Hmm, MD is bad on guns, I'll grant that, but we NEED more pro-gun voters (I'm actually wondering if I should bale out or stay as long as I can to help out).
The good, the bad, the ugly on MD:
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Taxes: They aren't too bad (believe it or not). One side likes to say we are among the highest in the country, the other likes to say a little lower than average- and get this, they are both right.
Our state income taxes are indeed among the highest in the country, but our property taxes aren't bad, sales tax is only 5% (with a few, mostly food, exceptions that aren't taxed at all) and we don't have tons of other miscellaneous taxes to nickle and dime you.
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Crime: Crime is fair. In inner-city Baltimore it is among the highest in the nation for violent crime (I think we are number 2 right now and the top five in the US) but we also had the largest drop in the country last year. Outside of Baltimore it isn't too bad, not great, but not bad.
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Schools: Public schools in Montgomery County and Howard County are among the best in the nation. The only drawbacks are having to live in Montgomery or Howard Counties (among the most liberal in the state). Outside of Baltimore City, Maryland schools are generally pretty good. The Baltimore-Washington area has some of the best private schools in the nation.
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Politics: MD politics aren't as liberal as usually assumed. The Baltimore area and Montgomery County are, and they have the bulk of the population so the state leadership is pretty liberal, but many parts of the state are outright conservative locally (heck, even here in Howard County we've been electing our share of Republicans and conservative Democrats the past decade or so).
Housing prices: Baltimore City, Balt. County, and the more rural areas not bad at all. Howard County is getting pricy (older, for Columbia, 20-30 year old standard middle class 4BR homes are now over a quarter million and in the newer areas you will pay that for a townhome or even possibly a condo, for rent you'll be looking at about $700-1000 for a 1BR, $1200+ to rent a 3BR townhouse). Montgomery County, are you a doctor or lawyer? If not, forget about it.
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Economy: It is hard to beat the DC area. Very stable. Many people work for the gov't or for universities and research organizations and these industries are generally recession proof. Also, high-tec is big in northern VA and central MD (Mont County primarily on the Rt. 270 corridor, Columbia in Howard County, and White Marsh in northern Baltimore County).
Guns:
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Handguns: Yuck.
One a month, with two exceptions: fill out an application for collector status, pretty much if you can legally buy a gun you will be accepted for the status, or you can buy two in the same transaction and then you just wait two months instead of one before you can buy again. Seven BUSINESS DAY waiting period. Built-in lock law (meaning, most new guns aren't available, though more and more probably will be in the future as bigger liberal states like NY and CA follow suit). Shell-casing law. Purchases are now registered by the state (but it is "voluntary" so you wouldn't have to register guns you already have).
No CCW, though in the next few years...Hopefully.
Handgun prices are pretty bad.
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Rifles:
We aren't half bad. Prices are pretty much normal, no waiting period, no registration. We are actually fairly Class III friendly here. Unfortunately, "assult rifles" are regulated more or less like pistols.
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Ranges:
From where I live (Columbia) there are four indoor pistol ranges in different directions but all within 15-45min of me. On Target is 10-15min down the road near Ft. Meade. Continental Arms is about 45min away in Timonium. Gilberts is about 45min away in Rockville. SureFire (I think that is the name) is about 30 min away in Glen Burnie.
There is a public rifle range in Westminister (30-40min from me) that is open Wen through Sun. You can shoot pistols but the closest target is at 25 yards on the rifle range. The longest lane is 200yds.
There is a "semi-public" range in Frederick (about 40min from me) that is open Sat (darn) and Sun (woo-hoo) that has both rifle and pistol lanes plus dedicated black powder rifle lanes. The longest is 200yds (I think).
There are numerous clubs (one at Ft.Meade even includes the right to use a 500 or 600 yd Army range once a month), many with their own ranges. There is also a huge range that is used jointly by a dozen or two local clubs.
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Intangibles:
Here in Columbia I am about 2 hours from the beach, 2 hours from the mountains (skiing, camping, fishing), 4 hours from all the tourist sights in NYC, 2 hours from the history at Philidelphia, 4 hours from Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown (incredible for history buffs), I am an hour and a half from Gettysburg, 2-3 from Antetiam (sp?), an hour or so from Bull Run, and within a few hours of several other Civil War sites. The Chesapeake Bay cuts the state in two, so boating, fishing and other recreational activities abound. I have all the advantages of living in one of the biggest official metro areas in the country (the Baltimore-Washington area) and THE biggest unofficial metro area (there really is no break in "civilization" between Boston, MA all the way down to Richmond, VA), yet I am a short drive from several rural areas as well if I want the solitude. People are generally well educated around here, there are more colleges and universities per capita than almost anywhere in the country, and the job market is one of the most stable in the nation. We have some of the best seafood in the country (too bad I can't eat it anymore- shellfish isn't kosher). Annapolis is probably one of the most beautiful cities in the US.
Sheslinger, do I remember hearing somewhere (on this board of course) that you are from the fomer USSR? There is a huge Russian and former USSR population in northern Baltimore County (if that matters to you).
Near, but outside, MD:
Outside of MD the gun laws are much better. You could always get a job in MD and live in southern PA, DE or northern VA depending upon exactly where the job is (you could also send the little tykes to MD private schools if so inclined). I don't know about PA but VA does have a "personal property tax" (you pay a "property tax" on personal property like cars as well as on real property like land). Delaware, while not CCW, isn't bad on guns and I know there is NO sales tax there.
