Is living in Maryland safer anymore? (Baltimore, Silver Spring: 2013, to rent, violent crime)

[musman]

I am in the process of moving to MD or VA for job in DC. I am actively looking for places in Rockville, Silverspring area. I checked out Neighbourhoodscout and other resources. I am kind of getting scared to move there. With all this gang activity/riots(Baltimore)/recent Police man case in Odenton, I dont know whether to consider these areas to move or just more to NoVA since I cannot afford to live in DC.
I have some family living close to Elliot City , they dont seem to mind all the crimes happening in Maryland or may be its just a pocket that is relatively safer for them. I dont know.
It must be a silly question to ask, is there any rule of thumb one must keep in mind while choosing areas to live? Any particular areas to avoid?
I dont mean to offend anyone and start another who's better NoVA vs Maryland debate thread. Its a question, honest may be stupid.

[UserName14289]

Originally Posted by musman

I am in the process of moving to MD or VA for job in DC. I am actively looking for places in Rockville, Silverspring area. I checked out Neighbourhoodscout and other resources. I am kind of getting scared to move there. With all this gang activity/riots(Baltimore)/recent Police man case in Odenton, I dont know whether to consider these areas to move or just more to NoVA since I cannot afford to live in DC.
I have some family living close to Elliot City , they dont seem to mind all the crimes happening in Maryland or may be its just a pocket that is relatively safer for them. I dont know.
It must be a silly question to ask, is there any rule of thumb one must keep in mind while choosing areas to live? Any particular areas to avoid?
I dont mean to offend anyone and start another who's better NoVA vs Maryland debate thread. Its a question, honest may be stupid.

It's not a dumb question. You need to feel safe where you live. It is common to fear that which we do not know. And all you know is what you hear on TV, since you're not living in MD/DC/VA (and you're not on the street to see the good things happening here that never make the news, because bad news sells, not good).

There are pockets, like anywhere else. Baltimore's pockets just happen to be worse than other pockets. But you shouldn't be in those pockets anyway, so stay out of them, and you'll be fine. Same goes for MD, DC, and VA. Pick where you want to live, check out some crime maps, pick a place to rent that isn't in a pocket, and you're good to go.

LA has pockets. It also has multi-million dollar mansions with celebrities in them. Does that mean all of LA is unsafe?

When I was new in CA my first time living there, I was given sage advice to stay west of PCH until I learned where their bad pockets were. My advice to newcomers to MD is stay in the burbs (generally speaking) until you know where the pockets are. I think Rockville would be a perfect location for someone new to the area. Figure out which part suits you best, pull some data, and settle in. And an early 'welcome'.

[musman]

Originally Posted by UserName14289

It's not a dumb question. You need to feel safe where you live. It is common to fear that which we do not know. And all you know is what you hear on TV, since you're not living in MD/DC/VA (and you're not on the street to see the good things happening here that never make the news, because bad news sells, not good).

There are pockets, like anywhere else. Baltimore's pockets just happen to be worse than other pockets. But you shouldn't be in those pockets anyway, so stay out of them, and you'll be fine. Same goes for MD, DC, and VA. Pick where you want to live, check out some crime maps, pick a place to rent that isn't in a pocket, and you're good to go.

LA has pockets. It also has multi-million dollar mansions with celebrities in them. Does that mean all of LA is unsafe?

When I was new in CA my first time living there, I was given sage advice to stay west of PCH until I learned where their bad pockets were. My advice to newcomers to MD is stay in the burbs (generally speaking) until you know where the pockets are. I think Rockville would be a perfect location for someone new to the area. Figure out which part suits you best, pull some data, and settle in. And an early 'welcome'.

Thank you for responding. I am planning a trip to visit the area get a feel of it. As I mentioned, I am considering Rockville area. I am also looking around Odenton area. I heard schools are pretty good and its accessible to Marc.

[seanlax]

Originally Posted by UserName14289

I was given sage advice to stay west of PCH until I learned where their bad pockets were.

They were really messing with you. That's like, what, 1/1000th of LA?

