Is MD taxes really that bad? (Rockville, North Beach: insurance, mortgage, inspection)

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

However, get two people together and they will argue over which (public use) is necessary
and which is not until they are old an grey.

Which describes perfectly what is being really being argued in this thread...
while trying to pretend that the marginally higher level vs most other states actually matters.

[lex2121]

Originally Posted by vicnice

Yes they are infact cheaper, even with car tax. The Maryland propaganda machine has been on overdrive for years now, VA has lower taxes, Cost of Living is higher sure, but the TAXES are lower -- even with car tax.

So is it worth the move to VA?
I just renewed my tags in MD and paid $128 for 2 yrs.
Now I would pay $42 for registration +$16 for safety inspection (if they find nothing wrong) + $60 for car property tax/yr.
Based on just this i would say the math doesn't add up to move. Now please tell me I'm missing something or don't have the full picture. Are rents cheaper? I know gas is (but that may be a thing of the past with their new gas law). Are groceries? Insurance (car or otherwise) anuthing? Vicnice where in VA do you live? How is it?

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by oncesir

I should have been clearer in my rant about street lights and infrastructure. I don't expect them everywhere, especially rural areas here but even subdivisions with $250k and up houses have little to no lighting or curbs/sidewalks. A friend lives in a subdivision with REALLY expensive houses in Wicomico County, no curbs or street lights. This is pathetic to me considering the high tax rates and the amount of rural area here that requires little to no upkeep.

The reason this is pathetic to me is because the state I came from has high taxes. Schools there were good and infrastructure was top notch. My point is that high taxes are often about perspective as well. Wicomico County isn't worth it to me due to my perspective.

If the sub-divisions are HOA the County has no control over the developer putting in either sidewalks or lighting (unless the codes mandate it, which many don't in single family developments.

I can take you to $1M+ house developments over here which don't have them either. The idea behind no sidewalks is that the lack of them keeps out random "lookers" (read that to mean potential burglars casing the area). The lack of lighting adds to the rural "ambience". Of course everyone has motion triggered floodlights set to register a small cat.

If you look your tax rate isn't really out of line for most of the rural areas of MD. Calvert's would be up there too if it didn't have Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and its multi-million dollar tax payment every year.

[chicago2MD]

I have an option to work in VA (Richmond) or MD (Howard County) as company has offices in both states. I am trying to figure out which state will be better for me to relocate. In my initial research, MD came on top due to better school and property value.

Some of the following details may be useful in this discussion:
1. good public school (rating 8-10, preferably 10 or 9).
2. Low crime
3. Single or town house less than 350K.
4. within commuting distance from DC for additional job security.

Single income family - 100K.

Thank you for all the info.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by chicago2MD

I have an option to work in VA (Richmond) or MD (Howard County)
Single income family - 100K.

If the income is the same... COL will go farther in Richmond.

within commuting distance from DC for additional job security.

Driving from EC into DC for a meeting once in a while? Sure.
As a daily commute? No thanks. Even way south HoCo is tough.

Single or town house less than 350K.

$350,000 should be able to buy a lot of house. Anywhere.
Good luck finding more than a TH that meets all your other needs.

[Cruzincat]

If you are coming from Chicago, and you liked the politics there, then MD is probably your best bet, all other things being roughly equal. Of course, Obama is still trying to shape the rest of America like Chicago and he has three years left to do it.

[jmking]

Originally Posted by lex2121

So is it worth the move to VA?
I just renewed my tags in MD and paid $128 for 2 yrs.
Now I would pay $42 for registration +$16 for safety inspection (if they find nothing wrong) + $60 for car property tax/yr.
Based on just this i would say the math doesn't add up to move. Now please tell me I'm missing something or don't have the full picture. Are rents cheaper? I know gas is (but that may be a thing of the past with their new gas law). Are groceries? Insurance (car or otherwise) anuthing? Vicnice where in VA do you live? How is it?

I bet car insurance is double that of Virginia. Maryland ranks very high in car insurance costs. One of the highest in the nation.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

The idea behind no sidewalks is that the lack of them keeps out random "lookers" (read that to mean potential burglars casing the area).

How does it make a difference? It's just as easy to case a neighborhood from a parked car, or one that's driving slowly. In fact, it might even be easier. Is that a real reason to not have sidewalks?

Another question I have about lack of sidewalks is the question of disability access. I guess most here do not think it's important though. For me it is very important. Having to ride in my chair in the street can be a scary experience.

[jmking]

Originally Posted by dkf747

How does it make a difference? It's just as easy to case a neighborhood from a parked car, or one that's driving slowly. In fact, it might even be easier. Is that a real reason to not have sidewalks?

Another question I have about lack of sidewalks is the question of disability access. I guess most here do not think it's important though. For me it is very important. Having to ride in my chair in the street can be a scary experience.

Having no sidewalks is another way to squeeze homeowners out of real estate and cram more houses on an acre. If there are no sidewalks in a new neighborhood you can bet the house is closer to the street, less space between the houses and a small back yard. Near me there are $800,000 homes so close to each other with no sidewalks that they almost look like townhouses because they are so close to each other and very close to the street.

[stpickrell]

Originally Posted by vicnice

Yes they are infact cheaper, even with car tax. The Maryland propaganda machine has been on overdrive for years now, VA has lower taxes, Cost of Living is higher sure, but the TAXES are lower -- even with car tax.

So you pay more in taxes in MD, and more in mortgage in VA.

A 1950s vintage SFH sort of near (~1 mile) the Metro in Rockville will run you $400k or so. In Vienna VA good luck getting it for under $500k. RichMo isn't one of the W's but it is pretty close; Madison is typically the 3rd-5th best HS in Fairfax.