Why Did You Move Out Of Maryland.... (Baltimore, Towson: condos, home)

[Tom Lennox 70]

Nickluva, I actually think the domination of transplants and lack of identity in the DC area is actually similar to western cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Albuqerque. The only unique things about Maryland come from Baltimore and the Bay. In terms of Baltimore, I don't think clubs and bars, since that's everywhere in the country. Like how people say "hon", the Baltimore accent, and most of all crab cakes and Old Bay seasoning, a food Maryland is famous for. DC, well like I said its everywhere and nowhere.

Western Maryland shares an identity and Rust Belt feel with western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. Baltimore also feels like a Rust Belt city much like Cleveland and elsewhere in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

That being said, I'd rather be in Arizona, at least the transplants come from California instead of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Philly, the weather is nicer, there's more sunshine and there are wide open spaces and lovely scenery.

Go-go music? Hip hop? I am not African American so I cannot identify with those things. I only listen to country music and pop, and some classical. None of my favorite artists come from Maryland. The closest geographically would be Phil Vassar from Virginia and Taylor Swift from Pennsylvania, and perhaps Chuck Wicks from Delaware, though he only has one famous song out as of now. ("Stealing Cinderella"...check it out, they play it on WMZQ a lot).

[Tom Lennox 70]

Also two reasons I feel pushed out of Maryland:

1. Illegals aliens. Our government in Annapolis welcomes them, thanks to sanctury giving Governor O'Malley. So many parts of Montgomery County now feel like some Third World craphole in Central America. It disgusts me that the county sent out election materials and its printed in both English and Spanish. If you do not speak English and want to be American, you should get the hell out of our country. I say this as an Asian American born in the U.S. who assimilated and is patriotic and loyal to this nation.

2. Housing policy, at least in Montgomery COunty. They are pushing high-density development and discouraging the construction of condos and apartments. That's not the kind of lifestyle I want. I need to live in a single-family house in the suburbs or a small town with a big yard and ideally a front porch. I need at least a 4 bedroom house with a two car garage at the bare minimum. This is the basic American lifestyle. This is America, not Europe, not Asia. Honestly, I prefer the "sprawl" of Phoenix and Raleigh over high-density cities like Washington, D.C. or New York City.

[nickluva]

Nickluva, I actually think the domination of transplants and lack of identity in the DC area is actually similar to western cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Albuqerque.

How does DC lack identity when it's known worldwide as one of the most powerful cities in the world?? It's an international city with a diverse population of people coming from many backgrounds. It's very unique compared to the average US city. Phoenix, Las Vegas(outside of the strip) and ALBQ are some of the most soul less cities around and could never compare to the DC area.

DC, well like I said its everywhere and nowhere.

I like how people come from all over to live in DC it's better than living in a town where everybody grew up there and will most likely die there that's a sign that your city is not really progressing. I live in Phoenix now and I wouldn't be able to take it everybody was from here. The natives here are crazy and backwards

That being said, I'd rather be in Arizona, at least the transplants come from California instead of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Philly, the weather is nicer, there's more sunshine and there are wide open spaces and lovely scenery.

I hate to break this to ya Terp but the transplants from NY,NJ,CT and Philly are coming out to AZ too and for the exact same reasons that you want to come out here. You'll just be following them instead of getting away from them. Also the people coming from California aren't all that they're cracked up to be. There are some nice ones but the majority of them are bitter because they couldn't make it in Cali so they had to settle for AZ instead. They can be just as rude as people from back east.

Go-go music? Hip hop? I am not African American so I cannot identify with those things. I only listen to country music and pop, and some classical. None of my favorite artists come from Maryland. The closest geographically would be Phil Vassar from Virginia and Taylor Swift from Pennsylvania, and perhaps Chuck Wicks from Delaware, though he only has one famous song out as of now. ("Stealing Cinderella"...check it out, they play it on WMZQ a lot).

Since when did you have to be African American to identify with a certain genre of music??? That's like asking why do you listen to country music if you're Asian??? that's white people music! See how ignorant that sounds??? I was just using go-go and baltimore club as an example Terp. Not many cities have their own genre of music and Baltimore and Washington just happen to be among them. You said you like pop music right? Maryland has a good number of pop acts(Good Charlotte for example). Maybe you do need to leave Maryland for a little bit and see how the rest of country really is compared to it.

Maryland and DC
Most other parts of the US

[nickluva]

Also two reasons I feel pushed out of Maryland:

1. Illegals aliens. Our government in Annapolis welcomes them, thanks to sanctury giving Governor O'Malley. So many parts of Montgomery County now feel like some Third World craphole in Central America. It disgusts me that the county sent out election materials and its printed in both English and Spanish. If you do not speak English and want to be American, you should get the hell out of our country. I say this as an Asian American born in the U.S. who assimilated and is patriotic and loyal to this nation.

Terp those illegal aliens aren't bothering anybody they're hardworking people just trying to live a better life. If Mexico or Central American can't provide that for them why not come here?? I don't see anybody making a fuss when people from Eastern Europe come here illegally ALL THE TIME. You're Asian American so you're saying that the large number of illegal Asian immigrants who arrive here through our ports can't come here to live a better life and give birth to children that can be just as patriotic and loyal to this nation as you are?? Face it Terp everybody with the exception of Native Americans, most blacks(due to slavery) and people who earned the proper documentation to live in America could be considered illegal in that case then

2. Housing policy, at least in Montgomery COunty. They are pushing high-density development and discouraging the construction of condos and apartments. That's not the kind of lifestyle I want. I need to live in a single-family house in the suburbs or a small town with a big yard and ideally a front porch. I need at least a 4 bedroom house with a two car garage at the bare minimum. This is the basic American lifestyle. This is America, not Europe, not Asia. Honestly, I prefer the "sprawl" of Phoenix and Raleigh over high-density cities like Washington, D.C. or New York City.

