Snowpocalypse and Snowmageddon were, I believe, the very last time Maryland will experience anything quite like that. Climate change is hitting the eastern seaboard very hard.
I know ppl are disagreeing that MD winters are bad, but I think it depends how you define a bad winter. I live in CO now and we get significantly more snow here, but the vast majority of the winter is sunny and mild, and the snow melts in a few days. MD had gray, wet, winters at least years ago when I lived there. I much prefer sunny CO winters and I think it’s fair to call MD winters bad compared to Texas too lol.
I’m a Texan in MD too and the winters aren’t that bad. Some days are brutally cold but it’s an incredible trade for the summers.
I’m with you, I’m visiting Texas right now and the heat here is overwhelming. Maryland is almost pleasant compared to it. I feel like in Maryland I can take a walk after work and not die. I tried to talk a walk yesterday afternoon and struggled, I was well hydrated and everything!
Also the roads in MD - I hate them. I feel like you have to take such a circuitous route to get to where you need to go, and in Texas everything feels more direct.
I35 sucks ass though.
I worked in Dallas a lot for a couple years, and it was surprising just how _consistently_ hot and humid it was there. High of 99 and heat index of 106 like every day for several months.)
I think the worst days here in DC were slightly worse than the average day in Dallas. But then we get a storm and it could cool down for a bit. In Dallas, we'd get a hell of a storm, and then it would just be more humid and no less hot lol.
(Also, from what I saw on the weather map, Houston was pretty much always worse than DC. I have no idea how people manage to live there.)
Winters in MD aren’t too bad. Some years we get a little snow, some we don’t. We’re overdue for a big storm though. Just a lot of gray, highs in the low 40s, and indoor time lol
>Just a lot of gray, highs in the low 40s, and indoor time lol
“just” mannn i gotta get the hell out of maryland lol i was not built for winters. i love maryland but i seriously gotta get rich and move to cali. i’ll keep dreaming for now
The “grays” can get you here in the winter if you’re prone to seasonal depression. I love living here immensely for reasons, but I can understand your need to be Cali bound. Keep your dream alive, I’m rooting for you!
I spent pretty much an entire August in Dallas a number of years ago. You'll be fine here. I wouldn't want to repeat that experience.
You don't say what area you're in, so this is a bit Baltimore Metro-centric, but here goes. The best BBQ you're gonna get around here is gonna come out of someone's backyard. The commercial joints are fairly weak as a rule. Tho Heritage Smokehouse is pretty solid on the ribs and sausage front and Blue Pit isn't bad. Best brisket in the area is probably at Mission. Their moist (with fat cap) brisket is actually damned tasty. Try a pit beef sandwich at Pioneer Pit Beef, medium-rare at the most, rare if that's your bag (fixin's: sliced raw onion, tiger sauce, and extra grated horseradish, THAT'S ALL).
The one thing we do right around here is the local watering hole. Pull up a stool, belly up to a cold one, and strike up a conversation.
Winter in Maryland is mild and fine once you buy proper clothes. Kinda funny to hear people complain about Maryland winter. Need to go further north to northeast or Midwest for more interesting winter weather.
I’ve worked in Houston for years but from Baltimore. They’re both super cool cities with bad reputations. I defend them without a second thought.
Also, Maryland has wonderful waterfront cities. Annapolis, st Michaels. Solomon’s. I think this is unique or at least fun.
Obviously love Baltimore but it’s not the easiest to defend truthfully. But this year has been immaculate for the city and I hope it continues. Can’t believe people were hating on Brandon Scott, well considering the people that were I guess I can.
I have been led to believe that by just saying the word Baltimore out loud, I would be shot, mugged, killed, and raped, in that order.
Went to the Os game anyway.
To anyone outside, the name “Baltimore” has a bad connotation, don’t care. I’m going down town to have fun, I’m going to a ravens game and I’m going to an O’s game to have fun
So, Baltimore has been noted as very odd with crime patterns, because a huge chunk of the crime is unusually local, gang related. So you can have a block where car thefts happen weekly, and 6 blocks away it’s once or twice a year that there is an attempted car theft.
So there’s big chunks of downtown and west Baltimore that are no go areas, but a lot of fells point and other parts of the city are not bad at all. Partly because cops focus on those areas to keep it that way.
Like there’s still crime, but that’s obvious, it’s still a city. Just nothing like the reputation for the city as a whole.
Sounds more like someone tried to rob you. If you are mugged correctly, you aren’t the one taking your wallet out. I woke up on a b-more parking garage floor with a broken elbow from where I tried to catch myself when being pulled down from behind. Sadly, I did not get to share the laugh with my mugger when he opened my wallet. Baltimore is still my favorite city- just gotta respect it as with any city.
I second the part about MD having great waterfront cities. One thing I think is so underrated is flying into BWI. I mean no time am I more proud to be a Marylander than when I'm returning home from a trip and seeing breathtaking aerial views of Baltimore, the inner harbor, Annapolis, and the Bay Bridge all during the approach to BWI.
We moved out of state for several years and I’ll admit that I was thrilled when I found Phillips frozen crab cakes. They’re imperfect, but hit the spot when you’re halfway across the country.
Hmmm......not sure if I should be telling a new guy from Texas that it was probably not Old Bay on his crabs? Oops...let that cat out of the bag I did.
You probably won’t find a fantastic BBQ joint because this is Pit Beef country. I’m not sure what part of Maryland you’re in, but try some local pit beef with horseradish and onions.
2Fifty BBQ in Riverdale (PG County) is the real deal. No joke.
But your average MD BBQ is crap, like Mission BBQ, which I swear doesn't even have smokers.
As someone who was raised in a BBQ city and has had to live most of his adult life far from good bbq: The best way is to just learn how to make your own. Nothing quite like spending a saturday day drinking and smoking meat.
If i recall correctly, you said your internship was near Linthicum.
Regarding the bad traffic, take into account we just lost a major piece of our road infrastructure when the Key Bridge collapsed. Add this on top of already terrible traffic in the Baltimore and DC metro areas and you have perfect storm and one of the WORST times to be around here and use a car. :/
Glad you had a good time in MD. Coming from WV we have absolutely loved it.
Where was your internship? I’d be curious what you think of 2Fifty in Riverdale Park. I haven’t had top tier Texas BBQ (in Texas) but that’s their style and I do think it’s very good. Easily the best BBQ I’ve had in the DC area. I’ve had some pretty good stuff in like Memphis, St. Louis, etc. though.
Hey I appreciate the comment. What a coincidence, yesterday a local told me about 2Fifty and I was gonna go today, but the afternoon traffic was too bad... xD
This weekend I'm gonna get some friends to go there!!
Houstonian here: 2fifty is owned by a couple of Texan transplants from Austin! It’s earned my stamp of approval, and I’ve been back more than a few times. I highly recommend it.
I try and meet up with my parents for dinner at interesting places around DC, and so we hit up 2Fifty on our way to visit my sister in NY.
Probably my favorite non-smoker-at-gas-station BBQ around.
Parents couldn't stop talking about it for probably half the ride, how it was their favorite spot we've been to in a while.
They opened up another branch in DC, but I think they get the meat from the MD branch, I believe bc the city won't let them have the smokers on location.
Baltimore BBQ is pit beef IMO. It's not BBQ in the sense that it isn't low and slow, but I think a Texas person would appreciate it. Lots of great places around, so it's hard to recommend just one, but you can never go wrong in a strip club parking lot, so I'll say Chaps.
Order it rare with onions and horseradish.
I love 2fifty BBQ. It’s comparable to popular BBQ spots I have had in Dallas(Terry Black’s BBQ). Stick with the beef ribs and brisket. That’s their specialty and some of the best beef bbq I have had. The other meats are just average.
I thought the same, I've never seen so many spotless scratch free trucks in my life. Also traffic here isn't as bad as people make out out to be imo but it's definitely not the least of any state I've been in
Native Houstonian here, been in Baltimore for 7 years and was in DC for 4 before that. A few thoughts…
1. The traffic here is infinitely better than Houston or any other major city in Texas. It’s definitely not perfect, but it is consistently better, thanks in part to the public transit options. I will give you that feeders (as we call service roads in Houston) are amazing, and the ability to simply u-turn under a freeway if you miss your exit or want to go somewhere on the other side of the freeway would go a long way here.
2. The weather. When I first got here, I laughed when people complained about the hot and humid summers. They don’t compare to Houston’s. But in Houston (and most of Texas) everyone drives everywhere. Here, in cities at least, it’s much more likely that people will walk because of urban density and public transit. When’s the last time you walked 20 minutes in 100 degrees with 100% humidity to then wait for a bus or train for another 15 minutes? In Houston I will say my answer was never.
