What happened to Montgomery County MD!! (Baltimore, Germantown: elementary school, high income, quality of life)

[Old Tired Man]

I spend a lot of time in Montgomery County to visit friends and relatives.

It's nice in Potomac and Bethesda but northern and eastern parts of the county which used to be so nice and full of regular folks is now run down, sprawling full of ugly cheap townhouses and illegal aliens.

People seem to think because there is a few millionaires in Bethesda that everyone in the county is rich. The millionaires confuse the stats and if you looked at the standard of living of the average person in the county you would find they are quite poor.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Barry Rock

People don't want that. They want "main-streets" like in da old days....Malls are out. We only have 2-3 months of cold, most of the time here its nice enough. I just think White Flint and the others will clog traffic so you just can't move on the PIke....and, how many damn restaurants do we need???

I like the town center feel. I think we all could use more sunlight. AS far as restaurants are concerned, I still think the D.C> area has fewer than other cities like NYC, LA, etc. Additionally, as more young professionals move to the area who aren't as skilled in the kitchen as some of the older generation is, there will be an increasing need to fill that market. I still think the D.C. area doesn't have a very solid offering of good places to eat.

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by Old Tired Man

I spend a lot of time in Montgomery County to visit friends and relatives.

It's nice in Potomac and Bethesda but northern and eastern parts of the county which used to be so nice and full of regular folks is now run down, sprawling full of ugly cheap townhouses and illegal aliens.

People seem to think because there is a few millionaires in Bethesda that everyone in the county is rich. The millionaires confuse the stats and if you looked at the standard of living of the average person in the county you would find they are quite poor.

How do you know they are illegal? But every city has this issue....

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I like the town center feel. I think we all could use more sunlight. AS far as restaurants are concerned, I still think the D.C> area has fewer than other cities like NYC, LA, etc. Additionally, as more young professionals move to the area who aren't as skilled in the kitchen as some of the older generation is, there will be an increasing need to fill that market. I still think the D.C. area doesn't have a very solid offering of good places to eat.

I think DC got rid of their ethnic neighborhoods back in the 70's when development moved in, we dont have a good " little Italy" like Baltimore has, forget NY. You tell me....where are the good enclaves? China Town?? Philly and NY and San Fran have better..... DC needs to build up around its water ways, but the government owns most of that property.

[reiflame]

Originally Posted by Old Tired Man

if you looked at the standard of living of the average person in the county you would find they are quite poor.

Median household income is $95,660. That's Median, not Mean. This is not a poor county by any means.

[bonnielisabeth]

Originally Posted by reiflame

Median household income is $95,660. That's Median, not Mean. This is not a poor county by any means.

There is median income and then there is standard of living. My median income is fairly high in Montgomery County but I perceive that my standard of living is much lower than my previous place of residence--even though we make more money, most of it goes toward the inflated cost of living not towards savings or fun. I am living in the eastern part of the county, so the available retail and housing stock is pretty depressing which just adds to the perceived misery.

[Tom Lennox 70]

I went to high school in Montgomery County after moving there from the New Orleans area. And I live in Baltimore County now, considering a move to the Eastern Shore or West Virginia.

The only places in Montgomery County I think I can live happily are Damascus, Poolesville, and SOME parts of Montgomery Village and Germantown. The rest is either too uppity and yuppie, or too ghetto or have too many illegal aliens. Also the promotion of high density development to me is a TERRIBLE thing and destroys the quality of life. It is terrible what they did to Rockville Town Center which was much better even 10 or 15 years ago. There is too much density and the Metro is already overcrowded and they want MORE people taking it. I never took the Metro much but everytime I did I had to stand for at least part of the way. And now if you drive you ahve to pay for parking in many places.

I expect to live like people in the rest of America, be able to drive everywhere and have free parking, live in a low density suburban or rural environment, not deal with crime and drugs. MoCo also has those nanny state laws about plastic bags and is very encouraging of illegal immigration. Montgomery County is the source of most of the crazy laws in the state of Maryland. Them plus their friends in Baltimore City. And the cause of most of the taxes here too.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by bonnielisabeth

I am living in the eastern part of the county, so the available retail and housing stock is pretty depressing which just adds to the perceived misery.

Depending on how long you want to hold out, there is hope for eastern MoCo. Also, there is a great blog called Just Up The Pike about all things Eastern MoCo by a guy who graduated from UMD's urban planning program. It gets updated on a frequent basis. A lot of his posts ends up in other area blogs.

Leggett announces Percontee firm as builder of $3 billion science center in Montgomery

While the new science center will be located in Montgomery County in White Oak, this is good news for Northern PG in places like Calverton, Laurel, Adelphi, and College Park. All of these areas are less then 5 miles from White Oak which could serve as an employment hub for those areas. In addition, PG can go after companies that will want to locate near the science center which is described as the eastern version of the I-270 science corridor. Keep in mind that this is one of those 20 year plans. But at least it's a plan. They will try to break ground as soon as possible as the FDA complained about the lack of amenities in eastern Montgomery County. The FDA saw the plans and is very excited and wants things to move along quickly.

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett wants to create a $3 billion life sciences research center at a former sludge composting facility site north of White Oak, and on Friday he announced the private partner the county selected to build it.

...


Leggett (D) said in a news conference on Friday that the life sciences center, to be called LifeSci Village, would become a “true mixed-use legacy development project” that would drive the economy for eastern Montgomery County for generations to come.
“This will literally turn a brownfield into a world-class bio sciences employment and research center,” Leggett said.
Montgomery County Council member Nancy Navarro (D-Eastern County) said that residents in the county’s eastern area were eager for a core center of employment and commerce.
“This is the part of the county that has been waiting for a very long time,” she said.

[scrapper105]

Moderators, I think this discussion has run it's course - it started in 2011. Could you close this thread please ?

[e30is]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

Also the promotion of high density development to me is a TERRIBLE thing and destroys the quality of life.

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

I expect to live like people in the rest of America, be able to drive everywhere and have free parking, live in a low density suburban or rural environment, not deal with crime and drugs.

Disagree.


We can't have too much of one thing. That isn't always a good thing. We need options in terms of lifestyles, not restrict them.