Connecticut vs Maryland (live, cost, state, better)
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Beauty
Safe-Conneticut
Jobs-Maryland because of D.C metro's growth and baltimore's revalitization
future-Maryland because of same reason as jobs
Making friends-Maryland is more friendly
Cost of living ( adjusted to cost of living)-Tie, both are expensive
Beauty
Safe
Jobs
future
Making friends
Cost of living ( adjusted to cost of living)
Thoughts..
Beauty - CT. You have the quaint towns of the lower river valley (Essex, Chester) and the leafy shoreline suburbs. You also have the breathtaking Litchfield Hills, which can't really be beat IMO. Safe - CT. Overall crime index is a lot lower in CT. Jobs - MD. Close to DC. CT is close to NYC, but overall DC's job market is a little better. Future - Nobody has a crystal ball. Making friends - That depends on you Cost of living - Connecticut is a tad more expensive, largely due to the uber expensive gold coast in the southern portion of the state.
One thing you definitely want to consider is the Human Development Index (health, wealth, and education). Connecticut ranks 1. Maryland ranks 5.
Beauty - CT. You have the quaint towns of the lower river valley (Essex, Chester) and the leafy shoreline suburbs. You also have the breathtaking Litchfield Hills, which can't really be beat IMO. Safe - CT. Overall crime index is a lot lower in CT. Jobs - MD. Close to DC. CT is close to NYC, but overall DC's job market is a little better. Future - Nobody has a crystal ball. Making friends - That depends on you Cost of living - Connecticut is a tad more expensive, largely due to the uber expensive gold coast in the southern portion of the state.
In Maryland, the urban/rural divide is VERY pronounced. Crime is a lot more common in big cities (Baltimore, to state the obvious main example), whereas smaller suburbs in Montgomery and Howard counties and rural places such as extreme Western MD have very low crime rates, among the lowest in the country depending on the source and criteria you use.
The cost of living... false. Most places in the DC metro area (i.e. Bethesda) and a few places in the Baltimore metro area are extremely expensive, where it is not uncommon to see many houses in the million dollar range. I'm not sure about Connecticut, but the cost of living in Maryland is extremely high in certain places (where maybe 1/4 of all Marylanders live).
For MD's future, I'm not 100% certain of course, but I do think that Maryland's DC 'burbs will become more and more extensive while Baltimore will continue to "lose popularity" as it has been for the past few decades.
In Maryland, the urban/rural divide is VERY pronounced. Crime is a lot more common in big cities (Baltimore, to state the obvious main example), whereas smaller suburbs in Montgomery and Howard counties and rural places such as extreme Western MD have very low crime rates, among the lowest in the country depending on the source and criteria you use.
The cost of living... false. Most places in the DC metro area (i.e. Bethesda) and a few places in the Baltimore metro area are extremely expensive, where it is not uncommon to see many houses in the million dollar range. I'm not sure about Connecticut, but the cost of living in Maryland is extremely high in certain places (where maybe 1/4 of all Marylanders live).
For MD's future, I'm not 100% certain of course, but I do think that Maryland's DC 'burbs will become more and more extensive while Baltimore will continue to "lose popularity" as it has been for the past few decades.
Agreed when it comes to the divide between the urban and 'rural' (I'd suggest undeveloped over rural) areas of Maryland, in some areas you literally could have a high-rise with undeveloped areas behind them which is uncommon in many other North East areas. Montgomery County is extremely divided between the East and West portions of the county, with the West rivaling parts of Prince George County in both crime, income, etc while the uber wealthy live in the Eastern (including Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, etc) portions of the county; those Eastern portions of the county are some of the wealthiest areas in America. I'm also not sure about CT, but in the East portions of Montgomery County a house that almost looks like a shack can go for $300k and living in a 1,500-2,000 sq ft house goes for $600,000k depending on the proximity to DC. Coming from NC, I wasn't use to people saying "oh, $450,000 for that house is a great price" because back in NC $450k was living in a McMansion not a typical brick house that sits on a hill.
