Maryland vs Virginia 2020 (crime, America, states, relocating)

[kcmo]

They are both great, I spend a ton of time in both and I live in Annapolis. Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville, Annapolis, Ellicott City, Baltimore and more in Maryland and then you have all the nice dense urban suburbs of NOVA near DC like Roslyn, Alexandria, Pentagon City etc. VA as the Tysons area which reminds me of Houston or Atlanta and MD has the 270 corridor which is a slightly toned down version of Tysons. MD has BWI, VA has IAD. (while DCA is technically in VA, I consider it DC's airport). Both states share DC and claim DC, both states share Metro rail and they even share the Great Falls. MD has the National Harbor, VA has historic Alexandria. You get the idea.

Maybe there are some things one state does better than the other, but the best part about living in this area is that you can enjoy all of what both offer and combined and this area offers a lot.

[Veritas Vincit]

I prefer Virginia over Maryland by a significant margin. I work in MD and I never even considered moving there in spite of the bothersome commute. It's mostly the slightly different vibe that I prefer in VA. I am not even a huge VA booster or anything, and perhaps it's simply grown on me over time.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by kcmo

They are both great, I spend a ton of time in both and I live in Annapolis. Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville, Annapolis, Ellicott City, Baltimore and more in Maryland and then you have all the nice dense urban suburbs of NOVA near DC like Roslyn, Alexandria, Pentagon City etc. VA as the Tysons area which reminds me of Houston or Atlanta and MD has the 270 corridor which is a slightly toned down version of Tysons. MD has BWI, VA has IAD. (while DCA is technically in VA, I consider it DC's airport). Both states share DC and claim DC, both states share Metro rail and they even share the Great Falls. MD has the National Harbor, VA has historic Alexandria. You get the idea.

Maybe there are some things one state does better than the other, but the best part about living in this area is that you can enjoy all of what both offer and combined and this area offers a lot.

I could not agree any more. Nice states that largely fly under the radar outside of DC.

[newgensandiego]

QOL: VA, overall
Public Transit: MD
Universities: VA
Economy: VA
Wealth:MD
Character: MD (not better, I just prefer the vibe)
Politics: neither
Suburbs: VA
Schools: tie
Urban Cores: MD
Diversity: VA
Shopping: tie
Food: VA
Road Network/Traffic:
Sports: MD
Quick Getaways/Recreation/Parks/Beaches:
Economic Future:VA
Job/Housing Market: VA
Nightlife/Entertainment: MD
History/Museums:VA

[aries4118]

For small state, MD has a lot.


And - one of the best state flags in the nation.

[newgensandiego]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

And it is a true fact Virginia has a higher poverty rate than Maryland. Maryland is the third least impoverished state in the nation. Even with Baltimore City.

Personally, I don't like places with extreme inequality. Maryland definitely fits that.

I will take Bethesda anyday over Arlington.

Nah. Would rather be closer to downtown DC. Bethesda isn't anything special.

I will take Annapolis anyday over Alexandria.

Annapolis is pretty, but also tiny and isolated. Alexandria has all the charm, plus with access to Metro and tons of high paying jobs.

And I will take Frederick over Roanoke. I can keep going...

Williamsburg, Charlottesville, Winchester, Fredericksburg, Staunton, Leesburg, etc. are all pretty nice. Frederick also has a big drug problem.

Honestly, I don't think you can keep going...

[Deerhound]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

So many posters think VA is simply NOVA and also try to claim DC as their own. Maryland including Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, Silver .

D.C. was carved out of Virginia, forming a separate district.

[Penna76]

QOL: MD

Public Transit: MD. It has a larger network statewide with WMATA, MARTA and Baltimore transit.

Universities: VA

Economy: MD (It is the wealthier state with the higher GDP per capita)

Wealth: MD

Character: MD

Politics: Tie

Suburbs: MD. I prefer Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville and Frederick over Arlington, Alexandria, McClean and Manassas. NW DC is gorgeous, and MD is better connected to it. I especially love the park that runs from Bethesda to Georgetown. It is a gem.

Schools: Tie

Urban Cores: MD. Baltimore is a larger city than Richmond with a stronger core.

Diversity: MD - MD is home to the largest black middle class in the nation.

Shopping: Tie

Food: MD - Maryland crab is iconic. I cannot name one iconic VA food.

Sports: MD

Quick Getaways/Recreation/Parks/Beaches: MD - Closer to NYC, PHL and Atlantic Coast + has more Chesapeake coast line. VA definitely wins though if you want mountain recreation.

Economic Future: VA. NOVA is doing well. Although Maryland is no slouch. Maryland actually has a higher GDP per capita than VA. So this is almost a tie.

Job/Housing Market: Tie. Both are quite promising. Although Maryland overall is probably stronger. Rural Virginia is much larger than rural Maryland and the southwest part of rural Virginia is considered to have more poor counties than Maryland overall.

Nightlife/Entertainment: MD

History/Museums: MD

VA is a great state. I prefer Maryland. It is far more urban, which I like. I am a former DC resident. I lived in NW DC, in Glover Park and Dupont Circle, and from my experience I found Maryland to be the nicer state overall.

[NW4me]

Originally Posted by aries4118

For small state, MD has a lot.

And - one of the best state flags in the nation.

Yes.... the other good ones are all far away, in the Southwest (AZ, NM, TX).

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Deerhound

D.C. was carved out of Virginia, forming a separate district.

All of present-day DC was former Maryland territory. In 1846, VA got back the land it gave towards the creation of the District, which contains Arlington County and part of Alexandria, nearly 50 years earlier.