How are the Maryland Suburbs of DC different than the VA Suburbs? (Baltimore: home, purchasing)

[Dingler]

A few years ago there was an interesting article in the paper about the pros and cons of living in Maryland vs the Virginia suburbs of DC. I know alot of people who live in either VA or MD and have strong opinions about which is a better State to live in. I currently live in VA but have lived in MD also, and have worked in both States.

Let me start out and say that I think the greater DC area use to be a great place to live and both the VA and MD suburbs were great. But not any more.

Here are the nice things about Maryland:

Potomac and Bethesda
Great Falls on the MD side
No smoking laws
Better laws regarding tree preservation

Here are the bad things about the Maryland suburbs:

People are harsher and more likely to be from places like New Jersey and New York (Get out of my face)

To much immigration in Montgomery County. English is now a second rarely used language in the eastern part of the county. Political Correctness will not solve the problem.

Prince Georges County (UGGH)
-----------------------
Virginia only has these advantages, there is more jobs and it is the home of the greatest Shopping Center Tysons Corner.

[claremarie]

There are more similarities than differences in the two suburban areas. But Virginia does have more (and better, IMO) state university options.

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by claremarie

There are more similarities than differences in the two suburban areas. But Virginia does have more (and better, IMO) state university options.

Yep. That's pretty much my opinion too. The areas aren't drastically different. I live in Virginia but personally prefer the Maryland 'burbs, however, if I had a family, the schools and state universities would probably lead me to choose Virginia, albeit a community closer in than where I live now.

[jhrrussell2]

The University of Maryland, College Park is one of the top- rated public universities in the country, ranked much higher than George Mason in Fairfax County. As for the "English being a second language" comment, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Northern Virginia has a larger Hispanic- American and Asian- American population than Montgomery and Prince George's County. And yes, I agree that Prince George's County is ughhh as one user commented, but Montgomery County has a wonderful school system and the people are much more down to earth and friendlier than compared to NoVa. And diversity is the great thing about America. Whatever happened to our Country being the "Melting Pot" of the world? Montgomery County has a wonderful school system, and a great ESL program for those who are immigrants to this country. Everyone touts how fairfax county spends $10,159 per child in their school system, but the Eastern Half of the County does not have the great schools that everyone thinks it does. Montgomery County spends more per child, $10,607 according to the Department of Education, and neighboring Howard County has the most library card holders in the country with 95% of it's population. Montgomery County is moving into the
21st century, while Fairfax is stuck in the 20th. And Virginia has cons too, such as having to crossing a bridge to commute into Maryland and D.C. which adds to the commute time, a higher income tax rate, a day labor problem, and a lack of public transportation options when compared to Maryland.

[scoutsadie]

Originally Posted by Dingler

A few years ago there was an interesting article in the paper about the pros and cons of living in Maryland vs the Virginia suburbs of DC. I know alot of people who live in either VA or MD and have strong opinions about which is a better State to live in. I currently live in VA but have lived in MD also, and have worked in both States.

Let me start out and say that I think the greater DC area use to be a great place to live and both the VA and MD suburbs were great. But not any more.

Here are the nice things about Maryland:

Potomac and Bethesda
Great Falls on the MD side
No smoking laws
Better laws regarding tree preservation

Here are the bad things about the Maryland suburbs:

People are harsher and more likely to be from places like New Jersey and New York (Get out of my face)

To much immigration in Montgomery County. English is now a second rarely used language in the eastern part of the county. Political Correctness will not solve the problem.

Prince Georges County (UGGH)
-----------------------
Virginia only has these advantages, there is more jobs and it is the home of the greatest Shopping Center Tysons Corner.

I lived for several years in the Alexandria and Springfield areas of VA, and now live in Columbia, MD. In my experience, traffic and sprawl are much, much worse in northern VA than in MD, at least the part of MD that I'm familiar with.

Interestingly, the Route 1 corridor in both states are similarly very sprawly and junky, in my opinion.

Politically, there is a big difference between MD and VA, even though northern VA tends to lean a lot more left than the rest of the state.

[beth ann]

I think the main difference between Md and Va is that the politics in Md is more liberal and in Va, more conservative. I think some in Md (mostly BCC) have an attitude of superiority....but Fairfax county gets listed in the top ten (maybe even five) most affluent counties in the nation, as well.

Another differnce is taxes. There is a big differnce when purchasing a home in Va vs. Md. You will pay alot more taxes in the state of Md.

But, handsdown, Va has more top-ranked state universities...UVA, W&M, VT, etc. Although Md had the Univ of Md, there really is no comparison state-wide.

My biggest complaint is that all the same-sex catholic elementary and high schools are in Md...there are none left in Northern Virginia....so we have to cross the Potomac to have that educational environment for our children.

[Alanboy395]

with the schools you can pick any spot in NoVA and end up with a halfway decent public school when the same can't be said for MD.

[kelly050630]

I live in Prince Georges County Md and I definately feel that the pot is simply too full. Too full from providing education to people whom have gained their way into this country illegally. The school system is catering to the non-English speaking, while the other children are being deprived of a decent education. PG county is already hurting for money to provide education and yet, they have to stretch the budget to hire people who can teach Spanish, which cut certain folk out of jobs, they have to provide additional class space in an already overcrowed system, they have to provide teaching materials, when some schools don't have adequate materials, they have to provide extra food, by the way most are on free lunch, all the while the other children are not getting the time and attention that they need and deserve in order to receive a good education. The pot is too full, it has melted too much and it is time to put the fire out.

[MDDCtoATL]

Originally Posted by beth ann

I think the main difference between Md and Va is that the politics in Md is more liberal and in Va, more conservative. I think some in Md (mostly BCC) have an attitude of superiority....but Fairfax county gets listed in the top ten (maybe even five) most affluent counties in the nation, as well.

Another differnce is taxes. There is a big differnce when purchasing a home in Va vs. Md. You will pay alot more taxes in the state of Md.

But, handsdown, Va has more top-ranked state universities...UVA, W&M, VT, etc. Although Md had the Univ of Md, there really is no comparison state-wide.

My biggest complaint is that all the same-sex catholic elementary and high schools are in Md...there are none left in Northern Virginia....so we have to cross the Potomac to have that educational environment for our children.

So this is where all Virgina fanboys are.

I also don't understand why people use Virginia universities over 100 miles away and compare them to school in the D.C. area. Sorry, we are talking about schools in the D.C. area, which means Maryland, NoVa and D.C. not Richmond or Blacksburg. No school in NoVa compares to the University of Maryland, College Park, it is the kingpin university of the region.

If you want to count school not in the region than Johns Hopkins trumps anything Virginia has. It would even be more valid than comparing VTech since Johns Hopkins is part of the Baltimore/Washington plex and has substantial facilities in Montgomery County and D.C. even.

[kinkytoes]

Fewer people with vanity plates