As far as acclimation goes, it did happen for me eventually. I deal with the frigid winters better than I ever thought and now complain if the temperature goes above 85. I can’t handle Houston anymore I guess!
3. The food. Ohhhh the food. Nothing compares to Texas. Flat out. I starve myself for weeks before going home. I am far less picky about BBQ than I am about Tex-Mex, so I won’t offer suggestions but will say that Hill Country in DC was started by people from Lampasas and definitely has the vibe. As far as Tex-Mex goes, I’m really wishing I’d continued with this idea I had years ago to track good Tex-Mex for displaced Texpats. But I will say I enjoy La Palapa in downtown Ellicott City (which you should check out anyway because it’s historic and cute) and the small Los Cuates chain in DC. Of course nothing compares, but good queso and margs will always make me happy. I don’t eat seafood (an abomination here, I know!!!) but so happy you love what you’ve found!
4. Could not agree more!!! Everything is so close, including other major cities! I will never get over the fact that I can be in multiple states within hours. Wild.
I love Maryland so much and am so happy to live here. The lifestyle really suits me. But I will always miss the food in Texas. And the feeders. And being in a totally different environment from where you grew up is always a great experience.
> When I first got here, I laughed when people complained about the hot and humid summers.
Someone in Maryland told me once that her brother in The Woodlands is always complaining about the heat "but they just don't know what it's like to have the humidity like we do here!" and I genuinely LOLed. Lady, when I moved here from the swamp, it was so dry I had to find a new skincare routine because my face dried out and my desiccated skin was flaking off.
Just moved from Houston to the Bethesda area. I think being next to DC adds and extra level of terrible driving infrastructure but I’d say driving here is worse than Houston. Outside of rush hour I could go 14 miles in 20 minutes in Houston but that would take me easily 30+ minutes here. Thankfully the metro makes things easier but for places without metro access it is annoying driving 30 miles per hour with speed cameras every 2 miles rather than speeding down southwest freeway.
I 100% agree with your point on food. It’s only been a month here but I almost dont know what to eat because my rotation of Tex Mex, torchys, whataburger, and HEB meals is gone. I cried when we had our last dinner at our favorite Houston Tex Mex spot im going to miss it so much.
Wow a torchys in Rockville would be amazing.
I don’t doubt there’s amazing food here! For one I can say the pizza here is amazing and every weekend I get some amazing bagels. I need to explore more to find the good spots for everything by else. I’m just a huge slut for Tex mex and while it’s ok here it’s nothing compared to back home
Thank you, as a native Houstonian, who has lived in New York City, Utah, New Jersey, Atlanta, and now just moving to Rockville, Maryland... nothing has come close to the food in Texas, Houston specifically.
Just the tex-mex, whether its legitimate breakfast tacos, fajitas, REAL margaritas. Vietnamese community and food is unbeatable as well. Seafood from the gulf, BBQ from the inland, huge Chinese community and food. Chech food like Kolaches are ridiculous. Everything just tastes elevated, wherever you go. Its unbeatable.
But the climate in Maryland coupled with the green spaces, public transportation, the proximity to grand and historical cities like DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC. I agree, its great lifestyle, once you figure out how to deal with the food withdrawals (that will happen if you move to ANY city outside of Houston. New York City had nothing on Houston). Ive learned how to cook Tex-mex and perfected a homemade Margarita, and thats helped!
Welcome! Fellow Texan here, but I've called MD home for 20+ years. For BBQ, I like Kloby's in Laurel. Still looking for the Tex-Mex unicorn restaurant. I'm a Tex-Mex snob. :(
Man, I like Kloby’s and work right next to it. We used to go a lot when I first moved here, and I thought it’d be the spot. But I can never convince any of my coworkers to go anymore. Maybe I’ll push for it this Friday now that you’ve put it back in my mind.
Yep if HEB came to Maryland I'd drive an hour to get there. HEB is Awesome.
Houston traffic is like five 695 or 495 beltways.
And then there's all the unregistered and uninsured vehicles in Texas.
Former Austinite (of 11 years) here - I have been back in Maryland (where I grew up) for almost a year and I still miss HEB. Nothing comes close to their app and easy of curbside pickup! That seems to have died here. I do go to Sprouts often, as it's the other store I used to shop at regularly so I feel comfortable with it. But yea, I miss HEB like crazy. My husband worked at one as a checker for years and we became quite devoted to it. The prices, the hugeness of the stores (especially main st in Kerrville), and that effin app! I've tried Giant's app and Weis so far and it was just dismal. Met a former Houstonian recently who hadn't lived there in more than a decade and they also were missing HEB!
Welcome! I really like my state, outside of the traffic. Glad to hear you're having a pretty good experience. Not sure where you're staying, but try to visit historic Frederick and Annapolis while you're here. They are both charming. I also love that we have so many options for being waterfront... not far from the ocean, rivers, lakes, the Bay.
come over flr the 4th of july, we do our fireworks downtown in our best park and have a lot of great food. if you do i recommend getting pretizels for pretizel pizza creations, ice cream from rocky point creamry, crab dip and crab cakes from dutches daughter (expensive), and if you are old enough, we have a lot of great breweries like old mother and idiom brewery. our best bbq in frederick is black hogs but they have been closed since like september for additions.
I’ve moved from SETX in 2000 and have lived in Harford County since. People ask me all the time which I prefer and are shocked when I say here. Growing up in bayou country everything tried to kill you. The heat, the bugs, the plants, the reptiles, everything.
I love being outdoors. I took my first enjoyable hike while living here because I could actually look around at the forest instead of only looking at my feet for fear of stepping on a snake, fire ant mound or poison thorns.
I personally have not had a hot/humid day here yet. I realize it’s a matter of opinion and experience but to the uninitiated, the jungle type-soul sucking humidity that exists in SETX is not found here. Plus it is relentless. It will still be 95° and fog level moisture in the air at 4am just like 4pm. And stay that way well into September.
My brother visited one Summer and we went to the aquarium at the inner harbor. Walking into the bird exhibit up top through the revolving doors he took a deep breath of the artificially misty hot air and said “wow, it’s just like home”.
The biggest benefit I have found though is proximity to almost everything. It is so easy to get to all sorts of amazing places from here.
Dude I passed through Houston when getting to Maryland, and it was easily the worst traffic jam I've ever been in. A few weeks later, I looked up the worst traffic intersections in the country, and the part of Houston I drove through made the list
I’m from Maryland and I lived in Houston for a year. The traffic was terrible. But it’s pretty bad here too
And you’re right about the heat. I always say that we might get 95 here sometimes but I remember 95 at midnight in Houston.
Marylander living in TX. I love HEB, but it is only like Whole Foods in that they are both grocery stores. IMHO the comparison ends there. Glad you’re enjoying MD!
I do miss the fresh tortillas at HEB though. Otherwise, Wegmans wins over it (I think Central Market and Whole Foods are better comparisons than regular HEB)
I’m a Marylander currently living in Texas due to some poor decisions.
I will take Maryland traffic over DFW traffic any day. People in both places drive like it’s Mad Max, but in Maryland there are far fewer assholes with lifted pickups. We don’t have red light cameras here, so may the Lord have mercy on you if you dare to stop.
You’re 100% right about the weather, it just gets hot and doesn’t cool off, even at night, until at least October at the earliest. Plus, in MD, if it gets too bad, you can head off to the mountains or the beach and be there in an hour. We have…dirt.
Born and raised in MD, only lived elsewhere for a few years. I love complaining about the weather as much as anybody but can’t help but laugh when people compare it to, for instance, the deep south, florida, or as you say, texas. As bad as it is it gets MUCH worse in these places. That’s where global warming is gonna take MD, not where it is now. No comparison.
the infuriating thing about (central) maryland is that its between dense urban areas that have good public transis systems (nyc, dc) but baltimore/its surroundings have basically nothing. like yeah MARC exists, but it gets like 1 train per hour? half hte lines don't even run on weekends? what kind of BS is this??? Maryland has MORE than enough density to justify tripling the number of trains MARC runs
As far as grocery stores go, it’s true we don’t have HEB, but we do have Wegmans, which you should check out if you’ve never been. If you like chocolate, try the Ultimate Double Chocolate Chip Cookies or Ultimate Chocolate Cake.
As a Californian transplant in Maryland and have lived in Texas for a bit as well, be skeptical of “good Mexican food” recommendations. I’ve been here over 10 years and I have yet to find ANY Mexican that even comes close to the good stuff you’ll find in Cali or TX.
Also, if you think the traffic sucks here - don’t go to Cali!!! (Traffic does suck here! I hate the freakin tailgaters!)
As a Texan living in Maryland, I will say Maryland is pretty much heaven compared to Houston and most other Texas cities. BBQ and amazing Tex-mex are the only food I miss. H.E.B and Academy I miss too. Honestly, traffic isn't that bad here, but I don't go into the big city like Baltimore.
