Pros and cons of living in Maryland, specifically Washington County, Maryland.
Did you know that Maryland is the ninth smallest state in America? And it's been nicknamed America in miniature, due to the plethora of different parks that we have in our state because 40% of the state is covered with trees.
This leads me to our number one pro for living in Maryland is the great outdoors. We have state and national parks in abundance. So you have hiking, biking, swimming, boating, fishing, you name it and we have it.
Number two would be the amount of beaches that are in Maryland.
We have miles and miles of beaches and don't forget to stop by Assateague Island and visit with the wild horses that run free.
Number three, Maryland gets to experience all four seasons. So if you like snow, but if you like summer this is the state for you. Our location is in an area where the temperatures don't get too extreme in one direction or the other on a regular basis but you get to experience all four seasons here.
The fourth pro for Maryland is the plethora of museums and monuments that are there to visit. It would take you years to visit all of them and don't forget to stop by the aquarium at Baltimore Harbor.
Our cons here in Washington County, of course, is going to be traffic for commuters. If you are headed East for work commuting you are going to get stuck in traffic. There's no way around it unfortunately. If you head West in the spring or the summer on a Friday, or come back on a Sunday, headed to Deep Creek, you're going to hit traffic.
For the most part in Washington County, we don't have a lot of traffic, but for commuters just be aware that Maryland does have a lot of rush hour traffic.
Number two con would be the housing prices are above the national average in Maryland. The farther West you go, of course the lower those prices are going to come down.
Just as an example, last year (2020) in Washington County our average sales price was approximately $245,000 where in Frederick County, right next door that average sales price was around $383,000.
If you're looking to rent, be aware that your average rent in Washington County is going to run you around $1,200 and in Frederick County it's going to run you upwards of $1,800 a month.
The number three Con is with higher sales prices comes higher property taxes. So be aware homeowners, you will probably have a higher property tax than you were used to if you were moving into the State of Maryland.
Number four con is the Bay Bridge. If you want visit or have to commute back and forth through the Ocean City area, you're going to get stuck in the bottleneck at the bottom of the bridge.
I also want to point out that that bridge is 4.3 miles long, it also sits upwards of 354 to 379 feet in the air depending on which direction you're headed.
If you don't like driving across bridges I would recommend you reach out to one of the people who will drive you across the bridge. That service is pretty cool, there is someone who will drive you from the beginning of the bridge to the end of the bridge and then you pick it up from there, for a fee...
