Why I left Maryland (Baltimore, Columbia: landscaping, homebuyer, school)

[oncesir]

Originally Posted by terp4ever

Not to get too much into politics, but has anyone noticed that the wealthiest and best-educated states in the nation (MD, NJ, CT, MA) are controlled by Democrats, while the much poorer Southern states (MS, KY, AK) are controlled by Republicans. Is there a correlation here?

That isnt entirely true. Check out Mr. Obama's home town and state. Its run by Dems and is incredibly poor. I agree, lets not get political. Its a mere coincidence.

[Matthaeus]

Originally Posted by Judge Terror

1. High Cost of Living

2. Maryland has one of the highest population density in the United States with 542 people per square mile.

3. Rude People.

4. Congested Roads which fuels Road Rage.

5. There's no great in-state rivalry for College Football. (We're missing out from such matchups other states have like Texas vs. Texas A & M, Alabama vs. Auburn, South Carolina vs. Clemson, and many more.)

6. Too many D.C. Elites lives in Maryland. They are disconnected from reality.

7. High Taxes

I don't agree with all of these, nor do I think that all of these things are limited to Maryland alone; I also don't think that all of these things necessitate moving away. However...

As the head of a blue-collar family, where both parents work, I am shocked at the ridiculous cost of living here - Annapolis especially. It's almost as though the economy here is geared towards driving the mid- and low-income families away.

I am moving to Texas (job-related), but I am looking forward to an economy where even poor people can afford to live the good life.

[Mike Jones 1999]

Originally Posted by Matthaeus

I don't agree with all of these, nor do I think that all of these things are limited to Maryland alone; I also don't think that all of these things necessitate moving away. However...

As the head of a blue-collar family, where both parents work, I am shocked at the ridiculous cost of living here - Annapolis especially. It's almost as though the economy here is geared towards driving the mid- and low-income families away.

I am moving to Texas (job-related), but I am looking forward to an economy where even poor people can afford to live the good life.

...my wife and I left in May. We are young professionals who are middle class. We found that a lot of young married couples we had met through work etc... were moving away from Maryland do to the cost of living and trying to raise a young family.

I think that Maryland is a great place if you are single or already established...anyone else good luck!!!!

[shutdownthefed]

Im from Mogo county also (Montgomery county). I agree with you judge, by beautiful state of MD has been over run , over taxed, over priced....everything is catered toward the rich government workers that flood in a ruin everything. I moved to NC, and yes its way chiller here, but there are tons of people moving down here too...especially New Yorkers who are coming to retire here. Wilmington,NC is for college kids and retirees...everyone told me a $10 an hour job here is the best to hope for....well, ive been here 6 months and have to get out of here. I plan on moving back to MD, but some place way less crowded like frederick, hagerstown, catonsville, some place away from Mogo county.

[Matthaeus]

Originally Posted by Mike Jones 1999

...my wife and I left in May. We are young professionals who are middle class. We found that a lot of young married couples we had met through work etc... were moving away from Maryland do to the cost of living and trying to raise a young family.

I think that Maryland is a great place if you are single or already established...anyone else good luck!!!!

Thank you.

Y'know, at first, we (my wife and I) thought it was just us. That we weren't doing something right. But the more of my peers I talk with, the more people like us I hear are moving, the more the point is brought home.

[Mike Jones 1999]

Originally Posted by Matthaeus

Thank you.

Y'know, at first, we (my wife and I) thought it was just us. That we weren't doing something right. But the more of my peers I talk with, the more people like us I hear are moving, the more the point is brought home.

...we thought the same thing at first too. But the more we looked around and talked with our friends and colleagues we saw that we were not alone. There are a lot of young couples facing the brutal cost of housing and are just leaving the state. My wife and I both work in the legal profession and since we left Maryland our "quality" of life has went up big time.

[firefightermom]

Originally Posted by annaliisa

Too bad they did not keep it up. Just think, instead of being monolingual you could be fluent English, German and French.
Language skill is not something to be dismissed.

I agree, but since all my ancesters arrived in the late 1700's to mid 1800's there wasn't a chance of the languages being passed down. Back then, people wanted to be known as Americans, not something hyphenated-American.

That said, my former neighbor was from South America, and his kids spoke Spanish inside the home and English outside. If they slipped and spoke Spanish outside, even in their backyard, they were corrected by their parents. They showed respect for their new country and neighbors and didn't blame us for not speaking their language, like so many others do!

