interested.........


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## Miims (Dec 16, 2011)

I used to live in Delaware and traveled to/through the rest of the peninsula so I can comment on the general area. I did like the rural character of the Delmarva peninsula. I agree with the above poster... friendly people and the seafood there is amazing! Most of the area is quite rural with a few small cities. There is a history of fishing and making a living on the water and farming. Nowadays, a lot of the larger employers seem to be poultry or other food processing type facilities. I wouldn't say there is much economic prosperity and a lot of the small towns seem like they have seen better days. Some of them are quite charming though. A few negatives (at least in my opinion) are the occasional hurricanes that hit the area and also you have to go WAY around in order to get off of the peninsula. In order for us to visit family off the peninsula we were either driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel or up on I-95 which is most unpleasant. The whole peninsula used to be very swampy. They put in drainage ditches a long time ago to drain a lot of the land for farming and other uses, but there are still some swampy areas and a huge number of mosquitoes, at least in the area we were in in southern Delaware. A few other things of note: the soil is all sand, it is very flat, easy drive to beaches (both Rehoboth/Bethany and less developed ones), very few poisonous snakes, summers were in the 90s and very humid, winters generally didn't get below 20 except on occasion but were more often just in the 30s. Because of the high water table, many places won't allow gravity fed septic systems. There are a lot of the raised mound types there. 

If you have any specific questions I may be able to answer them, just let me know.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Easton is very nice, I will head to beach living before Im dead for sure.


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## karenp (Jun 7, 2013)

I live in lower Delaware, Sussex county. I've been here over 20 years, a few years on the eastern shore of Maryland before that. The taxes here are lower than Maryland. The eastern shore of Maryland really varies county to county. The closer you are to the water either bay or ocean the more expensive it is. Zone 7, I do pretty well gardening. Maryland is adding a lot of new taxes. The most recent is taxing anything that water runs off of buildings, driveways.. The eastern shore of Va is less expensive, not much there and if you have kids the schools have a bad reputation. As one other poster mentioned there are a lot of mound septic systems, but other places have houses with basements. The other poster mentioned the Bay bridge Tunnel and I-95, but didn't mention the Bay Bridge through Annapolis.


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## gweny (Feb 10, 2014)

I am in spotsylvania county and my husband and his family are from westmooreland county in NE VA. I am on the edge of the DC suburban sprawl and I do not recommend this area for homesteading, but closer to the shore... I get all dreamy eyed just thinking about owning a nice piece of land out there. Stay out of king George area, urban sprawl is heading there next.


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## DEKE01 (Jul 17, 2013)

I haven't been on the Eastern Shore in 20 years. There used to be a lot of broiler chicken houses and I think still is. SHould be easy to get used litter for fertilizer. Used to be lots of peach and truck farms. Very rural, laid back, small towns. 

I would stay out of MD unless you like big gov't intruding on your life. MD ranks in the worst 5 on respecting 2A rights. VA is better for taxes, gun rights, and more purple politics. 

The south end of the shores, in Virginia, is much better, IMO. You can be an hour from Norfolk and everything a big city provides, but be a whole world away when you prefer quiet rural life.


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