I'm actually happy that they're doing that Terp. Let's try not build on every speck of land like they are trying to do here in Phoenix. Maybe this country should try to model itself after Europe. The cities maybe dense but they're cleaner and friendlier than than the ones here in America. I would love to live in Amsterdam or Stockholm,Sweden where everything including the mass transit is amazing but that's just me

[Maxchus]

Originally Posted by nickluva

What is your understanding of culture?? Where did I say anyhting about clubs.............???

I got what you said "!!!" I'm saying that most of the 'music scenes' in Baltimore/D.C. are centered, or started, around nightclubs/bars. That's where clubs come in to it.

So, you got me. It's a form of culture: cheap, seedy culture. (most, not all)

[mom2boys37]

Originally Posted by CJtheman07

I hate the suburban brats that are taking over. I was forced out because of jacked-up prices during 04/05, but now i plan to move back. Right now im in Pennsylvania, and if you thought MD was snobby, you'd hate it up here. 99% of kids in the suburbs of PA are spoiled. I lived in Havre de Grace, and was forced out because of that dammed suburb Bulle Rock. Then I moved to Canton. What do ya know? Forced outta there because of rich yuppies too!

I have no desire to move to PA trust me on that one..lol

[mom2boys37]

Originally Posted by nickluva

Wow...Another ignorant remark about Baltimore maybe you need to get around Maryland more before you start bashing on it's culture just a thought

Baltimore suks!!!!!!!! And don't use the remark of "before you start bashing". You can only do so much if you have lived here all your life. Honestly, what changes?? The prices are guaranteed to go up but all in all it's the same thing day after day, season after season..boring!!!!!!

[autimom4ever]

Originally Posted by vanyali

I've got a house for sale in Charlotte Seriously, though -- Maryland has it's issues, as does the whole DC area, but think carefully about the alternatives before making a jump.

The things you'll notice if you move further South are that no one knows how to do their jobs. I mean no one. I could tell you plenty of stories, but suffice it to say that my husband and I are busting our butts to finish a whole bunch of work on our house ourselves in the next two weeks (!) because everyone we've hired over the last 3 1/2 years to do the job for us has screwed it up worse than it was before. But doctors, dentists, car dealers, teachers, politicians -- everyone down here is a screw up, which is a bit inconvenient. That's not to say that everyone up there is an expert at what they do, and cares to do the best job every time (in fact, my dad was nearly killed by a few doctors in NoVa a little while ago -- another long story) but at least you can find someone to do what you need reasonably competently most of the time.

Part of the reason everyone is such a screw-up down here is that you're not allowed to complain. People here are so afraid of any hint of confrontation that they totally don't know how to handle it. I asked my daughter's allergist a question at a visit once, and the guy avoided me for 6 months (wouldn't take my calls, went missing when I showed up in person) because he didn't want to tell me the answer was "no". I guess I was just supposed to infer the answer FROM A DOCTOR when he started avoiding me (Question: Can you give her this treatment I read about in the WSJ? Answer: No, I don't know how. Simple, right?)

Again, there are a ton of stories I could tell you like this, but the point is, no one here knows that they suck because (1) they've never seen anything done any better, and (2) no one ever tells them when they screw up. My HVAC guy got so mad when I showed him that the new system his crew installed didn't work right that he stormed off and sued me for payment rather than just fix it. He could not deal with a woman (especially a woman) criticizing his work, even when it was total crap (out-dated design built out of mis-matched pieces into a leaky hulk that filled my furnace and crawl space with gallons of water. . . "Oh, it's supposed to do that").

I have other complaints about the South, but that's enough for now. Texas might be better, that place seems rather different from the rest of the South. And the South West is definitely a whole different ballgame.

I almost moved to Chicago, but that job didn't come through. I wonder if Chicago would be nice. That place seems to be more laid back than the DC area, but still --

ARGH! Just got a call from my kid's (PUBLIC) school -- they have her in the office because she has the tiniest bit of pink ribbon on the collar of her shirt, and kacki pants instead of navy blue, so they yanked her out of class and are changing her clothes. This is more important than teaching her something. Did I mention that Southerners don't value learning? That my neighbor had to tell me how WEEEEIIIIRRRDD it was that I was teaching my kids French about 3-4 times in 5 minutes?

Move to Chicago, move to California, but stay the hell away from the South. If this place broke off the continent and fell into the ocean, I would throw a party.

That's you... I've had nothing but great experiences here...

No uptight, stressed out, competitive people..

It's too bad that you had a bad experience here...I'm loving it...

[nickluva]

Originally Posted by Maxchus

I got what you said "!!!" I'm saying that most of the 'music scenes' in Baltimore/D.C. are centered, or started, around nightclubs/bars. That's where clubs come in to it.

So, you got me. It's a form of culture: cheap, seedy culture. (most, not all)

*shaking my head* You don't get it at all

[vanyali]

Originally Posted by TuborgP

How much is it appraised at?

It's appraised at about $850k, but I only paid $700k (and the thing sat on the market for a year before I bought it). The city assessments don't necessarily have anything to do with market value. The more "connected" neighbors have lower assessments than the less connected, which you can see online. Mecklenburg County puts all its tax assessments and real estate records online, and you can search by address, owner's name, or on a map.

check this out:

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