[fabsroman]

Lilred,

I was going to tell you pretty much the same thing as Skeet. Maryland is in much worse shape than you guys in Virginia. I hate Virginia's laws and after reading some threads on here I hate Pennsylvania's game commission. I would love to buy a farm somewhere, but I am pretty much screwed because the farms are pretty much gone from Maryland, and those that aren't usually cost a million or more. Count your blessings that you still have farm land down there.

Essentially, the entire east coast is going to be concrete and asphalt pretty soon. Over the past 20 years, I have done most of my hunting on two farms. I have watched subdivisions erected next to both farms and right now one of the farm owners is selling lots out of the front fields of his farm where I have killed many a goose over the years. So, I feel your pain. Pretty soon I will have to start begging land owners to allow me to hunt on their property.

As far as the game is concerned, the deer and geese seem to be doing better now than they were doing here 15 years ago. In fact, they are pretty much out of control. The streams are still pretty decent here and I can catch a good amount of shad out of them when they are running. Trout usually are stocked by DNR, so it wouldn't be too hard to find them if I were interested in them. As far as fishing in the Bay is concerned, it is still pretty decent, but there was a moratorium on Rockfish about 15 years ago which helped get the stock back up.

The good news for you and Skeet is that you have the ability to pick up and leave. On the other hand, I am stuck in Maryland because very few places will allow me to transfer my CPA license and/or admit me to the bar without my having to jump through hoops. Hell, the fiance and I even looked at some homes in Gainesville, Virginia which cost just a tad bit more than the townhouse that we bought in Maryland, but Virginia has a bunch of requirements for me to waive in, one being that I hang a sign in front of my house if I planned on practicing from home. Problem with that is that the Homeowner's Association (HOA) Bylaws did not allow the hanging of signs of any kind. Oh lordy, if I were to get started on HOA's, I would be here writing forever. They wouldn't allow me to build a tool shed and if I were to put up a fence I had to get it approved by the architectural committee.

The last thing I have to say is that I do notice the difference between people out in the country and people from the city. People from the city are always in a hurry, rarely say good morning, hello, hold a door open, waive, smile, etc. whereas most people from the country are very polite. Now, I have met some transplants from the city to the country and they still aren't the nicest people. I have also met some people from the country that have an issue with me because I am from the city. Such is life. Maybe people from the city are much more uptight because they have to make so much money just to live in the city. Oh well, I am going to move on to the next thread so that I can get to sleep sometime tonight.