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This is a long response, but you might find it worth your while to read it all.
I too am from NY. I've lived in MD for about 12 years now. Originally, I moved to Anne Arundel County - Glen Burnie. And I've also lived in Baltimore County - Owings Mills and Pikesville. BTW, Pikesville is a very good place to live and so is Owings Mills, expecially the New Town area. The rents have increased quite a bit since I first moved here (a 3 BR unit that went for approx $800 now rents for approx $1300) but considering where you are and what you are getting, those prices are not that bad. And occasionally you may find a complex offering units at lower rates - it sometimes depends on supply and demand. Sometimes you can get lucky. [smile]
Anyway, about a yr ago, my job forced me to the Largo area of Prince George's County. What a shock. The rents are sky-high and compared to AACo and Balto Co, you're really not getting much more for the extra money they want. Ok ... I have a fireplace and a spa tub, neither of which I've used because to use them would cost so much more in utility expenses. And overall they flaunt a grand 1,019 sf when in actuality I only have approx 635 sf of livable space. (They get you with the floor space inside the closets, the bathroom(s), and the kitchen. For a 2 BR/2Bath I pay $1,700/mo. The 2 good things about where I live is that I live across the street, around the corner and up or down the block from shopping centers, banks, restaurants, etc., which makes it easy to do things I need to w/o driving. And when you drive, most things are less than 10 min away. Oh, I also live directly across from work. I can walk, start to finish, in less than 7 min. Those are the pros. The greatest con (pun intended) is that the better places to live in PGCo will raise you rent to what they consider "market value" at the end of your 1st lease term. In my case they intend to raise my rent $250, bring my monthly rent to $1950 - and this includes [u]no/U] utilities! NOT!!! I'm moving when my lease is up in July. And, don't think of going month-to-month ... then you have to pay the increased amount plus the fee they render for the priviledge. In my case it's another $200. Let's just say I'm on a mission ... hard ... to find another place to live. And you have to beware ... always ask what the procedure is regarding rent increases. What good is it that you get the place for less, feel you've found your home, only to have to move the next year because the increase is outrageous.
But, I'm finding it difficult. Regardless of what people say, there aren't that many reasonably priced decent places to live in PGCo. I've been told that areas like: Landover, Landover Hills, Cheverly, Suitland, Forestville, some areas of Bladensburg, Hyattsville, New Carrollton, Riverdale, Lanham, Seabrook (and the list seems to go on) are not that great.
I'm not just going on what other people are saying, either, although when I come across a complex (using forrent.com, move.com, rent.com, apartmentshowcase.com, & apartmentguide.com, to name a few, LOL), I do look the apartment up in apartmentratings.com to find out what previous tenants have to say about the complex. Initially, I don't believe everything I read. For one, a lot of people who feel they have been shafted in one way or another by management will go on the site and make a lot of accusations about the unprofessionalism of the management / maintenance staff. For another, many of the positive reviews come directly from management in order to improve their overall rating percentage. What I do look at in these reviews is how many people speak about things like roaches, or mice and how consistent the comments are regarding the effectiveness of maintenance in addressing and correcting problems. I look at who the management co. is, too. And I don't stop there. If reading the reviews don't give me enough to go on and I'm still considering the property, I actually go to the property. And, if I see any tenants that look approachable, I ask them what they feel about where they live.
I have to admit, I've been at it for a bit over a month now and it's been stressful to say the least. Mainly because there have been a place or 2 or 3 that I felt I'd be willing to move into, but then there's also the issue of what is available when you need it to be available. And, also the cost of gas and the time it will take to commute to and from. There are places I could go. I'd save money -- one or 2 where I'd save tons of money. But they are either place where I'd fear for my safety or where I'd have to share my home with "pets" I didn't bring with me when I moved in or a place where I'd wind up settling for w/o certain amenities I've become used to having in my apt home.
Based on some info I recently received, I've begun to look at places in Montgomery Co, Howard Co, Anne Arundel Co, and places in PGCo that border on those counties. Also, I was told that Montgomery Co and Howard Co have great schools. You may pay a little more for place, but it's more worth it than PGCo.
I hope this has help you some.
