Long lost Marylander returning home to MD...hows is Frederick these days?? (Baltimore: apartment, for rent)

[shutdownthefed]

I was born in D.C and raised in Derwood my entire childhood. Then lived in Mt.Airy for a few years, then Rockville for a long time. Rockville and Gaithersburg used to be a decent place growing up, but it had become so overcrowded and overpriced I had to get out. I moved in 2004, and after living in New Mexico and now North Carolina...I have decided to return to my home state of MD (well, maybe). If I come back, I do not want to have to deal with Rockville/Gaithersburg/Silver Spring/Bethesda/ any of those places in Montgomery County...they have more cops there in that one county then some other entire states! So...I am thinking of Frederick as a good middle of the road area to live, it has access to all the main places like D.C, Baltimore, Mogo county if I need it...but theres way less people there which is great...or at least when I was last up there. Could I find a house to rent in Frederick for $1000 or cheaper?? I play drums so I have to live in a house. How crowded is it now up there, or is it about the same? I do not want to live in a crowded area like Mogo county but I also dont want to live someplace real sparce like Mt.Airy, I lived there and it was boring. Can anyone give me a good website to find houses for rent in Frederick? Does Frederick have alot of music venues to play? I was going to open an analog recording studio up there, are there many garage/indie/psychedelic bands in Frederick? I used to go up there all the time when I was like 15 to skate and shop at Pitcrew...I always thought it was more of a chill place to live...I just hope it still has that vibe. Is downtown Frederick being renovated and geared towards rich people like they did to Rockville? Is that glass bong shop still on Market street? My job field is television/film/audio production...does anyone know if there are jobs in that field in Frederick? I tried craigslist but all the Frederick listings are strewn all over because Frederick doesnt have its own area to post in. Are there any vintage guitar shops, or instrument shops in Frederick? I hope they at the very least have a Guitar Center, yes..I know that store blows hard but its better then nothing. I hope some of you can help me with these questions,...I'm beating my head into a wall down here in Wilmington,NC...the only place that called me back for a job was Enterprise Rent-A-Car for a part-time postion at $7.25 an hour. I went to college way to long to work for peanuts, god I need to get out of here. As soon as I sell my car I'm renting a uhaul and driving out of here, to where I'm not sure yet. Somebody please give me the low down on Frederick. If your someone that lives there, how do you like it? Is that RItas frozen custard still there, that place is the bomb!

[Matthaeus]

Dude, you might want to consider staying put. Maryland's cost of living is simply unreasonable. I'm gonna be gone by Springtime.

[firefightermom]

Sad but true, that's what drove us away. We tried to stay in MD, but even Hagerstown ended up being too pricey, so across the PA line we went. Can't really tell you about the job situation, but I would recommend securing a job before you consider moving.

[shutdownthefed]

Thanks for the advice, but out of the 3 places I lived ..Maryland, Albuquerqe NM, and now Wilmington NC...Wilmington is definitly the worst economy out of them. Sure MD is way overpriced, but jobs pay more there...down here in NC somethings may be cheaper like housing, but the best paying job is $10 an hour...so its all relative. Im going to be screwed and poor either way, I might as well be poor where I can atleast skateboard around and eat ritas frozen custard! Seriously, Wilmington is rich college kids who move here for school since theres a beach near by, and old people who retiree here. The few wilmington natives I have come across say they hate it and want to get out, same thing with native new mexicans when i lived in NM. Everyone is moving around trying to find an area where they can actually LIVE, and not be on the hampster whell 24/7. So my take is this, every place is getting bad no matter where in the US...there is no grass is greener, no escape to a better life....so since Im going down with the ship, Im going to do it in the state I'm from. Ideally I would like to leave the country, but that has a snowballs chance in hell of happening. I guess I will just have to live in the bad area in frederick. The greater depression is coming, so you all better gear up because its just beginning

[shutdownthefed]

Where are you living in MD, and where are you going to move to?

[Merlander]

Hey sdtf, like some of the other posters have said, Frederick has gotten a lot more expensive over the past 5 yrs. I left DC metro in Jan '04 after 15 yrs and although Frederick is way cheaper, it's still expensive. Renting a house in the city will probably put you out 1200-1400, but I'm sure there are deals to be had in a few areas, and also further out in the county. Rita's is still here too, I could eat the strawberry custard 24/7. As far as jobs I've been with the same employer for a long time so I can't really comment. The employer base for Frederick has really grown and there are lots of jobs, I just don't know if they're hiring. And I think you're right about the coming depression - it's gonna be a lot worse than people think. If they keep tinkering for a "soft landing" they may make it worse, as you have to pay the piper sooner or later.

All in all we love Frederick, though. I can't handle the extreme traffic and prices of the whole DC metro, and personally speaking, living just outside it makes a big difference. The city has come a long way, and in some way is becoming pretty hip. I've lived all over this area and for me there's nowhere else I'd consider. If you have family & friends here than that's a huge plus. Btw we spent 2½ yrs. in Albuq. and just returned about 5 mos. ago. A very different place than MD but to be honest I really like both places equally. Curious as to why you left NM...

