Moving to the Eastern Shore? (ocean city/salisbury area) (Baltimore: transplants, high crime)

[TheDarkHorse]

Hello all,

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!

[North Beach Person]

Salisbury is a college town, my former students that go there tell me that there are plenty of place to get throw up on your shoes drunk. Remember that the Eastern Shore is mostly very rural with all that entails: driving for groceries, better planning needed for errands, outside of towns (even in some towns) public water and sewer is not supplied so you have a well and septic tank, you generally are responsible for getting your trash to the dump/collection station. The pace of life is probably way slower than ypur used to. The lower Eastern Shore has one of MD's highest unemployment rates.

[CelticViking]

I live on the eastern shore and it is very rural...

I guess you need to decide what you want...the slower paced lifestyle or the lifestyle you have in nj. If you have any particular questions, send me a pm.

[TheDarkHorse]

Thanks for the comments.

Im doing more research and the area job market looks pretty bleak from what im seeing. Is this just due to the economic downturn, or are jobs just hard to come by in this area?

Im also reading ALOT of negative things about Salisbury in regards to crime, so ill probably scratch that idea. There seems to be a disproportionate amount of crime for such a small city. Dont get me wrong, there is tons of crime in some parts of NJ but there is also 20x more people up here. This is unfortunate because Salisbury seems to be the only town on the eastern shore with any considerable year-round nightlife/social scene.

Im a bit surprised to see Ocean City also has a high crime rate...this is news to me since ive visited many times and never noticed anything amiss, although every time ive stayed with relatives it was in the quiet outskirts of town...far from the downtown area.

I suppose I cant have my cake and eat it too. I guess it comes down to whether id be able to handle the initial culture shock of the more rural areas.

Thanks again for the help. Keep the comments coming!

[NJ2MDdude]

Good luck! I'm from central New Jersey, and, as a single person, I could never live in the Salisbury/OC area. The pace of life is too slow, and the area doesn't offer the amenities of the urban suburbs of large cities. Heck, quite a few NY/NJ people I know complain that the MD suburbs of DC are too slow for their taste.

[sislove]

Hello my husband and I are considering moving to Maryland from North Carolina and would like to know some of the better parts of MD, we have 3 school age kids, one who will be going to HS soon, so there for we would love a good area when it comes to crimes and schools. Also where the houses are not too expensive and a lot for a family to do, with restaurants and parks.

[TheDarkHorse]

Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude

Good luck! I'm from central New Jersey, and, as a single person, I could never live in the Salisbury/OC area. The pace of life is too slow, and the area doesn't offer the amenities of the urban suburbs of large cities. Heck, quite a few NY/NJ people I know complain that the MD suburbs of DC are too slow for their taste.

I hear ya! It would be a complete 180 from the lifestyle im used to. As much as id like to escape the daily stresses of life up here, there are so many things I would miss.

The dismal job outlook might be the deal breaker though. If there ends up being very few decent job prospects then ill have to stay in jersey or look elsewhere in this land of ours.

[oncesir]

Ive lived on the shore for a few yrs and I moved from a large city. Its a huge culture shock. Unless you live near all the crime that is present in the downtown Salisbury area you will find yourself driving ALOT. Nepotism is the rule for job seekers locally. If your friend in OC knows someone then that can be your "in". Take it from someone who has lived here long enough to know that the shore is incredibly overrated. Considering the unemployment levels I have no idea how locals have come up with the idea that the area offers a high "quality of life". Last time I checked having a good paying job that helps make ends meet is pretty high on my "quality of life" scale. Most ppl here are afraid of places like Baltimore(locals call them Baltimorons, yet the education average here is low)and nearly any large city. Ive heard locals talk of being unable to drive in large cities because there is "too much going on". I'd take the stress of your daily city life to living in this backwards redneck infested place. My wife and I will hopefully be moving when (if) the market rebounds, which cant happen soon enough.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Very few jobs, very low pay. Everything is sort of tied to construction and tourism, and if both are slow, everything is slow.

If there was any work I'd probably still be living there. As far as nightlife goes, there are plenty of bars but they are really all the same. The live music scene is not quite adequate. You will hear lots of freebird covers.

If you're into surfing, sailing, canoeing or kayaking I'd say it's worth checking out. The natural beauty of the area - especially south of Route 50 and further down into VA - is pretty remarkable. Also, I don't know what kind of work you do but the Wallops Island VA area has a bunch of government jobs.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by sislove

Hello my husband and I are considering moving to Maryland from North Carolina and would like to know some of the better parts of MD, we have 3 school age kids, one who will be going to HS soon, so there for we would love a good area when it comes to crimes and schools. Also where the houses are not too expensive and a lot for a family to do, with restaurants and parks.

If your from North Carolina the Eastern Shore is probalby better for you than the Western one. More slow paced and rural and more conservative. The Eastern Shore is the "southern" part of Maryland. I could get great sweet tea at Denny's in Cambridge but Denny's in Dundalk and Germantown don't have it for example. It also snows less there. The Shore is more family-oriented so there is less nightlife but its beautiful and the people are wonderful there. personally I think it is a MUCH more wholesome place to raise a family with good values than the DC or Baltimore regions, especially Montgomery County or Howard County.

Avoid PG County and Baltimore City....lots of crime and drugs.