What don't you like about Maryland?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Another big downside is the traffic between College Park and Silver Spring. It's backed up even on the weekends. This is really silly but I love the leaf collectors that come around this time of year so you don't have to put all your leaves in bags.

They still do this? Neat. They used to do this in NJ, but this year my dad was complaining because they're requiring bags in our town.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, though. Are taxes really that much worse in MD, versus NoVA? How can it be that much difference. You figure that to have decent schools, roads, etc - you need high taxes.

Or is it just because VA is a bigger state? Although, I've heard complaints that the money raised from NoVA gets used throughout the state. And, that the residents of NoVA don't see the return on their taxes because the money gets used elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

That DC poverty has made a disaster out of PG County. Look at the news. Those taxes will continue to rise with more police needed, more services, and more jails. However, DCs should go down.

Interesting, in 2007 the murder rate in PG went up, while the murder rate in DC went down. A population shift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Crappy customer service. Everywhere.

Um, you are so right. Crappy customer service is soooo exclusive to Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who don't want to click through on prior link:
1) MARYLAND LIES
On the stretch of I-95 through Maryland, there are many signs claiming that you can find gas or food at various exits. However, most of these stops require that you not only get off the interstate and merge onto one highway but then merge onto another highway and drive for a few miles before finding the energy your car so desperately needs. This is blatant false advertising. Virginia and Delaware have gas stations littering the sides of the interstate, so you can see them before you even exit. In Maryland, you need a treasure map, GPS, and patience to find a bathroom. It shouldn't be so hard; Maryland would have you believe it’s not hard. Maryland lies.

2) MARYLAND IS UGLY
Driving up I-95 after Thanksgiving, I was able to enjoy most of the drive looking at the beautiful red, yellow, and orange leaves that dotted the side of the road … that is, in every state except Maryland. I am not making this up – Virginia’s trees looked magnificent, and Delaware and New Jersey were resplendent in assorted colors. Maryland’s trees were largely naked. So, even the leaves hate the state – they’d rather die than stay another day in Maryland. Maryland is ugly.

3) MARYLAND IS BORING
Have you seen Maryland’s license plates? They are white with black type. Where have I seen that before? Oh yeah! IN EVERY SINGLE BOOK EVER WRITTEN. Everything about this state is dull, tedious, or irritating. Not even their cars can avoid it. Maryland is boring.

4) MARYLAND IS FOR IDIOTS
I have now driven up and down I-95 from NJ to NC and back a handful of times, and in no other state do I encounter more traffic problems and idiotic drivers than in Maryland. New Jersey gets a bad rap for its drivers and traffic, but I would drive in rush hour everyday for a year before I would drive through Maryland everyday for a week. The people will hop in the fast lane and go 5 mph below the limit or be so fascinated by bright flashing lights of police cars that they will slam on their brakes to stare at the display. They are stupid. Maryland is for idiots.

5) MARYLAND IS A RIPOFF
Those of you in the South may not be familiar with this, but in the Mid-Atlantic, toll roads are all the rage. In New Jersey, driving down I-95, you pay one toll. In Delaware, you pay to cross the gigantic (and remarkably impressive) Delaware Memorial Bridge. But in Maryland, you’ll have to pay two tolls. However, I have to give the state credit here – one of the tolls, while driving north on I-95, is on the border, meaning that you have to pay to get out of the state. And inevitably, you will run into a massive traffic jam as thousands of cars scramble to get out of the state. This results in masses of cars stopped at that final Maryland tollbooth. And the revenue pours in. (I am convinced the money does not go to education, though.) Maryland is expensive. Maryland is a ripoff.

Warning! History-like substance follows! Consider yourself warned.

6) MARYLAND IS BALLLESS
Many Marylanders try to claim they are Southerners. And technically, this is true – Maryland lies south of the Mason-Dixon line. However, Maryland, despite being a slave state, did not secede from the Union during the Civil War. Now, don’t get me wrong: I am glad the North won the war. There are a myriad of reasons why this had to be the only acceptable outcome that I won’t get into here. But Maryland didn’t have the balls to secede from the Union and fight for what it believed in. Instead, it stood by as others took up their battle. Maryland is ballless.

(History-like discussion is over. You may continue reading now.)

7) MARYLAND IS CONFUSED
As I said above, Maryland likes to think of itself as being in the South. However, the state is devoid of Bojangle’s. Bojangle’s the apex of southern cuisine. People in Maryland eat crab. Have you ever tried to put crab on a biscuit? It is disgusting. You know what else you can’t find in Maryland? Sweat tea. The people in Maryland may be heart-healthier, but they are not happier. They are not Southerners. Maryland is confused.

8) MARYLAND IS LOSING
The Baltimore Orioles are one of the worst teams in professional sports. The team has not had a winning season in 10 years. That is a decade of losing. And guess what? The losing is not going to end in 2008. My personal theory? No one wants to live in Maryland. It’s not in the South, it’s not in the Northeast. It’s just nowhere, man. It’s nowhere.

9) MARYLAND IS UNSAFE
I grow tired of ranting, so I will let this speak for itself. Needless to say, Maryland is unsafe.

10) MARYLAND IS WEIRD
Who designed this flag? I mean, seriously, what is with the fake racing checkered flag. Spend some time at the state’s official website, and you’ll see some really stupid things. However, this tops them:

Only a gold cross bottony may be used as an ornament on the top of a flagstaff that carries the Maryland flag.

Seriously? You have to have a special flag pole hat to fly this thing? I’m going to go on a limb and guess that out of the millions of people stuck living in Maryland, not a single one has taken the time to do this to honor such a strange flag. Maryland is ugly. Maryland is hell. Maryland is weird.

I hate Maryland.

I think you invest way too much time in hating MD......

[Anonymous]

I feel most of the snootiness I have experienced is located mostly in Montgomery County (I was born and raised in the area). Anywhere else in the state that I have been, the people have been nothing but nice. Of course there are idiots everywhere.

Montgomery County is Maryland, but the rest of the state is NOTHING like here...thank goodness!