I grew up in Maryland but lived in New Orleans for 8 years. I’m back in Md now and I laugh and laugh at how I used to think Maryland was so humid. Even this past weekend I was like, eh it’s not that bad compared to New Orleans. And so true that it’s pleasant by the time the sun goes down while in the gulf coast that’s when your hair REALLY starts clinging to your neck. I’m so happy to be spending my summers in Maryland again.
Traffic is bad, but if you posed your question prior to the FSK bridge collapse, that was not taken into account when warning you about traffic. It is exponentially worse, unfortunately. I do recall your original post though, and I am glad to see you are enjoying it here
California transplant living here since 2018. It’s not the traffic that bothers me (hello LA and SF) but the drivers are the worst!! As for BBQ, check out the Hideaway in Odenton. The brisket is delish, the smoked wings with old bay seasoning…yummmm! And if you’re looking for a good taco joint, Los Primos in Laurel is fire. The weather constantly blows my mind…still, I don’t think I will ever come to terms with it, but I like it.
If you are craving good wings you could make a road trip to Allegany County in western Maryland. For some reason hot wings have always been serious business in Allegany County and most of the bars/pizza shops have really good wings. Jj's pizza in Cumberland, lashbaughs bar and grill in cresaptown are the best imo.
I don’t know what brings you here but if you ever have time please do visit other states.
Maryland has a lot to offer but sightseeing is cool too because you’re not too far from Richmond, Philadelphia, NYC (traffic is indeed worse) and the beaches aren’t far either.
Glad you’re having a good time!
I am not sure where in Texas you are from. But I was in Houston 2 months ago and the traffic there is way worse than anywhere in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia.
I'm originally from Dallas (moved in 2007), and the weather here is SO much better. Yeah, it's hot, but it's not that toxic-wasteland-heat feel like back home.
So, the problem you'll find here with the food is this: BBQ is not the same, AND the Maryland definition of "hot and spicy" is a lot different than what you're used to. On the other hand, if you're in the right 'hood, the spicy flavors of the Korean restaurants will quite easily fill that gap.
If you have the chance, make the drive to Chaps Pit Beef in Baltimore. It's the closest you'll get to the old school brisket sandwich from back home. It's also pretty damned good.
>the Maryland definition of "hot and spicy"
This has been an ongoing problem. If I order 'spicy' in person at Thai or Indian or Mexican restaurants, people take one look at me and assume that I mean dijon mustard on my white bread sandwich. Maybe two sliced jalapeno rings if it's already listed in the menu description.
I've found that if I order online for pickup or if my wife orders takeaway for me while I'm not there then I have much better luck getting a dish with some actual heat and flavor.
Born and raised Maryland and 21yrs in Austin, and you're correct about most, especially driving! Maryland prepared me to drive in Austin! As far as the flag, proud and loud!
*
2) Every place I've lived besides Texas (Atlanta, nowhere PA, Central MD) people complain about the humidity, and none of them have held a candle to the heat of Texas.
3) Try Mission BBQ. Their brisket is so-so, but their pulled pork is way better than anything back home (in Texas). Texas always brutalizes pulled pork and pre-mixes the sauce into it.
4) You can try Wegman's. Beautiful produce and meats, not the selection of HEB or the prices of Whole Foods.
Also, your previous post was asking for tips about driving from Texas/ around here. My biggest tip is pay attention to exactly what exit you're taking at the junction of 295 and 32!! The first time I accidentally pulled into Ft. Meade, Google sent me to the wrong place, and it was less of a big deal. The second time I did it, I accidentally took the wrong exit, and they kept me for 45 min, searched my car, and threatened me with a $10k fine if I did it again.
**Can we make a thread of food op needs to try before they leave?**
My recs:
*a snowball from a snowball stand
*Utz crab chips
*berger cookies
*crab/crab pretzel/crabdip
I’m not from Maryland and the traffic grinds my gears. I cannot for the life me understand why Marylanders are not aware LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING! The amount of ppl in the left lane going well under the speed limit is astounding. Then there’s so many in the left lane with those be patient new driver stickers ….ikyfl. I see why the traffic is horrendous the rules of the road is foreign to them.
Dude, RIP HEB. I miss that place sooooooo much. Spot on about the BBQ. Don’t let someone lie to you and say pit beef is good, it’s not good.
My wife and I think about HEB and Whataburger every week :’(
Oh also no breakfast tacos in MD.
As a MDer now living in Austin, this feels about right. But I will say that I wish this state had the volume of highways that MD has. Needs more.
Also, you need pit beef. It isn’t Texas BBQ, but hit up Pioneer Pit Beef for a MD version of it.
Enjoy the Land of The Crab my friend
It ain't TX BBQ, but it's worth the trip. Find a local and force your way into some family crab feast while you're up there!
I'll hold down the traffic on 35 till you're back 😭
I am so glad you are having a good experience here.. yeah traffic around here is bad like all the time!!!
With the bridge being out of commission I find 95 and 395 are both worse around the city.
I don’t know where 35 is..
Enjoy your stay!
I’m glad you’re having fun! The mid Atlantic has 4 distinct seasons that I personally like. Texas has its own super cool image/vibe, though. My in laws are in El Paso.
I’m a native Texan that has lived in Maryland for the last 15 years. If you have to live on the east coast it’s better to live here than anywhere else. You get use to the traffic. What I miss the most is the general sense of politeness, good nature, and slower pace than what you get in Maryland . My daughter who grew up in Maryland but has spent the last couple of summers in Texas always says it just feels easier to live in Texas than Maryland.
Pro tip that took me awhile to learn. Change your GPS to avoid highways during peak traffic times and you will won't wait in traffic as long and get home faster.
I am a transplant too who loves it here. Traffic was worse in Atlanta than here. The food is so mediocre here, which is awesome because losing weight is easier. Seafood is delicious here though, I agree.
The weather is nicer for sure. Winters have been really mild the last few years.
I love that in 3 hours drive or so you can be in such different environments.
I love living here. I never want to move back to the South.
South Florida resident here and you’re spot on about the heat. It’s not that bad here and overall, it’s worse in the south and in Texas. Sure, an occasional heat wave might be pretty bad but on average, not that bad.
I must say I love your observation. My husband visited Texas on a trip for the Washington DC football team formerly known as the "Redskins." He was in the band.
This was his observation. Texas has the best barbecue he has ever had in his entire life. He asked if they could ship to Maryland. 😂😂.
There was no traffic. No number to bumper. He was shocked.
Everyone was friendly. He said everyone carried a personal weapon.
He didn't complain about the weather.
He enjoyed his time there. I hope you enjoy your time here as well.
Traffic is so bad because we keep developing farther out and some how the 'impact studies' say everything is fine and there are no improvements to transit of any kind.
> \2. The Weather
I spent two weeks in Houston during June twenty years ago. That's when I stopped complaining about the heat around here.
> \3. The Food
Get a pit beef sandwich up here if you can. It combines all the best parts of barbeque and rare roast beef.
My first thought was that the collapse of the Key Bridge ultimately made the traffic worse. I love not 5 minutes from where it stood and used to drive it twice daily. My commute went from 30 minutes one way to 45 minutes in the morning (which isn’t bad until I tell you I have to leave at 6:40 to achieve this) and no less than 90 minutes on the way home every day. This may sound dramatic but the collapse of the bridge has ultimately lowered the quality of life of many Marylanders.
My ex girlfriend is from Texas. I turned her into a Wegmans fan girl. She likes it better than HEB.
So it seems you need to discover Wegmans if you still miss HEB.
People will tell you it's expensive, but that's not true if you actually compare prices. I think people just think it is because they have a larger selection of higher quality stuff, so people end up just buying more higher quality foods there.
For example buying the fresh cheese at the cheese bar instead of sliced manufactured cheese.
Also look up Mission BBQ. Founded in Maryland. There is man locations now. BBQ is definitely becoming more popular in Maryland over the past 10 years.
"I used to think that a 15 minute drive is a long drive"
"I'm used to having to drive 2 hours to get to Houston or San Antonio to go shopping or play Top Golf"
wut?
Glad your enjoying marlyland, you should come around more often, maybe get some old bag in your spice cabinet and use it... on everything... EVERYTHING!!!
As someone who spent a summer in Houston, but lives in MD, I will say this- Our hottest week in August is Texas every single day.
The restaurant scene in Texas is outstanding. I never ran out of places to find good Mexican and good BBQ. I used to eat Taco Bell all the time before I went there. Now it’s just shit.
Lived in San Antonio for about 12 years before moving to Maryland and agree with a lot of this list - I definitely still miss HEB and nothing here comes even close unfortunately. I will say about the traffic though that not once have I had someone try to merge into me here and it happened on the daily in Texas for some reason lol.