[Rhow411]

Originally Posted by firefightermom

I agree, but since all my ancesters arrived in the late 1700's to mid 1800's there wasn't a chance of the languages being passed down. Back then, people wanted to be known as Americans, not something hyphenated-American.

That said, my former neighbor was from South America, and his kids spoke Spanish inside the home and English outside. If they slipped and spoke Spanish outside, even in their backyard, they were corrected by their parents. They showed respect for their new country and neighbors and didn't blame us for not speaking their language, like so many others do!

Firefighter mom welcome to PA!!!! My extended family is from Maryland ( Montgomery County, Howard, Prince Georges and Frederick Counties ) I will have to say I like Maryland for some things and hate it for others.. Maryland has Great roads where as here in PA our roads are bad... Maryland Property taxes are LOW as in Compared to PA, But our our schools are for the most part better ( atleast here west of Philly ) As for everyone on this post complaing about crime, everywhere you go has crime, and everywhere has good and bad points... Philadelphia the city has one of the highest crime rates than anywhere, but it dosent mean our suburbs are loaded with crime.. same goes for DC and the Baltimore suburbs. We here in PA are experiencing an Illegal Immigration problem as well, I think its a problem from coast to coast. I personally think PA is a good investment over Maryland because its still so close to Maryland job hubs as well as Philly and its suburbs and NYC!! everyone should jump over to PA!!! and yes firefighter mom i agree with respect, there ISNT any respect today!! I praise the owner of Genos Steaks in South Philly for placing a Sign in his window saying "This is america, speak english"

[terp4ever]

Originally Posted by Rhow411

Firefighter mom welcome to PA!!!! My extended family is from Maryland ( Montgomery County, Howard, Prince Georges and Frederick Counties ) I will have to say I like Maryland for some things and hate it for others.. Maryland has Great roads where as here in PA our roads are bad... Maryland Property taxes are LOW as in Compared to PA, But our our schools are for the most part better ( atleast here west of Philly ) As for everyone on this post complaing about crime, everywhere you go has crime, and everywhere has good and bad points... Philadelphia the city has one of the highest crime rates than anywhere, but it dosent mean our suburbs are loaded with crime.. same goes for DC and the Baltimore suburbs. We here in PA are experiencing an Illegal Immigration problem as well, I think its a problem from coast to coast. I personally think PA is a good investment over Maryland because its still so close to Maryland job hubs as well as Philly and its suburbs and NYC!! everyone should jump over to PA!!! and yes firefighter mom i agree with respect, there ISNT any respect today!! I praise the owner of Genos Steaks in South Philly for placing a Sign in his window saying "This is america, speak english"

Wow, you're probably the first person I ever heard calling Maryland property taxes "low." Yeah, maybe in "middle of nowhere" Western Md. Here, in MoCo, we have some of the highest property tax rates in the country.

I definitely agree with you about illegal immigration...it's everywhere. All of Maryland's neighbours have this problem (except maybe WV) as well. I agree about the crime problem also. Every state, in the Northeast at least, has one or more large cities were crime is a major issue.

I disagree about the schools though. Yeah, PG County and Baltimore City schools aren't that great, but Howard and Montgomery counties have some of the best public schools in the nation. I think at least 5 schools in Montgomery alone are on the top 100 list, and nearly all on the top 1000. Eleanor Roosevelt in PGC is on the top 1000 list as well.

As far as proximity goes, I've heard of many persons actually commuting from PA (and WV) into DC and MD. On I-270, through Frederick and Montgomery Counties, nearly all the out of state plates say Pennsylvania or West Virginia. Maryland being so small and located in the middle of the EC, is also close to everywhere in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region. I live: within an hour of PA,WV, DC, Baltimore; 2 hours from Phille, the eastern shore; 3 hour train ride from NYC (4 hour drive);

[7th Direction]

My husband and I moved to West Virginia to buy a home. We couldn't afford even a townhouse in good repair in Maryland, and most of the condos (that aren't 55+) are in the city.

We both work in Maryland, but we bought a new 2 car garage / 4 bedroom home on a 1/4 acre lot in WV for the same price as a condominium in MD.

The commute is sort of a hassle, but the quality of life is much better.