[firefightermom]

Who were you asking about where they lived and where they were moving? I lived in Germantown MD and we moved to Chambersburg PA...

[Matthaeus]

Originally Posted by shutdownthefed

Im going to be screwed and poor either way, I might as well be poor where I can atleast skateboard around and eat ritas frozen custard!

Heh heh heh, I hear ya man. It's the same for me. I figure, if I'm going to have to struggle, I might as well struggle someplace that I know and have roots.

[shutdownthefed]

Originally Posted by firefightermom

Who were you asking about where they lived and where they were moving? I lived in Germantown MD and we moved to Chambersburg PA...

I was just curious because the post above yours said he was leaving MD by spring time, so I was just wondering which part of MD they were in and where they were going to move to.

Me and my mom were actually considering Pittsburgh,PA. House prices seem pretty cheap and there looks like a lot of jobs on the Pittsburgh craigslist...but my mom still has contacts at her old job in Md, so looks like were ging to Frederick. One big issue for me is a good music scene,...pittsburgh looks alright form what ive seen on the internet,...but I think the Baltimore/D.C music scene is much bigger and better. Are there any places for a garage band to play in frederick?

[shutdownthefed]

Originally Posted by Tim Rankin

Hey sdtf, like some of the other posters have said, Frederick has gotten a lot more expensive over the past 5 yrs. I left DC metro in Jan '04 after 15 yrs and although Frederick is way cheaper, it's still expensive. Renting a house in the city will probably put you out 1200-1400, but I'm sure there are deals to be had in a few areas, and also further out in the county. Rita's is still here too, I could eat the strawberry custard 24/7. As far as jobs I've been with the same employer for a long time so I can't really comment. The employer base for Frederick has really grown and there are lots of jobs, I just don't know if they're hiring. And I think you're right about the coming depression - it's gonna be a lot worse than people think. If they keep tinkering for a "soft landing" they may make it worse, as you have to pay the piper sooner or later.

All in all we love Frederick, though. I can't handle the extreme traffic and prices of the whole DC metro, and personally speaking, living just outside it makes a big difference. The city has come a long way, and in some way is becoming pretty hip. I've lived all over this area and for me there's nowhere else I'd consider. If you have family & friends here than that's a huge plus. Btw we spent 2½ yrs. in Albuq. and just returned about 5 mos. ago. A very different place than MD but to be honest I really like both places equally. Curious as to why you left NM...

Well, Albuquerque was alright...but being landlocked really started to get to me. The only other "city" that is relatively close was Santa Fe...which wasn't really all that fun in the first place. I started realizing how much I took for granted living on the East coast. I mean we have D.C, Baltimore, Philly, Boston, New York, etc.. all within a few hours. The only part of Albuquerque I thought was pretty cool was Nob Hill by the college, if I lived there it probably wouldn't have been that bad. Crime was another big factor, ...Albuquerque is not like a typical city, where there is a "bad area" or a bad side of town....in Albuquerque, it's totally random and its everywhere. I worked on 2nd street across from that park,...every single day without fail there were bums and meth heads stumbling around everywhere and passed out in the field. In D.C/Baltimore, ...I would park my car and go skating all the time...never had any problems. In Albuquerque, I came out of my apartment one night to get food...only to find my window shattered and my cd player torn out and stolen. Months later, the same thing happened to my neighbor. The gangs are really taking over NM. I saw a news special, they said since California has the 3 strikes your out law for gangs...that all the gangs are leaving CA and coming to NM and AZ. I am caucasian...in NM I felt a lot of reverse racism there. The good side is I went to the hot springs, that was very unique and fun, balloon fiesta is kind of cool. I mean there is a lot of good...there's tons of organic food stores and holistic health stuff which I really dig, the mountains are nice....but overall I would have to say the cons far outweigh the pros. If you got money and can get one of those houses up in the sandia mountains where its nice and chill then it would probably be awesome.
I'm just sick of moving to areas where there is such a struggling middle class. There trying to wipes us all out. Are there any good middle class strong places left?? I'm hoping there arn't many yuppies in Frederick. The only other place I would maybe consider is Baltimore...there is a growing underground 50's,60's,70s' influenced music scene which is perfect for me. I am really into 60s music. Moving around so much has kind of made me like a hermit, I find it very hard to meet people...so if I go back to MD, at least ill know a handful of people to skate/jam with. I am selling my car to be able to pay for a uhaul, so where ever we move to...Im going to have to walk to a job or ride a bike which is going to blow big time. Whats that area of houses behind Baker Park? Are they reasonably priced as far as rent or expensive to rent? Thanks for all your replies everyone, for some reason I feel more at ease with the move from getting feedback - peace out