state by state speak your mind about...maryland

[SwampG8r]

maryland is a lovely place
i have been several times and i am always surprised by how southern it is in its customs
the western part of the state is rural and farmy while the eastern coast is more urban and cityfied
i enjoyed my trips to baltimore to see the shipyards
we won a world war from the baltimore shipyards
if you have a chance to visit the state is full of history from the revolution to the civil war and right up to today
maryland is a beautiful place well worth the time invested in visiting

[WI_DEM]

1. Nice state. here is a little political trivia. It is one of the six states that stayed loyal

to President Jimmy Carter in 1980.

[MineralMan]

2. I was stationed at the NSA at Ft. George Meade

while in the USAF. Since I had a car, I explored the rural areas around Maryland while I was there, along with venturing into Baltimore several times. It's an interesting state, and the proximity to DC makes it even more interesting. My mother has an old schoolmate who lives there, and I visited her and her family in MD, too.

[Renew Deal]

3. One time in Maryland....

I was on I95 heading south to DC with a friend of mine. The sky started to turn gray and lightning started. Then I started to hear something that sounded like a slot machine on my car roof. A pretty heavy hail storm started. The hail wasn't that big, but I still thought it might break the windows. The hail cleared after a few minutes and I continued my trip.

Maryland is an interesting state, though I have only seen the areas near I95 (Baltimore area, Harbor, some of the colleges, Camden Yards). I love the crab cakes. Also love a BBQ type place called Chaps Pit Beef near I95.

I found the drive thru liquor stores a bit odd.

It does seem like a demarcation line between the north and the south. It's got a northern feel with some southern tendencies.

And who doesn't love these uniforms

[handmade34]

4. Clinton, Maryland is the home of the Surratt House

significant during the Civil War as the owners (Mary Surratt) were complicit in the plot to kidnap (assassinate) Abraham Lincoln... (there is a program there this Saturday about Harriet Tubman)

http://www.surratt.org/calendar/Harriet_Tubman.pdf
http://www.surratt.org/





my company's main headquarters is in Maryland...

[entanglement]

5. For those who've wondered who the "Mary" in Maryland was:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Henrietta_Maria

Without the Anglicization of her name, it would be Marialand!

[LiberalEsto]

6. I've lived here since 1990

and I think it's a beautiful place.

The whole state seems to burst into flower in the spring, with cherry and crabapple trees, azaleas and tulips and so much more. Just about every home seems to have at least one azalea bush in the yard, and towns plant all kinds of flowers on roadsides.

I love the Catoctin mountains, and the northern reaches of Rock Creek Park.

I have to say, though, that the people in suburban Maryland around Washington DC are for the most part unfriendly. Part of it is probably because so many people are transients, living here temporarily for a government job, or stationed here by the military. People are so busy with their jobs that they don't have time for their neighbors any more, or time to chat in the supermarket. I love going back to New Jersey, where you can actually exchange pleasantries with a stranger in a grocery store, or get caught up in the general conversation at a diner. That's another complaint of mine. There aren't any real diners in Montgomery County. We finally got real NJ pizza in Gaithersburg about a year ago.

I think the general lack of friendliness shows in the way people drive. It's race, race, race, all kinds of bullying and cutting off. People drive like they are the only ones entitled to be on the roads. "I'm the first assistant associate director of the federal whoozis, and I'm important, so get the hell out of my way."

Even though it is beautiful, I don't want to stay here. As soon as my husband retires, which won't be for at least 10 years, we're outta here.

[Orangepeel]

8. Plenty of diners in Baltimore :-)

(still)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083833/

Edited because the link for the Wikipedia page for the movie has parentheses in it and it kept linking to the page for generic diners, which was mostly about New Jersey

[Sparkly]

7. I like it here.

Cost of living is high in places, and we do have our share of problems, but overall I'm happy here.

[Frances]

9. I lived in Rockville, MD almost 30 years

When I entered my neighborhood in the spring when the cherry trees lining the road were in bloom, it was like entering a fairy tale place.

I loved how politically informed and active my neighbors were.

[LibertyLover]

10. I've lived in Maryland since 1989 having moved from New Jersey

and I like it very much. Our state flag is the only one in the US with proper heraldry, being the quartered arms of the Calverts and the Crosslands. I'm a herald in the SCA and I love our flag. Crabs I can live without, but Old Bay seasoning rocks! We have one of the best football teams and the best fans anywhere - GO RAVENS!!!! We have Ft. McHenry. OK, so there was that little problem getting Lincoln down to DC from Baltimore for his inauguration, but that could have happened anywhere. Did you all know that what has been called the last battle of the English Civil War took place close to where Annapolis, the state's capital, is located? Yep, the battle of the Severn. The Commonwealth side won. It's an interesting place to live.

[Populist_Prole]

11. For a small state it's very diverse and full of natural beauty

Been there lots of times. Baltimore is a great town to visit, and I like the mountainous western portion of the state as well. Some pretty remote wilderness for a state of its size.

One annoying thing I noticed though: I've never anywhere seen more signs that admonishing you what you better not do or else, signs saying don't go here or there; and so many cops ready to enforce it. That state must have more cops per capita than any other. They were also a long holdout I remember, of keeping the 55 MPH speed limit. Seems very high-handed.

[The Genealogist]

12. I think I'd like living there

I know it can be expensive in places, but I think it is a beautiful state, with mountains, ocean, and lots of beautiful landscapes. Seems diverse state, too. Maryland seems to be a forward-looking state. And I could listen to the Baltimore accent all day.

[AsahinaKimi]

13. Have been to

Bainbridge, Maryland. I remember it was very green there!

[hootinholler]

14. Possibly the easiest State Flag to fly upside down

I moved here circa 1983 when I got out of the Navy. I've lived in Howard, Prince Georges and Frederick counties since moving here. Although really I'm still a Pennsylvanian at heart.

