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Just as the tittle suggests, what are the cultural differences of the Washington DC area and the Baltimore Area. Consider things like ecomics, music scene, food, education attainment, the burbs (suburbs), job occupations, networking and socializing etc
Just as the tittle suggests, what are the cultural differences of the Washington DC area and the Baltimore Area. Consider things like ecomics, music scene, food, education attainment, the burbs (suburbs), job occupations, networking and socializing etc
The cultures of the two areas are quite different. Baltimore has more local culture, ethnic enclaves due to being an immigrant hub many moons ago. Baltimore is a very blue collar port city, whereas DC more of a white collar, suite and tie kind of place. Also, DC is far more transient than Baltimore. Someone from DC can explain the local culture better than I can, so I'll leave that up to them.
The main differences that jump out to me are Baltimore feels a lot more local while DC feels a lot more International.
DC is higher level, more competitive, more white collar, more expensive and generally more diverse. The two cities are so different its hard to believe they are physically so close to each other. Two totally different worlds.
The cultures of the two areas are quite different. Baltimore has more local culture, ethnic enclaves due to being an immigrant hub many moons ago. Baltimore is a very blue collar port city, whereas DC more of a white collar, suite and tie kind of place. Also, DC is far more transient than Baltimore. Someone from DC can explain the local culture better than I can, so I'll leave that up to them.
This is the critical difference between the two. DC never had the shipping and steel and other heavy industry that Baltimore did and with the growth in the federal government over decades (and the local decline in crime) DC is richer, more gentrified, and more white-collar than ever now. DC also has better (high) culture with its museums, theaters, and music performances at the Kennedy Center--though Baltimore has all this on a lesser scale.
But Baltimore arguably has a richer local culture that has been showcased incredibly well over the past decades including Hitchcock's Marnie (remember those last scenes?), the films of Barry Levinson and John Waters, the wonderful Lanford Wilson play Hot L Baltimore, and of course the great David Simon television masterpieces. I don't think DC has anything to match that.
Last edited by citylove101; 01-26-2017 at 11:29 AM..
I'm not sure that DC even has a local culture anymore, outside of the black community. It's just been completely swamped by transplants over several generations until it's a melange of bland pablum.
I'm not sure that DC even has a local culture anymore, outside of the black community. It's just been completely swamped by transplants over several generations until it's a melange of bland pablum.
For the most part, DC's local culture is local Black culture and has been for several decades.
For the most part, DC's local culture is local Black culture and has been for several decades.
The inherit, oblivious, racist, unbelievable posts on this website regarding black culture really depict the lack of awareness among people in America toward race relations. The crazy thing is, I know that poster is probably not racist, they, like many Americans, just don't recognize black culture as a legitimate factor. You would never hear someone say that about Boston which has no black culture in comparison to DC.
Person 1: "What is the local culture in Boston?"
Person 2: "Boston doesn't have much of a local culture outside of the Caucasian/European residents?"
My impressions: Baltimore is definitely more blue collar and gritty, but also more down-to-earth. D.C. is much more white collar, has a more international and a busier feel during a weekday, but it also somewhat sterile in many locations and can be a bit sleepy outside of the 8-4/9-5 hours.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Originally Posted by Maintainschaos
My impressions: Baltimore is definitely more blue collar and gritty, but also more down-to-earth. D.C. is much more white collar, has a more international and a busier feel during a weekday, but it also somewhat sterile in many locations and can be a bit sleepy outside of the 8-4/9-5 hours.
This old mantra is becoming outdated pretty quickly in reference to DC. Most people in these discussions continue to label the whole city as this, but then when referring to an example of what part the city is sleepy they can only site the office district downtown. There is nothing sleepy on H Street, or 8th st SE, or Capital Riverfront, or numerous neighborhoods in NW DC after 5 pm, that is categorically false.
My aunt came into town from Detroit a while back and was in awe of "how many people are out in the streets at night". Traffic backed up, people jay walking, saying it was nothing like how she remembered 20+ years ago. There are neighborhoods in every quadrant of DC which receive heavy amounts of foot traffic after work hours. It's the busiest center of a 6+ million metro, but i think people continue to reference a few downtown streets with the vibrancy of the whole city. It's certainly not to be mistaken with Manhattan, but the activity is there and certainly more active spots overall scattered across the city than Baltimore.
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