Give Bel Air a Break
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6/24/2007
The two reviews that I saw for Bel Air were a little on the extreme side, just there to draw a reaction (teenagers, perhaps?). The school system for Harford County is considered one of the best in the state of Maryland. Teachers are well thought of. I would rather send my kid to a public school in Harford County than a private school, honestly. Naturally, as in any school system, there are many excellent teachers, and a few bad apples. Enough said.
Bel Air is growing. On a Saturday, traffic on Route 1 through town is a bit on the ridiculous side. Restaurants are always crowded (do people ever eat at home anymore?). There are many places to shop. As a citizen who has lived in Bel Air since 1951, I have seen many changes, and it is disconcerting, to say the least. There are many developments that are popping up all over the place. If you haven't been down a country road in a while, be prepared to discover another development. With the realignment of federal installations around the country, we are expecting a veritable boom in jobs (BRAC), but also will come more housing, which I'm not looking forward to. But remember, I'm old Bel Air, and am set in my ways. For kids growing up here, it probably is a fairly decent place to live. There are still rural areas in Harford County, so you can still "get away from it all", by a trip to Rocks State Park in the upper part of the county, with Deer Creek and Eden Mill also to the north, as examples. Aberdeen, about 20 minutes away, is the hometown of Cal Ripken, and is home to Ripken Stadium, a minor league ballpark. We are about 25 miles northeast of Baltimore, so you have many city events close at hand (yes, Baltimore has dangerous neighborhoods, but it's mostly criminal-on-criminal crime. Just stay out of the bad neighborhoods). I hope you sense my sincerity; I do think Bel Air is a decent place to live.
Carroll | Bel Air North, MD