"On the MARC line" Laurel by grandmaR

At the end of February 2000, I retired from my job as an industrial hygienist (health inspector) with Maryland OSHA. When I started working there in 1986, I had to drive to Baltimore to the office, except for one day a week when I had training in Laurel which was where the safety office was for southern and western MD. Then they moved the safety office to College Park, and I reported to that office for awhile.

In the meantime, my husband got a job in Baltimore c 1991, and in 1992 we got an apartment in Glen Burnie to stay in during the week. Bob hated the apartment so in 1993, we moved to a small house in Brooklyn Park in Anne Arundel County just south of the Baltimore line. We only stayed here during the week.

In 1994, I moved from the compliance office to the consultation section which was headquartered in Baltimore. And then the consultation office moved to Laurel.

Although Laurel is on the MARC train lineI was unable to commute using it because I couldn't get from the train station to the office.

I retired from MOSH in 2000 after I reached age 62.

Other instances where Laurel figured in my life -
Two of my grandchildren attended St Vincent Pallotti High School,(Students: 431; Location: 113 St Marys Place; Grades: 9 - 12) and one of them lived in an appartment there for a year or so

Laurel is in central Maryland between Washington DC and Baltimore on US Route 1, I-95 and MD Rt 295 aka the Baltimore Washington Parkway. The Laurel population was 19960 in the 2000 census.

County: Prince George's
Elevation: 187 feet
Land area: 3.8 square miles
Zip codes: 20707..20709, 20723..20726.

Median resident age: 33.6 years
Median household income: $49,415 (year 2000)
Median house value: $126,400 (year 2000)

Races in Laurel:

White Non-Hispanic (49.6%)
Black (34.5%)
Hispanic (6.2%)

For population 25 years and over in Laurel city

High school or higher: 88.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 36.2%
Graduate or professional degree: 13.7%
Unemployed: 3.4%
Mean travel time to work: 33.4 minutes

15.6% Foreign born (6.2% Asia, 4.6% Latin America, 3.0% Africa).

Nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Columbia, MD (7.3 miles, pop. 88,254).

Nearest city with pop. 200,000+: Washington, DC (16.6 miles, pop. 572,059).

Industries providing employment: Educational,health and social services (17.5%),
Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services (13.9%),
Retail trade (12.3%),
Public administration (11.7%).

So Laurel is primarily a bedroom community for Baltimore and Washington.

Laurel compared to Maryland state average:
Median household income above state average.
Median house value above state average.
Unemployed percentage below state average.
Hispanic race population percentage significantly above state average.
Foreign-born population percentage significantly above state average.
Length of stay since moving in below state average.
Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher above state average.
Population density significantly above state average.