a particular job is a hard decision. Many things have to be considered about the
possible place of employment to make the job search as beneficial as possible.
The salary, benefits, commute time, and location are among the important to
review. To further explore this question, the location will be considered more
in depth. The location of the job opportunity also includes all of the
demographic information that is needed to make a decision. This geographic and
statistical information plays a major role in selection of a certain job in a
certain area. The main demographic areas that are mainly considered are:
 Median income  Home value  Population  Cost of
Living  Crime These main statistics are the core to which the job
selection relative to choice of residency is to be considered. An article by
Donald Houston in “Urban Studies” suggests that, ”jobs are closely related
to the surrounding neighborhoods”(Houston). This further explains the
importance of selecting the right area based on other aspects than just the job
itself. For technical careers, such as the computer and information technology
jobs, the possibilities for employment are endless. According to an article in
U.S. News and World Report, “technical fields are booming and the career
opportunities are limitless”(Saltzman). The article goes on to explain that
“tech jobs are expected to grow by 1.4 million from 1992 and 2005, and job
openings will double in the decade ahead”(Saltzman). Because of these
prophecies made, the options that a person can explore searching for an
information technology job are endless. Because of the abundance of these jobs,
the seeker can look more closely at the geographic and demographic benefits of
the surrounding areas. Within the Baltimore and surrounding areas, many places
of interest are available that have job opportunities. The job locations that
will be considered include Owings Mills, Bel Air, Laurel, Gaithersburg,
Columbia, and Annapolis. Also, in a broader level, some aspects of the counties
in which these selected cities are located will explored. They all have similar,
yet different locations relative to the Baltimore area, which is the general
area to be explored. In addition, each employment opportunity holds true to be
relatively equal to one another by further exploration including the type of job
and the salary. This will put more emphasis on the geographic and demographic
features of the selected cities and not on the employment opportunity itself. As
mentioned earlier, the main points of interest to e considered within the
selected cities are income, home value, population, cost of living, and the
crime. This will prove to be all of the necessary information needed to select
an area that is most suitable and is the best possible personal choice in
regards to the demographic information provided in relation to the job itself.
More importantly, this information will be accessed using Arcview’s esridata
and the Homeview webpage. In addition to the basic demographic data provided,
many others will be added additionally. Crime rate, cost of living, and the
ration of blacks to whites will be explored and included with the original data
collected. Upon research of the relevant cities that the possible employment
openings exist, the following results were allocated: Owings Mills (Balt.
County)--  City pop- 33,833  Median income- $41,764 
Home value- $160,000  County pop- 722,700  Crime index- 133
(U.S. average = 100)  Cost living index- 102 (U.S. average = 100)
 15 miles from Baltimore city; 35 miles from D.C. Laurel (Prince Georges
County)--  City pop- 21,851  Median income- $44,651 
Home value- $126,000  Crime index- 109  Cost living index- 96.8
 20 miles from Baltimore city and D.C. Bel Air (Harford County)--
 City pop- 10,049  Median income- $42,994  Home value-
$149,800  Crime index- 14  Cost living index- 99.9  23
miles from Baltimore city Gaithersburg (Montgomery County)  City pop-
11,000  Median income- $55,730  Home value- $180,000 
Crime index- 237  Cost living index- 110  24 miles from D.C.
Annapolis (Anne Arundel County)—  City pop- 33,200  Median
income- $36,833  Home value- $189,000  Crime index- 154 
Cost living index- 112  30 miles from Baltimore city and D.C. Columbia
(Howard County)—  City pop- 84,986  Median income- $56,179
 Home value- $185,000  Crime index- 100  Cost living
index- 110  21 miles from Baltimore city; 24 miles from D.C. The
research and data presented above poses valuable points of interest that deals
with the analysis and search for the optimal area to both live and work. The
solution to this problem is evident upon completion of the analysis of the
evident data gathered. The solution to this will be different for everyone.
Personal opinion and background can change everything from one to another. The
final conclusion that I personally derived was based on the valuable demographic
and personal findings of each job’s city. From the income, home value, and
crime rate, I found the basic background characteristics of each city. In
addition, the population and proximity to the D.C. and Baltimore city areas were
helpful in making my decision. The analysis of each job’s surrounding city is
as follows: Owings Mills seemed very attractive to me at first, but just the
thought of Reisterstown Road traffic made me cringe. Also, the proximity to bad
areas and a relatively high crime rate turned me away. On a better note, Owings
Mills is very close to Baltimore and may have been my choice if it had a
predominate upper-middle class society. Laurel did not attract me at all. I had
no desire to live in Prince Georges county and the low home value turned me sour
completely. Also, the crime rate is above the U.S.’s average. Bel Air is a
very attractive sight to settle down. The city’s population is low, the crime
rate is almost nothing, and the majority of the citizens are of upper-middle
class descent. I had to turn away from this choice because of the fact that I
felt that I had to move away from the place that I grew up and get out on my
own.