What is so great about living in Maryland??

[David_J]

Originally Posted by boomtownfunlover

People drive too fast and agressively; you'll beat your car to pieces driving on city and Baltimore County streets. The Democrat machine controls the state and its influence, I think, can extend to U.S.District court insofar as getting a case dropped. If it weren't for family considerations I would likely head back to Indiana.

Uh, people in Maryland do NOT drive too fast or aggressively. Try New York City or the California coastal cities.

There's one main bad thing about living in Maryland, and that's a high COL and taxes (okay, maybe two). However, the quality of life is spectacular, unless you live in certain parts of PG County or certain parts of Baltimore city, where crime becomes an issue. (Most of the state is very safe, though). People may not like the outward urban/suburban sprawl, but that's purely opinion and I personally enjoy easy access to the cities (i.e. through metro). People here are educated, too - again, people do not ask where you went to school/college/university, they ask which school/university you went to. I don't want to turn this into a political debate but most white-collar professionals, found in much of Central MD, vote Democratic and are economically centrist and socially very liberal/progressive.

[Tom Lennox 70]

The flush tax is not right. Ehrlich was NOT conservative by any means, he was a centrist. O'Malley is an extreme far left politician with an extreme far left agenda that would be at home in San Francisco, New York, Massachusetts or New jersey. Some Republicans wouldn't even be considered conservative elsewhere, like the ones on the Anne Arundel County council who supported the Rain Tax. Frederick County stood up to the governor and to Obama by meeting their EPA mandated obligatons by implementing a 1 CENT rain tax, while AA County and Baltimore County charged residents up to $150 for rain taxes. The rain tax may even go away after Obama's term ends either naturally in 2016 or through his impeachment as his scandals pile up, but once he loses his command of the EPA the rain tax will be repealed. Once the EPA is not acting under Obama's orders. Or the sequester will make its way through the EPA so it can no longer enforce the Rain Tax.

The ICC was another mistake. Ehrlich did finish it, but it was the idea of Democrats, and Ehrlich did it to pander to the liberal elite base in Montgomery County that had demanded it from the state for decades. Ehrlich gave in to the demands of these Montgomery County Democrats, to appease them thinking that would help him get re-elected. I think we need to promote a higher voter turnout in the rural areas and in suburban Baltimore to counteract the vote from Montgomery, PGC, and Bmore City. We also need to do more to prevent illegal aliens from voting. However there isn't any easy way to address the racist Hispanic vote that supported the Illegal ALien Dream Act, and the racial solidarity between legal Hispanics (including Puerto Ricans who are all legal) and the illegals from other Latin countries. Voters in other states would never have the kind of support of illegal immigration as voters here.

[North Beach Person]

Tom, take your pick with the Flush Tax. Pay it as a separate charge which goes to a dedicated (and in a change for MD actually is locked up for what it's supposed to fund) or pay it as a non-directed charge on your sewer bill. You'll be paying it either way.

In what way isn't it "right"? I heard that from septic users when they came under it. Yet septic users get grants to upgrade their systems (grants don't get paid back) while those on central systems have to carry bond repayment out of the fund.

It had two main problems when it was implemented: the total cost of ENR was wildly underestimated and smaller systems weren't eligible for the bonding but still had to do upgrades. That second has changed and the first was addressed by the increase. ENR upgrades are going to nationwide in a few years so states like VA will be implementing a similar tax/fee. It's just that simple.

Do I like paying it? Not really. But at least you can see where it's going.

[MidValleyDad]

North Beach - I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree about the flush tax. It is designed as a way for everyone to pay to upgrade Baltimore and a few other very large systems that didn't fund their own improvements and fell behind. The increase last year kept us from raising our rates to cover planned work because it was deemed to impose too much of a burden on the citizens. Most citizens see it on their local water/sewer bill and figure it is going to the local utility. They do not understand (no matter how many times we tell them) that we are required to collect it but we have to send it to the state to do with whatever they see fit.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

North Beach - I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree about the flush tax. It is designed as a way for everyone to pay to upgrade Baltimore and a few other very large systems that didn't fund their own improvements and fell behind. The increase last year kept us from raising our rates to cover planned work because it was deemed to impose too much of a burden on the citizens. Most citizens see it on their local water/sewer bill and figure it is going to the local utility. They do not understand (no matter how many times we tell them) that we are required to collect it but we have to send it to the state to do with whatever they see fit.

Not just Baltimore. It wasn't so much that the systems didn't "keep up" but that the regulations were changed and even more upgrades were required. We ran into that here, we kept up with the upgrades then all of a sudden even more were imposed.

The fact that the tax originally targeted only the biggest (I think) 60 or so systems (disclaimer, our's is one of those 1.5MGPD) was a flaw that has been rectified. All systems are now eligible for the low interest bonds for ENR.

[reiflame]

Originally Posted by David_J

Uh, people in Maryland do NOT drive too fast or aggressively. Try New York City or the California coastal cities.

Maryland drivers are a great combination of aggressive and stupid. The only place that rivals it is Boston and parts of New Jersey. I drive in CA all the time and it's nowhere near as bad.

I think it's a combination of a thousand different cultures (many of which have never seen snow) coupled with the fact that every driving school here is run by immigrants from countries that do not have traffic and road rules like we have here. In Maryland, they only recently started having driving tests on actual roads!

[Tom Lennox 70]

I've noticed that in the DC area, drivers are more rude and aggressive, kind of like in Los Angeles, New Jersey, and Miami. In Baltimore, drivers are more distracted and reckless.

In Montgomery COunty the guy cuts you off because he is rude and doesn't care. Around here someone just gets in front of your car because they really didn't see you coming.

I think Western Maryland and Eastern Shore drivers are better and more polite and careful as well. I think things will get worse as illegal aliens get drivers licenses thanks to Martin O'Malley.

[adave1]

The most beautiful thing about living in Maryland is that no two places are the same. Each county in Maryland has a different vibe and personality. Each town and city are unique. For a small state, you get everything: mountains, beaches, the bay, rivers, farm country, cities, small towns, different climates, diversity of people and cultures, good education, parks, trails, exercise everywhere, etc. You name it, Maryland has it. That’s why I’ve been here my whole life. I’ve certainly moved around in different areas of Maryland so I also feel diversity and change, but it’s a unique state, and it will feel much larger than it really is, because we’re the eighth smallest state in the country.