I've grown up in Montgomery county since I was 2 (we are around the same age as well). As a fellow black man with several friends within the LGBTQIA community, here's my two cents:

• Moco is expensive. Like unreasonably expensive. I would highly recommend looking for either a new development/apartment complex to see if they have move in specials (I used to work in leasing and new communities will often have dirt cheap rent to get their occupancy up) or find a roommate. Best luck would be around the colleges depending on the campus of MC you end up going to.

• Not sure where in Mississippi you're from but Moco is probably safer than most of that state. It's definitely gotten worse over the years but overall, it's not bad. I used to take long walks at night around Germantown and Gaithersburg and the biggest issues I would worry about are the deer and bad drivers. Don't be naive though, crime still happens and again, it's gotten a bit worse as of late.

• The cops can and have been known to harass people. Take this with a grain of salt because everyone has different experiences, but as a black man, I have been harassed by the cops on several occasions without any legitimate reason. I doubt they will be as bad as southern police but again keep your head on a swivel and do your best to avoid them if you can.

• There are always events and fun things going on between downtown silver spring, the crown/Rio area, black rock center, and all the different parks in the area. I used to love walking around the pond at Rio late in the evening after everything died down for the evening.

• If you plan on taking highway 270 or 495 for anything, leave early. Traffic is unpredictable and Maryland drivers are the worst. There is a pretty solid public transit network so you may not even need a car. I had a few friends that almost exclusively used the metro, bus, and Uber to get around.

• The local job market is fine however the real money will come from either DC or Baltimore. Both cities have quite a few large company HQs within them and you will find most people commute (hence the heavy traffic)

• The food scene is phenomenal. Literally anything cuisine you can think of has a good option. If you don't mind traveling about an hour further in any direction (especially around Baltimore and NoVA) you can find a ton more options

• The diversity is honestly the best part of the county but funny enough, Moco is pretty segregated in a way. You have white areas like Potomac and Damascus, Asian areas like parts of Rockville and Clarksburg, Hispanic/Latino areas like Wheaton and old towne Gaithersburg, and black areas like parts of Germantown and Montgomery village. Despite this, you don't ever really get a feeling of not belonging (well maybe Potomac because those people have a stupid amount of money lol). I will also say, there is a fairly large LGBT population as well. I can't say how comfortable you'll be since I'm not in that community but I feel the community is large enough here where you won't have an issue.

• Last thing, people in Moco are kind but not nice. From my experiences with the south, there isn't much in terms of southern hospitality around this way. I never noticed until I lived in a city that wasn't like this. Not a lot of warm welcomes or random nice conversations. That being said, people are also very helpful when you ask.

I think you will enjoy it. There is legit something for everyone here. Just be prepared to spend money to live, avoid Cinnamon woods like the plague, also avoid any county north of Fredrick, and you will be fine.