So if you're a big fan of Baltimore and DC, and you don't know quite where to live, how about you live right in the middle. This week, we're talking about Laurel, Maryland. Laurel, Maryland is an urban, suburban place. What does that mean? It means it's suburbs, but yet it's planted right between two pretty major cities in the Maryland area. So you have Baltimore to the north and you have DC to the south. The interesting thing is you're located directly in between the two. So if you want to take a trip to Baltimore, you want to take a trip to DC, it's the same distance. So figure out where you like to go. This might be the place for you. So as we talk about Laurel, Maryland, the biggest thing to keep in mind when you jump online and you do your homework and you say, how many people live in Laurel, it's going to spit back a number at about 25,000 people. The thing to keep in mind is that is the incorporated area. There are outskirts that are not in the incorporated area, but they are still recognized as Laurel, Maryland.

Laurel is very attractive for young professionals. It is ranked by niche.com as the number 22 place in the state of Maryland for young professionals to live. Young professionals seem to really take to the area. And I think it's got to do with their proximity to both Baltimore and DC.

They also have it ranked as number 39 when they're talking about the most diverse places to live in the state. So it's got a lot of culture and a lot of different people from a lot of different places there. Being number 39 is pretty good because diversity is everything. I-95 and Route one kind of sandwich the majority of what most people think of when they talk about Laurel. But as I explained before, there are kind of those on the outskirts or on the fringes that don't really fall into the incorporated portion of town, but they're still Laurel, Maryland.

So outside of I-95 and Route one, you also have the ICC inner county connector, 200. The ICC will run you right from Laurel all the way to Gaithersburg. Straight shot. It is a toll road. So you're going to need your E-ZPass. If you don't have E-ZPass, then they'll probably just send it to you in the mail. But it's probably easiest with an E-ZPass pass. Hence, the name. But how far is it from Baltimore? How far is it from DC? It's right around 20 miles. So it is a short and easy commute too. It's not like it's three hours in between each. You also have the BW Parkway to take you anywhere that you need to get to from Baltimore, all the way down to DC.

In terms of transportation, you do have the Greenbelt Metro. The Greenbelt Metro is approximately 11 miles away in Greenbelt. Yes, it is 11 miles away. But if you drive 11 miles, you can then jump on Metro and go wherever you'd like for a lot less than it costs to park for the day usually. You also have the Marc train in Laurel. It'll take you right down to Union Station.

When it comes to dining, there are plenty of options to choose from, especially if you go right downtown. Couple of the local favorites are Sip at C Street Flats. It is the best of all worlds. It is a coffee joint. It is a craft beer joint. It's a bakery and a brunch spot. I mean, so they got you covered from Sunday to Sunday there. BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. It's just that. It's a brewhouse. So they have craft beer. They have good American and bar food. What's not to like? And we also have the Dutch County Market. Aside from just dining, you can also go in there and get produce, and meats, and things like that. So it's a cool place to check out. Jump online, check for coupons and discounts on their website.

Laurel is in PG County. So PG County schools run the show when it comes to education. So Laurel High School, it services yes, Laurel, but also the west side of town, south part of town, and also Conterra. Go Spartans.

Shopping. Okay. Now in Laurel, there are plenty of places that you can do your shopping at in terms of strip malls and things like that. Laurel Lake shopping center, you're going to be able to go in there and get all your retail shopping done. There's going to be plenty of grocery stores, giants and all that other stuff around. Numerous different shopping plazas as well. I mentioned Dutch County Market before. So you can go in there and do a lot of your grocery, and produce, and meats, and all that other stuff. You can find a lot there. You've also got a bunch of different grocery stores from Aldi's. Aldi's Or Aldi's, however you say it. I don't know how you say it. You got Food Lion, you got Giant, you got Shoppers. So you have plenty to choose from. There's a lot of options.

When it comes to some outdoor recreation, you have plenty of space for that as well. The Patuxent Research Refuge, acres of just outdoor recreational space that you can utilize. There's walking trails. There's horse trails. So you can go horseback riding. Parks and playgrounds for the kids. Lakes, and rivers, and there's plenty of outdoor space right here in Laurel. I don't know where we're going next, but make sure you guys tune in next week for more info on other places in Maryland.

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