Columbia, MD...

[davestar]

...just had another homicide! A previous murder occured at a nearby 7-11 about a month ago. Coincidently, I was mugged about a 1/4 mile from that 7-11 in '04. You might say "that's just a bad neighborhood", but it's in the heart of Columbia, adjacent to a private golf course and $400k-$700k homes.

I think ole' Columbia may slip down the rankings a little bit next year.

(Hi krunchykrome and purbeast0)

 

[purbeast0]

lol @ comment directed towards me

well of course there are going to be some crimes everywhere.

but hey don't look at me, i would never wanna live in columbia, i don't like it up here

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: davestar
...just had another homicide! A previous murder occured at a nearby 7-11 about a month ago. Coincidently, I was mugged about a 1/4 mile from that 7-11 in '04. You might say "that's just a bad neighborhood", but it's in the heart of Columbia, adjacent to a private golf course and $400k-$700k homes.

I think ole' Columbia may slip down the rankings a little bit next year.

(Hi krunchykrome and purbeast0)

son of a........

While more stores, resturaunts, and business parks are being built, the area is just getting too congested and crowded. I really wouldn't be surprised if it went down the list next year, although I still really enjoy living in Columbia.

And Davestar, you know there are bad areas in Columbia, just as there are bad areas in any other city. Columbia's bad areas are Long Reach, Oakland Mills, Owen Brown, and the area near the 7-11 where you were robbed. Thats the thing, a minute away from the bad areas are very nice areas. I believe a few minutes away from the area you were robbed, they're building million dollar condos (near the Columbia Mall.) And seven figure condos already exist in that area as well.

EDIT: Oh sh!t, I read about that murder at the 7-11, but I never read about the description of the victim. I think I knew who the woman was. I would sometimes go to that 7-11 when I would come back from bars or clubs. Was that the european woman with the dyed redish hair? Im not sure if you guys know who Im talking about..

 

[davestar]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: davestar
...just had another homicide! A previous murder occured at a nearby 7-11 about a month ago. Coincidently, I was mugged about a 1/4 mile from that 7-11 in '04. You might say "that's just a bad neighborhood", but it's in the heart of Columbia, adjacent to a private golf course and $400k-$700k homes.

I think ole' Columbia may slip down the rankings a little bit next year.

(Hi krunchykrome and purbeast0)

son of a........

While more stores, resturaunts, and business parks are being built, the area is just getting too congested and crowded. I really wouldn't be surprised if it went down the list next year, although I still really enjoy living in Columbia.

And Davestar, you know there are bad areas in Baltimore, just as there are bad areas in any other city. Baltimore's bad areas are West Baltimore and NE Baltimore. Thats the thing, a minute away from the bad areas are very nice areas. I believe a few minutes away from those crimes, they're building million dollar condos (near the Canton waterfront.) And seven figure condos already exist in that area as well.

i could take everything you just said and apply it to Baltimore as well... in fact, i just did. my gripe with Columbia, though, is that whereas Baltimore has a wide variety of *privately owned* bars and restaurants to appeal to any taste, Columbia is 95% filled with Subways, Quiznos, Olive Gardens, Outbacks, Paneras, etc, etc. there's no personality to Columbia.

OK, said my piece :beer:

EDIT: Oh sh!t, I read about that murder at the 7-11, but I never read about the description of the victim. I think I knew who the woman was. I would sometimes go to that 7-11 when I would come back from bars or clubs. Was that the european woman with the dyed redish hair? Im not sure if you guys know who Im talking about..

actually, when i posted that link, that was the first time i'd read about the identity of the victim as well. i know exactly who that woman was - she worked there all the time when i used to live in the area... and she had a mole thing going on that freaked me out. very sad, though.

 

[shocksyde]

I require all of my friends who visit me in MD to come with me to Sushi Sono in Columbia. Holy hell is it good!

