whats life like?

[danb]

Hi, random question from a (Central) New Yorker.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere, I'm used to to nice sized backyards and nice shooting ranges being close. Unfortunately the jobs and people... Suck. Big time.

Anyway, I'm looking at jobs that are right up my ally in the Colombia and Fort Meade areas. Is it possible to work in these areas and still have a reasonable(lets say 30 mins or less) commute to a nice area?

I know the Columbia area in general looks pretty nice, safe and definitely pricey. But is enjoying it(backyard, outdoors, guns, etc) still possible?

Thanks

Welcome!

Almost all of Central Maryland (Howard, Montgomery, Baltimore, Anne Arundel Counties) is "suburban."

You won't be able to shoot in your backyard unless** you get a lot of property generally in rural (Northern) Baltimore County, Carroll, Frederick, or Western Howard County. There is a very nice outdoor shooting range in western Howard county (Associated Guns Club, Marriotsville, you can google it).

You may be getting a raise, but property values are sky-high here. The good news, commuting to Ft Meade is not so bad.

There are lots of state parks and loads outdoorsy activities. Lots of fishing, and you can kill as many deer (does) in central maryland as you can shoot, and a few bucks as well, if you know where the deer are. No turkeys or bear, unless you travel to Western MD.

** and also: once you get you know your neighbors.

 

[Bart_man]

Is it possible to work in these areas and still have a reasonable(lets say 30 mins or less) commute to a nice area?

I know the Columbia area in general looks pretty nice, safe and definitely pricey. But is enjoying it(backyard, outdoors, guns, etc) still possible?

Thanks

I live in Harford county and commute to the Fort every day. my 40 miles takes 35 -45 minutes. We nickname Harford "Hazzard" county. its more rural and has farm and feed stores handy as well as waterfront dining restaurants and other amenities close.

if you try to commute from western VA or from northwestern Md the times get longer for shorter distances.

The eastern shore is not bad as long as you can cross the bridge when its not too packed...Summertime Fridays that means leaving early. lots of wide open spaces over there and gun friendly people.

 

[GunLvrPhD]

My take: live in urban MD for the career, but have a weekend place in the countryside, like West Virginia.

There are some nice but also cheap areas in PG County (Greenbelt, College Park) with a really fast reverse commute to Ft. Meade. The other nice thing about this part of the DC area are all the parks, green spaces, and open land.

 

[highli99]

Columbia is the Oatmeal Of Howard County. It has all the fruits, nuts, and flakes.

 

[eruby]

Columbia is the Oatmeal Granola Of Howard County. It has all the fruits, nuts, and flakes.

 

[danb]

Urban Montgomery County people are significantly more nutty, fruity, and flakier than Columbia people. We still have a few NRA stickers and molon labe stickers in our neighborhood.

Unlike Montgomery County, Howard County did tilt towards Hogan and Kittleman (R). we are the front lines in Howard County. We are not as libtarded as MoCo, yet.

 

[Doofy_13]

Only thing I like about Maryland is the long deer season and awesome bag limits. Other than that everything here blows. I live in Carroll.

 

[zoostation]

Maryland has a lot of nice areas you can live in within 30-40 minutes of Ft. Meade or Columbia. Our gun laws, taxes, and assorted nanny state laws suck. But it's still much better than NY in any of those aspects my opinion. Shit you can even still get a heavy barrel AR here, evil flash hider and all.

 

[adit]

Maryland has a lot of nice areas you can live in within 30-40 minutes of Ft. Meade or Columbia. Our gun laws, taxes, and assorted nanny state laws suck. But it's still much better than NY in any of those aspects my opinion. Shit you can even still get a heavy barrel AR here, evil flash hider and all.

and suppressors.

 

[Threeband]

... There is a very nice outdoor shooting range in western Howard Baltimore county (Associated Gun Clubs, Marriotsville, you can google it).

You may be getting a raise, but property values are the cost of living is sky-high here. ...

FIFY

 

[Mr H]

Columbia is the Oatmeal Granola Of Howard County. It has all the fruits, nuts, and flakes.

Gallagher is pleased.

 

[campns]

Thanks for the info everyone. Here a little more background information on me to help out and clarify a bit.

I grew up in the actual North Country(almost Canada, in Franklin County) and my high school actually had a indoor rifle range. We had competitions with local high schools and this went on for decades. They finally managed to close the range down for good a few years back. I moved to out to the greater Syracuse area (specifically Rome in Oneida County) after college(Clarkson in Potsdam) for a job. At first I thought I was in a actual city but quickly learned to like it, for the most part. The Fort Meade and Columbia areas are pretty high up there on my list career-wise when you factor in the fact id rather not leave this coast or my specific line of work(its a bit of a niche).

While I do occasionally miss going to a friends house and shooting in the backyard, that's definitely not a requirement. I did learn to love some parts of "civilization". Being in a reasonable driving range to social events, gun ranges and decent Wegmans-like stores is. I can deal with yuppies and I have that kind of stuff within reach.