Good Luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cstatecash3
I'm looking to move to PG County after this summer to teach and hopefully get a coaching job. I'm from Central NY so I know this will be a whole different world down south but I'm looking on suggestions where to live. I don't mind working in a city atmosphere but I don't want to live in one. I heard there are some nice places in PG but I've scrolled through and haven't heard any mentioned in the previous posts. Please help me out and if anyone has any info on PG County as a whole...please let me know. I want to get as much information before I commit to this teaching job. Thanks.
DO NOT live, and DEF DO NOT TEACH in PG County. there are wonderful school systems in Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Howard, Baltimore and Frederick counties. PGC has the worst schools in the state outside of Baltimore. Since you're from upstate New York, let's just say PG County is just a spread out version of the Bronx or Harlem. It is very ghetto and its schools are plagued by drug use, gang violence, illegal aliens who can't speak English, truancy, etc etc. PG County is falling apart at the seems. Now many people from Washington, D.C. are moving there since the District is cleaning itself up adn the ghetto is being relocated into PGC since Maryland, unlike Virginia, tolerates things like illegal immigration and prostitution.
Teach in a more suburban or rural area. Kids in Montgomery and Howard counties esepcially are very motivated and score high on standardized tests and these counties are well known across the nation for its good education. PG County is an embarassing place and trust me you don't want to live or even work there. Or even pass through there.
What the hell are you talking about please talk about things you know. The county of pg is like every other county pg county have very wealthy areas with very educated people who are rich then there are areas for the upper class people which are safe and very well maintain then there are areas for the poorer class so please donot talk bad about th eentire county as if all the county residents are all poor and have no education or no class because there are homes that are in pg county that you cannot afford to enough look at much less buy so please keep you bias opinion to yourself unless you have been to every city in pg county. The only areas that have high crimes in pg county are District height,Capitiol heights,Hyattsville,Suitland,oxon hill which are all areas nordering washington dc. so please if someone wants to teach in pg county and they thinkl they can help the students achieve why tell them not to help at one point Montgomery,Howard was not at where they were until the county decided to change for the better and that is exactly what pg o****y is changing for the better.
The county have to inflate home prices which they are doing and raise rents so the lower class cannot afford to live in the county just like what Montgomery,Howard and washington Dc did. so please stop spreading lies and vist different areas in pg county before making a judgement. And if all areas of pg is so bad then why the hell are you in collegeg park and I think college park cannot in no way shape or form compare to Upper Marlboro,Bowie,Brandywine,Mitchellville,Largo,Accr okee,Clinton areas becuase these ares have much nicer communities and is way safer and nicer and have more of a upper class-rich then college park.
Living in the DC area, we always have to hear about the stupid, idiotic pieces of criminal garbage that hail from either DC or Prince George's County on a very regular basis on the news. Prince George's County is a joke to the rest of Maryland and the entire metropolitan area. It's absolutely pathetic. Not only is Montgomery County a nicer place to live, but will undoubtedly pay higher wages for those in the educational field and you’ll feel a lot safer, you will regret moving anywhere in Prince George's County. To give some proof for this argument I researched crime data from both PG County and Montgomery County.
Year 2000 Data (US Census Bureau)
PG County - Montgomery County
Assault: 4172 - 871
Burglary: 7042 - 3777
Larceny: 26560 - 18990
Murder: 72 - 12
Rape: 228 - 177
Robbery: 2937 - 813
Statistically, Montgomery County is the safer of the two DC area Maryland counties with populations greater than 800,000.
---------------------------------
It all depends on what part of Montgomery Co you're referring to. Silver Spring and Takoma Park are in Montgomery Co. Takoma Park has had problems since Christmas with daylight robberies of the local businesses. The number of muggings has been going up.
Also increasing, the number of armed robberies all around the Beltway.
Let's face it, the population is changing; the economy is changing; the neighborhood is changing. With all that, so is the crime rate.
Too bad we can't all live in tony zip codes. Certainly, someone on a teacher's salary is not going to be able to afford Potomac or Great Falls. Germantown and Gaithersburg aren't the sleepy, safe little enclaves the once were.
LEave the little Terrapin dude alone. You see what happens in college park all the time to them. He must say that. They are scared out of the tight shorts. They think mostly all black people are like that and that`s why they get so nervous when they see us by pretending to do stuff or by looking the other way. Lol, I just laugh. They just haven`t been educated by their parents or let me rephrase they have been and their parents have told them all the negatives and that will be passed on to their younger one`s. Look at kids when you see them together. They don`t care who is who, but if their parents give them stories or tell them this group of people are trouble or they are bad, what else you expect them to think.
