moving from houston texas to maryland (Baltimore, Columbia: military, mcmansion, salary)

[ricker]

I am a single 44 yr old african american male with no children , i am a self employed investor , i am looking to move to atlanta , i prefer a area that has a high resale value on the home , low crime rates, not concerned about schools as i dont have children , can anyone advise me as to what areas i should be looking to move into ?

[teleblazer]

Originally Posted by ricker

I am a single 44 yr old african american male with no children , i am a self employed investor , i am looking to move to atlanta , i prefer a area that has a high resale value on the home , low crime rates, not concerned about schools as i dont have children , can anyone advise me as to what areas i should be looking to move into ?

I'm confused are you looking at somewhere in Maryland or Georgia because your post says Atlanta. I don't know of an Atlanta, MD in existence.

Could you please clarify?

[ricker]

sorry for the confusion , i am thinking of both places , maryland or georgia , which ever feels the best

[teleblazer]

Originally Posted by ricker

sorry for the confusion , i am thinking of both places , maryland or georgia , which ever feels the best

Ahh thanks for the clarification.

Well to answer that it depends on what you're looking for in the areas, employment, housing, etc.... Being from the deep south I'm familiar with both, moreso recently with MD though so take anything I say about GA with the caveat that it may be a bit dated.

I can tell you as a general rule Atlanta is similar in 'metro area' to parts of the MD/DC/VA area from a business perspective. I think the surrounding areas of Atlanta are typically more open to diverse racial populations than some of the MD areas but it is getting better up here. I've never experienced the same type of traffic in Atlanta as I have in DC (DC traffic is more like Los Angeles)

From a crime perspective each location has it's good and bad challenges. I think you can find some really safe areas in MD as a general rule. Comparison of crime statistics would be your only outsider perspective.

Financially I know it would be easier to transition to Atlanta from Houston for me, but you may have different parameters. Cost of living is hard to judge but if you put any weight on cost of living calucators like the one found at CNN Money you can come away with the following information:

Assuming a salary of 60,000 per year in Houston, TX (don't know what yours is I just picked a number out of thin air for a basis of judgement)

To move from Houston, TX to Atlanta you will probably experience
1) Groceries will cost 19.264% more
2) Housing will cost 28.07% more
3) Utilities will cost 10.878% less
4) Transportation will cost 5.511% more
5) Healthcare will cost 3.324% more
6) You will require a salary around $65,321.51

To move from Houston, TX to Washington DC (Virginia side)
1) Groceries will cost 34.724% more
2) Housing will cost 192.443% more
3) Utilities will cost 10.878% more
4) Transportation will cost 10.621% more
5) Healthcare will cost 7.787% more
6) You will require a salary around $93,325.94

To move from Houston, TX to Baltimore, MD (surrounding areas)
1) Groceries will cost 30.798% more
2) Housing will cost 114.035% more
3) Utilities will cost 7.678% more
4) Transportation will cost 9.82% more
5) Healthcare will cost 0.38% more
6) You will require a salary around $80,288.25

Most of your housing in the DC metro area has gone to the "McMansion" style, lots of colonial homes, usually two storied, on small plats of land (1/2 acre or so)...and they are planned communities. Odds are you'll end up with neighbors with little ones in the better, safer communities as people tend to gravitate towards those.

I hope this helps you out somewhat.

[ricker]

It helps me me a great deal .

[RoadTripGurl]

Why on earth would you want to move here from Texas? I'm trying to get over there!!!!
Seriously, I agree with the other poster about transitioning. Atlanta would be your best bet than here. Housing cost too much!

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by RoadTripGurl

Why on earth would you want to move here from Texas? I'm trying to get over there!!!!
Seriously, I agree with the other poster about transitioning. Atlanta would be your best bet than here. Housing cost too much!

i'm with her. Also consider Charlotte (where i'm trying to go). I'd hop on the first thing smoking to H-town or NC than stay here in the DC area.

[dpn0121]

Im moving from Houston to MD. I would say Atlanta would be your best bet.

[irishmom]

I lived in Atlanta a while ago and I didn't like it. Crime was high, traffic was terrible (with no great mass transit alternatives) and night life was for the very young (which I was at the time and still felt old..lol). But that was 15 years ago so it may have changed since then.

I live in Columbia, MD. The homes here have taken a dip in market value but are projected to rise quite rapidly (as is all of the DC/Baltimore suburbs) in the next few years with the opening of several large military bases as well as the continued growth of business in the area. Projections are currently a 17-20% housing shortage in the next 5 - 10 years, good for sellers not for buyers. So it may be a good time to get in for that reason alone. As far as diversity I can only speak about Columbia because I don't really know much else other than Baltimore (and you didn't mention wanting to live in a city). Columbia is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Maryland. You will not feel out of place and there is, from my experience anyway, little if any racial tension here. It's affectionately termed the Bi-racial marriage capital of the US - so when I say diverse I mean really diverse...all races, religions and sexual orientations represented! I moved here for that reason because I wanted my children to experience all types of people growing up as I had (we are white, I am from NYC) and it's been wonderful here. We have friends as diverse as you possibly can, except for Martians - we are not aware of any Martian families in the neighborhood as of yet...