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
I require all of my friends who visit me in MD to come with me to Sushi Sono in Columbia. Holy hell is it good!

We eat there a couple times a month. Best sushi I have ever had in my life anywhere. The only bad thing about that place is the wait. Weekends, you can expect to wait at least an hour for a table. Weekdays are busy as hell too.

 

[Cal166]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: shocksyde
I require all of my friends who visit me in MD to come with me to Sushi Sono in Columbia. Holy hell is it good!

We eat there a couple times a month. Best sushi I have ever had in my life anywhere. The only bad thing about that place is the wait. Weekends, you can expect to wait at least an hour for a table. Weekdays are busy as hell too.

Thanks for the recommendation, Will definitely check it out this next week when I am down in MD.

 

[sumguy1]

This survey is probably lacking in local knowledge and looks only at economic data or something. Columbia has been on a downward slide for a long time. I grew up there and I saw it with my own eyes. It was once a very nice place but more and more its becoming slummier and slummier in the older parts. New development just puts a nice shiny veneer on the surface of what is underneath an aging cesspool.

 

[dbot]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: davestar
...just had another homicide! A previous murder occured at a nearby 7-11 about a month ago. Coincidently, I was mugged about a 1/4 mile from that 7-11 in '04. You might say "that's just a bad neighborhood", but it's in the heart of Columbia, adjacent to a private golf course and $400k-$700k homes.

I think ole' Columbia may slip down the rankings a little bit next year.

(Hi krunchykrome and purbeast0)

son of a........

While more stores, resturaunts, and business parks are being built, the area is just getting too congested and crowded. I really wouldn't be surprised if it went down the list next year, although I still really enjoy living in Columbia.

And Davestar, you know there are bad areas in Columbia, just as there are bad areas in any other city. Columbia's bad areas are Long Reach, Oakland Mills, Owen Brown, and the area near the 7-11 where you were robbed. Thats the thing, a minute away from the bad areas are very nice areas. I believe a few minutes away from the area you were robbed, they're building million dollar condos (near the Columbia Mall.) And seven figure condos already exist in that area as well.

EDIT: Oh sh!t, I read about that murder at the 7-11, but I never read about the description of the victim. I think I knew who the woman was. I would sometimes go to that 7-11 when I would come back from bars or clubs. Was that the european woman with the dyed redish hair? Im not sure if you guys know who Im talking about..

Sometimes I feel like I'm in the Truman Show with you and Columbia, MD.

It's getting way too congested here. It takes 30 minutes to get anywhere around 5.

 

[sumguy1]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

And Davestar, you know there are bad areas in Columbia, just as there are bad areas in any other city. Columbia's bad areas are Long Reach, Oakland Mills, Owen Brown, and the area near the 7-11 where you were robbed. Thats the thing, a minute away from the bad areas are very nice areas. I believe a few minutes away from the area you were robbed, they're building million dollar condos (near the Columbia Mall.) And seven figure condos already exist in that area as well.

Not all those areas you listed were always as bad as they are now. Owen Brown and Long Reach used to be pretty much as good as any other part of Columbia but they went down. And the virus is spreading to more parts of Columbia over time. Oakland Mills has pretty much always been a crap-hole though for as long as I can remember.

I think Columbia is suffering the same problems as nearby neighbors in Montgomery Village over in Montgomery County. . .it's being slowly assaulted and overrun by young hoodlums and thugs, gang activity, crime, and low life scum. People move to places like this out of inner cities to try and escape but they just end up bringing their inner city habbits and mentalities along with them turning the place into exactly what they were trying to escape from. Maybe some day people will learn that people are the problem themselves, not other people.

You know what I blame this on the downfall of? Society!

(And hip-hop/rap)

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: sumguy1
This survey is probably lacking in local knowledge and looks only at economic data or something. Columbia has been on a downward slide for a long time. I grew up there and I saw it with my own eyes. It was once a very nice place but more and more its becoming slummier and slummier in the older parts. New development just puts a nice shiny veneer on the surface of what is underneath an aging cesspool.

