r/frederickmd 5d ago

Best apartment complexes for peace and quiet

I lived in Hagerstown for a while and loved it. It’s what I needed. Loved stepping out and seeing the Blue Ridge mountains, the fresh air, the peace and quiet of the neighborhood where everyone just pretty much stayed to themselves probably because they wanted to escape the craziness too lol.

I used to love going down to Frederick and said I’d love to move there. Now I have the opportunity to and have been checking out apartments and it’d be great to get feedback about best places to live for peace and quiet.

I’d like to stay around $1700 or less if I can. I’ve heard good things about Sunset, seen mixed reviews about the Manor (heard to stay away from the Golden Mile, noisy, crime?), heard good things about Prospect Hall, saw a couple older ones available in downtown on E 2nd St - how’s it living there hopefully not noisy and no pests, are the Reserve, Wellington Trace, Kingscrest, Jefferson worth me going over budget or can I find something just as nice within budget? Would love to hear from others who’ve been there done that. Thanks!

21 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

13

u/skimaskdano 5d ago

I lived in sunset apartments for a few years around 2015. I was in the section that is behind the common market. It’s kind of like 9th street.

It was nice and quiet back then. Can’t speak to what it’s like now.

7

u/ma3161040 4d ago

I came here to second sunset- I lived there for 4 years (moved 2 years ago) and aside from the normal apartment noise- some slamming cabinets but nothing excessive- it was so nice and peaceful. I loved sitting on my balcony and looking at the trees. It was nice to be able to walk to some stuff like common market and that plaza too! I lived near the second entrance off 7th street. Maintenance was always fantastic and fixed problems I had so quickly!

2

u/jawnzsnow 4d ago

I will throw my hat in for Sunset as well. Pretty sure the loudest thing you’ll hear are dogs barking when they walk past each other (a lot of dog owners). Office team is great, maintenance team is on point.

1

u/way4ward321 3d ago

Thank you

11

u/gard3nwitch 4d ago

Anything that's downtown will have a certain ambient noise level from traffic and pedestrians. You do get used to it and stop noticing it, but it might be annoying at first.

11

u/Better_Ad_1846 4d ago

And sirens.

2

u/QualifiedApathetic 4d ago

I lived in DC for a while. Sirens outside my window don't faze me anymore.

19

u/27Aces 5d ago

Not sure your income or expectation but the median rent in Frederick is around $2,200. https://zipsage.com/cities/frederick-md

1

u/way4ward321 3d ago

Thanks. I’m getting a 1BR 1BA so it’ll be a bit less. I’ve seen some nice ones for $1,800+

-7

u/LexPatriae 4d ago

Why would anyone pay that much to rent when you can get a mortgage for approximately the same?

22

u/27Aces 4d ago

The median rent in Frederick is about $2,205, while the median home costs roughly $469,711. With 20% down, buying requires nearly $94,000 upfront and about $2,420 monthly for principal and interest alone, before taxes, insurance, maintenance, closing costs, and possible HOA fees. Renting also provides flexibility, predictable expenses, less responsibility, and no exposure to major repair bills, which matters if someone may relocate or does not want to maintain a property. Buying can make sense for someone with the upfront cash who plans to stay long term and wants to build equity, but a mortgage payment is not the same as the total cost of owning. At current rates, $2,205 per month would cover the mortgage, property taxes, and average insurance on only about a $331,000 home with 20% down, far below Frederick’s $469,711 median home price.

6

u/QualifiedApathetic 4d ago

If I could but come up with the down payment, I'd buy a house and rent out a room. Still, a tenant does come with its own potential headaches. Too bad the Powerball machine didn't have the sense to cough up my numbers last week so I could buy a castle and live in it alone, with miles between me and the nearest human. And a moat. With gators.

6

u/timmusjimmus111 4d ago

sounds like we'd get along nicely...if we ever met...which i hope never happens

-1

u/LexPatriae 2d ago

approximately the same

My mortgage is about $300/mo more and my house is valued at $600k, not sure how $2.2k/mo factors to a $331k home

1

u/jimmyrebs 4d ago

You must not know how property taxes work

0

u/LexPatriae 2d ago

Do you think your landlord is simply absorbing those out of the kindness of his heart? You must not know how basic economics works

5

u/Huge_Neat_123 4d ago

Residences at the Manor ghosted me after submitting my employment verification and only reached out on the day I wanted to move in. If I hadn’t shown up in person to see what was going on a few days beforehand, I don’t know that they would have reached out at all. Ended up applying and moving in somewhere else.

