Why has Montgomery County Let itself go downhill (Bethesda, Gaithersburg: home, job market)

[KeyserSoze]

Originally Posted by $mk8795

So basically your admitting of supportinng the Downfall of Montgomery County by Banning any form of Highway Building/Widening, Paralyzing Major Business/Office Growth, Discouraging any efforts of expanding existing Shopping Malls or Building New Indoor Malls the size of Tysons Corner, and pissing off Middle/Upper Class Taxpayers to the point of leaving Maryland for Virginia(or any other State) due to lower taxes, High Paying Employment Opportunities, and Better Maintained Roads/Highways.

I understand how you feel, and I agree to an extent. But because of what you highlighted above, that doesn't mean that there's going to be a mass exodus from Maryland to Virginia. Both sides of the Potomac are doing pretty well in this current economic climate -- and traffic is pretty bad on both sides.

[cpterp]

From the Washington Business Journal today: Green movement slowed in Virginia by Dillon Rule - Washington Business Journal:

A perfect example of how Montgomery County leads the region in smart, sustainable growth.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by cpterp

From the Washington Business Journal today: Green movement slowed in Virginia by Dillon Rule - Washington Business Journal:

A perfect example of how Montgomery County leads the region in smart, sustainable growth.

I'm not sure the article really focuses on Montgomery County as a "leader" - the focus is on the steps taken by Arlington and, now Fairfax, to come to terms with restrictions on the power of lower governments under Virginia law.

But, if Montgomery has taken smart planning steps, the benefits will be realized over time, as other jurisdictions try to catch up later. As a native Marylander now living in NoVa, Montgomery does feel less sprawling than Fairfax, but on the other hand the divide between the have and have-not communities feels far more pronounced in Montgomery than in Fairfax.

[Mrs. 14th & You]

Originally Posted by Floridahater

I grew up in MCO. It was a wonderful place with great schools and neighborhoods. Yes, my friend, the overbearing one-sided politics of left wing liberalism has led to the decline of the county. Now, the crime is up and the quality of life has decreased. I cherish those wonderful memories of bygone days.

I too grew up in Mont. Co. from the mid 80s to the late 90s. I'm still having trouble understanding the present horror stories about crime.

I looked online at the Mont. Co. Police statistics (on the Dept. of Police website). The furthest back I could go was 2001 based on the year-on-year reports from 2002. In 2001, there were 26,699 "Part I crimes," which include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglaries, larcenies, and auto thefts. In 2008, there were 26,975 Part I crimes. In this seven-year period, major crime rose a whopping 1% while the population rose 8.9% from 2000 to 2008 (from the U.S. Census website). Though recent crime statistics do show a slight uptick from 2007 to 2008, MoCo most certainly has not suddenly spiraled into a dangerous and depraved place this decade.

[TrippingJay]

Originally Posted by JEB77

As a native Marylander now living in NoVa, Montgomery does feel less sprawling than Fairfax, but on the other hand the divide between the have and have-not communities feels far more pronounced in Montgomery than in Fairfax.

Jeb, I see what you're saying but I think this statement can apply to just about anywhere these days in the US; even Fairfax and Arlington. Inside the Beltway Fairfax looks far different than the newer developments in Western Fairfax. The same would apply to Arlington with the haves being north of Route 50, and the have-not's being south of 50. Overall, I think this is simply evidence of a shrinking middle-class, but that's a different story for another thread

Getting back to original thread; MoCo is just like any other place in the country with the some excellent and some not-so-great areas. Considering that this whole region has changed dramatically in the last decade, there are bound to be areas that may have gone "downhill"( although the definition of this is subjective) and some areas that have gotten better.

[diplomat74]

Mrs 14th & you, although crime in moco hasn't exploded over the past years take a look at the crime statistics between moco and fairfax. Crime in moco is ALOT higher (in 2008 moco had 3,603 burgalries vs 1,400 in Fairfax, moco had 1,100 robberies vs 450 in fairfax, moco had 835 aggravated assaults vs 386 in fairfax). So yes, it has not gone up alot but I wonder why 2 counties that look very similar on paper have such drastic differences in crime. Then you should ask long term residents of aspen hill, wheaton, germantown & gaithersberg if the quality of life has gone down in their neighborshoods. Don't rely on what see in bethesda, chevy chase, and potomac as basis that everything in moco is bright and cheerful.

[cpterp]

Crime is actually down very significantly this year in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. Here's a thread I started about a month back: //www.city-data.com/forum/maryl...ontgomery.html

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by cpterp

From the Washington Business Journal today: Green movement slowed in Virginia by Dillon Rule - Washington Business Journal:

A perfect example of how Montgomery County leads the region in smart, sustainable growth.

But is Montgomery County attracting more Jobs, Business HQ's, and Upscale Retail at Northern Virginia's Pace?????????????

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by JEB77

I'm not sure the article really focuses on Montgomery County as a "leader" - the focus is on the steps taken by Arlington and, now Fairfax, to come to terms with restrictions on the power of lower governments under Virginia law.

But, if Montgomery has taken smart planning steps, the benefits will be realized over time, as other jurisdictions try to catch up later. As a native Marylander now living in NoVa, Montgomery does feel less sprawling than Fairfax, but on the other hand the divide between the have and have-not communities feels far more pronounced in Montgomery than in Fairfax.

Did you choose to move to Northern Virginia because of their Healthy Job Market?????????????

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by diplomat74

Mrs 14th & you, although crime in moco hasn't exploded over the past years take a look at the crime statistics between moco and fairfax. Crime in moco is ALOT higher (in 2008 moco had 3,603 burgalries vs 1,400 in Fairfax, moco had 1,100 robberies vs 450 in fairfax, moco had 835 aggravated assaults vs 386 in fairfax). So yes, it has not gone up alot but I wonder why 2 counties that look very similar on paper have such drastic differences in crime. Then you should ask long term residents of aspen hill, wheaton, germantown & gaithersberg if the quality of life has gone down in their neighborshoods. Don't rely on what see in bethesda, chevy chase, and potomac as basis that everything in moco is bright and cheerful.

And Fairfax County is definately not All Bright and Cheery either.

And it doesn't help the fact that there are still Old Fashon Jim Crow Racists in Herndon that are trying to chase off ALL of the Latino Immigrants.