Re Maryland (and Virginia, and even WV and the impact of DC) Back in the late 60's-early 70's I was living and working in northern Virginia, there were a lot of people making very long daily commutes to work in metro DC but to live somewhere else. I played on a CIA softball team (we had our own diamonds on the grounds, although they were sometimes occupied by the Bobby Kennedy clan from across the road) with a couple guys who commuted daily from Harpers Ferry WV. Whenever I could manage it, my weekend get away was to drive down to Fredericksburg, and fish the Rappahannock for smallmouths and panfish further upstream. Seemed like an entirely different world. I expect that by now, there are a lot of people making the daily commute from down there. And I'm sure there are a lot more houses upstream from Fredericksburg, which was very rural back then. But coming from Iowa, I needed a shot of something "normal" on occasion.