I rent now, but its fairly easy to find a decently priced house with enough land for a smoker, grill, fire pit and a nice buffer between neighbors. Usually in the 1/2+ acre range. Not too hard to find many acres that's not too too far away.

Pretty nice gun ranges are usually about 20-30 mins away and the "expensive" ones are roughly $100 a year. They come with a small indoor pistol range and outdoor pistol, rifle, skeet and trap. There usually fairly decent buildings with kitchens and can support a nice amount of people for social events.

I don't want to say skys the limit, but for the most part it looks like I would get a very significant raise if I moved to either area. So I don't want to immediately write any place off because of price. This is still all in the planning phase, I still live and rent in NY.

Anyway thats basically what id love to find in the Fort Meade/Columbia commuting range, if its even remotely possible.

Thanks again everyone

As someone that from first glance has similar experiences in places that I have lived, you will like living in the general proximity to Ft Meade. yea the laws stink, the taxes actually may be better for you to move from NY to MD. but the job opportunities abound here and there is so much to do or be involved with within 30 minutes from almost anywhere in central Maryland.

Living here is not bad, people can be rude, rushed, and prices are high but you really make it what you want.

best of luck, btw I'm a SUNY Alfred grad in Mechanical Engineering

 

[Chriss]

Columbia is the Oatmeal Of Howard County. It has all the fruits, nuts, and flakes.

Brilliant

 

[Chriss]

Brillianter

 

[Chriss]

Urban Montgomery County people are significantly more nutty, fruity, and flakier than Columbia people. We still have a few NRA stickers and molon labe stickers in our neighborhood.

Unlike Montgomery County, Howard County did tilt towards Hogan and Kittleman (R). we are the front lines in Howard County. We are not as libtarded as MoCo, yet.

Truth

 

[retval386]

Still not entirely sure what to make of things here, but I guess I'm going to have to look into specific AGC locations and hope that will tell me something. Hopefully I can find one or two thats easy to join and a reasonable commute.

I'll definitely double check taxes, but I cant image its much more compared to NY.

Thanks again

 

[danb]

FIFY

I keep forgetting AGC is Baltimore County. railroad tracks is the line?

 

[danb]

Still not entirely sure what to make of things here, but I guess I'm going to have to look into specific AGC locations and hope that will tell me something. Hopefully I can find one or two thats easy to join and a reasonable commute.

I'll definitely double check taxes, but I cant image its much more compared to NY.

Thanks again

Associated Gun Clubs has only one location: http://associatedgunclubs.org/map.htm

I would not necessarily decide location based on AGC. Marriotsville is nice, don't get me wrong, but it's easy to get to from almost anywhere. I know for a fact people come all the way from NJ on a Saturday to shoot there now that they have started 3-gun matches on Saturdays.

There are also some nice indoor ranges around which allow rifle, for when it's 9 degrees or 109 degrees out.

And, you can bring your 17 round clipazine. They are legal to possess, just not buy or transfer. You can stock up on them in PA on your way to MD.

ETA: the thing about Maryland is that it is relatively tiny. You are never more than about an hour from at least two other states (WV, PA, VA, DE, or NJ). As long as you are not commuting in and out of D.C., it's pretty easy to get around. Ft Meade is pretty centrally located. Some people even live in PA ( York, PA) and commute to Baltimore or Ft Meade down 83.

If you plan to work in Ft Meade, draw a 40 minute circle around it, you can hit probably 3 or four nice ranges. There are lots of nice place to shoot. That is not because MD is gun friendly, it's because of the sheer number of law enforcement and military who live here.

 

[Augie]

South Carroll County, Sykesville, Eldersburg is an easy commute to Meade although heavy traffic at peak times. You can still find older homes on 1/2 to 1 acre for reasonable as long as you don't mind putting in some sweat equity. South Carroll has great schools if thats important to you, very good standard of living with low crime, votes about 90% Republican so only a little bit of the libtard stupidity. The AGC range is only 15 minutes away and there is an Issac Walton in MT Airy 1/2 an hour or so.

 

[good guy 176]

Do NOT let the lure of a fatter paycheck lure you to a miserable Merryland. You'll spend a large part of any pay increase on real estate alone.

We made the mistake of staying here when I retired from the Army at Fort Geo. G Meade in 1984, and life wasn't too bad till some time in the 90s when the hordes from DC and Baltimore began to inundate the neighborhoods.

Then the Illegal masses of Hispanic low life started arriving, and they now make up a significant part of what I call UN Hq South.

If you chase the buck, I am convinced you won't be happy with your decision. The Balt/DC corridor is not a good area to live in or in which to raise a family.

Stay put or look elsewhere and enjoy life.

Lew--Ranger63
Korea, Vietnam (2), W. Germany