Maryland could possibly have a job boom soon enough that could rival VA because we're considering dropping our corporate tax by 2% ultimately becoming more competitive. If the states overly democratic politicians don't pass the bill to reduce company taxes will always be behind VA in jobs. So that bill helps determine our future in my opinion, and with cyber security booming MD is poised to gain many positions because of the NSA and don't forget BRAC. In raw numbers, we would be considered the fastest growing state in the North East (if one considers it the North East).
I wouldn't say Baltimore is losing popularity but instead gaining, a apartment/town house/rehab/etc boom is currently occurring the city and this is partly caused by DC pricing people out of the city-limits. Although I live in DC now, I plan to move to Baltimore within a few years because my rent will only continue to go up at a rate that my income can't keep up with currently.
In Maryland, the urban/rural divide is VERY pronounced. Crime is a lot more common in big cities (Baltimore, to state the obvious main example), whereas smaller suburbs in Montgomery and Howard counties and rural places such as extreme Western MD have very low crime rates, among the lowest in the country depending on the source and criteria you use.
The cost of living... false. Most places in the DC metro area (i.e. Bethesda) and a few places in the Baltimore metro area are extremely expensive, where it is not uncommon to see many houses in the million dollar range. I'm not sure about Connecticut, but the cost of living in Maryland is extremely high in certain places (where maybe 1/4 of all Marylanders live).
For MD's future, I'm not 100% certain of course, but I do think that Maryland's DC 'burbs will become more and more extensive while Baltimore will continue to "lose popularity" as it has been for the past few decades.
Clearly you don't know CT very well. The state, statistically, has the largest wealth gap in the nation, as well as the largest gap in educational attainment. Poor, urban cities, and extremely wealthy neighboring suburbs. One thing CT does not have is the very poor areas in Appalachia that western MD has - for the most part, CT's rural areas are very wealthy (Litchfield Hills). Our cities should follow in Baltimore's footsteps, though Hartford is an insurance company powerhouse and is one of the most affluent metro areas in the country.
As for COL - again, statistically, CT's cost of living would be higher. In the NYC metro area of CT (where approximately 50% of CTers live), you'll be lucky if you can find a nice house for 600k, and in most areas of the metro, you can't touch a modest ranch for under $750k-1m. If you look at the top 25 wealthiest towns in the country, 5 are in CT and only 1 is in MD (and it's Bethesda). 25 top-earning towns - New Canaan, CT (1) - Money Magazine Look up some of the most expensive real estate in Greenwich, and tell me there's ANYTHING like that in MD.
Again, CT ranks 1 in Human Development, which outlines nearly everything the OP would need to know. CT ranks 1 in per capita income, ranks higher than MD in terms of education (not by much - CT ranks 3 and 4 while MD ranks 5). Most and Least Educated States
It's kind of a wash, though. Both states are very similar and these comparisons are just splitting hairs. It really comes down to whether or not the OP wants to be near NYC, or be near DC. Just a side note: If the OP's job is in the finance industry, then southwestern CT (Stamford/Greenwich) is definitely where they want to be.
Again, CT ranks 1 in Human Development, which outlines nearly everything the OP would need to know. CT ranks 1 in per capita income, ranks higher than MD in terms of education (not by much - CT ranks 3 and 4 while MD ranks 5). Most and Least Educated States
Different sources use different criteria. CT and MD are both great states education-wise, but they're not necessarily better than each other.
Different sources use different criteria. CT and MD are both great states education-wise, but they're not necessarily better than each other.
Point taken, though.
They are. Like I said, it's really splitting hairs. They're two of the wealthiest states, both primarily suburban with commuters out of state, both well educated, both very expensive, and both very liberal. An easier comparison would be to compare states like MD and CT to states like NC and GA.
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