Wow, I never realized how terrible the gap is between in MoCo vs NoVa for jobs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh look. The provinces are having some kind of a competition. How quaint.
- The District

This would be cute if D.C. was the region’s dominant center of population and jobs.

It’s neither.

So true. I don't know anyone who commutes to DC for work these days. Everyone is in the Reston tech corridor, Rt. 28 corridor, or Tysons. Or at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top employers in MoCo:

https://commerce.maryland.gov/Documents/ResearchDocument/MajorEmployersInMontgomeryCounty.pdf

Top employers in Fairfax:

https://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Major-Employers.pdf

So basically, MoCo relies entirely on govt jobs and some crappy low paying service sector jobs at places like Giant, Safeway, and Target. Meanwhile in NoVa, the top employers are major banks, super high end tech and software companies, top consulting firms, and other major professional services firms. I never knew MoCo was getting its lunch eaten this bad. NoVa has way, way better jobs and a far better diversity of jobs/firms. MoCo relies entirely on govt, clearly has a severe lack of innovative firms that pay high salaries when compared to NoVa, and a large portion of their residents working in very low quality service sector jobs that probably pay just over minimum wage. How is MoCo not doomed with this flimsy of a tax and employer base?

The fact that every third car coming down/back on Georgetown Pike has MD plates told me this a long time ago. That and the traffic from same cars on back roads near the beltway in McLean

+1
If the MD drivers would just learn to drive, it would (partially) make up for them clogging VA roads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh look. The provinces are having some kind of a competition. How quaint.
- The District

This would be cute if D.C. was the region’s dominant center of population and jobs.

It’s neither.

The big power, decision makers jobs are in DC.
Your IT sweatshops jobs are not.

Perhaps a couple of decades ago. No longer.
DP

[Anonymous]

MoCo has better private schools and country clubs. I’m not sure NoVa is even livable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top employers in MoCo:

https://commerce.maryland.gov/Documents/ResearchDocument/MajorEmployersInMontgomeryCounty.pdf

Top employers in Fairfax:

https://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Major-Employers.pdf

So basically, MoCo relies entirely on govt jobs and some crappy low paying service sector jobs at places like Giant, Safeway, and Target. Meanwhile in NoVa, the top employers are major banks, super high end tech and software companies, top consulting firms, and other major professional services firms. I never knew MoCo was getting its lunch eaten this bad. NoVa has way, way better jobs and a far better diversity of jobs/firms. MoCo relies entirely on govt, clearly has a severe lack of innovative firms that pay high salaries when compared to NoVa, and a large portion of their residents working in very low quality service sector jobs that probably pay just over minimum wage. How is MoCo not doomed with this flimsy of a tax and employer base?

The fact that every third car coming down/back on Georgetown Pike has MD plates told me this a long time ago. That and the traffic from same cars on back roads near the beltway in McLean

+1
If the MD drivers would just learn to drive, it would (partially) make up for them clogging VA roads.

Except it’s the VA drivers who clog up the roads by driving slow in the left lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MoCo has better private schools and country clubs. I’m not sure NoVa is even livable.

Because those two metrics paint an accurate picture of a place...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting its lunch eaten? How old are you?

Many people would never live in a state as backwards as VA. Youngkin? Absolutely not.

And yet, MD drivers clog up VA roadways because they come here every day for their JOBS. Imagine that! And learn to drive, btw.
DP

Thankfully any can work from home now.

Well, you can't do service sector jobs from home -- Marylanders work in nursing homes, restaurants, day care centers, and other low skill low pay jobs. And the fact that they have to cross a bridge to make $15 an hour is sad

Is that why MD is the wealthiest state?

The "wealthiest state" moniker is misleading at best. It's the small percentage of uber wealthy MD residents that props up statewide data and masks the systemic poverty and underemployment plaguing the state's urban and rural regions alike. If course, this is not unique to MD; it's found in VA and other states like CA, CT and MA perceived to be "wealthy."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh look. The provinces are having some kind of a competition. How quaint.
- The District

This would be cute if D.C. was the region’s dominant center of population and jobs.

It’s neither.

So true. I don't know anyone who commutes to DC for work these days. Everyone is in the Reston tech corridor, Rt. 28 corridor, or Tysons. Or at home.

IT sweatshops corridors. No thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh look. The provinces are having some kind of a competition. How quaint.
- The District

This would be cute if D.C. was the region’s dominant center of population and jobs.

It’s neither.

The big power, decision makers jobs are in DC.
Your IT sweatshops jobs are not.

Speaking of power, DC doesn’t produce its own energy. It doesn’t produce food. It doesn’t manufacture anything of note.

DP.

Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco, also don't really produce much food or manufacture anything of real note but they are wealthy countries/principalities.