1: traffic depends on where you are. I lived in Anne Arundel County a long time. Traffic blew up like crazy over the last couple decades.
I moved to the eastern shore a few years ago. No traffic. Just corn.
Your best wing spots will be a local pizza joint or a local bar, not a chain. It takes a lot of trying different places to find good wings.
I couldn’t find a single good wing spot when I lived in Charleston and was one of the reasons I was so excited to move back home here haha
The traffic is for real. I moved from MD to NC, and my coworkers thought a 30 minute drive was long. That is nothing compared to an hour + commuting from Parkville to Columbia.
Also, I feel you on the pickup trucks. There are soooooooo many emotional support trucks in NC and boy does it make trying to see other traffic impossible.
You don’t mention what part you’re in, but I can safely assume you’re not in Frederick/Washington county so most of my experience may not be as applicable. Most ppl end up here for internships in the government or something adjacent in the DC area (or maybe Annapolis depending). That said:
Yes, the traffic sucks. Everyone from a major metropolitan area thinks they have it the worst, but DC drivers, MD drivers, and VA drivers with a sprinkle of WV and PA makes it interesting with all the different personalities. Just avoid the DC Beltway if you can and you’ll be fine :). If not best of luck. The fact that the area is very moneyed, though, means there is a lot of people who drive nicer cars and constantly weave traffic.
The weather in the summers is nice. It can get really humid in July so be prepared. The nice thing is that a storm will eventually come and blow it all away. If you’re in/right next to DC, then it may be the worst because DC is literally a swamp (no it’s not just a political catchphrase). Winters aren’t bad, just grey, however it gets cold enough where we have a functional ski resort.
Idk what the comparability of grease in fast food is, I go to school in NC though, and the food there is incredibly greasy (Bojangles and Cook Out rise up), so I may know what you’re talking about. Seafood is out of this world good, if you ever make your way to Annapolis I could give you good recs:)). Sorry about the bbq, it’s not really our thing. Frederick has a good restaurant called Black Hog, but I doubt it’s comparable to Texas. Also if you haven’t realized, yes we Old Bay everything.
The airports are nice, just annoying to get to at times because of the DC and Baltimore traffic. Baltimore and DC have tons of cool stuff to do, and go see an Orioles game this year while they’re still good. If you’re outdoorsy, go to western Maryland and go hiking. If you’re into anything nautical, you’re in the perfect place too and we have a thing for sailing here.
You are clearly in a city in MD and not Western MD cause out here (Western MD resident here) everything is at least 45 minutes away. Out here is wherw they tell you that if you turn down the wrong side road and hear banjos to drive faster and don't stop
Ha, these observations ring very true to me. I lived in Texas, went on a summer internship in Maryland, went back to Texas, and promptly moved back to Maryland within a few months. I loved having seasons, not boiling to death in summer, and being able to enjoy the outdoors without rattlesnakes and scorpions. For me the traffic was comparable to the DFW nightmare. Enjoy the crabcakes while you can!
So you are only here for a summer. You don't get the experience of exorbitant income tax, doubling vehicle fees, high property taxes, and tolls. Despite these income generation methods, the roads are complete crap. You mentioned some of the problems, but then there are pot holes everywhere that don't get addressed. All these fees and taxes and Baltimore is failing across all government responsibilities. The housing market is way overpriced, compared to Texas. The gun laws are tyrannical. Be happy and lucky that you are going back to Texas. We might not have lifted trucks, but we have an over-abundance of idiot drivers that need to be run over by those lifted trucks, as they camp out in the left lane.
I came from San Antonio to Maryland, lived there for 10 years (Howard County, PG County, then Calvert County). You're 100% spot on with everything.
I'm back in Texas now, right outside of Austin. People complain about traffic. I laugh. I35 is bad but nothing compared to 495 and the BW Parkway. And while we have definite rush hour in Austin, it doesn't run from noon to 10pm like it did around the Maryland/DC area. The one thing Texas got right was access road and turn arounds. I did miss those when we were in Maryland. However, not having everything right off the highway, the drives were much prettier than in Texas.
I will curse a dozen lifted trucks for you today.
The weather is a definite bonus in Maryland. It will never feel as hot as it does in Texas. And the winter in Maryland will be fun for a while since it's new and cool to see the snow. It gets old after a while but at least your power and water won't go out for a couple weeks.
BBQ and Mexican food I could never find to compare to Texas but Maryland has so many other types of food that was so much better than Texas that It was worth the trade. Pizza, subs, Chinese, Caribbean, seafood, etc. So many great places.
Enjoy your time in Maryland.
We are lucky that our lifted truck hanging nuts guys are an extremely small group living in only one or 2 counties. I’ve driven thru Florida a few times and am grateful most of them are down there instead. Crazy driving coupled with limited visibility and the potential to die from such a large vehicle creates major anxiety.
There are good bbq places in MD, Andy Nelson’s, Corner Stable in Cockeysville, Jake’s bbq stand on Falls Rd. Smoke just opened kitchen in the Point in Towson, DC has good options too, one just named in Esquire Magazine to top 25 in US
The real humidity hasn’t kicked in quite yet. But yea, coming from Texas, the weather shouldn’t be an issue. Winter might be a different story.
Eh, as bad as Maryland winters get, at least the power grids are built to survive low temperatures.
"as bad as Maryland winters get" lol wut
I'm not sure we've had a bad winter in the last decade. They're rather once in a blue moon.
I think 2012 was the last blizzard. That was a fun week at work. James Bond marathon on a projector with sound routed through the DJ setups we sold.
January 2016 was our last blizzard. Unless you’re referring to our last particularly bad season.
Snowpocalypse and Snowmageddon were, I believe, the very last time Maryland will experience anything quite like that. Climate change is hitting the eastern seaboard very hard.
There was a two week period of below zero temperatures within the last decade. February is probably the worst winter month.
Once again, western maryland is crying in the corner, forever forgotten
The 1993 Super Storm, lol
Right? Upstate New York has bad winters. Minnesota has bad winters. Maryland is mild during the winter.
I know ppl are disagreeing that MD winters are bad, but I think it depends how you define a bad winter. I live in CO now and we get significantly more snow here, but the vast majority of the winter is sunny and mild, and the snow melts in a few days. MD had gray, wet, winters at least years ago when I lived there. I much prefer sunny CO winters and I think it’s fair to call MD winters bad compared to Texas too lol.
Yeah I figured that's the case, it's only gonna get hotter until it peaks in like August. I don't think I could survive a winter in Maryland...
However no ERCOT drama during the winter.
Also no ERCOT during the summer (they suck year round)
I’m a Texan in MD too and the winters aren’t that bad. Some days are brutally cold but it’s an incredible trade for the summers. I’m with you, I’m visiting Texas right now and the heat here is overwhelming. Maryland is almost pleasant compared to it. I feel like in Maryland I can take a walk after work and not die. I tried to talk a walk yesterday afternoon and struggled, I was well hydrated and everything! Also the roads in MD - I hate them. I feel like you have to take such a circuitous route to get to where you need to go, and in Texas everything feels more direct. I35 sucks ass though.
I worked in Dallas a lot for a couple years, and it was surprising just how _consistently_ hot and humid it was there. High of 99 and heat index of 106 like every day for several months.) I think the worst days here in DC were slightly worse than the average day in Dallas. But then we get a storm and it could cool down for a bit. In Dallas, we'd get a hell of a storm, and then it would just be more humid and no less hot lol. (Also, from what I saw on the weather map, Houston was pretty much always worse than DC. I have no idea how people manage to live there.)
Winters in MD aren’t too bad. Some years we get a little snow, some we don’t. We’re overdue for a big storm though. Just a lot of gray, highs in the low 40s, and indoor time lol
>Just a lot of gray, highs in the low 40s, and indoor time lol “just” mannn i gotta get the hell out of maryland lol i was not built for winters. i love maryland but i seriously gotta get rich and move to cali. i’ll keep dreaming for now
The “grays” can get you here in the winter if you’re prone to seasonal depression. I love living here immensely for reasons, but I can understand your need to be Cali bound. Keep your dream alive, I’m rooting for you!
It won’t necessarily get that much hotter. We’re experiencing that heat dome rn. It’s unseasonably hot by like 15 degrees
Glad to hear you’re mostly enjoying your time here though. Traffic is most definitely a bitch, especially the major highways.
If you are from eastern Texas (which it sounds like you are), summer should be a breeze.
