Columbia - Feels fake (Baltimore, Bowie: HOA, taxes, living)

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

Not taking anything away from Columbia, but it's original idea of a planned city does make it seem fake and too kumbaya-ish.

Thats what happens when you choose to reside in a Democratic City..........

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by oneofthethree

Yeah as a majority, crime is nothing to compared to the worse parts of Baltimore City. Almost all places in the U.S. don't..... Baltimore is one of the top dangerous places in the country. But I have lived in Oakland Mills and dealt with shootings, been robbed, roaches, rats, etc. But the majority of Columbia is not that, "sallyransom", you should have no problem coming back, just put out the money to avoid these small percentage of areas. But like I said I don't know how long this will last after new plans for the city. I think people in the U.S., even in these times of economic hardship, need to just appreciate the fact that we have it better than people in most other countries. Go to the worst slums in Africa, the Middle East, etc.... then come back and talk about crime.

And as for Columbia being fake I don't know about that. I spend time in almost every place in the baltimore and dc areas, montgomery, pg, howard, anne arundel, baltimore, and most of the suburbs feel the same to me. Columbia doesn't have much identity because it is not directly linked w/ baltimore or dc, kind of a link to both. Anne Arundel County is kind of the same thing. I was born in NYC so most of Maryland is still kinda fake and boring to me haha.

How do you feel about the Northern Virginia Suburbs such as Alexandria, Arlington, Tysons Corner, Reston, etc.????????

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by ChosenGSR

I feel that Columbia is extremely over hyped. The only nice areas are extremely expensive. I don't know what "nice" apartments people find here that go for a reasonable price. There are plenty of section 8 housing around.

What other areas you think people should live in if not Columbia?????????????????????????

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by oneofthethree

With Columbia making plans to become more like a real "city" and dowtown preparations, I hear a lot of talk. There are people who say it will be the next "Manhattan", and people who see a lot of relocation from projects in the city and say it will become the next "Baltimore". Obviuosly with the way it was built it probably will not become a Manhattan or Baltimore. But I do see a very bright future, an upside. Maybe not for longtime residents who may lose the smalltown feel, but for the money that can be made from it. If you go to montgomery county and see places like chevy chase, rockville, etc..... a lot of these suburbs have parts that feel like the city. I was driving out of dowtown DC the other day and could not tell the difference between when I left DC and moved in to Chevy Chase. Pretty much I could see Columbia becoming just like any other city really, just like some other suburbs have somewhat done. There may be a mixture of good and bad neighborhoods, but it might still hold it's diversity, have a nice geographical location, more jobs & schools, and finally have some of it's own "culture". Then maybe it will no longer feel......Fake haha.
Maybe like a Silver Spring, with a higher population??? I don't know, we'll see.

So you think that Columbia does have the Potential to be the Next Tysons Corner and Reston???????????

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by TinkChic79

Columbia is a basic, boring, tacky town with no nothing! No opportunities, no entertainment, no fashion, no hype, no action, no happiness, no peace, no excitement, noooo nothing!!! Why don't we just call it Columboring? I've been in that area for over the last decade and a half and not a darn thing has changed. Everything is just getting older and uglier. It is DULL.


P.S. It has the most suckiest schools on Earth.

What other areas do you suggest people should live in insead of "boring" Columbia???????????

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

Hmm.. I've only been in Columbia a couple times, and it felt to me like 1.) some big roads with the usual chain/big box stores, and 2.) a larger number of very winding, forested roads going off of the big roads, with lots of homes (and a surprising number of small office complexes) hidden in the trees.

Negative charm. Unless maybe you're standing in the middle of one of those areas of trees - I love the trees!

I find that Reston is somewhat identical to Columbia except for the small offices hidden in the trees which most offices in Reston are the average of 8 Stories..........

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by pastasmom

I am meeting a realtor Wed to look at house in Howard Co., probably Columbia, and I'm scared.....

Try Maple Lawn.............

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by longboarder

I got out here about a year ago. I rent here in Columbia, and it is VERY expensive. My 1BR here is about $100 less than the larger 1BR I had in Southern California, and that apartment was a block from the Pacific Ocean.

The people here mostly keep to themselves. The storm this week was pretty much the first time I talked with a lot of my neighbors...probably because I was helping them dig their cars out. People here seem very distrustful of strangers in general. That being said, they were very nice and appreciative of any help offered.

Columbia as a planned community: Well, I would not be advertising that quite so much. I have lived all over the country, and I have never seen an area with such poorly designed traffic flow, both pedestrian and vehicular. Wow. Many commercial sites have poorly-designed single entrance access that make them darn near infuriating to get around. (Wal-Mart on Dobbin, anyone?)

My one-year assessment? Not a bad place, but in NO WAY worth the price.

What other places are beter than Columbia???????

[longboarder]

Originally Posted by $mk8795

What other places are beter than Columbia???????

I'm not sure what you mean. People come here to get and give opinion, and try and sort through what places are best for them.

I have lived in places in this country that I enjoyed more than Columbia, and a places I have enjoyed less.

MORE: CA, TX, Southern MD
LESS: NY, Northern VA

YMMV.

-lb

[hairmetal4ever]

Originally Posted by Get out of my way

I will be moving from California to the Ft Meade area in a couple weeks and have been checking out the area. I look at this as an oppurtunity to start over and l don't want to live in the same type of neighborhood I live in now. The question I'm wrestling with is which is better, living in an "authentic" down town environment, or living where you're not fearing for your life? I abhor fakeness, but I've been woken up by gunfire in the middle of the night too many times.

But what is up with King's Contrivance?? It just looks too corny with places like the "Jester's Corner". I made the name up, but that's the impression I get after looking at an ad for that apt complex. It looks run down compared to other complexes in the Columbia area, too.

Ft. Meade proper is in Anne Arundel County, and, aside from perhaps a few small areas of Annapolis, the area surrounding Ft. Meade are some of the worst places to live in AA County.