whats life like?

retval386 · Aug 28, 2016

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

Alea Jacta Est · Aug 28, 2016

Hi. Welcome.

Might try the introductions section before too long.

Where in central NY?

Chriss · Aug 28, 2016

retval386 said:
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

Eastern and central Howard quite liberal and anti gun as well as crowded bordering on urban. Many positives and many negatives (subjective) in the Columbia area. Also Try Carroll county . Western Howard quite nice but seems to teem with lawyers

. Still Howard County but not so crowded or urban. Take your time and sort your priorities. then ask again with those priorities listed so the brain trust can offer experienced based opinion.

sgt23preston · Aug 28, 2016

Columbia is a crowded, pricey, YUPPIE area...

I'd classify the residents as over educated, snobby & NOT GUN FRIENDLY...

All shooting would need to be done at private gun ranges...

There are several indoor gun ranges within 30 minutes of Columbia...

And there is 1 outdoor Gun Range about the same distance away...

The indoor gun ranges are open to the public = $$...

The outdoor range is a private club = Membership & Annual Fees $$...

And the Gun Laws in Merry-Land S U C K...

Hope this is helpful...

Mr H · Aug 28, 2016

Welcome to the madness...

Plenty of decent suburban neighborhoods around, if you look WITHIN areas.

IOW, if you're looking at the broad names like Columbia, Glen Burnie, Severn, Ellicott City, etc., IMO you won't get an accurate read on neighborhoods.

As for shooting availability? It could be better, I guess, but there are a number of public ranges and clubs around. The big shortage seems to be long range.

Threeband · Aug 28, 2016

You're extremely unlikely to find a place you can shoot in your backyard in central Maryland. I used to shoot .22s in friend's backyards in the Columbia area forty years ago, but those days are gone. Depending on the exact lot configuration and other factors, it's feasible further out, from rural Harford, across northern BaltCo, much of Carroll, western HoCo, etc. Much depends on the specific layout of the property. I recall many, many years ago a law was passed in Howard County saying private shooting ranges had to be approved by the police.

AssMan · Aug 28, 2016

Hi there. In a nutshell, no. You will need to drive much further than 30 minutes to find places where people are easily and frequently able to shoot in their yard. More like 90-120 mins. MD may as well be NYC, Boston, Coastal NJ or Connecticut. If you're planning to move to Columbia, you may as well kill yourself now and avoid years of frustration.

md_rick_o · Aug 28, 2016

Columbia has the equivalent of a city wide HOA. It is a planned community and is pretty strict from all i've heard. I have a couple friends and a niece that live there and they complain about the restrictions on what they can do on your own property.

5.56blaster · Aug 28, 2016

Columbia sucks and Howard county isn't far behind. Years ago it was very nice, now lots of lefty scum. Over priced and crime is edging in from the east.

5.56blaster · Aug 28, 2016

snallygaster said:
Hi there. In a nutshell, no. You will need to drive much further than 30 minutes to find places where people are easily and frequently able to shoot in their yard. More like 90-120 mins. MD may as well be NYC, Boston, Coastal NJ or Connecticut. If you're planning to move to Columbia, you may as well kill yourself now and avoid years of frustration.

What he said!!!! :lol:

Magnumst · Aug 28, 2016

Wow, there are some discouraging replies that dont show Maryland in a good light. You should look at Fredrick or Carroll county and depending on travel times your commute will very greatly. I can get to columbia or the fort in 30-45 minutes form Carroll depending on the time of day. Peak travel times will add 15-45 minutes. Maryland has a lot of the same qualities (up state NY)and horrible gun laws as NY.

Mack C-85 · Aug 28, 2016

retval386 said:
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

If nice includes shooting there are four areas to consider

A,DE,VA,WV. All are over an hour away and lots of people who work at the Fort make those trips.

While there are nice places to shoot within MD, you will pay for the privilege and there are many restrictions in place.

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Threeband · Aug 28, 2016

Magnumst;4477627... Maryland has a lot of the same qualities (up state NY)and horrible gun laws as NY.[/QUOTE said:
Our winters are milder.

kmb · Aug 28, 2016

retval386 said:
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

Have you already moved here? Where in CNY are you from? You can PM me if you prefer. I'm from SYR and was just there 2 weeks ago. If you're looking to come to Meade, I'd suggest you go to Belvoir or Quantico first as the same jobs are there and VA has way better gun laws. If you're looking for IT work, send me a PM and I'll give you my email. You can work from home with our company.

