Tell me about Maryland

[jordansmomma]

Ok so in 30-45 days my BFF & her family will be moving to MD. Well Fort Detirck (SP) to be exact.
What is there to do in Maryland? The closest airport? The area?

I am happy/sad that she is moving. I love the East Coast. It is so pretty & nice. But sadly she is leaving me on the West Coast.

Thanks

 

[Abbie]

I'm sorry you're losing your friend! But Maryland is a wonderful place to live....and you can come visit, right? It's called "America in Miniature" because you have the best of all landscapes....one end of the state has mountains (ok, they're not the Rockies, but they're the best we've got!), the middle is beautiful rolling hills, and the other end is the ocean. Plus you can get from one end of the state to the other in 6 hrs., tops.

Where your friend is going is less than an hour to DC, and a bit more than that to Baltimore. Tons of stuff to do in both places! And again, being so small, it's easy to travel to NY, PA, DE, NJ, VA, WV with all their assorted attractions too. I know there are a couple of posters on here who live in the same general area as Fort Detrick so maybe they can tell you more....

 

[bigmerle1966]

The airport most used is BWI and Dulles is the same distance away.

A lot of history here so lots of historical places.

 

[bluesaturn]

Haha it's a bit pathetic, but I just had to look up where that is. Well I'm a bit biased, but I think Maryland is great. There's so much to do. Your friend will be relatively close to DC and Baltimore, so there is tons to do there. They'll be about 3 hours from the ocean (Ocean City, MD), but also very close to the mountains. They will probably be less than hour away from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia (please correct me if I'm wrong anyone from Frederick!). The county she is going to is more rural, but she's very close to the busy suburbs right outside of DC that are full of shopping and things to do.

A lot of people I know rave about the area she's moving to for outdoor activities, like hiking and such. As far as I know it's quite safe in that area, usually the further out from DC and Baltimore the safer it gets. The closest airports would be Dulles and BWI. You should go visit her, there's so many possible day trips you could take.

 

[EthansMom]

BWI is the most convenient airport, IMO.

There's a LOT to do in Maryland (lots of outdoors activities like hiking, canoeing, sailing) and Washington, DC is a hop, skip and jump away. We usually took the Metro from MD into DC.... very easy and affordable. In DC, DH and I loved all of the Smithsonian stuff and saw some great shows at the Kennedy Center.

If you're looking to meet up for a vacation, there are cruises that leave right out of the port of Baltimore.

I'd move back to Maryland in a heartbeat!

 

[jordansmomma]

Thanks everyone for all of the great info!
Its good to know that they won't be very far from many things.
How far is it to Boston or NYC?

 

[Barb D]

Maryland is the PERFECT state. Not too cold in the winter, not too long for the summer. Beautiful spring and fall.

It takes about 3.5 to 4 hours to get to NYC by car. There are also charter buses that will take you there.

 

[wvjules]

Ok so in 30-45 days my BFF & her family will be moving to MD. Well Fort Detirck (SP) to be exact.
What is there to do in Maryland? The closest airport? The area?

I am happy/sad that she is moving. I love the East Coast. It is so pretty & nice. But sadly she is leaving me on the West Coast.

Thanks

Hey, I work at Ft. Detrick! If they have any questions feel free to ask. I just moved here in May 07 so I'm still fairly new to the area but I'll do my best to help.

Cloest airport would be Dulles, I think.

A newbie requirement is to eat a steamed Maryland Blue Crab. They were too much work for me.

Frederick is a nice enough area. Its not as busy or expensive as some of the areas further East towards DC or Balti, but not as cheap as 20 minutes west in Hagerstown. I did a lot a research on schools before deciding where to live so I can help with that as well.

Are they going to be living on Ft. Detrick or will they be looking on a place to live?

ETA: There is soooo much to do around here. Historically there are a lot of places to visit-harper's ferry, Gettysburg, Anetiem. If they feel up to a longer drive there is Baltimore and DC. Its actually kinda nice to be able to hope over to DC or Balti for a day. Close enough to visit often but not too close that its outragesesouly expensive to live here.

I actually hate the fact that we get no snow. I'm from Morgantown which is about 2.5 hours away. They'll get several inches of snow but we get nothing here. Its disappointing. I LOVE the snow.

