Do people really work longer and harder in the DC area than anywhere else?
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I agree, I find that really hard to believe you find things packed up around 6 or 6:30!!! I don't find it beginning to ease til 7:30 or 8. Did you move here in the summer? Things do tend to lighten up then, but still... well, you're lucky
Walked from 15th and M to the McPherson Square Metro around 6:30 this evening. L, K, and I Streets were all bumper to bumper as far as you could see. Headed out to Vienna, and I-66 westbound was at about 10 mph from Ballston to Sycamore, then at 5-7 from the Beltway to Vienna. Eastbound, maybe making 7-8 mph from west of the 267 merge down to Ballston. Didn't get across 123-South in Vienna until about 8:00, and it was clear then. It usually is by that hour. It all but never is at 6:30
I agree, I find that really hard to believe you find things packed up around 6 or 6:30!!! I don't find it beginning to ease til 7:30 or 8. Did you move here in the summer? Things do tend to lighten up then, but still... well, you're lucky
No, I live here many years. But I do not pretend to know it all, and find it quite possible that there are some everyday traffic jams at 7:30-8pm in the areas I do not use for my commute. Just tell me where, I would appreciate the new info. Somewhere in the outer suburbs, or in the city itself?
Walked from 15th and M to the McPherson Square Metro around 6:30 this evening. L, K, and I Streets were all bumper to bumper as far as you could see. Headed out to Vienna, and I-66 westbound was at about 10 mph from Ballston to Sycamore, then at 5-7 from the Beltway to Vienna. Eastbound, maybe making 7-8 mph from west of the 267 merge down to Ballston. Didn't get across 123-South in Vienna until about 8:00, and it was clear then. It usually is by that hour. It all but never is at 6:30
Sure, there are a lot of areas which clear only by 7pm, but others go easy at speed limit or more by 6:30. Just as I wrote. Did not see much traffic at 8, not counting snow days, accidents, Fridays (problems on a few roads) and evenings before holidays (ditto).
Since you asked--most of my rush-hour machinations are around the areas of Bethesda, Chevy Chase-DC, Rockville/Gaithersburg, and Silver Spring, and I almost always find them jammed up til the hours I mentioned...
Very interesting thread. On the DC Culture, my cousin lived in the DC area for many years but returned back to Ohio. He worked at the time for Arthur Anderson accounting firm. He put in such long hours even to the point that he almost got divorced. He liked DC very much especially its culture but also it is a very hard work area as well. He is an "overachiever" as well. He is about 38 years old now and he is already made partner with Earnst & Young.
The company I use to work for (DoD), management tried to get me to move from Colorado to the DC area several times but I refused. The last time I was told to move there, I refused and lost my job. The company played hardball such that if I took the position, they wanted me to sever all ties to Colorado especially sell my house. One project I worked, our counterparts were in Gaithersburg MD. The guy I shared my office with mentioned that "don't these people in G-burg have a life ? All they do is work, work and work". I use to butt heads with a few people there since they insisted you be in at work on Saturday or Sunday and insisted you be there the whole day on Friday. They would make those demands at the last minute even though they knew the plans the whole time. One time, I told them that "p*ss poor planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Here in Colorado, the office would be a ghost town by noon on Friday.
I looked at jobs at a few companies here. One such place it Booz Allen (based out of McLean VA) but I am not too keen on working there. They have the workaholic culture such as you are expected to be in on weekends and their dress code sucks - business formal and you must wear a long sleeve shirt even in the 95 degree temperatures. You are expected to dress even on Friday and weekends.
Get a skill, become a contractor and work 3-6 months out of the year, then take the remaining months off to travel! I'm not interested in the big house, fancy car, etc. just concerned about paying debt off and traveling at this point. If you can get by with less, you won't have to work so hard. There are lots of "alternative" contract jobs for CPA's, Attorneys, etc...you just have to find them....
DC is one of the best places in the country to make money, tho. Go to DC, work hard, make the money and then bail when you're 40, having paid off the debt, etc. Then be a bartender or retire in the Bahamas...life is short, but, would you rather work hard for a couple of months / 1-2 years and then take time off? Or would you rather work a minimal amount for a long period of time - like 10-20 years? I know that not everyone can do this, but there is another way to think about "working"...
If ppl. would stop overspending, feeling like they had to have the BMW, etc. they could do so much with their money...it's crazy. Just don't go to Starbucks and eat lunch at Potbelly's everyday..you'll be surprised how much more money you have!
All but one of my friends works 40-45 hours a week. Really, it depends on where you are and what you're doing. For example, law firms and those reliant on those lawyers (i.e. consulting) will often work longer hours. In government, it often seems that the longest hours are put in by those directly involved in politics, not at the middle bureaucrat level.
Sure, there are exceptions where I've worked longer for a week or two, but generally if I'm at the office past 5:30pm I'm all alone. It's not that we're lazy, it's just that people get done what they need to during the day so they can head out by 5. They like their jobs (mostly), but they like their families and outside life more. Overtime is rare unless a case goes to litigation, and even then we need to be "pre-approved" to work late.
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