Best Place in Western Maryland? (Frederick, Hagerstown: living, cost of living, housing)

[sarahreed87]

Where is the best place in Western MD for an entry level administrative assistant, or medical office support person? I am going to complete a business support specialist certification in March and I want some kind of secretary/receptionist, office manager job but I don't know where the market is best on the western side... for variety of positions and pay..

thanks!

[Katie1]

Well Forget Handcock area No Jobs! Oh they do have lots of housing tho...If you look to communte that is!

[mandyh]

Cumberland is building a new hospital. Check out the local paper on line. Cumberland Times-News - Homepage They always have a lot of medical/office job listings.

[westsideboy]

Cumberland has many medical office type jobs. If you have any training or education in medical billing you will have an edge. In general it is hard to get a job in Cumberland. There are not very many to begin with, and the jobs that do come open almost always go to a local that knows someone. Cumberland is a great place to live though, cheap, safe, scenic, etc. Go ahead and put in some applications and see if it goes somewhere.

[mom2boys37]

Originally Posted by sarahreed87

Where is the best place in Western MD for an entry level administrative assistant, or medical office support person? I am going to complete a business support specialist certification in March and I want some kind of secretary/receptionist, office manager job but I don't know where the market is best on the western side... for variety of positions and pay..

thanks!

You can try Garrett Memorial. The pay isn't great but its the area you live in and it's a wonderful area. What I'm trying to say the pay will equal where you live. Here in Frederick, the pay does not equal the cost of living here. I'm an office manager and trust me, the pay I receive is nothing where I would say comfortable.

[Tim Rankin]

Originally Posted by sarahreed87

Where is the best place in Western MD for an entry level administrative assistant, or medical office support person? ...but I don't know where the market is best on the western side... for variety of positions and pay..

I'm not sure if you consider Frederick "Western MD" [I'd say it's the western edge of Central MD]. It's a vibrant, small city and there should be plenty of job opportunities.

Note: Frederick is definitely more expensive than further west, but there's probably also more to do.

[CHIP72]

Hagerstown may be a viable choice as well; I can't say this with 100% confidence, but based on the time I've spent visiting central/western MD I'd guess Hagerstown would be intermediate in cost and amenities available nearby relative to Frederick (higher than Hagerstown in both categories) and Cumberland (lower than Hagerstown in both categories).

I wouldn't rule out living/working in Pennsylvania or West Virginia either, considering parts of both states are very close to western Maryland.