 

[ImMarcik]

Is peaking in to see what's going on.

 

[jordansmomma]

Hey, I work at Ft. Detrick! If they have any questions feel free to ask. I just moved here in May 07 so I'm still fairly new to the area but I'll do my best to help.

Cloest airport would be Dulles, I think.

A newbie requirement is to eat a steamed Maryland Blue Crab. They were too much work for me.

Frederick is a nice enough area. Its not as busy or expensive as some of the areas further East towards DC or Balti, but not as cheap as 20 minutes west in Hagerstown. I did a lot a research on schools before deciding where to live so I can help with that as well.

Are they going to be living on Ft. Detrick or will they be looking on a place to live?

ETA: There is soooo much to do around here. Historically there are a lot of places to visit-harper's ferry, Gettysburg, Anetiem. If they feel up to a longer drive there is Baltimore and DC. Its actually kinda nice to be able to hope over to DC or Balti for a day. Close enough to visit often but not too close that its outragesesouly expensive to live here.

I actually hate the fact that we get no snow. I'm from Morgantown which is about 2.5 hours away. They'll get several inches of snow but we get nothing here. Its disappointing. I LOVE the snow.

WOW!! Thank you! I am not sure if they are going to live on base or not. I know she has been looking at housing. He is still in Kuwait for 15 more days & then he will home. But only for a short time, then he wil be back to Fort Gordon for a few months for school. But she is leaving before him.
Snow..oh he is a snowboarder, he will miss that. Infact it snowed here yesterday.
They will be there for 2 years, well so far anyway.

Is peaking in to see what's going on.

Yous just want to see what kind of trouble we can get into over there!!

 

[Piglets Mommy]

I grew up just a few miles from Frederick, in Middletown. I really miss it. It was so great being close to so many neat things....an hour from Baltimore, and an hour from Washington. There is so much to see and do wether it is nature, museums, shopping, etc. When I was there, it was called "Fredneck"...so much has changed since then! The fact that there are 3 airports so close is great when you want to get away too. As another poster said it is great, because you have mountains, farms, cities , beaches, etc. all within a half day's drive. If your friend has any questions, feel free to PM me!

 

[wvjules]

I grew up just a few miles from Frederick, in Middletown. I really miss it. It was so great being close to so many neat things....an hour from Baltimore, and an hour from Washington. There is so much to see and do wether it is nature, museums, shopping, etc. When I was there, it was called "Fredneck"...so much has changed since then! The fact that there are 3 airports so close is great when you want to get away too. As another poster said it is great, because you have mountains, farms, cities , beaches, etc. all within a half day's drive. If your friend has any questions, feel free to PM me!

My DBF grew up in Middletown. What I wouldn't give to live in one of those historic Victorian homes. I told him that if one of them ever goes up for sale that I want to move.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

My DBF grew up in Middletown. What I wouldn't give to live in one of those historic Victorian homes. I told him that if one of them ever goes up for sale that I want to move.

I didn't live in one of those...they are so pretty! I graduated from Middletown in 1991. I really miss the area. I'd love to move back one day.

 

[wvjules]

I didn't live in one of those...they are so pretty! I graduated from Middletown in 1991. I really miss the area. I'd love to move back one day.

He graduated MHS in 1989.

I think Middletown is one of the most picturesque towns I've ever seen.

 

[rwdavis2]

I've lived here since 1980 except for 4 years moving back to Pittsburgh and then returning to here. It all depends on what you like to do.

For the Pros:
You are about 60+ minutes from DC on a good traffic day. There is lots to do there.
The mountains are nice. The beaches are typical east coast beaches.
Some good employment opportunities. That's why we returned from Pittsburgh.
The legislature is only in session 3 months a year so that limits the damage they can do. ;-)
Property taxes are relatively low. (About 1/2 of Pennsylvania's)
It's relatively central location makes it easy to many great places on the east coast in 3-4 hours.

Cons:
Cost of living can be high. Weather in the summer is awful. Once the heat and humidity hit you can be faced with 90+ temps and humidity for weeks. Taxes are on the way up. Baltimore is hopelessly dysfunctional.

But honestly, once the kids are out of college, we're moving, probably south. If I'm going to live in a lousy climate it may as well be with a lower cost of living. I'm even getting this from people that were born and raised here.
BD