We have beaches, huge tidal estuaries then west through the foothills of the Appalachian Plateau and onto it as well. Maryland's watershed drains large parts of Pa and even parts of NY, WV. Oddly, the border with Va is the southern shore of the Potomac, the the river itself is Md's.

Home to many national parks, the C&O Canal park occupies the north shore of the Potomac. The towpath is open to foot, bicycle and horses, don't forget Antietam National Battlefield, Ft McHenry or Ft Washington and then there's that campsite in the Catoctin Mountain National Park.

Home to many TLAs (Three Letter Agencies) and Cheney's infamous hidey-hole.

[Orangepeel]

15. Marriage equality just passed

So it's a great day to be speaking our minds about the Old Line State!

[Luminous Animal]

16. Visually it is lovely....

The people can be challenging... (FYI- many of my relatives live there and I've no problem with them.)

In some towns, my brother-in-law has been warned to make sure his mostly black and brown work crew is out of town by sundown. Not a friendly warning, mind you, but a threatening warning. When I was a teenager traveling from Delaware with my parents to visit family in Maryland, my mom would half-jokingly yell, "Duck!" to me when we drove through Rising Sun. Rising Sun did not like weird and I decidedly looked weird.

I do love Baltimore and once I ran into Jon Waters and chatted him up. He gave me his home phone number and I've had it for 20 years and never had the guts to call!

[Stinky The Clown]

17. Maryland is a state with great opportunity for self actualization.

The wealthiest majority African American county in the country is Prince Georges County, just east of DC.

The third wealthiest county in the US is Howard County, which is only 62% white.

The state is not without poverty, but the rate is a lot lower than many other places. In Maryland, it is 8.6%. In, let's say, Nebraska, it is 11.8%. In the US as a whole, it is 13.8%, which again demonstrates that Maryland is a great place to live.

[friedgreentomatoes]

18. My home away from home

I came to the US for the first time in 2004 as a graduate student at UMD.
I have spent the last 7.5 yrs here.
Cost of living is high where I live, it being both a college town and DC suburb.

But free museums, okay-ish nightlife and lots of other activities are a metro ride away.
The best crab

Scenic beauty, great fall colors, all 4 seasons, what's not to love?

[Major Hogwash]

19. Nicest state to live in, in the Eastern half of the US.

I always liked it there.
Baltimore is a great city, one of the best cities in America in my opinion.

[Happyhippychick]

20. I've been here since 1990

Moved from NY to get married. I like it a lot, very liberal, very intelligent people. Great natural beauty, every store you could want. The schools are some of the best in the country and the businesses have weathered the downturned economy well. I grew up in NY and vacation every year in Jersey, both are great to visit but I would not want to,raise my kids in NYC, too expensive!

[Glaug-Eldare]

21. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Last edited Tue Aug 14, 2012, 02:50 PM - Edit history (3)

1. Marylanders are blessed to live in a state filled with breathtaking geography and wildlife. There's no shortage of ways to enjoy nature here. Go crabbing on the Bay, hike through the Appalachians, kayak down one of our countless rivers, hunt out at Myrtle Grove, ski at Deep Creek Lake, go fishing on the Patuxent, drive through the farms of the Eastern Shore, walk the beach at Ocean City, or watch birds down by the Potomac. Herons, crabs, oysters, deer, horses, it's all here. Our mountains may not be the highest and our beaches may not be the longest, but they are ours, and we have a long history of cherishing and protecting our wildlife.

2. Marylanders are blessed to have a rich history overflowing with heroes. I'm frequently inspired to persevere by the sacrifice of the "Old Line" at the Battle of Long Island, where 400 Marylanders risked their lives to save Washington's army from certain defeat, and most paid the ultimate price. Maryland's sons served with distinct valor on both sides of the Civil War. Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Thurgood Marshall battled their entire lives, often against the depredations of our own state government, to advance the cause of liberty and equality. Maryland is home to authors and journalists like Upton Sinclair, H.L. Mencken, and Carl Bernstein, who challenged Americans to think, examine, and criticize the established order, sometimes at great personal risk.

3. Maryland is, inescapably, a border state. Yankees look down their noses at our farms and Rebels sneer at our office buildings, but neither of them know who we really are. Maryland's stance on world and national affairs has always been of a "middle temperament." We treasure the pristine beauty of our forests, rivers, and mountains, and boast of them perhaps more than we should. Baltimore, for all its troubles, is still our beautiful gem on the Patapsco, and we'll cheer the O's any day of the week. We mix Southern and Northern sensibilities with ease, and find our neighbors quaintly inflexible in that regard. Alabamians and Nutmeggers might be happy to fit their respective regional molds, but Marylanders would rather break them.

4. Maryland history and culture is chock-full of unique anecdotes and quirks. Every Bawlmer Hon knows our flag is the best, and Annapolitan kids want to grow up to be professional lax players. Mr. Boh must be proud of the way we defied prohibition, becoming the only state that never enacted a state enforcement act (earning the name "Free State" in the process). We're the home of American railroads, the national anthem, and Old Bay. Our shores saw the last battle of the English Civil War, the most famous victory in the War of 1812, the first bloodshed of the Civil War, and even a German U-Boat off our beaches.

There's more, but I guess I oughta leave a few for the rest of y'all

[SwampG8r]

22. thanks for this

i admit i got to the halfway point and then i needed a break
reading things like this from the people who make these places great re energizes me
i am a history freak and posts like this are my personal favorites

[Glaug-Eldare]

23. Thank you!

Last edited Mon Apr 30, 2012, 09:57 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm glad I could help inspire you! I'm sure Kentuckians or Michiganders love their homes, too, but I'm downright loony for MD, and it shows.