I Can't Take It Anymore... (rent, home, neighborhood)

[Defined_Within]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Good luck with your job search in Maine.
But I have to wonder -- what were you thinking when, with a job in Arlington, you decided to buy a house in Severna Park? Especially if you don't like driving, and you don't like to be crowded with rude people in public transportation?

Mizz Claremarie, not trying to be funny or anything but would i be wrong to say that you LOVE this area and what if offers to you and your family?

[wen5155]

How old are you? What do you love about your job? If it's the work itself you need to find a sideline, a business venture, some way to make a living at the thing you enjoy. Working for someone all your life is not going to do it for you in the end. Find a way to do what you love without working for someone. If you are not that type of person, then you need to definitely move closer to your work. Since the rents are high, get a roommate. You can find someone with good values if you look. Then, at least you will have a better quality of life. I always tell people that if you are miserable, you need to make a change asap and stop procrastinating. Things can only get better. You have to go for it.

[claremarie]

Defined Within --
I do love this area, and have since I moved here from affordable but depressed and largely job-less Pittsburgh 20 years ago. I love living around people from all over the world who have, for the most part, CHOSEN to make their home here, despite the high cost of housing and the traffic hassles. I love having world-class FREE museums in my backyard, driving by the monuments on my way to Costco, giving my kids the opportunity to attend wonderful schools, eating at terrific Thai/Indian/Vietnamese/Spanish restaurants, hearing people speak in dozens of different languages at the mall, bumping into Supreme Court justices at Mass, enjoying marvelous public and community recreation facilities, and playing tour guide for visiting family and friends.
This is a great place to live, and as our family prepares for a job-related move to the midwest, we've come to realize how much we've taken for granted here. Yes, the traffic is awful, but you can learn to work around it, and the houses are expensive, but we've lowered our expectations of what a $500K house should look like.

[sleek]

Originally Posted by somnambulist

I'm sick of the rude, childish, horribly self-absorbed people that seem to make up the overwhelming majority of those who live here.


Where the hell is it possible to live like a human being *and* have a family here when you're not making over $150,000/yr? Every time I thought I'd found an answer, I turned out to be horribly wrong.

First off, I have been bouncing back between Philadelphia to DC and Baltimore.
I spent the last decade in NYC and Philadelphia just isn't cutting it.
Maybe I'm just having bad luck, but I've been freaked out every time I've been in Baltimore.
And I dont freak out easily. I've hung out with friends in sketchy areas of NYC and know to hold my own.
On to DC.....First couple times I visited I was looking at it thru rose colored glasses and also was lucky to run into some very friendly people.
But now the last few times I've visited I can sense there is a huge contingent of humorless egomanical wankers and wankettes abounding.
I'm an upbeat and outgoing person and can't abide by snotty people.
Also Im single girl and the men Im running into in DC are all fitting your description of rude, childish and self absorbed....
So I've have some indicators that there are more than average amount of soulless types in DC and surrounding areas.

Have you considered Colorado ?
Low cost of living and more laid back.

[ateo]

Time to go. The world is a big place and you're a free man. Don't let your life be constrained by geography or fear - there are always jobs out there.

Few people like D.C. All the talk about the museums and "cultural attractions" is bunk. Few people visit those museums. I think I've been to the national zoo twice in 23 years in D.C.

The only reason to be here is the money. If you've got experience you can transfer your skills anywhere in the world and make a living. So what's your reason for staying? Familiarity? Fear? Nuts to that. Go out there and upgrade your life. Nobody is stopping you but you.

If you want to live in a high income area (also high cost, they go hand in hand) that has some "big city benefits" then you might as well move to California. It'll be pretty much the same thing but the women are more attractive and the weather is much better. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Define what is important to you in your life and then seek it out. You shape your own reality. Or you can sit around being molded into one of those soulless D.C. parasites you loath. You'll wake up 10 years from now and realize you've become what you hate.

Sounds to me like you value certain things more than the things D.C. has to offer. So move.

[sphinx]

Good info about the D.C. area.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by sphinx

Good info about the D.C. area.

Yes we have verified that DC is a city and as a city has traffic, rude people and crime.

No other city in the USA has these things.

[somnambulist]

Wow!

First off all, I can't thank you all enough for the number of supportive and thought-provoking responses. I honestly expected to have my post dismissed as another "blah blah, someone else who hates D.C." rant, but I may very well have stumbled on either the most supportive community on the internet, or at least a large cross-section of people with similar antipathy towards this city.

I hadn't really appreciated the priorities that led me to move here in the first place, and now with the benefit of experience and hindsight, I can honestly say it may indeed be time to go. If the government needs me, they might just have to find me in some place far more pleasant.

Actually, I'm in law school right now, and my decision to attend was largely based on the freedom of movement such a career would lend itself. Once again, thank you all so very much!

To respond to the questions about commute times, I currently live in Laurel, and in *good* traffic conditions, it takes just half an hour to make it to the city and back. *However*, those good conditions are exceedingly rare, and increasingly so, and the slightest sort of traffic incident will make for an hour long commute in each direction for an average of about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Honestly, if it were just the traffic, that'd be one thing. For instance, if it were possible to live in an actual house, and all other conditions were nominal if not great, then traffic wouldn't be quite as vexing.

On the other hand, it's very telling indeed when D.C. boasts the second worst traffic in the country, ahead of cities like NYC, Houston, and Chicago which have exponentially larger populations. It's even more telling that it's only projected to get worse.

Someone also mentioned the key economic benefits to working here; namely, that the city is recession-proof. Problem is, that recession-proofing also guarantees exorbitantly high costs of living.

In regards to the cost of living problems, someone else mentioned something that really got my attention: the fact that people essentially work to pay their rent/mortgages here with little left over for anything else. That exactly what I've been experiencing, to the point where I can't really say that I'm economically that much better off here than I would've been back in Texas or elsewhere.

Honestly, I whole-heartedly admire those who not only tolerate the area well, but thrive here. I only wish I had that kind of mettle, but suffice to say I don't.

[KerryB]

Thats the problem with the US. There are VERY few metro-like cities that are affordable, if any. Seems its either live in the city around the things you love within walking distance & be dirt poor, or live like a king in the burbs of a mediocre city & have to drive everywhere.

I hear what you're saying though. You're DEF not alone in thinking that way.

What part of Texas are you from?? If you move back, give Austin a try.

[JiminCT]

I did 6 years in DC I can safely say that DC cant suck enough. Never seen so many self-important wonks with crappy jobs that had such arrogant personalities. Truly a cesspool for soulless and the morally bankrupt.