New to the area: DC

[MarauderX]

See, they have to bribe people to live there. I rest my case.

Heheh... at least it's on YOUR side of the Potomac.

Kengar: Big deal about the metro, at least you can find parking in Georgetown. BTW, the Washingtonian typically has a special each year with a run-down of the pros & cons of each state, and usually crowns one for the year. I think they only take the surrounding counties, and they don't include Baltimore or Richmond, so count yourself lucky.
In the past the victor has usually been VA, and because the magazine does distribute to both states, the reasons are usually downplayed a bit.
www.washingtonian.com
I'm sure MD has some fine qualities about it...somewhere... but I have yet to find them.

I'm glad I live where I do, and I am sure you are as well, but it may be best to let you discover why VA is better on your own.

 

[diaglo]

some old slogans were MD has crabs. and VA is for lovers...

 

[dsfriii]

First if Maryland wants to take the District please feel free to.




Back to the RPG stores I like Games Palor (Chantily). (Please remember for some people that is a local store a not out in the the sticks. No matter what the inside the Beltwayers have to say.)

 

[Tzarevitch]

Whoa! [ducking the exchange of fire]

That old Maryland vs. Virginia rivalry seems to be resurfacing again. I live in DC, I game in VA and I travel to MD extensively but I am a born and bred New Yorker and I can tell you the issue of which state is better is irrelevant because neither holds a candle to New York.

[Having lit the match in the powder room, Tzarevitch cackles fiendishly, slips out and closes the door.]

Tzarevitch

 

[Psion]

That old Maryland vs. Virginia rivalry seems to be resurfacing again. I live in DC, I game in VA and I travel to MD extensively but I am a born and bred New Yorker and I can tell you the issue of which state is better is irrelevant because neither holds a candle to New York.

We'll I'm not a native, so most of these jabs roll off me like water off a ducks back. (And beleive me, I know MD drivers suck. You think it'd kill them to be the first one to stop at a stop light...)

All I know is that I am just as likely to bust a vein in my forehead driving through Alexandria as I would driving through DC. (I used to run a game in Alexandria...)

 

[Dieter]

OK, people, let's not get too personal here.

I'm a Marylander ("The Thinking Man's Delaware") and you couldn't pay me to live in NoVA, but that's me. Plenty of people prefer VA to MD and that's fine.

The "which side of the Potomac is better" debate is one which cannot be won.

..but at least MD didn't welch on their land promise to DC (aka "Alexandria" & we own the Potomac.

(& Marauder, Bethesda is better than G'town b/c you can take the Metro to Bethesda )

Hah...go Terps!

 

[TiQuinn]

Since I can drive from Northern Virginia, thru Washington D.C. and across the entire state of Maryland into Delaware in about two hours, it's all the same to me.

And sucky drivers know no citizenship.

 

[Felix]

Time to wade in.

posted by kengar

..but at least MD didn't welch on their land promise to DC (aka "Alexandria" & we own the Potomac.

Damn skippy we don't want DC on our side of the river. And you're welcome to have that polluted, hydrilla-infested, catfish-stinkin, cut-infecting, barf-inducing, collection-of-dysentary, half-mile-wide open-top sewer pipe to your credit. Keep up the good work.

Back on topic:
There is a game store called The Compleat Strategist on the corner of Rt. 7 and 29. It's so-so. Not as good as the Game Parlor, tho.

Welcome to the area! Where you coming from?

 

[ErichDragon]

If you are new to the DC metro area do yourself a favor: avoid Northern Virginia. It is a congested mess. I personally prefer the congested mess of Maryland. Plus, Maryland fought against slavery in the Civil War.

Not to get into politics, just history: Maryland was officially a neutral state during the Civil War. In fact, Union troops enacted martial law in the city of Baltimore because there was so much pro-confederate sentiment that it became dangerous to move troops or goods through the city.

Units raised from Maryland served in both the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. There is a monument at the Gettysburg battlefield to soldiers from Maryland. It depicts two obviously related men who are wounded, helping each other off the battlefield. One is in a Federal uniform, the other CSA.

On to the debate at hand. I could go on all day about how much I think DC and NoVA suck. Obviously some people like it and I say that's ok by me since it keeps those people away from my beloved Baltimore.

 

[fba827]

When I saw this thread and saw the number of posts I thought there were simply a lot of local folks and maybe a game day was in order like many of the other metro areas are doing. But alas, after reading this thread I fear we would not be able to figure out which side of the Potomac to meet

It just warms my heart to see how neighborly we are all.

As for the original thread question on places to meet folks?

WotC does hold Card game events. There's one in Lakeforest Mall (Gaithersburg, MD). Not directly metro accessible though metro /bus accessible. Mind you, unless you're going for a specfic event or planning on doing other stuff at the mall, going through the trouble of using metro and bus to get to Lakeforest Mall is not worth the effort if all you're going to do is browse/make one purchase.
There's another one in Columbia Mall but that's beyond metro's reach.

Dream Wizards (Rockville MD). I have not been there since they moved. But they do have a good variety and selection. Admitedly, I never got the warm and fuzzy feeling of interest from the staff there (they are always behind the counter talking among themselves when I'm there and any of the few questions I had were always given short terse responses) I was a regular customer for about 5 years (if not more, with purchases at least once a month if not more). Of course, I have friends that say the staff was always engaging, so it may have just been me or something. I always avoided the crowds at Dream Wizards though (and I've heard it can get packed on certain events!) so I can not say how good of a place it would be to meet new folks in that sort of situation.

Also, check out the Gamers Seeking Gamers forum on these very boards! It does not get a lot of traffic. But I do see a DC area game group posted on there once every while (it would take some regular visits to that forum and patience though -- or start your own post to try and gather people and then figure out specifics later). http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=49


The yahoogroup thing (mentioned by someone earlier) is also a good idea. I just don't have any personal experience with that so I can not say.

(again, these are just my personal experiences. YMMV)