Why Did You Move Out Of Maryland.... (Columbia, Bethesda: low crime, transfer)

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

Also many parts of Maryland are overpriced and I hate the "smart growth" policies that turn suburban areas into urban areas like downtown Rockville for instance. I don't want to live in an area that favor high-density development because I'm a big fan of small town USA (the Cambridge or Salisbury type) and if not that at least suburbia where I can drive everywhere, not use public transport, never pay for parking, etc. I am very suburban in my lifestyle and can never trade away my car and the freedom it brings. Downtown Rockville is a mess now, I ahve to pay for parking to go to dinner or see a movie when I go back there. Its ridiculous when you go see a movie and the parking fee is more than half the price of the movie ticket or when I have to validate parking when I go to the library or the doctor.

Liberal Democrats love promoting "growth in existing areas" which means if I settle down in a nice suburb like my folks did, someday someone can rezone the area and make it urban, and change it to mixed use development. I want residential areas separate from stores, restaurants and businesses. I need my open space, my driveway, the backyard, etc. I also think our state should put less money into things like the Light Rail and more into freeway construction, like I-795 should be extended into Carroll County at least as far as Westminster to help commuters there. Also the state shouldn't be so imbalanced where rural areas subsidize urban areas, like Eastern Shore and Western Maryland taxpayers fund things like the Light Rail, the inter-county connector, etc that they never benefit from, not to mention all the welfare and food stamps collected daily in Baltimore City and PG County, including by illegal immigrants, and the state SURE AS HELL should NOT be funding day labor centers for illegals. CASA de Maryland is a radical, un-American organization that O'Malley loves working with.

Dear God....worst post ever! I wish Pennsylvania had the forward thinking smart growth policies of Maryland that concentrated urban development. Instead we have McMansions popping up permanately destroying tons of farmland. I don't think you get it. Smart growth PRESERVES farmland by making sure that growth is concentrated and urban (meaning that people can walk to places and use public transport) rather then spreading out McMansions over tons of land only accessible by car.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by danwxman

Dear God....worst post ever! I wish Pennsylvania had the forward thinking smart growth policies of Maryland that concentrated urban development. Instead we have McMansions popping up permanately destroying tons of farmland. I don't think you get it. Smart growth PRESERVES farmland by making sure that growth is concentrated and urban (meaning that people can walk to places and use public transport) rather then spreading out McMansions over tons of land only accessible by car.

The problem is that MD also has the McMansions spreading out into farmland and creating communities only accessable by car. See: Calvert County, Charles County, Queen Anne's County. There are special exceptions and development agreements always.

[tercel95]

I am contemplating moving out of MD, which is a shame considering I have lived here my entire life. I am originally from Silver Spring, then moved to Olney. Now I live in Southern MD and love it. MD is just too expensive for me. I am young (21) and have lived on my own since 18. I have a good job, I am a software developer for a defense contractor. I feel like I make very good money for my age but unfortunately it doesn't afford much living in MD. I live 2 hours away from DC and still have to pay a premium for housing even though I hate DC and avoid it like the plague.

The system isn't meant for young people like me to make it. I spend all of my money on my 600 sq ft. apartment. The government thinks I am rich and since I am responsible and haven't had 10 kids already, I am getting punished for my hard work and barely got anything back in my tax refund...

[upinflamezzz]

I've been contemplating about moving for a while. I'm tired of the cold weather in the winter. I feel like I'm missing out on half my life. When a nice day comes along in the Spring of Fall it makes me wish I had it all year long. I don't have much family, but I own my own house and have a decent paying job. Sometimes I'm scared of taking that chance and selling my home and movng to San Diego and buying a little one bedroom condo in a nice area. Perhaps finish up my doctorate in Pharmacy out there. Also, if anyone knows Baltimore there's only a select few areas that someone can go to have a decent time.

[upinflamezzz]

You have to buy things so you can take advantage of tax deductions. You'll need enough deductions to excced your Standard deduction.

[eyewrist]

Originally Posted by upinflamezzz

I've been contemplating about moving for a while. I'm tired of the cold weather in the winter. I feel like I'm missing out on half my life. When a nice day comes along in the Spring of Fall it makes me wish I had it all year long. I don't have much family, but I own my own house and have a decent paying job. Sometimes I'm scared of taking that chance and selling my home and movng to San Diego and buying a little one bedroom condo in a nice area. Perhaps finish up my doctorate in Pharmacy out there. Also, if anyone knows Baltimore there's only a select few areas that someone can go to have a decent time.

Finish your PharmD and then get out. You will not have a problem finding a job. My Dad was and brother is a pharmacist. You can even teach CEU classes in your spare (when ever that is)

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by UnschoolerinCT

We left Maryland twice, once Baltimore and once Annapolis. Too many people, too much crime, too many organized sports fans, and not enough nature were our main complaints. I am not a big fan of so many people concentrated in one place; everywhere we went was packed with people. It took forever to drive to the country and the natural world. The things we miss are the Baltimore ribs, the Smithsonian, and a bit of Baltimore charm. For a big city, Baltimore was easy to live in because it had a bit of small town charm. Annapolis drove us crazy because of all the tourists and congestion.

