After decades of living in Baltimore County, my family and I made the difficult decision to leave Maryland behind. While it pains me to be separated from the state I once loved, Democratic policies have rendered Maryland unrecognizable and inhospitable for those seeking a decent quality of life.

The red flags became impossible to ignore. Rampant crime turned our once-peaceful neighborhoods into veritable war zones. We lived in constant fear, jumping at every sound, questioning whether it was safe to let our kids play outside. The statistics painted a grim picture – Baltimore’s homicide rate consistently ranked among the highest in the nation. But for those of us who called it home, the numbers told just part of the story. We witnessed the decay firsthand.

The cost of living in Maryland became equally unsustainable. Taxes of every kind – income, property, sales – skyrocketed to finance an ever-growing budget and an insatiable appetite for spending among Democratic leadership. Making ends meet for middle-class families like ours became an exercise in futility. We found ourselves working longer hours just to maintain a modest standard of living that had once been comfortable.

Perhaps most egregiously, Democratic policies systematically stripped us of our rights as law-abiding citizens. The Second Amendment became a punchline, with magazine capacity limits, assault weapon bans, and increasingly stringent restrictions on concealed carry permits. We were treated as criminals for simply wishing to exercise our constitutional right to self-defense.

Enough was enough. When the opportunity to relocate to York, Pennsylvania arose, we seized it with both hands. While it meant leaving the communities that had shaped us, the promise of safer streets, lower taxes, and respect for our liberties proved too alluring to resist.

From this new vantage point just across the Mason-Dixon line, I see Maryland with clear eyes. It’s a state gripped by misguided ideology, where “progressive” policies have regressed society into a spiral of chaos. I watch in dismay as once-great cities like Baltimore descend into rubble, hollowed out by soaring crime and fleeing residents and businesses.

I want to love Maryland again – the Maryland of my youth, with its natural splendor, rich history, and sense of limitless potential. But until Democrats relinquish their stranglehold on the Free State, bestowing draconian policies that make life miserable for the very people they claim to uplift, I can only admire Maryland’s beauty from afar.

For now, York offers my family the promise of a brighter future in a state that still values freedom, safety, and opportunity for all. While I’ll always cherish my Maryland roots, the destructive path it’s on leaves me with no choice but to love it from a distance.