Chile grows lots of produce but we wouldn't call it wealthy or powerful; lots of potatos, corn produced in the midwest but they also are not known for being a power broker, nor are they known for producing high paying jobs.

Your argument is silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting its lunch eaten? How old are you?

Many people would never live in a state as backwards as VA. Youngkin? Absolutely not.

And yet, MD drivers clog up VA roadways because they come here every day for their JOBS. Imagine that! And learn to drive, btw.
DP

Thankfully any can work from home now.

Well, you can't do service sector jobs from home -- Marylanders work in nursing homes, restaurants, day care centers, and other low skill low pay jobs. And the fact that they have to cross a bridge to make $15 an hour is sad

Is that why MD is the wealthiest state?

The "wealthiest state" moniker is misleading at best. It's the small percentage of uber wealthy MD residents that props up statewide data and masks the systemic poverty and underemployment plaguing the state's urban and rural regions alike. If course, this is not unique to MD; it's found in VA and other states like CA, CT and MA perceived to be "wealthy."

Even with 5 of the wealthiest counties, VA barely makes it to the top 10. If there is a state where wealthy "residents prop up statewide data and masks the systemic poverty and underemployment plaguing the state's urban and rural regions", it is Virginia. Without those 5 counties, VA would be way in the bottom.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/10-wealthiest-states-in-america

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top employers in MoCo:

https://commerce.maryland.gov/Documents/ResearchDocument/MajorEmployersInMontgomeryCounty.pdf

Top employers in Fairfax:

https://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Major-Employers.pdf

So basically, MoCo relies entirely on govt jobs and some crappy low paying service sector jobs at places like Giant, Safeway, and Target. Meanwhile in NoVa, the top employers are major banks, super high end tech and software companies, top consulting firms, and other major professional services firms. I never knew MoCo was getting its lunch eaten this bad. NoVa has way, way better jobs and a far better diversity of jobs/firms. MoCo relies entirely on govt, clearly has a severe lack of innovative firms that pay high salaries when compared to NoVa, and a large portion of their residents working in very low quality service sector jobs that probably pay just over minimum wage. How is MoCo not doomed with this flimsy of a tax and employer base?

The fact that every third car coming down/back on Georgetown Pike has MD plates told me this a long time ago. That and the traffic from same cars on back roads near the beltway in McLean

+1
If the MD drivers would just learn to drive, it would (partially) make up for them clogging VA roads.

Except it’s the VA drivers who clog up the roads by driving slow in the left lane.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh look. The provinces are having some kind of a competition. How quaint.
- The District

This would be cute if D.C. was the region’s dominant center of population and jobs.

It’s neither.

The big power, decision makers jobs are in DC.
Your IT sweatshops jobs are not.

Perhaps a couple of decades ago. No longer.
DP

Without DC you wouldn't have your IT sweatshop jobs.
NoVa is relevant (sort of) because of its proximity to DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MoCo has better private schools and country clubs. I’m not sure NoVa is even livable.

Well I think the same about MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh look. The provinces are having some kind of a competition. How quaint.
- The District

This would be cute if D.C. was the region’s dominant center of population and jobs.

It’s neither.

The big power, decision makers jobs are in DC.
Your IT sweatshops jobs are not.

Perhaps a couple of decades ago. No longer.
DP

Without DC you wouldn't have your IT sweatshop jobs.
NoVa is relevant (sort of) because of its proximity to DC

+1 A lot of the IT jobs around here are related either directly or indirectly to the government.

I work remotely here for a SV company doing work that is purely for the private sector.

When I looked for IT jobs here a lot dealt with the government. I don't have any experience in government related systems, jargon, process.

Without the feds, a huge chunk of the IT jobs in NoVa would be gone. The proximity to DC, the center of the federal government, is attractive to companies.

HQ2 wanted some place close to a major airport, mass transit, and an educated workforce; the workforce, however, is not siloed in NoVA only. It's spread out from HoCo down to Loudon. They chose Crystal City, BUT, note, that they split HQ2 and chose high tax area NYC . They got chased out, but the high taxes is not what ultimately made them pull out. And notice that Amazon is not going to bring the other half of those jobs to CC. Instead, it's being spread out across their other sites.

I think NoVa has done very well, but it's a mistake to state that it's not related to the government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo has better private schools and country clubs. I’m not sure NoVa is even livable.

Well I think the same about MoCo.

Too much green space? For the most part MoCo/HoCo (and I do include HoCo because it's just as far to DC as Loudon whch is always included in the comparison) doesn't look *that* different to NoVa. We looked at both.

But, I do notice that NoVa reminds me more of a concrete jungle, and MoCo/HoCo doesn't invest in mass transit enough, which is why it has so much green space. The Ag Preserve in Poolesville is a good example.

Other than that, seriousy not that different. The homes look about the same to someone from CA (me).