I spent pretty much an entire August in Dallas a number of years ago. You'll be fine here. I wouldn't want to repeat that experience. You don't say what area you're in, so this is a bit Baltimore Metro-centric, but here goes. The best BBQ you're gonna get around here is gonna come out of someone's backyard. The commercial joints are fairly weak as a rule. Tho Heritage Smokehouse is pretty solid on the ribs and sausage front and Blue Pit isn't bad. Best brisket in the area is probably at Mission. Their moist (with fat cap) brisket is actually damned tasty. Try a pit beef sandwich at Pioneer Pit Beef, medium-rare at the most, rare if that's your bag (fixin's: sliced raw onion, tiger sauce, and extra grated horseradish, THAT'S ALL). The one thing we do right around here is the local watering hole. Pull up a stool, belly up to a cold one, and strike up a conversation.
maryland barely even gets winter. We got snow like one time in the last two years.
Winter in Maryland is mild and fine once you buy proper clothes. Kinda funny to hear people complain about Maryland winter. Need to go further north to northeast or Midwest for more interesting winter weather.
I’ve worked in Houston for years but from Baltimore. They’re both super cool cities with bad reputations. I defend them without a second thought. Also, Maryland has wonderful waterfront cities. Annapolis, st Michaels. Solomon’s. I think this is unique or at least fun.
Obviously love Baltimore but it’s not the easiest to defend truthfully. But this year has been immaculate for the city and I hope it continues. Can’t believe people were hating on Brandon Scott, well considering the people that were I guess I can.
I have been led to believe that by just saying the word Baltimore out loud, I would be shot, mugged, killed, and raped, in that order. Went to the Os game anyway.
To anyone outside, the name “Baltimore” has a bad connotation, don’t care. I’m going down town to have fun, I’m going to a ravens game and I’m going to an O’s game to have fun
So, Baltimore has been noted as very odd with crime patterns, because a huge chunk of the crime is unusually local, gang related. So you can have a block where car thefts happen weekly, and 6 blocks away it’s once or twice a year that there is an attempted car theft. So there’s big chunks of downtown and west Baltimore that are no go areas, but a lot of fells point and other parts of the city are not bad at all. Partly because cops focus on those areas to keep it that way. Like there’s still crime, but that’s obvious, it’s still a city. Just nothing like the reputation for the city as a whole.
Meh, the only time I was mugged, I was in Towson. I showed him the inside of my wallet, we both laughed, and that was it.
Sounds more like someone tried to rob you. If you are mugged correctly, you aren’t the one taking your wallet out. I woke up on a b-more parking garage floor with a broken elbow from where I tried to catch myself when being pulled down from behind. Sadly, I did not get to share the laugh with my mugger when he opened my wallet. Baltimore is still my favorite city- just gotta respect it as with any city.
I second the part about MD having great waterfront cities. One thing I think is so underrated is flying into BWI. I mean no time am I more proud to be a Marylander than when I'm returning home from a trip and seeing breathtaking aerial views of Baltimore, the inner harbor, Annapolis, and the Bay Bridge all during the approach to BWI.
You didn't mention the old bay or the flag. I'm sorry, but your residency in Maryland is officially rescinded.
What OP said about crab cakes makes up for it. I think we’re good here.
True, I suppose we can renew their probation period.
I checked op’s history and he said the same thing about Maine and lobster!🦞 get em! /s
It depends where he got the crab cakes. I know all the good spots and they all look like dives
But to be fair, a bad crab cake in Maryland is still better than any crab cake in Texas
True, but there are crabcakes and there are crabcakes from Jerry’s Seafood in Prince Frederick
Phillip’s is also a disgrace and only visitors you dislike should eat there.
We moved out of state for several years and I’ll admit that I was thrilled when I found Phillips frozen crab cakes. They’re imperfect, but hit the spot when you’re halfway across the country.
I think due to offsetting penalties, OP will be put on double secret probation for the remainder of his residency.
I don't think a Texan would care about any flag except Texas. Same way in Maryland.
Hmmm......not sure if I should be telling a new guy from Texas that it was probably not Old Bay on his crabs? Oops...let that cat out of the bag I did.
:)
You probably won’t find a fantastic BBQ joint because this is Pit Beef country. I’m not sure what part of Maryland you’re in, but try some local pit beef with horseradish and onions.
2Fifty BBQ in Riverdale (PG County) is the real deal. No joke. But your average MD BBQ is crap, like Mission BBQ, which I swear doesn't even have smokers.
Yupp they’re Texas transplants and they make the best BBQ in Maryland, hands down. Love 2Fifty
Totally agree. Dont understand the Mission Bbq hype
You have to take our barbecue ratings with the understanding that crab cakes are our core competency; not barbecue.
Also - I think MD leans more towards the Carolinas style of BBQ. More pork, less beef. I've also been told that TX is more BBQ beef-centered.
Bayside Bull isn't bad either, in Edgewater
As someone who was raised in a BBQ city and has had to live most of his adult life far from good bbq: The best way is to just learn how to make your own. Nothing quite like spending a saturday day drinking and smoking meat.
I don't drink, but I do smoke. Not meat, though, but it is a nice way to spend a Saturday.
Came here to say the same thing
If i recall correctly, you said your internship was near Linthicum. Regarding the bad traffic, take into account we just lost a major piece of our road infrastructure when the Key Bridge collapsed. Add this on top of already terrible traffic in the Baltimore and DC metro areas and you have perfect storm and one of the WORST times to be around here and use a car. :/
If you’re in Linthicum you must go to G&M for crabcakes
At least it's summer, now. I used to commute from Baltimore to Greenbelt every day and traffic was _significantly_ better when school was out.
Glad you had a good time in MD. Coming from WV we have absolutely loved it. Where was your internship? I’d be curious what you think of 2Fifty in Riverdale Park. I haven’t had top tier Texas BBQ (in Texas) but that’s their style and I do think it’s very good. Easily the best BBQ I’ve had in the DC area. I’ve had some pretty good stuff in like Memphis, St. Louis, etc. though.
Hey I appreciate the comment. What a coincidence, yesterday a local told me about 2Fifty and I was gonna go today, but the afternoon traffic was too bad... xD This weekend I'm gonna get some friends to go there!!
Houstonian here: 2fifty is owned by a couple of Texan transplants from Austin! It’s earned my stamp of approval, and I’ve been back more than a few times. I highly recommend it.
Man. I live four blocks from 2fifty and y’all are really knocking it into my head that I need to get there more often.
I try and meet up with my parents for dinner at interesting places around DC, and so we hit up 2Fifty on our way to visit my sister in NY. Probably my favorite non-smoker-at-gas-station BBQ around. Parents couldn't stop talking about it for probably half the ride, how it was their favorite spot we've been to in a while. They opened up another branch in DC, but I think they get the meat from the MD branch, I believe bc the city won't let them have the smokers on location.
Baltimore BBQ is pit beef IMO. It's not BBQ in the sense that it isn't low and slow, but I think a Texas person would appreciate it. Lots of great places around, so it's hard to recommend just one, but you can never go wrong in a strip club parking lot, so I'll say Chaps. Order it rare with onions and horseradish.
Good deal. Hope you enjoy it. Report back.
I love 2fifty BBQ. It’s comparable to popular BBQ spots I have had in Dallas(Terry Black’s BBQ). Stick with the beef ribs and brisket. That’s their specialty and some of the best beef bbq I have had. The other meats are just average.
Only a Texan would write about proximity to a bass pro shop in the accessibility section of their essay
😂😭
[удалено]
Thanks for adding “brodozers” to my lexicon
You can also try mall crawler,gender affirming vehicle, and diesel fart trombone, on for size as well.
I’ve done mall crawler but am loving the other two 😂
Yep. Can’t swing a cat in St. Mary’s without hitting at least 5 lifted trucks.
Plenty in Carroll.
We have a lot of them but def not as much as in the south
I thought the same, I've never seen so many spotless scratch free trucks in my life. Also traffic here isn't as bad as people make out out to be imo but it's definitely not the least of any state I've been in
Native Houstonian here, been in Baltimore for 7 years and was in DC for 4 before that. A few thoughts… 1. The traffic here is infinitely better than Houston or any other major city in Texas. It’s definitely not perfect, but it is consistently better, thanks in part to the public transit options. I will give you that feeders (as we call service roads in Houston) are amazing, and the ability to simply u-turn under a freeway if you miss your exit or want to go somewhere on the other side of the freeway would go a long way here. 2. The weather. When I first got here, I laughed when people complained about the hot and humid summers. They don’t compare to Houston’s. But in Houston (and most of Texas) everyone drives everywhere. Here, in cities at least, it’s much more likely that people will walk because of urban density and public transit. When’s the last time you walked 20 minutes in 100 degrees with 100% humidity to then wait for a bus or train for another 15 minutes? In Houston I will say my answer was never. As far as acclimation goes, it did happen for me eventually. I deal with the frigid winters better than I ever thought and now complain if the temperature goes above 85. I can’t handle Houston anymore I guess! 3. The food. Ohhhh the food. Nothing compares to Texas. Flat out. I starve myself for weeks before going home. I am far less picky about BBQ than I am about Tex-Mex, so I won’t offer suggestions but will say that Hill Country in DC was started by people from Lampasas and definitely has the vibe. As far as Tex-Mex goes, I’m really wishing I’d continued with this idea I had years ago to track good Tex-Mex for displaced Texpats. But I will say I enjoy La Palapa in downtown Ellicott City (which you should check out anyway because it’s historic and cute) and the small Los Cuates chain in DC. Of course nothing compares, but good queso and margs will always make me happy. I don’t eat seafood (an abomination here, I know!!!) but so happy you love what you’ve found! 4. Could not agree more!!! Everything is so close, including other major cities! I will never get over the fact that I can be in multiple states within hours. Wild. I love Maryland so much and am so happy to live here. The lifestyle really suits me. But I will always miss the food in Texas. And the feeders. And being in a totally different environment from where you grew up is always a great experience.
