Moving to the Eastern Shore? (ocean city/salisbury area) (Baltimore: house, living)

[tonyc]

Dewey in the summer..woo hoo

Be sure to stop buy Rusty Rudder...Irie Mon

[oncesir]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

They get a couple of hours away from a metro area and then complain "there is nothing to do." They move to tight-nit communities where families have been living together for generations and then say it is the "good old boy network." They find normal problems like crime, rising housing prices, and trouble finding jobs that exist everywhere and claim they were duped by some "quality of life" argument. Natives and locals that may not be over-educated, wealthy, liberal, or beating down the newcomers door to make friends are branded as backward "rednecks."

If the good ole boy network consists of generations of families then there is alot of inbreeding here. The network here consists of much more than family members. Housing prices and job troubles arent a problem everywhere and there are tons of friendly rednecks around. But there are the others that have trash and old cars all over their yard that have no pride in anything they do are close-minded and fit the stereotype to a "T". My guess is you havent lived here.

[westsideboy]

Oncesir, your snarky comment about inbreeding and open disdain for the rural poor pretty much proves my point - A lot of urban people don't really want to live in a rural ares. They may think they do, but when the "greener grass on the other side of the fence" doesn't live up to expectation they project that disappointment outward towards the community rather than inwardly,towards themselves, where the blame belongs.

[oncesir]

I really think there are 2 perspectives involved. Any type of ole boy network doesnt necessarily involve generations of families. For example, my workplace (large auto dealer)has lots of family and long time friends that work there. When the hiring process begins another friend is brought in and the process begins over. My comment about in-breeding was being a smartass(no disrespect) because it is such a common characteristic here. I have no disdain towards the rural poor. I know plenty of well off individuals that fit the stereotype.

Happiness does come from within. But to only lay blame on the individual is totally wrong. The local demographic has alot to do with your happiness. Different strokes, thats all.

[westsideboy]

Oncesir, let's think of it this way. If a person that hates spicy food goes into a Thai restaurant and orders chicken curry, what do think will happen? Should we blame the disatisfaction of the customer on the restaurant that has been serving the same chicken curry on request for years? Or should we look towards the customer for ordering something without doing the proper research to see if they would like it or not?

Say our disatisfied customer finds an online forum and starts to bash the Thai restaurant's food. How seriously would you take their opinions if they already hated spicy food to begin with?

With all do respect, this thread has a bunch of posters with burnt mouths complaining because they ordered the wrong thing. The Eastern Shore isn't perfect, and many of your complaints are vaild, but the Eastern Shore isn't sneaking up on anyone. It is what it is and has been so for many generations. If someone unwittingly moves there without researching and exploring the area's character first, then they are no different than our friend with the grudge and burnt mouth.

[oncesir]

I totally agree with your comparison but certain aspects of life are better experienced than to believe in another persons' perspective. I, however, dont think that happiness only comes from within. Your environment plays a crucial role.

[abutayi]

Im a 25yr old single guy considering a possible move to Maryland's eastern shore region in the near future. I live in New Jersey, in the sprawling suburbs of the NYC metro area. I was born and raised here and I suppose the NJ way of life is pretty firmly ingrained in my psyche. However, its a love/hate relationship. I love the culture, nightlife, diversity, and convenience of northern NJ. But I hate the stress, traffic, overcrowding, pissed off people, and high cost of living.

I have an opportunity to relocate to the eastern shore via a family member who is currently living in the Ocean City area. I could move in with her until I get on my feet, find a job, and get my own place. I have visited many times during the summers and thought O.C. was a fun place. However, I have not really ventured outside of the city limits to explore more of the eastern shore.

I am looking for advice/comments specifically about the culture/way of life on the eastern shore. I am a bit worried about finding myself "bored" with a lack of nightlife. Living in a place where everything closes at 10pm would definitely take some getting used to. I know O.C. has a lot of stuff going on in the summer, but does it turn into a "ghost town" during the off-season?

Does Salisbury have any sort of "nightlife" (bar scene, local music, young singles, etc.) Or is it a bit dead in that department?

Any advice, info, comments, would be greatly appreciated. If there are any NJ/NY transplants down there, please comment!

Thanks for the help!

I would recommend that you don't move here. I'm a young adult and live in Salisbury, which is near Ocean City. Consider the following:

Ocean City is highly seasonal. It has fairly good nightlife from about May/June to September. The rest of the year, particularly from November-March, are deslate and depressing. That's about 4-5 good months, and 6-7 bad months.

The culture/way of life is split by age groups. For the older locals, it revolves around farming, fishing, and the church. For the young adult locals, it revolves around working hard to save up enough money to leave. Maybe it's unfortunate, but most people that I know in their twenties who live here do so because circumstances (family, financial) have tied them down. In any case, the culture is universally conservative and generally very religious.

If you love convenience, culture, diversity, and nightlife, to relocate to the Delmarva peninsula would be an astonishingly poor choice. I would consider moving to a more rural part of NJ, or maybe central MD. Try looking around Annapolis MD, or maybe Somerset/Hunterdon county up in NJ.

[TheDarkHorse]

Well its been a few weeks since I posted in this thread but I want to thank everyone who took the time to comment.

After alot of careful consideration, ive given up on the idea. The scarcity of jobs combined with the local favoritism in which several people have mentioned would probably equal career suicide. I am living fairly comfortably here in nj and dont want to take a leap of faith unless I am reasonably confident of being able to "make it" wherever I end up.

But overall, I have nothing bad to say about the eastern shore...just turns out its not for me. Thanks again for the help.

[cancan]

Salsibury is a bustling town and i am sure you would probably love it, have a visit and see.

There is no culture you will need to assimilate to.

[PHIL 4 SHORE]

Check out Easton, prices of homes are reasonable, and it has one of the lowest property tax and income tax rates in the state. Ranked one of the top small towns in nation to live and easy drive over The Bay Bridge to Washington D.C. & Balt. for culture ect.