Anonymous wrote:Western Maryland gets what it deserves for voting Republican.

Is this where we are as Americans? Party over country?

Western Maryland gets what it deserves for voting Republican.

I used to live in the area. Cumberland used to be the 2nd biggest city in Maryland, due to the C&O canal terminus being there, and before there were many highways or routes to Ohio. Hagerstown did well also -- the city's nickname is Hub City because it's where major highways (81, 70) and rail lines converge.

Washington County is just close enough to be a DC exurb, and they are building on that, with lots of logistics centers there, including Amazon and FedEx. Allegany County has it tougher as they're about an hour further up the road and sort of out there. Garrett is a tiny county and spread out -- more people live in one zipcode in Rockville than all of Garrett county.

There is great scenery and state parks in the area, but the cities are indeed a shell of what they used to be, and the opioid epidemic hit hard. I remember taking my kids to the library one afternoon and there would be people crouching in the corner outside shooting up. It's typical rural poverty, so almost all white and lower education levels. I volunteered at the food bank and 90% of the people coming in were white, matching the demographics of the area.

Depending on where you are in Western MD, WV or PA are a few miles away, and it's a pretty similar story there. Some cities have done a better job reviving (Chambersburg and Waynesboro, PA come to mind) while others have not (Martinsburg, WV).

Anonymous wrote:
They could have build more on travel and tourism given Deep Creek, White Water in the Yough and some of the cute villages, but no one at the state office wants to promote it, even since the opening of I-68 in the early 1980's.

They did -- Rocky Gap got one of the first casino licenses in MD and it became a destination. Then (because of a referendum in MD), licenses were given to Arundel Mills near Baltimore and MGM at National Harbor, and they sucked all the business from Rocky Gap. You can see it in the state gaming commission filings since casinos have to report gaming revenue.

Anonymous wrote:I mean, Frederick is growing, but what is it doing for its "natives?"

Lot of people living in the woods or camps because COL has gone too high and they can't afford to live there anymore.

It's disgraceful. I've seen frail elderly people in their 80s working retail because social security just isn't enough. These are people who are naturally frugal. The fault is entirely with the government that has allowed COL to get so high.

Saying Frederick is Western Maryland is like saying Stafford County is Southern Virginia. Moronic post.

This is what happened to Cumberland

A federal, state, and county prison were built in the area to create low skill jobs. Most of tge state prisoners are from Baltimore. Their families followed them to Cumberland.

Maryland legalized marijuana ans enciyraged grow houses and dispensaries which attract drug addicts who can at least get pot if not meth and heroin

Maryland has used it as a dumping ground rather than try to help it

I am from there and still have relatives there who manage to carve out a decent living and life by ignoring what’s around them. The University of Pittsburgh just took over the hospital so health care is a little better.

Of course the people have become insular. When an urban ghetto is dumped in your town and ruined anything decent, you try to preserve yourself.

My relatives had a decent life there and are gutted at what has happened to a fury we loved.

Frederick isn't "western, MD"

They could have build more on travel and tourism given Deep Creek, White Water in the Yough and some of the cute villages, but no one at the state office wants to promote it, even since the opening of I-68 in the early 1980's.

And as a PP noted, a lot of the locals are insular and culturally identify more with Appalachia and Pittsburgh than Baltimore, Annapolis or the Mid-Atlantic.

I mean, Frederick is growing, but what is it doing for its "natives?"

Lot of people living in the woods or camps because COL has gone too high and they can't afford to live there anymore.

It's disgraceful. I've seen frail elderly people in their 80s working retail because social security just isn't enough. These are people who are naturally frugal. The fault is entirely with the government that has allowed COL to get so high.

One of the reddest parts of the state and Larry Hogan did jacksh#t for them. Sad. God, guns, LGB flags, and opioids.

Frostburg, which is a twenty minute drive west of Cumberland and also in Allegany county, is a cute town - I’m the notorious western maryland stripper mom lol (never did strip! Imagine that) - and I couldn’t agree more with the OP. I lived there for four years and came to observe the following: (a) the locals are EXTREMELY insular and wholly distrustful and hostile to outsiders, which is an attitude common to Appalachia generally. (B) During Christmas, I would meet people who’d grown up locally but bolted as soon as they were college aged. Anyone with potential leaves and does not come back - major brain drain. As a result, there’s just not enough of an economic/intellectual base to build upon. Fun stat: 3/4 of Allegany county children qualify for free and reduced lunch.

The fascinating thing about Cumberland is that you think it looks bad but then you cross over into WVa and things somehow look even worse.

They have a university there. Not sure what else the state can do. Maybe promote it as a retirement community? It’s a cute town afterall.

Anonymous wrote:Cumberland looks like something out of a Scooby Doo episode in the 70s. Rundown, boarded up places, high crime and low prospects.

I hear heroin usage is an epidemic out that way.

Cumberland looks so charming when you approach it from a distance. Seeing it up close is an entirely different story.

Cumberland looks like something out of a Scooby Doo episode in the 70s. Rundown, boarded up places, high crime and low prospects.

I hear heroin usage is an epidemic out that way.

I agree. I recently worked answering phones for a statewide helpline and was struck by the limited resources available for residents in the western counties.

We should do more.

Cumberland and alot of Western MD got left behind and looks very run down out there. The State should do more to help them.