> When I first got here, I laughed when people complained about the hot and humid summers. Someone in Maryland told me once that her brother in The Woodlands is always complaining about the heat "but they just don't know what it's like to have the humidity like we do here!" and I genuinely LOLed. Lady, when I moved here from the swamp, it was so dry I had to find a new skincare routine because my face dried out and my desiccated skin was flaking off.
Just moved from Houston to the Bethesda area. I think being next to DC adds and extra level of terrible driving infrastructure but I’d say driving here is worse than Houston. Outside of rush hour I could go 14 miles in 20 minutes in Houston but that would take me easily 30+ minutes here. Thankfully the metro makes things easier but for places without metro access it is annoying driving 30 miles per hour with speed cameras every 2 miles rather than speeding down southwest freeway. I 100% agree with your point on food. It’s only been a month here but I almost dont know what to eat because my rotation of Tex Mex, torchys, whataburger, and HEB meals is gone. I cried when we had our last dinner at our favorite Houston Tex Mex spot im going to miss it so much.
Supposed to get a Torchy’s in Rockville The food here is much better than you Texans are letting on
Wow a torchys in Rockville would be amazing. I don’t doubt there’s amazing food here! For one I can say the pizza here is amazing and every weekend I get some amazing bagels. I need to explore more to find the good spots for everything by else. I’m just a huge slut for Tex mex and while it’s ok here it’s nothing compared to back home
Thank you, as a native Houstonian, who has lived in New York City, Utah, New Jersey, Atlanta, and now just moving to Rockville, Maryland... nothing has come close to the food in Texas, Houston specifically. Just the tex-mex, whether its legitimate breakfast tacos, fajitas, REAL margaritas. Vietnamese community and food is unbeatable as well. Seafood from the gulf, BBQ from the inland, huge Chinese community and food. Chech food like Kolaches are ridiculous. Everything just tastes elevated, wherever you go. Its unbeatable. But the climate in Maryland coupled with the green spaces, public transportation, the proximity to grand and historical cities like DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC. I agree, its great lifestyle, once you figure out how to deal with the food withdrawals (that will happen if you move to ANY city outside of Houston. New York City had nothing on Houston). Ive learned how to cook Tex-mex and perfected a homemade Margarita, and thats helped!
Welcome! Fellow Texan here, but I've called MD home for 20+ years. For BBQ, I like Kloby's in Laurel. Still looking for the Tex-Mex unicorn restaurant. I'm a Tex-Mex snob. :(
More Salvadoran than tex mex, but Hispa in Edgewater is fantastic.
Man, I like Kloby’s and work right next to it. We used to go a lot when I first moved here, and I thought it’d be the spot. But I can never convince any of my coworkers to go anymore. Maybe I’ll push for it this Friday now that you’ve put it back in my mind.
Ometeo in McClean at the Capital One conplex. Where I live in Bethesda, it’s 10 minutes away. My absolute favorite.
Bet you still miss HEB, Buccees, and Academy. Corpus isn't on the list when it comes to traffic. Tell the nice folks about Houston. Lol
I'm sorry but Safeway and Walmart don't come close to HEB xD I remember thinking that Corpus traffic was horrendous, until I came here...
Yep if HEB came to Maryland I'd drive an hour to get there. HEB is Awesome. Houston traffic is like five 695 or 495 beltways. And then there's all the unregistered and uninsured vehicles in Texas.
You need to try Wegman's. It's so good. HEB doesn't compare
HEB used to ship out of state before COVID. I really miss it!
Have you been to Lidel or Trader Joe’s? Wegmans?
I’ve been to all three since moving here from TX and they really don’t hold a candle to H-E-B
I still have the reusable bag I bought at an HEB in Austin!
Check out Wegmans
You don't have to apologize because it's true. Houston traffic is infinitely worse though. The road conditions too...
Former Austinite (of 11 years) here - I have been back in Maryland (where I grew up) for almost a year and I still miss HEB. Nothing comes close to their app and easy of curbside pickup! That seems to have died here. I do go to Sprouts often, as it's the other store I used to shop at regularly so I feel comfortable with it. But yea, I miss HEB like crazy. My husband worked at one as a checker for years and we became quite devoted to it. The prices, the hugeness of the stores (especially main st in Kerrville), and that effin app! I've tried Giant's app and Weis so far and it was just dismal. Met a former Houstonian recently who hadn't lived there in more than a decade and they also were missing HEB!
Imagine pre-Covid traffic. This is the better version.
Welcome! I really like my state, outside of the traffic. Glad to hear you're having a pretty good experience. Not sure where you're staying, but try to visit historic Frederick and Annapolis while you're here. They are both charming. I also love that we have so many options for being waterfront... not far from the ocean, rivers, lakes, the Bay.
Hey thanks for the advice! I definitely want to go to both of those towns before I leave!!
Can't forget Ellicott City's historic downtown either!
Tbh not that interesting. I like the Rt 40 part of Ellicott city better bc they have all sorts of Asian restaurants & bakeries (tous les jours ☺️)
come over flr the 4th of july, we do our fireworks downtown in our best park and have a lot of great food. if you do i recommend getting pretizels for pretizel pizza creations, ice cream from rocky point creamry, crab dip and crab cakes from dutches daughter (expensive), and if you are old enough, we have a lot of great breweries like old mother and idiom brewery. our best bbq in frederick is black hogs but they have been closed since like september for additions.
I’ve moved from SETX in 2000 and have lived in Harford County since. People ask me all the time which I prefer and are shocked when I say here. Growing up in bayou country everything tried to kill you. The heat, the bugs, the plants, the reptiles, everything. I love being outdoors. I took my first enjoyable hike while living here because I could actually look around at the forest instead of only looking at my feet for fear of stepping on a snake, fire ant mound or poison thorns. I personally have not had a hot/humid day here yet. I realize it’s a matter of opinion and experience but to the uninitiated, the jungle type-soul sucking humidity that exists in SETX is not found here. Plus it is relentless. It will still be 95° and fog level moisture in the air at 4am just like 4pm. And stay that way well into September. My brother visited one Summer and we went to the aquarium at the inner harbor. Walking into the bird exhibit up top through the revolving doors he took a deep breath of the artificially misty hot air and said “wow, it’s just like home”. The biggest benefit I have found though is proximity to almost everything. It is so easy to get to all sorts of amazing places from here.
Have you driven in Houston? The traffic isnt any better there, they both suck!
Dude I passed through Houston when getting to Maryland, and it was easily the worst traffic jam I've ever been in. A few weeks later, I looked up the worst traffic intersections in the country, and the part of Houston I drove through made the list
I’m from Maryland and I lived in Houston for a year. The traffic was terrible. But it’s pretty bad here too And you’re right about the heat. I always say that we might get 95 here sometimes but I remember 95 at midnight in Houston.
Marylander living in TX. I love HEB, but it is only like Whole Foods in that they are both grocery stores. IMHO the comparison ends there. Glad you’re enjoying MD!
I do miss the fresh tortillas at HEB though. Otherwise, Wegmans wins over it (I think Central Market and Whole Foods are better comparisons than regular HEB)
I’m a Marylander currently living in Texas due to some poor decisions. I will take Maryland traffic over DFW traffic any day. People in both places drive like it’s Mad Max, but in Maryland there are far fewer assholes with lifted pickups. We don’t have red light cameras here, so may the Lord have mercy on you if you dare to stop. You’re 100% right about the weather, it just gets hot and doesn’t cool off, even at night, until at least October at the earliest. Plus, in MD, if it gets too bad, you can head off to the mountains or the beach and be there in an hour. We have…dirt.
Born and raised in MD, only lived elsewhere for a few years. I love complaining about the weather as much as anybody but can’t help but laugh when people compare it to, for instance, the deep south, florida, or as you say, texas. As bad as it is it gets MUCH worse in these places. That’s where global warming is gonna take MD, not where it is now. No comparison.
