Why is everything in “The Free State” so damned expensive?
I’ve seen smokes for $4.95 a pack. Gas costs a fortune compared to other places I’ve lived (Texas and rural Missouri). When I lived in Baltimore I had to fork over about a grand just to be allowed to drive legally.
Also, you can’t buy alcohol anywhere but liquor stores. As a native Texan, I miss being able to buy liquor in gas stations, drive-through “beer barns” and grocery stores.
And where does Balti-less get off billing itself as “the greatest city in america”? I mean, you’d think the guy who coined that one would have at least PASSED THROUGH other cities.
And to top it off, our governor’s name is “Parris” fer god’s sake!
Can someone tell me what’s in Maryland’s bag?
Just the other day someone posted a big anti-Texas rant and some of us defended Texas by saying that if Texas wasn’t as important as we think it is, people wouldn’t be bothering to rant about it! I guess we’ll have to come up with another argument now, thanks to you.
I’ve lived here all my life. Cigs are $2.96 at WAWA right now, Gas is $1/Gallon, The local 7-11 sells all the beer and wine you need. Dallas is a cultural wasteland, Houston a smog pit, and you dare say there’s something wrong with our city? Wanna get your facts straight before you go off half cocked, Granny? I take it from your post that you’re no longer here. Good, take your whiney self back to Tex-Ass. Know why everyone in Texas wears boots? 'Cuz they’re always stepping in the shit they spew.
For the sake of the above rant, please ignore the fact that I was actually born in Texas, and really kinda like the place. 
Balti-less, I like it. 
From wierd Dave:
“Wanna get your facts straight before you go off half cocked, Granny? I take it from your post that you’re no longer here. Good, take your whiney self back to Tex-Ass.”
I Give it good marks for being very insulting but staying ever-so-slightly from ad-hominem.
Wanna whine about a state try mine. HI. Fucking hell to live in before the fucking rag heads went overboard. Fukin worse now.
Cigs 4.95? here a given. Gas prices highest in the country, no reason given.
Illegal to buy alcohol after 12 pm.
At least we can buy beer or liquer in the super market here. I was baffled by the “state stores” on the east coast last time I visited.
Err dave… before any one else does. I’d like to point this out.
Quote,
“I’ve lived here all my life” (Referencing Maryland)
And this,
“I was actually born in Texas”
Born there, moved here almost immediately. ( Well, my folks did and brought me along)I have no memories of living in Texas.
they only let you buy alcohol in the morning? i don’t get it. are there no bars?
Well, if HI is anything like CT, you can only get alcohol in a bar after the designated time (in CT it’s 8 pm). Stupid law, really…encourages people to go out to the bar and drive home drunk instead of going to the packy and coming home and drinking where it’s safe.
and he prolly meant midnight, not noon 
<minor hijack rantlet>
Regardless of where you live, why do people whine about the closing times of liquor stores? It’s not like they’re just open from noon till 2 on alternate Thursdays when the moon is full… Seems to me if you find yourself in desperate of a particular beverage after closing, then maybe you’ve got other issues that should be addressed.
</minor hijack rantlet>
I’m planning to return to Maryland within 3 years - we’ll own a little piece of the Free State soon after the first of the year. I’m looking forward to escaping Florida. I can’t think of any place I’d rather be than the Land of Pleasant Living…
OK, I’ve got some beef with Maryland. Living in DC right now. Driving up to Long Island for Thanksgiving break. Taking 95 up, around 3. It took us three fucking hours to get out of this state. Just Maryland. Left at 3, hit Delaware at 6. Got to the middle of Long Island at 10 (after dropping a friend off at Grand Central and getting lost in Manhattan looking for the Queen-Midtown entrance for 30 minutes). No traffic other than on 95 in Maryland. No traffic even on the NJ Turnpike, Lincoln Tunnel or Queen-Midtown, the LIE or anywhere else. Coming back, we take 295 south and don’t hit any traffic until right after we cross the Maryland border. Hit the border at 1. Got back to DC at 4:30. What is it about Maryland and traffic? Good Lord. I hate that state.