[North Beach Person]

Maryland usually rates in the Top 10 for violent crime. The hook is that the rating is driven primarily by 1 or 2 jurisdictions.


Stay out of the bad areas in those and you'll be fine.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by musman

I am in the process of moving to MD or VA for job in DC. I am actively looking for places in Rockville, Silverspring area. I checked out Neighbourhoodscout and other resources. I am kind of getting scared to move there. With all this gang activity/riots(Baltimore)/recent Police man case in Odenton, I dont know whether to consider these areas to move or just more to NoVA since I cannot afford to live in DC.
I have some family living close to Elliot City , they dont seem to mind all the crimes happening in Maryland or may be its just a pocket that is relatively safer for them. I dont know.
It must be a silly question to ask, is there any rule of thumb one must keep in mind while choosing areas to live? Any particular areas to avoid?
I dont mean to offend anyone and start another who's better NoVA vs Maryland debate thread. Its a question, honest may be stupid.

A map and some elementary statistical analysis would be very helpful.

[DistrictSonic]

Originally Posted by musman

I am in the process of moving to MD or VA for job in DC. I am actively looking for places in Rockville, Silverspring area. I checked out Neighbourhoodscout and other resources. I am kind of getting scared to move there. With all this gang activity/riots(Baltimore)/recent Police man case in Odenton, I dont know whether to consider these areas to move or just more to NoVA since I cannot afford to live in DC.
I have some family living close to Elliot City , they dont seem to mind all the crimes happening in Maryland or may be its just a pocket that is relatively safer for them. I dont know.
It must be a silly question to ask, is there any rule of thumb one must keep in mind while choosing areas to live? Any particular areas to avoid?
I dont mean to offend anyone and start another who's better NoVA vs Maryland debate thread. Its a question, honest may be stupid.

Neighborhood scout really is not reliable because it does not take into account per capita rates which is important when there is any density.

Also in terms of safety Montgomery County is nowhere close to as dangerous as Baltimore, they may as well exist on another planet. There is nothing to be scared of in Downtown Silver Spring or Rockville. They are really safe, albeit more urbanized, suburbs. So please realize the problems of Baltimore are nowhere close to being the problems of Montgomery County. You are basically comparing an affluent suburban area, to one of the most dangerous cities in the US. Don't. Silver Spring and Rockville are safe, really, you are getting a little too overly fearful.

With Silver Spring, it's generally places in the northeastern part of the county, and east of the long branch. This is not in the downtown area. Even then it it's not that bad, like east of the river DC or the poorer parts of PG county bad. Even East of the River DC and the poorer parts of PG county is not Western Baltimore bad.

You are taking the fear of one really bad city, and applying it to the state, and to be truthful, one of the nicest areas of the state. My advice if you are looking at downtown silver spring or rockville, there is not much to be worried about. In this case it's irrational fear that is having it's role.

[cjmeck]

Based on what you may see on the news, it is understandable that Maryland in general looks a little questionable. It's great that you already have family here, I'm in Ellicott City too. I grew up in a ruralish suburb in Ohio and you know what? There was higher crime in my town in Ohio then there is in my town now. I'd urge you to look at spotcrime.org; it allows you to plug in an address to see what kind of crimes have recently occurred in that area. Be sure to look up your current neighborhood as well. Also, when looking at neighborhoods, it's helpful to look up the schools on greatschools.org. The information listed under "students" will help you get a clearer picture of the types of families you can expect in your neighborhood.
Maryland is a beautiful diverse state with SO MANY fantastic areas. You really need to come see for yourself.

[BigCityDreamer]

Originally Posted by musman

It must be a silly question to ask, is there any rule of thumb one must keep in mind while choosing areas to live? Any particular areas to avoid?

Try to avoid living in a zip code in which the median household income is < $60,000 (for the Baltimore-Washington area).

Otherwise, there is nothing to worry about.

[DistrictSonic]

Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer

Try to avoid living in a zip code in which the median household income is < $60,000 (for the Baltimore-Washington area).

Otherwise, there is nothing to worry about.

This is generally good advice. Handy tool: Washington: A world apart | The Washington Post