Question for a move to VA or MD

[tmorone]

Gents,

I've got a move to the Washington D.C. area in my future and am trying to decide where exactly to live. As a guy who's got a LOT of money and time invested in firearms (including NFA stuff) the decision is not as easy as I'd like it to be. For what it's worth I'll be working in Maryland, but close to the city and a commute to VA would not be an issue.

A lot of this is based on future worries, than MD laws could be much more hostile to firearm ownership (especially "Assault Weapons" and I could be left in a bad position. It would be awful to buy a home in a state that turned around and burned me with restrictive firearms laws/rules.

MD would be more convenient, but VA seems MUCH more friendly to gun ownership. Is this a pretty easy call to go with VA? Hoping that some of the guys on here that live in the area can provide some good advice based on experience.

Thanks much.

[Tom Servo]

Maryland laws are tough to begin with. Carry permits are pretty much non-issue, and there are significant restrictions on weapon types and magazine capacity. It's an understatement to say Virginia is a better destination.

[Mike Irwin]

I live in Virginia, in Fairfax.

You couldn't pay me enough money to live in Maryland.

[MC 1911]

No comparison,Virginia all the way.

[Theohazard]

I grew up in DC, and I've lived in both MD and VA as a young adult (now I live out west). The traffic in Northern VA is terrible - worse than DC or Maryland, but the gun laws are light years better in Virginia than in DC or Maryland, especially now that Maryland has even further restricted the rights of its residents.

As a gun owner who has finally seen what the laws are like in the free states, I would never, EVER move back to Maryland or DC. If my wife and I ever move back to the DC area I made her promise that we would live in VA.

[csmsss]

Maryland is fabulous for crabcakes, Virginia has reasonable gun laws. Take your pick.

[wogpotter]

Dont rule out West Virginia either. Its not the far side of the moon from DC, depending on where in DC you're going to be working.

Virginia is Way, Way better than MD & I live in MD for now. It may be a tad schitzophrenic in VA on gun friendliness, but MD is 100% anti & getting worse every month.

Some MD laws that migh help you decide.

Reloading is technically illegal in MD if you live in a multi-family dwelliing (fire regs say no flammables including powder.) You need to show a fire marshal from a different county your "Gubermint photo ID" to purchase powder or primers.

The only time its technically legal to transport a firearm outside of your home is to a target shoot (not a range, a shoot), for gunsmithing, or for dog training. (presumably to shewt bad dogs?).

Mag capacity limits of course, but they apply to transfer or sale, not ownership.

There are few ranges & most are private clubs.

Rifles of the "regulated type" which is listed, are legally pistols. Yup, rifles cant be regulated so they defined "assault rifles & weapons" as pistols so they could be regulated. How'd they get away with it? Simple you can unbarel a rifle reciever! How long is the barrel of an unbarreled reciever? zero inches. zero inches is less than rifle barrel length so its (legally) a pistol & so can be regulated.

Any handgun must be "on the roster", the list specifies what you can & cant legally have. Its subject to revision & change.

7-day wait period for regulated arms. Its currently running about 90+ days & the Gov. is not going to change it to get the process back on line. Unlike most states ONLY the MSP can process an instant background check.

Hope that helped a bit with some inside insight.

[raimius]

Commute times (and housing costs) vary quite a bit depending on exactly where you are talking about.

The beltway from 395 over the Wilson bridge is usually pretty quick in the mornings. Taking 395 itself or the GW Parkway get's nasty. The northern part of the beltway near the 270 spur also gets backed up frequently.

What town would you be working in, and where in VA are you looking to live?

[tmorone]

It sounds like Virginia is a pretty clear choice, that’s what I had been thinking but y’all just really confirmed it for me.

I’ll be working in the Camp Springs area near where the 495 and 5 meet. Mostly I’ll look for a place in the Springfield area- as far north as Falls Church and as far south as Lorton… Possibly even west to Fairfax. Alexandria/ Mt. Vernon area would be fantastic, but I think that’s a little rich for my blood.

My experience with the area has shown that traffic runs into DC in the morning and out of it in the evening, which would be pretty much the opposite of my commute. I’m looking to keep the commute under an hour pretty much.

Thanks again guys.

[mehavey]

Virginia....

Maryland is a lot like Massachusetts -- and becoming increasingly so every day -- in a lot more ways that just firearms.

[raimius]

The commute from Van Dorn St. to Camp Springs in the morning averages 60-75MPH on most days. Same for the return trip in the afternoon. (Barring accidents, of course.)