Some white people or people in general can`t afford some places in PG county and even if they could I don`t blame them, they want to live amoungst their own and then there are some people in PG county that can afford some decent and nice neighborhoods in Montgomery county as well as we know. If I were a millionaire I wouldn`t go live in a predominantly white neighborhood. That would be very uncomfortable for me at least. I need to see people looking like myself, at least some. Some people jus like to make themselves feel better by putting down others, that`s all it is to it. I know I live in a nice neighborhood and Iscalder you know you live in a nice neighborhood. Leave it at that and let the so called `know everything assumers` think what they want to. We know better. They are just trying to bash the entire county to give it a bad name just like the news media to keep the county from becoming a better place and that people can say the stupid stuff like what we have been seeing coming out of their PC`s and by that they hope to keep the people from coming together and hating each other and to prevent businesses and cooperations from moving into county. It`s just a form of intimidation. I have them figured them out way too easily. That`s the thing, you have to think like your enemy and advance them so when you past them you leave em like a top in mud. Just let them talk all they want. As I said, we know better.
It is kind of amusing how people defend or attack PG County. I lived there most of my life and I went to school there. I moved and I won't go back. My sister and sister in law used to teach there. The schools are bad. My brother can not get a day off from the police department because of crime. Yeah, PG County is a paradise. If you like living there then keep living there. No one is going to stop you. Yeah, PG County has a bad reputation but it earned it.
It's ok to build endless sprawly housing developements beyond the beltway in PG with strip malls and think you've 'arrived' but to me the heart of PG is the older established inside the beltway towns and communities. We lived in Seat Pleasant. Believe it or not we had a nice home close to Addison Rd subway. It was nice walking to the subway to my Capitol Hill job. I love older established communities with large trees where you can walk to the grocery store or post office or the park. I see some inside the beltway progress but much is still the same and as long as it remains PG will always have a stigma attached no matter how many million dollar homes you build outside the beltway.
I like it in Laurel an I know in the next 5 to 10 years it will be incredible, just watch and see as I have said many times. We have the luxury of Laurel being in all four counties. A little piece of Montgomery county, which is close to my house, piece of PG, Piece of AA county and Howard so to me I see all the new communities going up and I know they have to build all these new communities because of the increasing population but to me it is like anywhere else that has good communites. Laurel also has low to no crime at all and will only get better.The only thing this part of PG needs to focus on is the schools. There are a few decent to good schools in Laurel but there are plans to build new one`s in the coming 5 years. Thank god I don`t have any kids as yet. Everybody, look out for Laurel. Just check this out and you`ll see what I mean. www.konterra.com. Peace.
What the hell are you talking about please talk about things you know. The county of pg is like every other county pg county have very wealthy areas with very educated people who are rich then there are areas for the upper class people which are safe and very well maintain then there are areas for the poorer class so please donot talk bad about th eentire county as if all the county residents are all poor and have no education or no class because there are homes that are in pg county that you cannot afford to enough look at much less buy so please keep you bias opinion to yourself unless you have been to every city in pg county. The only areas that have high crimes in pg county are District height,Capitiol heights,Hyattsville,Suitland,oxon hill which are all areas nordering washington dc. so please if someone wants to teach in pg county and they thinkl they can help the students achieve why tell them not to help at one point Montgomery,Howard was not at where they were until the county decided to change for the better and that is exactly what pg o****y is changing for the better.
The county have to inflate home prices which they are doing and raise rents so the lower class cannot afford to live in the county just like what Montgomery,Howard and washington Dc did. so please stop spreading lies and vist different areas in pg county before making a judgement. And if all areas of pg is so bad then why the hell are you in collegeg park and I think college park cannot in no way shape or form compare to Upper Marlboro,Bowie,Brandywine,Mitchellville,Largo,Accr okee,Clinton areas becuase these ares have much nicer communities and is way safer and nicer and have more of a upper class-rich then college park.
The town itself of College Park is better than its surroundings like Greenbelt, Langley Park, Riverside Heights, Hyttsville, etc. I live on the campus itself in College Park not on the town. The town itself is sketchy and there have been multiple murders here last year and a lot of mugging and armed robberies.
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This is a long response, but you might find it worth your while to read it all.
