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I left SF years ago just as the tech boom was just starting, so my knowledge is probably out of date. But I would imagine a lot of those "refugees" were people with non-traditional careers who got priced out, as Mutiny77 suggests. In DC, I know a lot of people who want to leave in spite of having pretty solid jobs here.
As if SF is some cultural oasis lol.
People hate on DC because its not ethnically segregated enough. People want to come and find a "click" they can join (Italian, Polish, Jewish, etc). DC doesn't offer that, so people feel uncomfortable because they actually have to leave their comfort zone.
Moderator cut: orphaned
Just some word of advice- realize that you are posting in the DC forums. What happens in real world DC also applies to the forums. Meaning, you will be met with those of the same social ideologies.
Ex- When you have posters mentioning others "not having enough money to live in DC" or that "people should get out of comfort zones", just know that this mentality is carried in most areas of their social interactions- a bunch of acultural (having no culture), classist, elitist hikers. These are those who are possibly estranged from their own families, which is why they have no understanding or provide any in-depth cultural discussions.
Again, it is not political ideology but the city itself, who attracts a certain type, who happen to reside on a particular side of the left spectrum. Like I have said before, Adolfo Carrión Jr, a Puerto Rican Democrat from the Bronx, who was also head of HUD under the Obama administration, stated to my close friend that he left DC because he couldn't go to a happy hour or a restaurant and have a decent conversation beyond work related. Puerto Ricans are extremely family and culture oriented. He hated the fact that he could never speak about his family in DC to his peers- and he is liberal as they come.
But again, when you speak to the above described DC elitist/acultural dwellers, you will be met with perspectives from their own immediate spaces; hence not being open minded..
Oh, and please never try to discuss culture and/or diversity with DC. DC ranks 30 in the areas of
Socioeconomic Diversity and Cultural Diversity. I keep saying that although ethnically diverse, it is the socially monocultural city because there is no outlet. It is polarizing and centralizing at its core unlike NY or NJ, which has massive pockets of lower class immigrants living just a mere 5 min train ride from NYC center/Hoboken. You don't have that here in DC....
1 New York, NY 71.73 68 5 250 76 152
2 Jersey City, NJ 71.56 43 1 365 98 252
3 Houston, TX 71.51 116 28 132 100 41
4 Dallas, TX 71.25 139 43 187 109 21
5 Silver Spring, MD 71.1 1 4 200 314 304
6 Aurora, IL 71.09 11 49 357 368 27
7 Gaithersburg, MD 71.04 2 3 309 247 304
8 Los Angeles, CA 70.84 85 18 66 68 208
9 Germantown, MD 70.75 5 2 266 373 304
10 Long Beach, CA 70.71 92 21 72 58 208
11 Stamford, CT 70.67 12 23 340 254 160
12 Chicago, IL 70.57 108 36 270 242 76
13 Danbury, CT 70.49 54 40 146 146 160
14 Arlington, TX 70.48 142 42 153 151 89
15 Sandy Springs, GA 70.44 28 86 475 416 2
16 San Jose, CA 70.39 10 8 334 297 291
17 Clifton, NJ 70.25 94 26 230 240 167
18 New Rochelle, NY 70.24 4 47 265 244 178
19 Yonkers, NY 70.21 89 33 279 75 178
20 San Diego, CA 70.2 16 17 189 182 296
21 Alexandria, VA 70.07 3 37 305 439 157
22 Roswell, GA 69.99 23 122 440 425 2
23 Norwalk, CT 69.96 22 58 183 261 160
24 Johns Creek, GA 69.95 77 46 482 500 2
25 Austin, TX 69.91 21 70 151 309 138
26 Bridgeport, CT 69.69 343 14 271 19 160
27 Elgin, IL 69.65 88 63 301 293 101
28 Anaheim, CA 69.57 63 41 175 138 273
29 Charlotte, NC 69.56 71 82 337 184 90
30 Washington, DC 69.44 13 107 410 455 17
People hate DC because it sells itself as having the amenities of most other major cities, but people soon find out that it is the most centralized city ever. There is nothing beyond its 15 mile radius in the same way that you can get in other major metro areas. In short, DC is constantly changing in order to seem cool and on par with other cities. However, it doesn't realize that it will never be beyond its mission- a political company town (and there is nothing wrong with that- DC just has to own it).
National parks, mountains, museums, and walkable areas are things that DC enthusiasts like to do. For some reason, they keep pushing that stuff, thinking that people are actually interested- they are NOT.
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I am going to break it down deeply and lovely as to why there is so much hate in DC. IN ALL FAIRNESS, everyone is basically right in their own ways. However, it has to be placed into context as IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MONEY...
