Hampstead harbors an intimate feel outside Baltimore
Located about 30 miles from Baltimore, Hampstead is a small town anchored by its quaint Main Street. “Hampstead has a really good small-town feel,” says Cindy Quinnett, a Realtor for RE/MAX Quality Service Inc. and co-owner of Fika, a coffee shop on Main Street. “We just love the people who we’ve met at the shop. They’re very encouraging and supportive of small local businesses, and they have a lot of community events.” The charm of the area is partly why Quinnett and her husband, Rick, decide to open their business there. “The whole ambiance of downtown, with its tree-lined streets illuminated by lamp posts, is just very cozy and homey.”
Subdivisions give residents modern homes in a suburban environment
House hunters should have no trouble finding homey vibes of their own, whether it be in a condo, townhouse or single-family home. Early 20th-century homes are found typically along Main Street or within a few blocks of it, but most homes are in subdivisions that branch off from Main Street, featuring winding suburban streets with a sidewalk on at least one side and homes built from the 1980s to the present. Styles include farmhouses, Colonial Revivals, ramblers and split-levels. Prices range from the mid-$100,000s, which could buy a one-bedroom condo in a no-frills building, to as high as the mid-$700,000s, which affords a large brick Colonial Revival with three times the space in a golf course community. According to Quinnett, taxes are lower in Hampstead than in some neighboring areas, so sometimes clients are able to opt for a more expensive house.
Sports programs provide chances for students of varying abilities
Kids in Hampstead attend Carroll County Public Schools like Spring Garden Elementary School, rated A by Niche; Shiloh Middle School, rated A-minus; and Manchester Valley High School, rated B-plus. Manchester Valley High also is rated A-minus for its athletics program, which in addition to the standard sports like basketball, soccer, football and field hockey, includes some unexpected corollary ones like bocce ball, bowling and corn toss. Carroll County Public Schools introduced corollary sports to give students of all ability levels the opportunity to get involved with team sports.
Outdoor activities include pickleball, fishing and golf
Hampstead has multiple parks that offer unique amenities for people of all interests. Head to Melvin Miller Memorial Park for its pickleball courts, Chief Sites Memorial Park for its skatepark or Sugar Maple Park for its extensive playground equipment. Residents can go fishing at either Roberts Field Pond or North Carroll Community Pond. Main Street War Memorial Park hosts events year-round, like “Music in the Park” during the summer months and a Christmas Tree Lighting in the winter. If you’re around in May, you won’t want to miss Hampstead Day, when a portion of Main Street is shut down for vendors, food and entertainment. For golf enthusiasts, Oakmont Green Golf Course, which features an 18-hole course with affordable rates open to the public. On a rainy day, spend the afternoon at Greenmount Bowl or the North Carroll Branch of the Carroll County Public Library.
Main Street offers groceries, seafood and craft beer
It takes about 10 minutes to drive from one end of Hampstead to the other via Main Street, and in that time, you’ll come across most everything you need on a daily basis. For groceries, residents can head to one of two Weis Markets locations, and for nearly everything else, Walmart Supercenter. You might also find what you need at the Hampstead Farmers’ Market, held seasonally on Saturdays. A couple of big-name options line the byway, like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Pizza Hut, but there are plenty of local eateries that cater to the community. For Maryland seafood, look to Greenmount Station for their award-winning crabcakes or Steamin Mad Crabs for a box of steamed crabs and some fresh sides. Grab a craft beer at Pipe The Side Brewing Company; the owners here regularly work to make positive changes within the community.
Health care and air travel are relatively close by
Any needs that Hampstead residents can’t find in town can usually be found in Westminster, about 10 miles away, like The Carroll Hospital Center. For jet setters, Baltimore-Washington International Airport is about 40 miles away.