Well, not really.
I love it here in Baltimore. There are a few things I’d change, but overall I think it’s a wonderful, exciting place to live, a few notches down from Manhattan. There’s a great nightlife; incredible culture at my fingertips (free culture every first Thursday); awesome, eclectic neighborhoods; and a personality and style that I haven’t found in any of the other cities I’ve visited.
As for the “Greatest City in America” - well, that’s obviously entirely subjective and I think most people realize it’s just a morale booster. Our old slogan - “the city that reads” - was transfigured into popular sayings like “the city that bleeds” and “the city one leaves,” but that hasn’t been my experiance. To find out what makes Baltimore unique, you have to forgo tourist guides, get out of the house, and explore.
Anyone who dislikes us for some reason should read Wil S. Hylton’s article, “Charmed, I’m Sure.” It’s from the February 1997 issue of Baltimore magazine, and although you have to order it online or check the library, it’s worth it. I’ll just quote my favorite part:
BTW, if you were paying that much for cigs, you must have been in a tourist trap of some sort like Fells.
Don’t ask me about Maryland right now.
I fucking hate Maryland right now.
::waits for weirddave to come crashing down like a ton of Baltimore rowhouse bricks::
Was informed by the auto-insurence rep that in Maryland,in an accident without witnesses, if there is a discrepency in the statements of the participants, fault is usually assigned equally.
WTF!!!
Of course there is going to be a goddamn discrepency between the goddamn statements!! The goddamn driver at fault is going to try to make himself look innocent!! Shouldn’t physical evidence count for anything?
Maryland is being totally unreasonable.
I was just reminded of one of my favorite quotes about Baltimore, from John Stewart.
“Baltimore, a city that combines the industrial blight of the north with the casual racism of the south.”
I found it hilarious (so did my friends from Baltimore).
I’d often heard it transformed into “the city that breeds”, as well.
Now, to the OP and Neurotik:
I’ve just come back from a lovely Thanksgiving in Baltimore. I drove there (from NYC), drove around all Thanksgiving, and then drove back. Not 2 minutes of traffic. You know what the secret is? Know the area you’re driving through, and for the love of god don’t take 95. It’s really quite easy.
Cigarettes: I worked in a rather overproced grocery store, and cigs were never that much. If my high-school friends of limited means could afford them, so can you.
Liquor/beer: do you know what I love about going back to Baltimore? I can go to the liquor store, and pick up a bottle of wine, a bottle of JD, and a six-pack all at once. Here in New York I have to go to different stores for my liquor and beer. I dunno if that’s state law or just coincidence, but I hate it.
Gas: I reiterate, about 1 a gallon. .20 less than the going price up here.
Driving: I dunno what you paid $1000 for, but I paid $20 to get my lisence renewed.
Now go run back to whatever hole you crawled out of, 'fore I leave you wandering the streets with a Yankees hat glued to your forehead.
There are plenty of reasons to knock Maryland, but Lord knows GrammarNinja didn’t mention any of them (well, except for Parris–but that merits an entirely separate rant. Or two.).
Can only buy your alcohol at liquor stores? Sounds outrageous. Nevermind that there’s two liquor stores on every block, three in Baltimore. If you can’t walk that far, I’d wager that you don’t need any more alcohol at the time.
:D:D
I think that’s the supposed to be the sophistication of northern cities coupled with the small town friendliness of the south…
It’s local, not statewide, but this thread details another reason to slap Maryland around a bit.
EvilGhandi probably meant it’s illegal to buy alcohol from a supermarket / liquor store after midnight. As I’ve never purchased alcohol from anyplace other than a bar, I have no idea if this is true or not. But you can get booze from bars well after midnight. Last call at some places isn’t until 4am, when the bar closes.
And I’ve gotten a drink at 4pm at our usual watering hole, so there’s no “you can’t buy alcohol before a certain time” law as far as I can tell.
He’s right about gas prices, though. It’s $2/gallon.