Why are liberal areas always so damn expensive. It always seems if

[Waiting For Everyman]

34. I'm in one, in MD - 40 minutes' drive from both D.C. and Baltimore.

I live near a small historic city (5 miles away) in a small town which is beautiful, inexpensive, and near a lot going on. It's 2 miles to an interstate ramp. We have Amtrak to D.C. which is nice too. It's not too bad a drive to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as well. And the beach, the Chesapeake and its rivers, and the mountains (I live at the beginning of the Alleghenys). The Potomac River is 10 miles away. There's lots of park land nearby.

It's beautiful here, and up until recently was predominately a farming area (a lot of them still remain) - nice people, even the conservatives which are in the minority. It's pretty diverse too, I guess the proximity to D.C. as an international city helps there. Good schools, some great universities not far away, and an A+ liberal college "in town".

I recommend it. Born here along with quite a few earlier generations, left and went everywhere else, and returned (for a while I even lived on both coasts at once). I never found anywhere as good, and I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Plus we have Gov. Martin O'Malley, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, all of them tops.