Do I really want to leave? Can't make up my mind!!

[MaryBeth2]

Originally Posted by jh_2009

Well, I didn't know too much about moving to a different state because I lived in the same town my whole life (until 23 yrs old). There are a few things I wish I would have done before moving. One would be researching apartments. The one we chose seemed nice at first but we ended up with too many problems (maintenance issues, loud neighbors, crime). Also, I may have been more comfortable in a different neighborhood/environment. To be honest, I am not racist but it was difficult adjusting from growing up my whole life around 90% white people in a small town with a very low crime rate (Austintown, OH) and then moving to a neighborhood (Gwynn Oak, MD) with less than 30% white people and a high crime rate (I don't mean to be judgmental or stereotype people but you can understand if you've been in this situation-some people call it "culture-shock". Hey, but it's a learning experience, part of life). Also, there's the cost of living. I knew it was going to be higher, but I probably should have saved up more money before I moved. I've been living here since July and haven't changed my car registration/title/license yet, and I neglected to find out until recently that MD MVA has more requirements and costs than OH BMV. Also, it took me about 3-4 months to find a permanent job that I didn't hate (the worst was working at Arbitron, I lasted about 2 months). I did a little job-hopping the first few months which was difficult financially. Plus moving causes a lot of stress, but the weird thing is that I am somewhat unhappy about moving here (did I mention the traffic?), but I have been somewhat happier just being in Maryland. I like nature and there is a lot more here nature-wise (unless they keep destroying it by construction).
So in summary, I didn't realize how much is involved in moving to another state until after the fact, and I wish I would have done more research on the areas to live, apartments, costs, and employment.

Thank you so much for taking time for me. We are leaving the end of this month and going to stay in a motel for a while, to look around and see what we can see. At the price of the motel, I can tell you I will be looking feverishly. I dont want to make a mistake and be miserable there, but cannot afford motel life for long. I really appreciate you sharing your experience with me and wish you the best of luck getting your nitch. I can tell you this much from my experience, please dont wait years to move to find your comfort zone. The years pile up too quickly. IF the neighborhood is not comfortable to you, find one that is... I hope that helps you. Thank you for helping me.

[jh_2009]

Originally Posted by ptsum

Being a native Marylander myself and lived there for over 60 years before moving here to Ohio, I sympathize with you, I don't know what area of Maryland you move to but I can guarantee it's a lot more expensive than Ohio and I think you're finding that out, unless you have a good government high-paying job or work for some company that has contracts with the US government, it's very expensive to live in Maryland and then you have another element to deal with and that's prejudice and there's a lot of it there, especially if you're not a native of the area, I wish I had known you were going to be moving there I could have told you some of the best areas to live in.

Well, I moved to Gwynn Oak, MD and used to live in Austintown & Cornersburg (Youngstown), OH. You are right about the cost of living. I don't have a government job, but I get paid more here than I did in OH. I am curious what you mean about prejudice here because I feel like there was quite a bit of prejudice in OH as well. My lease is up soon, and I am thinking of moving to a new area so I would appreciate if you could let me know a few of the best places to live. The only problem is I can't afford much. Also, I work in Columbia and I don't want to have to drive very far to work everyday. I know people that drive an hour or more to work, and that is too much for me. It takes about 25 min for me to get to work, but the traffic is always so bad during rush hour, esp. when it rains/snows, that it usually takes longer, but I guess I have to get used to it b/c it's a part of life here. I'm curious where you moved to in OH also.

[jh_2009]

Originally Posted by MaryBeth2

Thank you so much for taking time for me. We are leaving the end of this month and going to stay in a motel for a while, to look around and see what we can see. At the price of the motel, I can tell you I will be looking feverishly. I dont want to make a mistake and be miserable there, but cannot afford motel life for long. I really appreciate you sharing your experience with me and wish you the best of luck getting your nitch. I can tell you this much from my experience, please dont wait years to move to find your comfort zone. The years pile up too quickly. IF the neighborhood is not comfortable to you, find one that is... I hope that helps you. Thank you for helping me.

Thank you and good luck to you also. I know what you mean about the years piling up b/c I've been here almost a year already and it seemed to go by pretty quickly. I'm doing ok for now but I may move to a different apartment (this being said while hearing loud bass music outside for the past few hours, currently 11:30 at night, sorry to complain but I needed to vent...Thank goodness, I think it finally stopped now) Good night!

[MaryBeth2]

Originally Posted by jh_2009

Thank you and good luck to you also. I know what you mean about the years piling up b/c I've been here almost a year already and it seemed to go by pretty quickly. I'm doing ok for now but I may move to a different apartment (this being said while hearing loud bass music outside for the past few hours, currently 11:30 at night, sorry to complain but I needed to vent...Thank goodness, I think it finally stopped now) Good night!

I'm sitting here nodding my head in understanding. I hope you dont waste any more time, and I hope we find a peaceful place too.