The Landmark area is more reasonably priced and has a lot of apartments and townhomes. The Cameron Station area has some nice townhomes.
Kingstowne has more single-family homes and townhomes. All of those can hit the Van Dorn exit or the Eisenhower connector (although Van Dorn to Kingstown can slow down a bit).

I know one guy who lives up near Tyson's Corner, and he says the traffic is not bad, if you are willing to use the toll lane past Springfield ($1-$2 each way, I think).


If you are military and looking to rent, there are a couple dozen places that offer discounts through one of the housing offices (at Ft. Myer, IIRC).

[Formynder]

Just a couple of things to watch out for in VA, they have a vehicle property tax that I think is handled by the counties. I was surprised by this after I bought my new truck upon moving there. As far as between it or MD though, it's not even close.

[tmorone]

Virginia it is! Appreciate all the advice..

[Special Projects]

Yes, VA all the way. I lived in the NCR for 10 years, DC and VA... never MD and there was an obvious reason.

[Erno86]

As long as you have all the guns you desire to own...I would pick Maryland; though you never can be sure what anti-gun laws might be passed in the future.

As far as I know...their is a lack of outdoor gun ranges on the Potomac River side of Virginia; except for the Quantico Marine Base. If you like to shoot your machine guns...our range --- Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore Inc --- Marriottsville Md.---- has a Maryland Thompson Associated Collector Gun Club, besides 28 other clubs, with our range being located in the northwestern part of Baltimore County, at the junction of Wards Chapel Rd.- Marriottsville Rd, below Liberty Dam. It has a trap range, archery range, indoor air rifle range, shotgun range, 200 yard range, 100 yard range and a 50 yard pistol range. It is not in danger of being closed down, in the near or far future.

Baltimore City...besides having some of the worst crime statistics in the nation...is home of the world famous Inner Harbor, Baltimore Grand Prix, not to mention the Oriole baseball team and the world football champion...Baltimore Ravens. Our state is called: "The Land of Pleasant Living," which is true in a number of ways; including the Chesapeake Bay.

http://associatedgunclubs.org

[mehavey]

....lack of outdoor gun ranges on the Potomac River side of Virginia; except for the Quantico Marine Base....

Huh?

Fairfax Rod & Gun as well as Izaak Walton are both in the Manassas area, and both have superb multi-range rifle/pistol facilities.

[egor20]

Maryland is known as the "Free State", its a misnomer.

My family's lived in Virginia for over a 150 years and I rarely go to Maryland.


As everyone else has mentioned, if your a gun guy move to the "Old Dominion".

[bob.a]

A long list of "assault weapons" have been banned in MD as of the last legislative session; the ban takes effect on Oct 1. If you're not a resident by then, you cannot obtain them, nor can you bring them into the state.

You will be required to be fingerprinted and obtain a license to purchase handguns after Oct 1; sadly, the licensing procedures are not yet in place, and it's more than likely that that is because the governor doesn't want you to buy a handgun. The seven day wait period for purchases prior to Oct 1 has been running over a hundred days; people who purchased guns last April are just getting to pick them up from the dealer.

If you think this is bad, be advised that the next session of the legislature will likely bring more of the same, or worse. Over 4000 2A supporters rallied, over and over again, at the Capitol in Annapolis against these bills, and offered advice and expertise toward making the laws viable against criminals rather than the law-abiding; we were slapped in the face by most of our representatives. Recent gerrymandering assures that the Democratic lock on the state General Assembly will not be loosened in my lifetime.

If you like repression and high taxes, by all means come to Maryland. We need your money, and we'll make you sell your guns.

[tomrkba]

For God's sake...do not move to Maryland under any circumstances. They've just passed a bunch of new gun regulations and several shooting enthusiasts are moving to Virginia as quickly as they can sell their homes.

On the other hand, in Virginia, you can buy just about any firearm you want. You can open carry it or get a concealed carry permit. You can buy Class III weapons and accessories. We have state preemption and a variety of other very good gun laws in the state. No sane gun owner lives in Maryland by choice!

[Navy joe]

PG county has all the criminals, Montgomery county has enough cameras to make George Orwell cry. I still have family near Bethesda but I try to find every other reason to stay out of that mess.

[TDL]

Obviously Va. But before setting on a specific town you absolutely want to do the commute during rush hour.
I came to the capital area from NYC area and the traffic is 10x worse here. Don't buy or rent a place without checking the commute first.

And VA's politics are going inexorably left and you can expect more restrictions over time, but Maryland is a lost case

[osbornk]

+1 on checking the commute. I bought a home there in the 70s and had to face the sun both in the morning and the evening. Getting to work was anything from 40 minutes to half a day, you never knew when you left home.