As a future pharmacist another reason I MIGHT leave would be if more and more liberal laws are passed regarding health care professionals being forced to perform abortions or assist in abortions. I'm honestly afraid what O'Malley will do in our state, even more so than what Barack will do in Washington. If I leave though, I will definitely miss the country landscapes and vibe of the Easten Shore, Western Maryland adn Carroll County, the Chesapeake Bay, the proximity to ocean and mountains, the warm summers, and of course crabcakes and Natty Boh.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

Tom, I am in agreement that Smart Growth is a flawed plan, but for different reasons. MD is a state with very strong regionalism. Each region's situation is different, with different strengths and weaknesses.

A "one size fits all" approach to planning does not work for this state. For instance, Montgomery County is running short on open space and experiencing a large influx of people. In this place "smart growth" to make existing development more dense and preserving open space makes sense. In my home county, Allegany we have tons and tons of open space, literally 3/4 of our county is forest. We are short on is people to share it with, our county has been steadily losing population for 60 years. Forcing "smart growth" on us would create a discouraged development zone of 70 miles between us and the prosperity to the east. The development would spread south into WV and north into PA instead while our county would remain shrinking and poor. Thanks O'Malley......

BTW if anyone is interested, check out the canned "One Maryland" rhetoric our governor spews out. It denies the regionalism of our state and insists on one solution for the state's problems. O'Malley has completely bastardized the idea of the "One Maryland" program initiated by Speaker Cas Taylor of Cumberland nearly 10 years ago. Taylor recognized the disparity in wealth in our state and proposed different tax structures, incentives, and programs to help the poor regions of our state catch up with the 'burbs so we could really become "One Maryland."

Our governor is your typical downstate liberal who is either ignorant or dismissive of the needs of the rural regions of his state. "Smart Growth" and "One Maryland" and everything else he does takes into account only the voices and needs of the downstate elite. He would make my home an empty forested playground for people like himself......There I feel better now

You're right. The regionalism in Maryland cannot be denied. Even within the immediate Baltimore area, Dundalk and Sparrows Point are two blue collar suburbs based around steel mills and auto assembly plants and feel more like the parts of the Midwest than let's say Towson. People there are also very small townish, though probably not to Western Maryland levels. The Eastern Shore feels more Southern and is also distinct. Delmarva, like Appalachia, is kinda like a cultural region spanning different states.

[wazmlp]

speaking of Gov. O'malley, its not just the conservatives in MD that are dissatisfied with him, his approval ratings are way low and some even consider him the worst governor in America, maybe a decent Ehrlich type republican will defeat him in 2010

[Orwelleaut]

I'm 37, grew up in Montgomery county back in the 1980's, lived near Cumberland 1990-1992. I left in '92, at the age of 20, moving to PA, and later Ohio. I've never wanted to move back, though my parents still live in the house I grew up in.

Why did I leave?? I'll start with why I went to Western MD from the Washington area. My public schools were a zoo. My parents live in an upper middle class neighborhood, but the public school, from middle school forward, was filled with rough kids from the public housing projects Montgomery County had built in the burbs. My education was good academically, and, I have come to realize, academically superior to what folks get in more modest income states.

Socially, though, I have come to realize that Montgomery County public schools were an absolute train wreck. I carried a switch blade from 7'th grade forward out of fear for my physical safety, even though I was an honors student who went on to college. I had to pull the thing a few times, too, because the teachers didn't even try to keep the stupid thugs from the projects under control. In other metro areas, such as Cleveland or Pittsburgh, only those who grew up in certain low income areas experienced this type of violence in their schools. When I tell people from elsewhere about the violence in my public school, they are rightfully apalled.

Sick of the violence in the public schools, the high crime of the D.C. area, and the attitude of so many people, I went off to college out by Cumberland. I was impressed by the friendliness of the people there, the low crime, and the healthy feel of the society. It was in state for reasonable tuition, but felt a lot like the small town in PA where my Dad grew up, and where my Grandmother lived.

After two years in Western MD living on campus, I loved the area, but was tired of being on campus with the "downstaters". I was tired of their ignorant attitude toward the Western MD locals, constantly describing them as stupid rednecks. I was particularly sickened by the attitude of the black students from downstate towards the locals. They tried to pretend that the locals were racist because few blacks lived in the area, and because they claimed that locals stared at them in public. Since many of them tended to be rather loud and obnoxious in public, though, it was no wonder they were garnering some stares.

Since my Grandmother's hometown in PA was not far away and she was getting pretty old, I had taken to spending a lot of weekends up in PA. I started to meet and talk to students from a PA state school which was nearby, and was taking a real liking to PA. My peer group seemed much more friendly and down to earth, just like my Dad's relatives.

After my second year of college, I transferred to this PA school. I graduated from here, and met the woman who would become my lovely wife. We have lived in Western PA and Ohio since graduating, and would not want to live in MD. My wife is appalled at the violence I had to witness and fear in my public schools. Her parents live in a far more humble suburb in the PIttsburgh area than where my folks live. Her school was truly drug free in the late eighties. There were the typical few bad kids who tried to pick fights, but it was basically very peaceful. The key was that the county had not built public housing projects in the area for no good reason. These projects were in the older industrial boroughs where the low income people lived.

I would never want to live in MD again, especially now. The cost of living is prohibitive. Our Western PA/Ohio cost of living is far cheaper. Our salaries are a little smaller, but basically, our money goes a lot farther. When I visit MD now, I feel like a visitor. I even hear the MD accent!! Recently, when visiting my folks, my wife and I were asked if we were from the midwest, and told that we had midwestern accents. The only spot in MD I would even consider would be Garrett or Allegany counties, as long as the area hasn't been inundated by downstaters in recent years. Overall, I'd prefer to stay farther West.