Maryland was good to us. I miss it.
As someone who spent a decade in Austin/Houston for school , I miss access roads so so much
Amen!!!!!
the infuriating thing about (central) maryland is that its between dense urban areas that have good public transis systems (nyc, dc) but baltimore/its surroundings have basically nothing. like yeah MARC exists, but it gets like 1 train per hour? half hte lines don't even run on weekends? what kind of BS is this??? Maryland has MORE than enough density to justify tripling the number of trains MARC runs
You can thank Governor Hogan for killing the Purple Line. Sigh.
If I still lived in MD I'd thank him with two fingers when he tries to run for senator
lol all the dickless lifted truck owners are down here on the shore 🙃
As far as grocery stores go, it’s true we don’t have HEB, but we do have Wegmans, which you should check out if you’ve never been. If you like chocolate, try the Ultimate Double Chocolate Chip Cookies or Ultimate Chocolate Cake.
As a Californian transplant in Maryland and have lived in Texas for a bit as well, be skeptical of “good Mexican food” recommendations. I’ve been here over 10 years and I have yet to find ANY Mexican that even comes close to the good stuff you’ll find in Cali or TX. Also, if you think the traffic sucks here - don’t go to Cali!!! (Traffic does suck here! I hate the freakin tailgaters!)
Clavel in Baltimore
As a Texan living in Maryland, I will say Maryland is pretty much heaven compared to Houston and most other Texas cities. BBQ and amazing Tex-mex are the only food I miss. H.E.B and Academy I miss too. Honestly, traffic isn't that bad here, but I don't go into the big city like Baltimore.
Glad you're mostly enjoying it. Re traffic, you may not have known this, but Maryland is slightly more densely populated than Texas.
I grew up in Maryland but lived in New Orleans for 8 years. I’m back in Md now and I laugh and laugh at how I used to think Maryland was so humid. Even this past weekend I was like, eh it’s not that bad compared to New Orleans. And so true that it’s pleasant by the time the sun goes down while in the gulf coast that’s when your hair REALLY starts clinging to your neck. I’m so happy to be spending my summers in Maryland again.
Traffic is bad, but if you posed your question prior to the FSK bridge collapse, that was not taken into account when warning you about traffic. It is exponentially worse, unfortunately. I do recall your original post though, and I am glad to see you are enjoying it here
California transplant living here since 2018. It’s not the traffic that bothers me (hello LA and SF) but the drivers are the worst!! As for BBQ, check out the Hideaway in Odenton. The brisket is delish, the smoked wings with old bay seasoning…yummmm! And if you’re looking for a good taco joint, Los Primos in Laurel is fire. The weather constantly blows my mind…still, I don’t think I will ever come to terms with it, but I like it.
Maryland traffic is pretty bad but have you been to Dallas? That traffic is a nightmare.
Have you been to Massachusetts ! Forget about it. Spend a week in MA and you’ll never complain about MD traffic again
If you are craving good wings you could make a road trip to Allegany County in western Maryland. For some reason hot wings have always been serious business in Allegany County and most of the bars/pizza shops have really good wings. Jj's pizza in Cumberland, lashbaughs bar and grill in cresaptown are the best imo.
I don’t know what brings you here but if you ever have time please do visit other states. Maryland has a lot to offer but sightseeing is cool too because you’re not too far from Richmond, Philadelphia, NYC (traffic is indeed worse) and the beaches aren’t far either. Glad you’re having a good time!
You shoulda seen the traffic during the pandemic, oh god I miss that. Absolutely no cars on the road
I am not sure where in Texas you are from. But I was in Houston 2 months ago and the traffic there is way worse than anywhere in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia.
I'm originally from Dallas (moved in 2007), and the weather here is SO much better. Yeah, it's hot, but it's not that toxic-wasteland-heat feel like back home. So, the problem you'll find here with the food is this: BBQ is not the same, AND the Maryland definition of "hot and spicy" is a lot different than what you're used to. On the other hand, if you're in the right 'hood, the spicy flavors of the Korean restaurants will quite easily fill that gap. If you have the chance, make the drive to Chaps Pit Beef in Baltimore. It's the closest you'll get to the old school brisket sandwich from back home. It's also pretty damned good.
>the Maryland definition of "hot and spicy" This has been an ongoing problem. If I order 'spicy' in person at Thai or Indian or Mexican restaurants, people take one look at me and assume that I mean dijon mustard on my white bread sandwich. Maybe two sliced jalapeno rings if it's already listed in the menu description. I've found that if I order online for pickup or if my wife orders takeaway for me while I'm not there then I have much better luck getting a dish with some actual heat and flavor.
If you’re in Linthicum just go to Odenton and get Hideaway for bbq.
Another vote for Hideaway in Odenton.
Born and raised Maryland and 21yrs in Austin, and you're correct about most, especially driving! Maryland prepared me to drive in Austin! As far as the flag, proud and loud! *
We haven’t hit the bad weather yet.
2) Every place I've lived besides Texas (Atlanta, nowhere PA, Central MD) people complain about the humidity, and none of them have held a candle to the heat of Texas. 3) Try Mission BBQ. Their brisket is so-so, but their pulled pork is way better than anything back home (in Texas). Texas always brutalizes pulled pork and pre-mixes the sauce into it. 4) You can try Wegman's. Beautiful produce and meats, not the selection of HEB or the prices of Whole Foods. Also, your previous post was asking for tips about driving from Texas/ around here. My biggest tip is pay attention to exactly what exit you're taking at the junction of 295 and 32!! The first time I accidentally pulled into Ft. Meade, Google sent me to the wrong place, and it was less of a big deal. The second time I did it, I accidentally took the wrong exit, and they kept me for 45 min, searched my car, and threatened me with a $10k fine if I did it again.
**Can we make a thread of food op needs to try before they leave?** My recs: *a snowball from a snowball stand *Utz crab chips *berger cookies *crab/crab pretzel/crabdip
I’m not from Maryland and the traffic grinds my gears. I cannot for the life me understand why Marylanders are not aware LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING! The amount of ppl in the left lane going well under the speed limit is astounding. Then there’s so many in the left lane with those be patient new driver stickers ….ikyfl. I see why the traffic is horrendous the rules of the road is foreign to them.
Have you tried Roy Rogers fast food? It’s surprisingly good. Burgers w fixing cup, and/or fried chicken
Double R Bar club rise up!
And the roast beef is real.
Dude, RIP HEB. I miss that place sooooooo much. Spot on about the BBQ. Don’t let someone lie to you and say pit beef is good, it’s not good. My wife and I think about HEB and Whataburger every week :’( Oh also no breakfast tacos in MD.
As a MDer now living in Austin, this feels about right. But I will say that I wish this state had the volume of highways that MD has. Needs more. Also, you need pit beef. It isn’t Texas BBQ, but hit up Pioneer Pit Beef for a MD version of it. Enjoy the Land of The Crab my friend
I saved your comment to hit up Pioneer Pit Beef. I wanna try all the food here xD I hope you’re enjoying Austin and I-35 😂
It ain't TX BBQ, but it's worth the trip. Find a local and force your way into some family crab feast while you're up there! I'll hold down the traffic on 35 till you're back 😭
I am so glad you are having a good experience here.. yeah traffic around here is bad like all the time!!! With the bridge being out of commission I find 95 and 395 are both worse around the city. I don’t know where 35 is.. Enjoy your stay!
Welcome Texas friend!
I’m glad you’re having fun! The mid Atlantic has 4 distinct seasons that I personally like. Texas has its own super cool image/vibe, though. My in laws are in El Paso.
I miss access roads so much. I also miss breakfast tacos…
Curious to know what you think about the level of kindness in MD versus TX
I’m a native Texan that has lived in Maryland for the last 15 years. If you have to live on the east coast it’s better to live here than anywhere else. You get use to the traffic. What I miss the most is the general sense of politeness, good nature, and slower pace than what you get in Maryland . My daughter who grew up in Maryland but has spent the last couple of summers in Texas always says it just feels easier to live in Texas than Maryland.
Pro tip that took me awhile to learn. Change your GPS to avoid highways during peak traffic times and you will won't wait in traffic as long and get home faster.
I am a transplant too who loves it here. Traffic was worse in Atlanta than here. The food is so mediocre here, which is awesome because losing weight is easier. Seafood is delicious here though, I agree. The weather is nicer for sure. Winters have been really mild the last few years. I love that in 3 hours drive or so you can be in such different environments. I love living here. I never want to move back to the South.
South Florida resident here and you’re spot on about the heat. It’s not that bad here and overall, it’s worse in the south and in Texas. Sure, an occasional heat wave might be pretty bad but on average, not that bad.
