Why has Montgomery County Let itself go downhill (Silver Spring, Bethesda: hotels, employment)

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

I personally know David Alpert, author of the Greater Great Washington blog, and he's one of this area's most thoughtful bloggers when it comes to issues of urban planning and transit development.

Definitely, if every Metro Area government used that site as a guide the Metro Area would be a much better place to live.

[scottfs]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Now MG county is going downhill too? You guys are killing me. Maybe I should re-consider my move to DC. If I'm going to deal with an insane cost of living, it sure won't be in an area that is going downhill.

You guys should move to KC.

You can afford to live in an average KC home or condo that only the top 2% could afford in the DC area and still have plenty of money left to see the rest of the country on a regular basis, yet live in a nice city that offers all the entertainment and cultural options of a large metro without the traffic. KC is truly a well kept secret that I will dearly miss.

Contrary to popular belief out there near the coasts, KC is a large metropolitan area that offers fantastic urban and suburban lifestyles.

This is going to be a difficult decision.

400k to live in a tiny, dated home in an area gong downhill where traffic is a total nightmare? And that's in the freaking suburbs? What am I doing to my family?

There's a reason so many people live here, why homes are more expensive and roads more crowded than they are in KC - Jobs are much more plentiful here and the local economy is a lot less sensitive to recessions. I couldn't hope to land a job in KC in my field. In the DC area my profession is in high demand and I am not the least bit worried about job security even through this recession. I'm not saying your hometown isn't great for some, but it isn't like the situation here in DC is without reason.

That said, I do feel like Montgomery County has slipped downhill. As someone else said the politics are extremely one-sided. VA as a whole is viewed as much friendlier to the business world than MD, which would affect Montgomery more than other counties. Another major employer I'm familiar with is Booz Allen Hamilton - they used to be HQ'd in Bethesda but left in the early 90s and have grown astronomically in VA. Lockheed Martin is still hq'd in Bethesda but I feel like they have more staff in VA as well.

[kcmo]

scottfs, agreed. DC offers a lot.

Is the commute from northern VA to Silver Springs horrible? Can it be done via the metro?

[scottfs]

I think it would depend on where exactly in NOVA you were coming from and at what time. If you're talking Fairfax city during rush hour I wouldn't try that. Tysons/Vienna to Silver Spring you could probably do even though trffic won't be easy. Silver Spring is accessible by metro via the Red Line. I've never done it myself, someone else could probably answer that one a little better.

The area can be frustrating as hell in terms of expense and traffic, but I figured out that moving close to one's job makes is 100 times more tolerable.

[Floridahater]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

And the overbearing, one-sided politics in Montgomery County.

I grew up in MCO. It was a wonderful place with great schools and neighborhoods. Yes, my friend, the overbearing one-sided politics of left wing liberalism has led to the decline of the county. Now, the crime is up and the quality of life has decreased. I cherish those wonderful memories of bygone days.

[dkf747]

Widening 270 from 2 (4) to 3 (6) lanes north of Germantown to Frederick is needed. Where are they talking about widening to 14 lanes? Rockville? It's already 12 lanes there. I agree that it is wide enough there.

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by dkf747

Widening 270 from 2 (4) to 3 (6) lanes north of Germantown to Frederick is needed. Where are they talking about widening to 14 lanes? Rockville? It's already 12 lanes there. I agree that it is wide enough there.

Yeah I agree, but this proposal was for south of Germantown mostly.

[USAngel]

Originally Posted by diplomat74

good counter argument but in the end you can't argue for businesses choosing fairfax over moco over the past 10 years. Volkswagen moved its U.S. headquarters there, as did CSC, formerly known as computer science corporation and hilton among others all chose fairfax over moco. If I were a leader in moco I would have a serious problem with that.

You seem to be talking about two different things. In your opening you wrote, "have people noticed that moco has continually been going downhill with increasing crime and poverty, while counties like Howard and Fairfax have experienced great economic and income growth in the past 10 -15". Fairfax may have had a boom with major companies moving there, in addition to the goverment agencies that are already there, but that has nothing to do with crime or poverty in MoCo. The entire country seemed to be going "downhill" two years ago, now maybe we are going to finally start seeing an upswing. I don't think you can rightly say that Fairfax is going downhill based on a company choosing to base themselves in another city. The articles you posted do not support your point either.

[USAngel]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Now MG county is going downhill too? You guys are killing me. Maybe I should re-consider my move to DC. If I'm going to deal with an insane cost of living, it sure won't be in an area that is going downhill.

You guys should move to KC.

You can afford to live in an average KC home or condo that only the top 2% could afford in the DC area and still have plenty of money left to see the rest of the country on a regular basis, yet live in a nice city that offers all the entertainment and cultural options of a large metro without the traffic. KC is truly a well kept secret that I will dearly miss.

Contrary to popular belief out there near the coasts, KC is a large metropolitan area that offers fantastic urban and suburban lifestyles.

This is going to be a difficult decision.

400k to live in a tiny, dated home in an area gong downhill where traffic is a total nightmare? And that's in the freaking suburbs? What am I doing to my family?

Moving from Atlanta for a job in DC, trust me when I say I've been asking myself the same questions. I honestly think it depends on who you are talking to. I have heard so many versions of the DC metro area that I'm starting to get dizzy. A lot of the people in this thread have mentioned government and business, but they have not mentioned schools or family. I think this might be the big difference between MoCo and Fairfax. From what I have heard and read, the schools are better in MD than they are in VA and DC.

[USAngel]

Originally Posted by filmsniffer

And it will continue to go downhill as long as they try to intermix section 8 housing in affluent areas. What a bunch of idiots.

Any time there is rapid growth of, I'll just say non-affluent people, the affluent people will always seek higher ground. It happens in every county and every city. I still don't think that is a reflection of a city going "downhill", I just think that represents change; good or bad.