If you haven't moved yet, understand that taxes and cost of living is way higher here than CNY. Well, property taxes are not higher here. You have way more Wegman's there than here and no other store compares. There are a bunch of Wegman's in NoVa which is cool for folks who live there. What about GE @ Electronics Parkway in Liverpool? SU? Turning Stone Casino? I was talking to a guy who represents TSC today. He says they're the 2nd leading employer in CNY besides SU. If you're looking to get out of CNY and have no other draw or reason to be in MD, I'd look elsewhere. TX, TN, VA, NC, SC, GA are high on my list if my wife ever tires of being MoCo teacher.

If you ask me, the closest place you can get what you can in CNY would be from Frederick County and west of there. I don't know much about Columbia, MD or anything east of Annapolis but I imagine there isn't much there that will offer you what you want with your drive time req.

aray · Aug 28, 2016

I suggest Anne Arundel County. From where I'm at I can get to three ranges (one indoor and two outdoors) in under 30 minutes. I get get to Fort Meade in less than 30. If you're planning on working at the fort, coming from the east in the morning and going back home to the east in the evening means the sun is at your back both ways rather than having to stare into the sun. County income taxes in AACO are the lowest in the central MD area, and the cost of living is lower than Howard or Montgomery counties. Politically, it is about as balanced as you'll find, so your vote will matter at the General Assembly level. (At the state level - forget it - Democrats have an iron lock unless you live on the Eastern Shore.) We've got several excellent gun stores in under 30 minutes, and one of the best gunsmith shops also in the area. If you like the water, AACO hosts the Chesapeake Bay, and is also one leg of the Bay Bridge if Ocean City is your thing. (I don't like OC, but YMMV.) Come join us in Annapolis and help stand up for 2A Rights each year when the GA is in session; Annapolis is the state capitol and is in the heart of the county. (Check out Maryland Shall Issue.) I'm in Crownsville, and also have easy access to both DC and Baltimore (when I'm forced to go there that is...) The point is, AACO I believe has everything that you need, is close to just about everything you've asked about, and if you have to live in MD in my opinion is the optimal place to put down roots.

aray · Aug 28, 2016

FYI there is a Wegman's 10 mins. from my house.

kmb · Aug 28, 2016

Threeband said:
Our winters are milder.

But CNY has way more snowplows and people who know how to use them effectively than the turds hired by MoCo. It took them 4 days to plow my cul-de-sac after the last storm earlier in the year. 15 families stranded. Glad no one had an emergency as it would be called FILL IN THE BLANK county after that. I had 36" at the end of my driveway and then the moron hired by the county dumped an entire street at my driveway and everyone else on the circle who has just cleaned their driveway apron.

retval386 · Aug 29, 2016

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

Rocky BearDog · Aug 29, 2016

We're practically NY neighbors. I have a place at Oneida Lake, right near the Stone Barn Castle. Good luck in Maryland - not so sure it would be my first choice if I had to do it again. I came here for the job too.

Biggfoot44 · Aug 29, 2016

If you're coming from NY , we can't make our usual generalizing that our gun laws suck. Md would actually be an improvement, except for CCW.

Assuming you really mean Ft Meade vicinity on purpose, and not a .mil base generally, you woll have to either compromise origonal wishlist, or substantially increase commute.

As mentioned above you can't generalize on entire areas. ( Down here most everywhere is unincorperated area of respective counties, actual incorperated municipalities are rare, and usually the surrounding area with same zip code is much larger than the actual incorperated municipalities.) Rather, you have to look at exact neighborhoods. Less than a mile apart can be totally different.

There is the occasional larger piece of property tucked inbetween whatever, but the norm for suburban areas, built on purpose is 1/4ac .

There is an indoor commercial range nearby to Meade, but you'll be paying $20-25 per visit, not per year.

Private Clubs with outdoor ranges that are semi-close, and don't have multi-year waiting lists would be Berwyn Rod&Gun south in Bowie, and Assocated Gun Clubs of Balt in Marriotsville ( west of Baly). AGC is less expensive. But inexpensive by Md standards is close to double of expensive in Syracuse.

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