#1- Most people don't live in places like Manhattan or Downtown LA. However, although manhattan/LA is very accessible, people aren't limited to city center alone as they are in DC. NY has 4 other boroughs, to include a whole other state of NJ, that they can get all their fixings without stepping foot in Manhattan. Same goes for Los Angeles- it has Santa Monica, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Malibu all within 20-60 min. But, most people will make that drive because there is so much in between. From DC to Baltimore, there is ABSOLUTELY nothing but strip malls and "walkable quaint" communities. In DC, you HAVE NO OPTION but to come to DC for most of your nightlife/social fixings. However, most people don't realize this until they get here- WAY AFTER THE FACT. They end up staying for the "jobs". The centralization/polarization gets to you at some point. Furthermore, people don't want to spend their entire weekends on the road driving 4 hours to NY just to get what they SHOULD 20-45 min away.
#2- DC doesn't play well with other cities and is extremely private. As research recently revealed to me, this hatred stems from long days ago in the drug game rivalry with other cities. DC hates NYC/Philly but B-more/philly, and NYC are all close acquaintances.
#3- When you go to NYC, you know what you are getting. When you go to LA, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Meeyamee, you know EXACTLY what you are getting. On top, you get a lot of cross-cultural/social pollination between their surrounding cities. DC seems to be the outsider nerd. DC is one of those cities that just isn't as inviting as others are, which is why it is so socially monocultural. Prime example is with the nightlife/artist scene here. DC has so many guest artists from other places performing here, but DC is NOT cultivating a large of number of acts that go out and represent DC. Most, if not all renowned DC acts leave DC for places like NY/Philly and never turn back to cultivate more DC artists. For the exception of Sandman Burns at ESL, nobody outside of DC genuinely comes in droves to watch a homegrown DC artist perform while representing DC. Whether singer, comedian, DJ, or rapper, there is no identity as there is with other cities reppin' their own cities zip codes. Wale is prolly the most hated rapper outside of DC. (just do a simple google check)
Someone mentioned the fact that DC will soon be importing diverse folks from different areas soon. Again, DC is always going to be doing this, going to be doing that, going to be on par, will be booming soon.. Well, how much and how long can a city keep rearranging its identity? Once these new breeds of elitists show up, what long term social roots will DC provide them beyond politics, walkable areas, parks and museums?
Just some word of advice- realize that you are posting in the DC forums. What happens in real world DC also applies to the forums. Meaning, you will be met with those of the same social ideologies.
Ex- When you have posters mentioning others "not having enough money to live in DC" or that "people should get out of comfort zones", just know that this mentality is carried in most areas of their social interactions- a bunch of acultural (having no culture), classist, elitist hikers. These are those who are possibly estranged from their own families, which is why they have no understanding or provide any in-depth cultural discussions.
Again, it is not political ideology but the city itself, who attracts a certain type, who happen to reside on a particular side of the left spectrum. Like I have said before, Adolfo Carrión Jr, a Puerto Rican Democrat from the Bronx, who was also head of HUD under the Obama administration, stated to my close friend that he left DC because he couldn't go to a happy hour or a restaurant and have a decent conversation beyond work related. Puerto Ricans are extremely family and culture oriented. He hated the fact that he could never speak about his family in DC to his peers- and he is liberal as they come.
But again, when you speak to the above described DC elitist/acultural dwellers, you will be met with perspectives from their own immediate spaces; hence not being open minded..
Oh, and please never try to discuss culture and/or diversity with DC. DC ranks 30 in the areas of
Socioeconomic Diversity and Cultural Diversity. I keep saying that although ethnically diverse, it is the socially monocultural city because there is no outlet. It is polarizing and centralizing at its core unlike NY or NJ, which has massive pockets of lower class immigrants living just a mere 5 min train ride from NYC center/Hoboken. You don't have that here in DC....
1 New York, NY 71.73 68 5 250 76 152
2 Jersey City, NJ 71.56 43 1 365 98 252
3 Houston, TX 71.51 116 28 132 100 41
4 Dallas, TX 71.25 139 43 187 109 21
5 Silver Spring, MD 71.1 1 4 200 314 304
6 Aurora, IL 71.09 11 49 357 368 27
7 Gaithersburg, MD 71.04 2 3 309 247 304
8 Los Angeles, CA 70.84 85 18 66 68 208
9 Germantown, MD 70.75 5 2 266 373 304
10 Long Beach, CA 70.71 92 21 72 58 208
11 Stamford, CT 70.67 12 23 340 254 160
12 Chicago, IL 70.57 108 36 270 242 76
13 Danbury, CT 70.49 54 40 146 146 160
14 Arlington, TX 70.48 142 42 153 151 89
15 Sandy Springs, GA 70.44 28 86 475 416 2
16 San Jose, CA 70.39 10 8 334 297 291
17 Clifton, NJ 70.25 94 26 230 240 167
18 New Rochelle, NY 70.24 4 47 265 244 178
19 Yonkers, NY 70.21 89 33 279 75 178
20 San Diego, CA 70.2 16 17 189 182 296
21 Alexandria, VA 70.07 3 37 305 439 157
22 Roswell, GA 69.99 23 122 440 425 2
23 Norwalk, CT 69.96 22 58 183 261 160
24 Johns Creek, GA 69.95 77 46 482 500 2
25 Austin, TX 69.91 21 70 151 309 138
26 Bridgeport, CT 69.69 343 14 271 19 160
27 Elgin, IL 69.65 88 63 301 293 101
28 Anaheim, CA 69.57 63 41 175 138 273
29 Charlotte, NC 69.56 71 82 337 184 90
30 Washington, DC 69.44 13 107 410 455 17
LOL.. you have Sliver Spring at #5 on that list. Silver Spring is a five minute walk from DC. You also have Gaithersburg at #7 and Germantown at #9. They are both in the DC metro area.