Doesn't that happen to all cities?

 

[WT]

I was just at a training center in Columbia last Tuesday .... traffic was crappy, but this is from an admitted country bumpkin, so all in all it was reasonable considering the size of the city.

We ate at the mall food court right beside the training center, so I wandered over to the EB Games store. Once I found out they didn't sell used PC games, I had to ding them one mark down in the survey.

 

[dmw16]

This is unreal. I live in the apartments right down the street from there. Might be time to move...

 

[ys]

Originally posted by: davestar
i could take everything you just said and apply it to Baltimore as well... in fact, i just did. my gripe with Columbia, though, is that whereas Baltimore has a wide variety of *privately owned* bars and restaurants to appeal to any taste, Columbia is 95% filled with Subways, Quiznos, Olive Gardens, Outbacks, Paneras, etc, etc. there's no personality to Columbia.

OK, said my piece :beer:

I miss Last Chance in the Oakland Mills village center.

 

[davestar]

Originally posted by: dmw16
This is unreal. I live in the apartments right down the street from there. Might be time to move...

Avalon at Fairway Hills? my friends and I fled the complex for Canton, Mt. Vernon, and Federal Hill

 

[mcturkey]

Welcome to what those of us on the other side of DC have been dealing with for awhile.

I often wonder about those "best places to live" lists. If they're based merely on property values, then anywhere close enough to DC is going to be high on the list, despite the crime rate, congestion, and ridiculous traffic. Just like northern Virginia. We barely even notice the reports of murders and other crimes on the news that happen regularly, and we've become accustomed to it taking a half hour to drive five or ten miles.

To me, one of the best places to live was where I grew up. It was quiet, the crime rate was very low, there was plenty of space between housing, and rush hour traffic was seeing more than two cars in a one-mile stretch.

 

[bucwylde23]

Originally posted by: WT
I was just at a training center in Columbia last Tuesday .... traffic was crappy, but this is from an admitted country bumpkin, so all in all it was reasonable considering the size of the city.

We ate at the mall food court right beside the training center, so I wandered over to the EB Games store. Once I found out they didn't sell used PC games, I had to ding them one mark down in the survey.

I was training at a building beside the mall about a year and a half ago also.. you weren't getting training from Marconi by any chance?

 

[Wapp]

Originally posted by: mcturkey
Welcome to what those of us on the other side of DC have been dealing with for awhile.

I often wonder about those "best places to live" lists. If they're based merely on property values, then anywhere close enough to DC is going to be high on the list, despite the crime rate, congestion, and ridiculous traffic. Just like northern Virginia. We barely even notice the reports of murders and other crimes on the news that happen regularly, and we've become accustomed to it taking a half hour to drive five or ten miles.

That's why I'm trying to leave NoVa. I'm taking my reserve enlistment bonus and heading South.

 

[UNCjigga]

Wow. I live like 5 miles away from Columbia right now, but I'm moving to DC soon because I fear for my safety.

 

[UNCjigga]

Hey look, both murders you just cited might have been committed by the same guy!

Maybe now that he's in custody the murders will stop?

 

[Jeeebus]

You're all on the wrong side of the river. Falls Church FTW!

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: Jeeebus
You're all on the wrong side of the river. West Falls Church FTW!

Fixed fo sho!

 

[shocksyde]

Were those the first 2 murders of the year? If so, Baltimore is laughing at you .

 

[WT]

you weren't getting training from Marconi by any chance?

Nope, System Source .... 3rd floor, so I assume Marconi might be the second floor. 4th floor is where the free beer and hooker parties are ... thats a nice lunch break if I do say so myself .. probably why the survey rated the area so high as well.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
Were those the first 2 murders of the year? If so, Baltimore is laughing at you .

I think Baltimore is at 120 already this year.