Pros and Cons of Living in Maryland
Are you trying to decide where to live in the Washington DC Area and wondering about Maryland? Maryland is pretty awesome and we’re going to talk about everything I love about Maryland – except for two things.
I do these videos for you every week and break down living in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. I’ve lived here over 20 years, and I know these areas. I go deeper than anybody and I write everything myself, there is no AI here. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the new videos.
1. Green Space
Maryland is excellent at preserving green space and trees. There is rarely a development that wasn’t thought-out well. Each jurisdiction responsible for approvals gives serious consideration to every single tree on a property when there is a development application. They use something called “tree banks.” What are those? The counties all have “master plans” that guide the development rights and standards. Within that plan there are requirements on the number of acres of trees and green space, and allowable approaches when dealing with existing trees.
When someone submits an application to develop a piece of property or change the use, the county in question has to consider this for approval. If the location would be served well by more homes instead of less, then the approval may be granted and developer allowed to remove more trees than allowed by the zoning. To compensate, they may be required to purchase from a tree bank – which is another area in the county that will never be developed. This keeps the overall proportions of development to green space within the original design intention (that “master plan”) of the county.
Some counties in the country will want to save all the trees at any cost, others will not. Maryland tends to lean on the side of saving the trees – even when multiple 3rd party arborists testify that they are dead.
2. Location
The location of Maryland is amazing for both its proximity locally to everything you need but also in the country. Depending on where you live, you will have the choice of two international airports – Baltimore and Dulles in Northern Virginia, and then Reagan National in Arlington for domestic flights.
The location is also great for taking advantage of weekend getaways. Day trips to Baltimore, Frederick or Annapolis are all a lot of fun. You can get to the mountains in less than 2 hours, the beach in 2 hours, and on a good day you can get to New York in 4 hours by car or bus, but definitely by train. It’s also easy to get to Philadelphia or Hershey Park in Hershey, PA for a quick weekend trip.
3. Diversity
When clients contact me asking about diversity and inclusion for their family, I can count on so many locations in Maryland to be a place they will feel at home. Montgomery County is the main area I service in Maryland and there is such a diversity in so many capacities – not just backgrounds. Yes, people can come from all over the world and find their place to call home in Maryland. But there is also a diverse array of lifestyles. If you want to live in an urban or city environment, you can find that in Maryland. If you want more rural, you can find that too. And some communities are even progressive such as places like Takoma Park where you can vote in local elections at 16 years old.
4. Crabs, I Mean – Food (but I really mean crabs)
When I lived in Rockville, I would sit at Tower Oaks Lodge every weekend inhaling their crab artichoke dip. If you like crab, there is no better place to be on the east coast than Maryland. If you’re a crab-purist, and you don’t like your crab mixed with artichokes and cheese, you can find many crab houses where you can hammer away at fresh crabs and pull your own meat. It’s an art, and I can teach you! If you have a shellfish allergy, I’m sorry. But there is so much more here in the way of ethnic foods. We benefit tremendously from such a diverse population in the metro area with so many restaurants and ethnic grocery stores.
There are so many different food choices that you would have trouble hitting them all without gaining a few dozen pounds. French, Italian, Lebanese, Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, Greek, Asian, Farm to Table, Cuban, Mexican, Brazilian – the list goes on and on as does the eating!
5. Climate
It’s thankfully quite mild here in the DC Area. We have four seasons. Actually, locals say that we have 12 seasons. They are: Winter, Fool’s Spring, Second Winter, Spring of Deception, Third Winter, The Pollening, Actual Spring, Summer, Hell’s Front Porch, False Fall, Second Summer, Actual Fall.
Seasons like Actual Spring? That lasts for about 45 minutes so enjoy it.
Expect to wear shorts for June, July, August and September. Hats and gloves in December, January and February. Our winters are usually not too bad, we don’t often get weather below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Summers can get to 100 but it usually tops out in the 90’s. If you live north toward Frederick or north of I-70, you may actually have snow when it’s 15 degrees warmer further south. I lived northwest of Baltimore and would routinely arrive at work in Columbia, 20 minutes away, with snow on my car and everyone else thought I was lying until they went to the window and looked.
6. Education
The school systems for the kiddos are top notch. Montgomery County Schools are progressive and very highly sought after. There’s a lot of school choice as well, and different consortia where you have options to go to different high schools within a region.
There are several top high schools in the country that are located in Montgomery County, but when Bethesda Magazine puts out their annual college issue, the results are staggering. Students at the many of the county high schools are very successful well when it comes to college applications. There is no one “top” high school here like people may say, there are close to a dozen in the county that rank extremely well.
7. Recreation
The outdoor recreation in Maryland is so unbelievable. It’s easy to hop on the various trails like the Capital Crescent Trail which goes from Bethesda to Georgetown in DC or all the trails along the Potomac River or through Rock Creek Park if you want to get close to nature. Maryland is very pedestrian friendly, and you will notice that on any road you drive. You can also take advantage of the many recreation centers where they offer all kinds of classes from fitness, dance, art & crafts, martial arts – there are a ton of choices.
People who move here from the west coast and more progressive areas tend to really like Maryland and everything it has to offer. Don’t forget that I promised you a couple things I don’t love, so let’s do that next.
Cons of Living in Maryland’s Suburbs of Washington DC
Traffic & Drivers
Because Maryland home prices have trended slightly lower than neighboring Virginia, and Maryland has a lot more of the “close-in” affordable areas, there are more commuters heading back to Maryland after work. If you drive, you will be in this traffic. The metro also doesn’t go as far into Maryland as it does on the Virginia side, so this creates the perfect storm for flows of traffic.
A tidbit of good news – so far, Maryland has not imposed any toll lanes. There is an HOV overpass lane on 270 you can use to get to 270 and flyover the traffic below in the interchange, but lots of people cheat so this doesn’t always save a lot of time.
Now a tidbit of bad news. Well, it’s more than a tidbit. Maryland drivers are some of the worst I’ve seen in this country. I talk about it all the time. People move here and think I was joking then they say, “Nope, you were right, they are truly bad drivers.” I can’t explain it, I can only repeat it incessantly because defensive driving takes on a whole new meaning in Maryland.
Cost of Living
It’s expensive in Maryland. Some slight good news – there is more housing affordability on the Maryland side close to the beltway than you could ever find on the Virginia side. You can get homes in Silver Spring in the $600,000’s. It’s virtually impossible to find a single-family home in the $600,000’s on the Virginia side until you’re pretty far from the beltway. This is definitely not the case in Maryland. But that doesn’t mean life is cheaper on this side of the Potomac!
Maryland has a state income tax similar to Virginia. It’s not a flat tax, you move up in brackets, but it caps out where Virginia does – 5.75%. There’s one huge difference though. The Maryland counties impose income taxes as well. In most cases, this adds another 3% or more to the income tax you will owe. Virginia does not have income tax at the county level.
I hope this gave you all the details you need to consider in your move to the Crab State (it’s not really called the crab state.) If you are ready to crack some crab shells, my contact info is coming next!