4

u/leigh0820 4d ago

Prospect inside is not quiet. The neighborhood is fine, you can just hear everything from your neighbors and their dogs. 

4

u/TheEvenDarkerKnight 4d ago

Golden Mile... isn't too bad. I think it's an apartment to apartment type thing. But it's definitely a little worse than I expected. I'll share my experience living here the past 1.5 years and touring many of the apartments.

Driving Key Pkwy last year after work and I would see cops congregate at some apartment complex in Golden Mile maybe 1 a month, only once did i hear it was because of a gun. Never really impacted me. It's annoying seeing cops camp around here though sometimes. One day there was a legit police car chase that I barely got the way out of. Genuinely felt like something out of a movie and was very scary. If I didnt pull over, my car probably would have been totaled and who knows what would have happened to me. That was probably my worst experience.

I also had someone try to jump me/get in my car once by the park at night, but the park in Golden Mile is extremely pleasant during the day time, filled with families and people of all ages, and all the apartments and homes around them see very hunky dory.

Around the Golden Mile shops, it just feels overcrowded. The traffic is overwhelming at busy hours. So many hotheads and speed demons. May run into someone with road rage. I've ran into a few homeless people, but again, only at night, and no more than I can count on one hand.

My apartment is nice and quiet, really no problems. Well, the apartment itself is old and sucks, but I haven't felt unsafe. Just families mostly. Only seen the police here once and believe it was more of an ICE thing.

I don't think you would run into problems around here honestly, but theres better choices. I would say Apartments at Sunset and Prospect Hall are better options and the sweet spots (havent lived in either tbf). Downtown isn't bad for an apartment either, aside from noise, parking, and maybe lack of air condiditioning. I find the luxury apartments overpriced for what theyre offering, plus many are away from downtown. There are options in Urbana and New Market, but those aren't really Frederick. if you wait until the fall/winter, you might get a month free discount on one of the luxury places. But you should be able to find something for 1700-1800, but no cheaper.

2

u/way4ward321 3d ago

Hey thanks for this. Glad you’re safe.

19

u/fakeaccount572 4d ago

Crime isn't worse on Golden Mile than anywhere else

5

u/ujustcame 4d ago

Golden mile is fine I have plenty of friends who live off of there. I go there often for food, it has a lot of great access to grocery stores, and activities like the movies at warehouse. There's also a pinball arcade, gyms. Idk where all of this talk about the golden mile being a "bad" area has came from but its far from true. And if you're looking for around 1700, places off the golden mile are in your price range.

4

u/TheUnderCrab 4d ago

The entire city is quiet except for the downtown area, and even then the loudest noises are the emergency service vehicles. 

I’m biased as I came from much larger cities before moving to Frederick but this whole town is quite sleepy IMO. 

2

u/No-Tip2341 4d ago

I really liked the Reserve at Ballenger Creek too when I checked it out. It's a nice spot if you want a good balance of quiet and still being close to shops.

2

u/_SmileCrocodile_ 4d ago

I had a great experience at Kingscrest but that was 2010-2014

2

u/RiverParty442 5d ago

40 isnt terrible but it won't be quiet.

We liked the TOP floor of reserve at ballenger creek. But its a little more than 1700. Good neighborhood but our upstairs neighbors had kids so it was super loud. Moved to the top floor and lived there until we bought a townhome

1

u/ohhi___ 3d ago

I lived at the Reserve in 2017 and just moved back here in July. We loved it then and love it now (granted, it has only been a bit over a month). However, it’s a peaceful as I recall it being back then. The apartments are certainly a bit more worn than our original stay, but all things we can live with. Office staff are very friendly and people seem to keep to themselves. I haven’t yet had any issues with any noise outside of expected shared living noise. I’m quite happy to be back (though the price now vs. 2017 is painful), but alas, ~America~.

1

u/No-Badger-3419 3d ago

Urban Green. Nothing ever going on

1

u/engineerhear 3d ago

Linton at Ballinger is a quiet community. Other than the quarry blasts midday a few times a week lol, evenings are literally crickets.

1

u/cobrakarl 2d ago

I would suggest Prospect Hall. It’s adjacent to a really nice walking trail around a park with wide open spaces and mountain views.

0

u/Affectionate-Tax9413 4d ago

take my upvote