Long lost Marylander returning home to MD...hows is Frederick these days?? (Silver Spring: transplants, real estate)

[Merlander]

sdtf, I hear everything you're saying. Albuq. does have its problems, but since we lived up in the NE Heights [but below Sandia heights] we didn't see as much of the crime you talked about. It sounds like Frederick is a good choice based on what you're saying. Pgh. would be good too, as housing is cheaper than Frederick by a bit. I can't talk about the music scene much but Pgh. has always had a pretty good underground music scene, from what people say. I think Rusted Root was from there, but that was a while ago. Good luck in your relocation.

[Matthaeus]

Originally Posted by shutdownthefed

I was just curious because the post above yours said he was leaving MD by spring time, so I was just wondering which part of MD they were in and where they were going to move to.

My bad, I thought you were talking to someone else. We're moving from Annapolis to East Texas, where I'm originally from.

The economy there is still strong and has hardly been touched by the recent fallout. Jobs are plentiful and the cost of living is very accommodating to middle-class folks. Traffic congestion is infrequent, and violent crime is rare.

It's basically everything that Annapolis is not.

[Billiam]

Originally Posted by Matthaeus

It's basically everything that Annapolis is not.

Minus the beautiful architecture, sailing, and crabs though

[Matthaeus]

Originally Posted by Billiam

Minus the beautiful architecture, sailing, and crabs though

Heh heh, too true. But when I and my wife are working so much just to pay the bills, the many wonderful attributes of Annapolis do us little good.

After all, I can always come back as a tourist.

[Tuneful]

I will always miss my home areas of Western New York State and New England, so maybe that is going on for you, too. I have lived all over suburban MD and DC, currently in Silver Spring. It's very intense, crowded, and expensive anywhere around here, IMHO, especially the lesser-crime areas, but due to the nature of my job this is where i need to be for now. I hear that much of Frederick and closer-in WV have become essentially another suburb of DC (people who live there should weigh in, though), DC refugees sought to go somewhere for more space for less $ and there is MARC train service.
You are right about the hamster wheel. IMHO I'd like to go someplace in the Midwest, I don't mind winter, I grew up with it, and there are a lot of very friendly folks there (more so than I foudn in New England actually). The big sticker anywhere these days is jobs. Everyone has to consider where they could actually earn a living, though friends and family count, too.
Baltimore arts scene is cool, active, funky, and I prefer it on that count to DC.

[Billiam]

Frederick isn't just another suburb. Its retained all of its historical downtown, as well as improving it. It's suburban in many parts, but its defiently no (ugly) Gaithersburg! Its a Satalite city moreso than a suburb, but its called a suburb

[Merlander]

I'd concur with Billiam that Frederick is really a satellite city, vs. a suburb or exurb of DC. There is a big pychological boundary betw DC/Rockville/Gaitherburg and Frederick, which can be best experienced by driving the length of I-270 [preferably during non-rush hrs]. Whenever I make the dirve it feels like I've left the stress of the DC Metro behind.

Having said that, there are definitely many parts of Frederick that feel like suburbs, but they are suburbs of Frederick itself, not DC.

The city also has a strong employer base, and houses here cost quite a bit less than in the metro area. Now, it's not cheap...but it is cheaper than DC.

[karmel]

Hey FireFighterMom - What do you think of Chambersburg?

[westsideboy]

I lived in Frederick for 4 years I would say it is a suburb, or exurb to be more precise. I will agree that the historic downtown is intact, and that the rural character of the county is still present in many places, but economically Frederick is very closely tied to D.C. and Baltimore.

The housing growth, standard of living, and economic development in the county is directly related to its proximity to D.C. A large portion (1/3 last time I saw the statistic) of the work force commute into D.C or Baltimore for work and the regular traffic snarls on I-270 provide very prolonged views and a interesting juxtaposition with the farm land in the county.

This is no insult to Frederick, as I find many positive things about the place, but I think you need to go as far as Hagerstown to find a "satellite city" and out to Allegany County to find Maryland unifluenced by the metro regions.

[Merlander]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

A large portion (1/3 last time I saw the statistic) of the work force commute into D.C or Baltimore for work and the regular traffic snarls on I-270 provide very prolonged views and a interesting juxtaposition with the farm land in the county.

wsb - Here's a chart showing outflow commuters for Frederick. A little bit over 1/5 of us commute to Montgomery Cnty, the rest is negligible.

http://www.discoverfrederickmd.com/fastfacts/people/images/Outflow_000.jpg (broken link)

There was a big discussion here https://www.city-data.com/forum/gener...suburbs-5.html about whether Frederick was a suburb, an exurb or neither, in case you're interested in checking it out...