| Author | Message | ||
     Nik |
I've received a job offer for a position in the DC area. I'm wondering where a good place to live would be. I want an anti nanny state with the least unpleasant moto-commute. | ||
| Jc000 |
Where will you be working? Makes a big difference. Western Prince William County (Gainesville, Bristow, Haymarket) is relatively cheap, near tons of great motorcycling roads, and is pretty red for the area. If you're working in DC it's quite a hike, though you have the option of the commuter train or motorcycling up the HOV lanes. | ||
| Ratbuell |
+1 on the "working where" question, it will have a big impact on where you want to be coming from each day because of the roads and traffic "flow". Lots of good places in Maryland as well as VA - and even some in WV that are within the "commuter radius" (MARC-rail commuter train runs from Harpers Ferry to DC). Check your tax structures for MD/VA/WV - they're vastly different. MD: no property tax, no annual vehicle inspections, but 6% sales tax. VA: property taxes, annual vehicular inspections, 5% sales tax (3% on vehicles). Not sure about WV, but I think no property tax, 5% sales, and dunno on the inspections. Just to illustrate some of the differences  | ||
| P_squared |
WV property tax depends on where you live, or at least it did when we lived there. Annual vehicle inspections if I remember correctly. But BEAUTIFUL roads & scenery. Lived in Ranson WV and worked in Arlington VA. Commute was ~1.5 hrs. 1 way, depending on traffic. | ||
| Dwardo |
MD most CERTAINLY has property tax. It varies by county and the closer you are to DC, the higher it is. I live in Baltimore County and commute to the DC area every day. IT SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS AND DID I MENTION IT SUCKS. It's true that western Maryland and the Eastern Shore are rural and pleasant in most ways, but you can't get away from the ever-present, overreaching state government which is becoming larger, greedier, and more omnipotent every day. You say you don't want a "nanny state"? Smoking bans, seat belt laws, helmet laws, you name it. Also, the roads in most metro areas are bad, the traffic is awful, and the weather can be rotten. I lived in Northern VA for a long time and it was better at the time but it is more a suburb of DC than a part of Virginia, IMO, and the traffic can be really bad. West Virginia is more what you want but the commute might be problematical. I am desperately trying to find a way to escape from here. My advice? Run away! | ||
| Ratbuell |
I guess Baltimore county is quite a bit different from Frederick county. We do have property taxes, you're correct - but only on homes/land. NoVa includes vehicles in the personal property tax structure. And I personally never saw the "burden" about seatbelt/helmet laws - having used both and lived through the experience because of them may help my opinion, though. Smoking ban? Could care less. Non-smoker here, nice to go out to a bar or restaurant and come home without smelling like an ashtray. | ||
| Dwardo |
Yeah, I forgot about the tax on vehicles in VA. I had a running battle with them because I had a new car I garaged in Baltimore but used an old car while I was in VA during the week. They finally admitted that the tax only applied to vehicles "garaged" in VA, not to any vehicle I owned. But, if I happened to park the new car at my place in VA and they saw it, they would ticket it. As far as the seat belt/helmet law thing is concerned, I agree they are good things, but don't agree that the state has a right to mandate their use. The smoking ban is total bull****. I don't smoke either but I would rather put up with the smoke than put up with an overbearing government. It's worth pointing out that if they think it's a good idea to ban one behavior (smoking) because it's dangerous, they might think banning another because it's dangerous (motorcycling)is also a good idea. The bulk of the voting public would say they "could care less" because they are "non-riders". Oh well, rant mode off. Nik did say he wanted an "anti-nanny state". | ||
| Dynasport |
I have a friend who lived in Harpers Ferry and commuted to DC. She loved Harpers Ferry but hated the commute so bad she quit her job. I have not advanced in my career because I am not willing to do a stint in DC. Some people love it though. Best of luck to you. | ||
| Froggy |
Speaking of the smoking bans, being from New York where smoking has been banned since I was a kid, I was in shock when I stopped at a Waffle House in VA and out of the dozen people there including the cooks, I was the only one not smoking! | ||
| Dwardo |
An additional feature of the smoking ban is that I cannot go to my local watering hole without freezing my a** off. This is because every 2 minutes one of the poor smokers opens the door to go outside and lets all the heat out. Most of the bar patrons keep their overcoats on but at least they're not smoking. Very healthy. | ||
| B00stzx3 |
Maryland's D.C. suburbs and Northern Virginia are both pretty up there with "nannyness". You could check out WV and commuting or southern Maryland. I live in a small, rural town called Poolesville, about 20 miles north of D.C. Grew up here, love it! They call us Pooltucky and Pooleabama, because the rest of the county is very affluent and rich, with the exception of the crappy areas . You might like Poolesville or Damascus if you choose Maryland and want to be closer to D.C. My dad rides our go cart to the beer store, for Bud Light of course. Plenty of backroads (were the countys agricultural reserve) to ride, close to Virginia as well. I can't post anything about Virginia, don't know much about it. Montgomery County is very expensive, theres some bad areas and some cities I would never recommend and the taxes and nanny factor are high, but there are some GREAT areas, good services (roads, police, ambulance, parks). What are you looking for? What do ya got to spend? Smoking is banned in bars in Maryland, and Virginias gonna be that way soon. Get an electronic cigarette, visit ecigaretteforums.com and read up about it, screw the smoking ban! Dwardo, I see your in White Marsh! I couldn't afford Canton anymore after being in Highlandtown for 2 years so I just moved back to MoCo, but LOVE White Marsh! Hope to buy a house there in a couple of years, or Middle River, sorry to hijack. (Message edited by b00stzx3 on February 12, 2009) (Message edited by b00stzx3 on February 12, 2009) (Message edited by b00stzx3 on February 13, 2009) | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Maryland, except for the rural areas, blows, IMHO. If you can look past the traffic and all the morons, then I guess it's not such a bad place to live. | ||
| Dwardo |
Hey, B00. I thought you were in Poolesville? That sounds very nice. Why move to White Marsh? White Marsh has its advantages, depending on the kind of person you are. Middle River is very close to me. I think my location is great from the point of view of valueing my house but the traffic is fierce! I have to ride a good ways from my house before I can be on a decent motorcycle road. My buddy up in Harford County, on the other hand, has good m/c roads right out his back door. Whatever. If you're ever going to be in the neighborhood, drop me a PM and we'll have a beer! | ||
| Rex |
Come see us at the Safeway BBQ Battle on Penn. ave. saturday and sunday, june 27 and 28. REX | ||
| B00stzx3 |
Nik- http://www.city-data.com/forum/maryland/ and http://www.city-data.com/forum/northern-virginia/ its a forum dedicated to people who are relocating, those are the links to the Maryland and Northern Virginia Search around or register and post some questions about where your moving to. (Message edited by b00stzx3 on February 13, 2009) |