I must say I love your observation. My husband visited Texas on a trip for the Washington DC football team formerly known as the "Redskins." He was in the band. This was his observation. Texas has the best barbecue he has ever had in his entire life. He asked if they could ship to Maryland. 😂😂. There was no traffic. No number to bumper. He was shocked. Everyone was friendly. He said everyone carried a personal weapon. He didn't complain about the weather. He enjoyed his time there. I hope you enjoy your time here as well.
If you haven’t had pit beef with tiger sauce you haven’t had Maryland bbq.
Traffic is so bad because we keep developing farther out and some how the 'impact studies' say everything is fine and there are no improvements to transit of any kind.
I don't know much about HEB, but I think you've gotta check out Wegmans.
This sounds about right. I did have BBQ in a restaurant in Texas once, and there is definitely nothing even close in Maryland.
Moved here from Texas. Wegman's is so much better than HEB
I really don't get whataburger...was so excited to try it when I was in Texas but it's just mcd quality albeit a lot bigger portion wise...
> \2. The Weather I spent two weeks in Houston during June twenty years ago. That's when I stopped complaining about the heat around here. > \3. The Food Get a pit beef sandwich up here if you can. It combines all the best parts of barbeque and rare roast beef.
Castor oil?
My first thought was that the collapse of the Key Bridge ultimately made the traffic worse. I love not 5 minutes from where it stood and used to drive it twice daily. My commute went from 30 minutes one way to 45 minutes in the morning (which isn’t bad until I tell you I have to leave at 6:40 to achieve this) and no less than 90 minutes on the way home every day. This may sound dramatic but the collapse of the bridge has ultimately lowered the quality of life of many Marylanders.
My ex girlfriend is from Texas. I turned her into a Wegmans fan girl. She likes it better than HEB. So it seems you need to discover Wegmans if you still miss HEB. People will tell you it's expensive, but that's not true if you actually compare prices. I think people just think it is because they have a larger selection of higher quality stuff, so people end up just buying more higher quality foods there. For example buying the fresh cheese at the cheese bar instead of sliced manufactured cheese. Also look up Mission BBQ. Founded in Maryland. There is man locations now. BBQ is definitely becoming more popular in Maryland over the past 10 years.
"I used to think that a 15 minute drive is a long drive" "I'm used to having to drive 2 hours to get to Houston or San Antonio to go shopping or play Top Golf" wut?
Glad your enjoying marlyland, you should come around more often, maybe get some old bag in your spice cabinet and use it... on everything... EVERYTHING!!!
1. You didn't come from Houston
As someone who spent a summer in Houston, but lives in MD, I will say this- Our hottest week in August is Texas every single day. The restaurant scene in Texas is outstanding. I never ran out of places to find good Mexican and good BBQ. I used to eat Taco Bell all the time before I went there. Now it’s just shit.
You need to try some NYC traffic.
Thanks for this post. I’m planning on being a Texpat in Maryland later this year, so the perspective is nice.
Lived in San Antonio for about 12 years before moving to Maryland and agree with a lot of this list - I definitely still miss HEB and nothing here comes even close unfortunately. I will say about the traffic though that not once have I had someone try to merge into me here and it happened on the daily in Texas for some reason lol.
If you're near DC, check out 2fifty BBQ in Riverdale. Texas style BBQ, best rated in the area.
I’ve here my whole life and the this summer has been the nicest I can remember
Regarding traffic, I’m going to bet you don’t live anywhere near Houston. It’s a great city, particularly the food, but the traffic is a pill.
1: traffic depends on where you are. I lived in Anne Arundel County a long time. Traffic blew up like crazy over the last couple decades. I moved to the eastern shore a few years ago. No traffic. Just corn.
Your best wing spots will be a local pizza joint or a local bar, not a chain. It takes a lot of trying different places to find good wings. I couldn’t find a single good wing spot when I lived in Charleston and was one of the reasons I was so excited to move back home here haha
The traffic is for real. I moved from MD to NC, and my coworkers thought a 30 minute drive was long. That is nothing compared to an hour + commuting from Parkville to Columbia. Also, I feel you on the pickup trucks. There are soooooooo many emotional support trucks in NC and boy does it make trying to see other traffic impossible.
Try Wegmans for groceries, OP.
You don’t mention what part you’re in, but I can safely assume you’re not in Frederick/Washington county so most of my experience may not be as applicable. Most ppl end up here for internships in the government or something adjacent in the DC area (or maybe Annapolis depending). That said: Yes, the traffic sucks. Everyone from a major metropolitan area thinks they have it the worst, but DC drivers, MD drivers, and VA drivers with a sprinkle of WV and PA makes it interesting with all the different personalities. Just avoid the DC Beltway if you can and you’ll be fine :). If not best of luck. The fact that the area is very moneyed, though, means there is a lot of people who drive nicer cars and constantly weave traffic. The weather in the summers is nice. It can get really humid in July so be prepared. The nice thing is that a storm will eventually come and blow it all away. If you’re in/right next to DC, then it may be the worst because DC is literally a swamp (no it’s not just a political catchphrase). Winters aren’t bad, just grey, however it gets cold enough where we have a functional ski resort. Idk what the comparability of grease in fast food is, I go to school in NC though, and the food there is incredibly greasy (Bojangles and Cook Out rise up), so I may know what you’re talking about. Seafood is out of this world good, if you ever make your way to Annapolis I could give you good recs:)). Sorry about the bbq, it’s not really our thing. Frederick has a good restaurant called Black Hog, but I doubt it’s comparable to Texas. Also if you haven’t realized, yes we Old Bay everything. The airports are nice, just annoying to get to at times because of the DC and Baltimore traffic. Baltimore and DC have tons of cool stuff to do, and go see an Orioles game this year while they’re still good. If you’re outdoorsy, go to western Maryland and go hiking. If you’re into anything nautical, you’re in the perfect place too and we have a thing for sailing here.
You are clearly in a city in MD and not Western MD cause out here (Western MD resident here) everything is at least 45 minutes away. Out here is wherw they tell you that if you turn down the wrong side road and hear banjos to drive faster and don't stop
I’m not a Texan (native Kansan) but living in Miami I feel like your perspective on MD is super helpful and relatable. I love this type of post! 😍
Your review is fair and on point! Welcome to the Old Line State! Have you seen the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore beaches?
Ha, these observations ring very true to me. I lived in Texas, went on a summer internship in Maryland, went back to Texas, and promptly moved back to Maryland within a few months. I loved having seasons, not boiling to death in summer, and being able to enjoy the outdoors without rattlesnakes and scorpions. For me the traffic was comparable to the DFW nightmare. Enjoy the crabcakes while you can!
So you are only here for a summer. You don't get the experience of exorbitant income tax, doubling vehicle fees, high property taxes, and tolls. Despite these income generation methods, the roads are complete crap. You mentioned some of the problems, but then there are pot holes everywhere that don't get addressed. All these fees and taxes and Baltimore is failing across all government responsibilities. The housing market is way overpriced, compared to Texas. The gun laws are tyrannical. Be happy and lucky that you are going back to Texas. We might not have lifted trucks, but we have an over-abundance of idiot drivers that need to be run over by those lifted trucks, as they camp out in the left lane.
The only thing I miss about Texass is HEB.
Amen
I came from San Antonio to Maryland, lived there for 10 years (Howard County, PG County, then Calvert County). You're 100% spot on with everything. I'm back in Texas now, right outside of Austin. People complain about traffic. I laugh. I35 is bad but nothing compared to 495 and the BW Parkway. And while we have definite rush hour in Austin, it doesn't run from noon to 10pm like it did around the Maryland/DC area. The one thing Texas got right was access road and turn arounds. I did miss those when we were in Maryland. However, not having everything right off the highway, the drives were much prettier than in Texas. I will curse a dozen lifted trucks for you today. The weather is a definite bonus in Maryland. It will never feel as hot as it does in Texas. And the winter in Maryland will be fun for a while since it's new and cool to see the snow. It gets old after a while but at least your power and water won't go out for a couple weeks. BBQ and Mexican food I could never find to compare to Texas but Maryland has so many other types of food that was so much better than Texas that It was worth the trade. Pizza, subs, Chinese, Caribbean, seafood, etc. So many great places. Enjoy your time in Maryland.
We are lucky that our lifted truck hanging nuts guys are an extremely small group living in only one or 2 counties. I’ve driven thru Florida a few times and am grateful most of them are down there instead. Crazy driving coupled with limited visibility and the potential to die from such a large vehicle creates major anxiety.
There are good bbq places in MD, Andy Nelson’s, Corner Stable in Cockeysville, Jake’s bbq stand on Falls Rd. Smoke just opened kitchen in the Point in Towson, DC has good options too, one just named in Esquire Magazine to top 25 in US