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Old 10-22-2007, 10:16 PM
 
Location: The Heart of Dixie
10,214 posts, read 15,920,736 times
Reputation: 7202

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NRDC: Solving Sprawl - Montgomery County, Maryland

My friend works for the state government in rural preservation and referred me to this site about Montgomery County's program to preserve rural land. It is a program the state hopes to emulate on a state-wide level. Basically, the program is to preserve agricultural land in Montgomery County by promoting growth in alreayd-developed areas.

I am very divided on how to feel about this. From my other posts ya'll can tell I am nostalgic for the good ol'days of small town America and I sympathize with farmers against developing forcing them off their land. However the emphasis on high-density development is creating a lot of problems in places like Rockville and Bethesda. instead of building new subdivisions in upper Montgomery County, developers now build apartments and condos in Rockville. Rockville Town Center is a perfect example of this.

This just makes traffic and noise worse and worse in the already developed areas. Now parts of Rockville feel more like a city than a suburb. The reason my family live in Rockville instead of DC or Baltimore is because we do not want to live in a suburban environment, not a city.

The average single family home in Montgomery County now costs $1.2 million and this is only going to get worse. Practically ALL the new construction I see in the county now are in condos or mixed use residential/office/retail. I'm 22 and after professional school I don't see a place for me in Montgomery anymore. The price of single fmaly homes will only increase as they become a rarer commodity. These days we have young, educated professionals living in condos and apartments when in other parts of the nation they will be living in large suburban houses.

What's everyone's opinion on this? I agree that promoting high-density growth is better for the environment in terms of preserving farmland, forests, and wetlands in our state. But at the same time I personally cannot imagine living inside a city. I don't want to look out my window and stare out at crowded streets and concrete buildings. I want open space and my own yard. I will only consider living and rasiing a family in a suburban (or perhaps small town) enviroment, preferrably suburban where it is convenient to dining, movies, sports, nightlife and shopping but without having to deal with a lot of crime,drugs, gangs, traffic or illegal immigration.

I know I'm a hyprocrite here but sometimes what's best for the enviornment is not what's best for individual people. In addition to illegal immigration, this is one of the major factors I feel are pushing me out of Maryland. I don't like the way the development is going on and the ridiculous prices.

Unless this trend reverses itself I'm definitely looking South and West for the American Dream. I hope counties like Frederick and Harford DON'T take the cue from Montgomery. Montgomery County's best solution should have simply to limit development PERIOD rather than purposely urbanizing previously suburban areas.
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Old 10-22-2007, 10:19 PM
 
Location: The Heart of Dixie
10,214 posts, read 15,920,736 times
Reputation: 7202
And I really hope places like Rockville Town Center fail to attract tenants and the developers lose big on it. Then the county and state government will also take note about the kind of communities that people really want to live in. I really can't think of any suburban subdivisions built in Montgomery County after King Farm and Kentlands.

The King Farm style, creating a small-town, self-sufficien feel/the New Urbanist model I can live with but there is a serious problem with all the condo development in Rockville and North Bethesda/Grovesor.
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Old 10-23-2007, 10:57 AM
 
Location: Cumberland
7,012 posts, read 11,304,621 times
Reputation: 6299
Thankfully, every county in our state is allowed to determine its own land use patterns. For a place like Montgomery County where there is already so many people, so much sprawl, and continued growth, it makes sense to focus on redeveloping under utilized land. Not only is it nice to preserve some of the last open spaces in the county, but it saves the county money to focus growth on areas where infrastructure is already present.

Is it selfish to want a suburban house, yard, etc? Not really, but it unrealistic to hope that you can what you want, where you want it. If you truly do like the suburban, Target, Outback, subdivision kind of lifestyle with a little more "down-home" conservatism I would look into Frederick or Carroll County. Believe it or not there are places in MD that have found the happy medium between yuppyville and hicktown.
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Old 10-23-2007, 11:18 PM
 
Location: The Heart of Dixie
10,214 posts, read 15,920,736 times
Reputation: 7202
Actually, I've always thought that if I end up staying in Maryland, Carroll, Frederick, Anne Arundel, or Harford would be good for me. Within the East Coast the only other places I will consider are Virginia (excluding Fairfax and Loudoun) and North Carolina.
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Old 10-24-2007, 02:12 PM
 
Location: Prison!
915 posts, read 3,180,454 times
Reputation: 272
I guess Raleigh is not yr place of relocation then if what you mentioned...when the last time you been to Raleigh? Raleigh is growing exponentially ...if you like good old small town..I know a place...move to Lumberton NC hahha
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Old 10-25-2007, 10:18 AM
 
Location: The Heart of Dixie
10,214 posts, read 15,920,736 times
Reputation: 7202
Well Raleigh is better than Montgomery County that's for sure. Ideally I'd live in a small town (maybe a place like Cumberland or Hagerstown or Bel Air) but employemnt is also a concern so the next best thing would be in a suburb, though one where the houses are not too close together. I personally think a self-contained subdivision of single family homes, or perhaps a gated community would be best where you can walk to the pool or the movie theather like in a small town but the city is nearby for sporting events, concerts, nightlife etc. After all the great thing about suburbs is being possible to enjoy the lifestyle of a smaller town while having access to a city.
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Old 10-26-2007, 09:55 AM
 
Location: Prison!
915 posts, read 3,180,454 times
Reputation: 272
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terrapin2212 View Post
Well Raleigh is better than Montgomery County that's for sure. Ideally I'd live in a small town (maybe a place like Cumberland or Hagerstown or Bel Air) but employemnt is also a concern so the next best thing would be in a suburb, though one where the houses are not too close together. I personally think a self-contained subdivision of single family homes, or perhaps a gated community would be best where you can walk to the pool or the movie theather like in a small town but the city is nearby for sporting events, concerts, nightlife etc. After all the great thing about suburbs is being possible to enjoy the lifestyle of a smaller town while having access to a city.
Ya definately better in term of housing price, and such. But as for now it's definately better in term of traffic too. But in a few years, raleigh will grow to a point that you hated it again. I suggest you fly down there and check it out before decide. I think you should move to Wilmington NC...
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