Why is Maryland so Expensive and Ghetto? (Baltimore: housing, rent)

[Njrover0216]

Originally Posted by Grasonville

I have two sons as well - and I can't imagine them to be capable of buying a home in Montgomery County (where they currently rent apartments at over $1000.00 a month)

Yet they like living where they grew up - access to Metro and downtown DC attractions is a big plus for 20 somethings.

I personally can't imagine moving back across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - the Eastern Shore is definately a nicer slice of Maryland.

The sad thing about Montgomery County is that the county workers can not afford to live in the county they work in. You have police officers starting out at 45K, and they all have live 30-60 minutes away from the county because they can not afford to live in it. The county needs to put restrictions on some of the builders to build AFFORDABLE houses, not these mcmansions everywhere. Something is going to come to a head.

[Grasonville]

Originally Posted by Njrover0216

The county needs to put restrictions on some of the builders to build AFFORDABLE houses, not these mcmansions everywhere. Something is going to come to a head.

Here is some info on programs for the police:

The Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission offers a mortgage purchase program that allows qualified members to purchase a

[grannyg]

Grason, I'm serious. Should I go there?

[Grasonville]

Originally Posted by grannyg

Grason, I'm serious. Should I go there?

To Leisure World?? - SURE! It is in Montgomery County and a very nice planned retirement community.

For example this is the building my Mom lives in:

3210 LEISURE WORLD BLVD N #217 SILVER SPRING, MD 20906

[kjg1963]

My grandmother, who is 94, also lives in Leisure World. She still gets out and about by herself and I've never heard her say she feels unsafe.

[lscalder]

I think everyone on this forum will only have positive comments about Leisure world. Its a city to itself.

[Doorway]

Originally Posted by carebear1970

Ok gee everyday on the news murder after murder in Baltimore City..gee yeah real nice..how many times have you heard a murder in Oakland?? hmmmm...I'm glad you like your city life... And did you know Oakland is the furthest part of Maryland?? You probably never even been there....and about DC...u see what you posted..VISITED...they dont' live here and see it everyday..its does get boring..how many times can you visit a concrete building without it being boring..what to see the great President..whoop..I'll pass on that one..and where did i say I don't like tourists in this country?? putting words in my posts now?? u know what I'm done fighting with a city born idiot!!!!!!!!!!! Have fun w/ your 20 something life and when you have children maybe you will understand EXACTLY what I'm talking about. ...You want your kids to grow up in a safe environment not in dowtown Baltimore or DC...Oh and btw....where I grew up IN HOWARD COUNTY..yes that is a very wealthy county..and I'm far from being a snot..I enjoy seeing wildlife and such in my world..

Care Bear, Try to calm down. Matt is simlpy trying to say that your opinion of Md. as a whole should not be based on one or two areas. I think he is concerned people who have not visited will get the wrong impression. I,too, lived in Md. for 22 years. There are many, many things to do there .You can enjoy beaches, mountains, farms, and some of the country's best schools. In D.C, you can bike trails, rent boats, dine in fine restraunts or get a Masters degree at GWU. There is something for nature lovers, athletes, museum buffs and bar hoppers. There are fabulous theaters, incredible shopping, and lots to do along the Potomac. Yes, there is crime in Baltimore and DC. But there is crime everywhere these days. Murder? There was recently murder in the Amish Country. Who would have expected that? Remember Columbine & Va. Tech? I dont think you can escape it. Lets not contribute to any type of hostile enviornment. Especially in this type of forum that was designed to help each other,not call each other names. The "idiot" thing was uncalled for. Please reconsider name calling in future posts. It is not necessary and just not very nice. Respectfully............

[UrbanQuest]

Originally Posted by NoHometoCallMyOwn

Sure as hell wish my "white privilege" would kick in sometime soon because it's not doing a damn thing for me. Seriously, I would take the opportunity and run with it if I had access to all this white privilege due to my race alone. It doesn't exist anymore and the fact is that the opposite is becoming the truth now. But only for the time being...

Go to the West Coast, the Asians just love the faired haired folks. Trust me if you want to feel like a king go there, It may be a minority majority state, but the white boys are still the shiznit out there.

[vwfan]

I'm a bit offended at the original post. I've been a proud marylander since birth for 24 years.

We may pay more in taxes than surrounding states, but also have a lot of great areas and conveniences as mentioned in prior posts. I believe carebear specifically mentioned Frederick, and crime, but I look at national news, and you don't usually ever see those kinds of crimes or hear of them living in the Frederick County area. Murder is not frequent here. Frederick while now growing a lot larger was a quaint small town, my mother and I used to frequent Car-mac-jays when I was a kid on route 40 (golden mile), and all the employees knew me and my mom.

There are a lot of great towns in Maryland... Just around Frederick are Brunswick, Middletown, Myersville and Mount Airy. We have a lot of civil war history, our brewing and winery is growing to be a larger and larger tourist attraction every year.

My only complaint with this state is in my locality, where housing is getting more expensive and local jobs do not support the style of life in the area but for a few select professions. I am a network engineer but have to commute to ashburn, chantilly or the fairfax area to get jobs that will allow me to live in fairly nice housing... As a single person, it's difficult. If I didn't commute to northern virginia down route 15, I would most likely be going down rt-28 through point of rocks to get down i-270, or an actual better commute traffic wise would be down i-70 to columbia.

While I hear some transplants that complain about Maryland and how other states do things better, VA for instance may have lower taxes, but they also have personal property taxes on not only their housing, but any vehicles they own as well... It balances out eventually. VA also has rougher traffic laws, so if you do get a ticket, even a small one, you pay dearly. Plus, VA has high food tax!

It's a matter of perspective, and it sounds like the original poster may not be in an ideal position, and feel like they'll never get ahead unless they move to somewhere cheaper. I feel like this sometimes, but if I could find a local job that paid similar to what I make now, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

[bythecbay]

If you go looking for the "ghettos" you can certainly find them, but that's true in most places. Overall, Maryland is hard to beat.