I lived in DC for four years prior to relocating down to Florida. I believe DC's negative reputation is driven by the following factors:
1) City is very transient and filled to the brim with highly educated transplants that are there for the short term, career comes front and center before anything else including genuine friendships. The typical conversation among strangers at a bar in DC is centered around business and networking, conversations consist of "what is your line of business?", "who do you work for?", "who do you work with?", etc. It's the "What's in it for me?" mentality, conversations end quickly if you don't have something of special interest to contribute.
2) COL is EXTREMELY HIGH, as mentioned by previous posters, affordable housing in a good area is virtually non-existent without roommates, the market for apartments is extremely competitive, listings are snatched up within minutes of being posted. In addition to housing costs, food and services are also very expensive. Everything is heavily taxed and the local city government has a reputation for being corrupt and tax-hungry, even grocery bags are taxed, that's right, plastic grocery bags!
3) Metro system is not as reliable as it used to be, during my last year in DC this became very apparent. In recent years the system has aged rapidly and years of bad management has resulted in a less than reliable system that now has to be repaired and reformed. Weekend service is especially unreliable with regular single-tracking, service reductions, and 30+ minute waits for trains to show up at stations.
4) Winter months are cold and lonely, especially in the heart of the city. Half of the city's population leaves during the winter months (snowbirds migrate to the South, politicians leave town, and college students go home) and parts of the city look like a ghost town. Walking to work on lonely snow filled sidewalks with cold wind chills blowing in your face becomes very harsh and uncomfortable.
5) There is a major lack of local pride and association. Locals that reside outside of DC city limits (Maryland and Virginia suburbs) seem to despise DC and go out of their way to avoid the city at all costs, there is no real sense of city pride as there is in other metro areas. There is a negative stigma with the "city" as a place that simply exists as a source of employment and not so much a place to visit for communal events and leisurely activities.
I lived in DC for four years prior to relocating down to Florida. I believe DC's negative reputation is driven by the following factors:
1) City is very transient and filled to the brim with highly educated transplants that are there for the short term, career comes front and center before anything else including genuine friendships. The typical conversation among strangers at a bar in DC is centered around business and networking, conversations consist of "what is your line of business?", "who do you work for?", "who do you work with?", etc. It's the "What's in it for me?" mentality, conversations end quickly if you don't have something of special interest to contribute.
2) COL is EXTREMELY HIGH, as mentioned by previous posters, affordable housing in a good area is virtually non-existent without roommates, the market for apartments is extremely competitive, listings are snatched up within minutes of being posted. In addition to housing costs, food and services are also very expensive. Everything is heavily taxed and the local city government has a reputation for being corrupt and tax-hungry, even grocery bags are taxed, that's right, plastic grocery bags!
3) Metro system is not as reliable as it used to be, during my last year in DC this became very apparent. In recent years the system has aged rapidly and years of bad management has resulted in a less than reliable system that now has to be repaired and reformed. Weekend service is especially unreliable with regular single-tracking, service reductions, and 30+ minute waits for trains to show up at stations.
4) Winter months are cold and lonely, especially in the heart of the city. Half of the city's population leaves during the winter months (snowbirds migrate to the South, politicians leave town, and college students go home) and parts of the city look like a ghost town. Walking to work on lonely snow filled sidewalks with cold wind chills blowing in your face becomes very harsh and uncomfortable.
5) There is a major lack of local pride and association. Locals that reside outside of DC city limits (Maryland and Virginia suburbs) seem to despise DC and go out of their way to avoid the city at all costs, there is no real sense of city pride as there is in other metro areas. There is a negative stigma with the "city" as a place that simply exists as a source of employment and not so much a place to visit for communal events and leisurely activities.
I agree with all of this. I grew up here too and this area is now full of elitist, people who move here and act like they know everything about everything because they got their MBA from schools like Florida State or some school out in Montana.
But also, many people here are just here for a few years, then move away.
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