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i'm a male from New York, who plans to apply to Howard University and hopefully attend there. i would like to know what it's really like in D.C. and the perspective of people who live there. i want to stuff like the crime rate/statistics, climate, the D.C. culture, transportation options/commute time, how good are the healthcare facilities, taxes, affordability, and how much an apartment normally cost in D.C. as i plan to possibly not live on campus. thank you and have a great day.
First off I'm a D.C. native born and raised, not the suburbs but the actual city. I've also spent a lot of time in NYC so I can compare and contrast the two regions. That said here it goes.
NYC and DC are like apples and oranges. NYC is much larger, faster, hectic, gritty, cultural, expensive, and operates at a different tune than DC does. In DC these days, its mostly transplanted yuppies, many of whom are white, mixed in with a large homegrown black population. The two groups aren't that fond of one another despite being in the same areas. In NYC it's a melting pot across the board despite the segregation. In NYC you have poor and working class white people and people of all backgrounds. In. D.C. 99.9% of the white population is upper middle class to flatout rich. The only poor group in D.C. is the black population, not all of course. NYC is a 24/7 city D.C. is not. There is a bit of southern hue in D.C. that you won't find in New York, but it's not in your face southern. The climate is similar to NYC only difference is D.C. gets less snow in the winter and is slightly warmer in the summer, allergies can be a real pain in the ass here though. As for shopping NYC crushes DC obviously but the DC area has good options. For upscale it's Georgetown, Tyson's Corner, City Center, and Friendship Heights.
Hmmm what else? As far as crime it's definitely present here and some Howard U students do become victims, watch your back at night on Georgia ave or anywhere else in the city for that matter. Robberies, assaults, and rapes happen fairly frequent I get police updates all the time. Not trying to paint a bad image of D.C. just being real. That said if you can handle NYC you'll be fine in D.C.
If you live off campus what would be your budget? The D.C. area is almost as expensive as NYC, housing wise at least. Also food, clothes, and public transportation will be more expensive in D.C. and street food isn't all that big here, you won't see halal carts or taco stands here like that. Before you make it official visit D.C. first to see if you like it or not. NYC to D.C. is a total downgrade and mostly every New Yorker I've talked to here talks **** about D.C. relentlessly. I must admit I do the same whenever I visit NY and come back down to this small ass city, but I appreciate it for what it is though. If you live in the more urban neighborhoods of then city you'll probably like it. But a lot of neighborhoods especially east of the Anacostia river can be kinda country, there's no Deanwood in NYC.
If you live off campus what would be your budget? The D.C. area is almost as expensive as NYC, housing wise at least. Also food, clothes, and public transportation will be more expensive in D.C. and street food isn't all that big here, you won't see halal carts or taco stands here like that. Before you make it official visit D.C. first to see if you like it or not. NYC to D.C. is a total downgrade and mostly every New Yorker I've talked to here talks **** about D.C. relentlessly. I must admit I do the same whenever I visit NY and come back down to this small ass city, but I appreciate it for what it is though. If you live in the more urban neighborhoods of then city you'll probably like it. But a lot of neighborhoods especially east of the Anacostia river can be kinda country, there's no Deanwood in NYC.
OP will see food trucks in DC but they're not all over the place like they are up in New York.
And you'll find "country" parts in Bmore and Philly as well. Maybe even Boston too.
NYC to D.C. is a total downgrade and mostly every New Yorker I've talked to here talks **** about D.C. relentlessly.
It's funny you should say that, because most every New Yorker I know who has moved to the DC area says that living here is much more manageable than in NYC. When I say I'm interested in renting a place to live in NYC, they respond that it's mostly nice to visit.
It's funny you should say that, because most every New Yorker I know who has moved to the DC area says that living here is much more manageable than in NYC. When I say I'm interested in renting a place to live in NYC, they respond that it's mostly nice to visit.
It's funny you should say that, because most every New Yorker I know who has moved to the DC area says that living here is much more manageable than in NYC. When I say I'm interested in renting a place to live in NYC, they respond that it's mostly nice to visit.
Go figure.
Being more manageable doesn't mean better. I'm pretty sure Fayetteville, NC is more manageable than D.C. but it doesn't compare in any way.
If you're from NYC, DC will seem like a country farm town. You can see all you can see in DC in a single weekend really. DC is split between upper middle class to rich waspy white people who think their ***** doesn't stink and poor resentful ghetto to upper middle class bougie black people with a dash of working class day laborer Salvadorans and Ethiopians in the mix. Salvadorans as well as other Central American groups represent the vast majority of DC's somewhat small Latino population. There are no sizable populations of Dominicans or Puerto Ricans like you have in NYC. The few Dominicans and Puerto Ricans in DC tend to look fully white or black and very much culturally identify as such. Salvadorans definitely keep the city running doing the brunt of construction work in the city. There are no sizable populations of poor or working class whites in the DC area. DC is so segregated you can cut the city down the center roughly along 13th Street NW to separate white DC in Northwest from black DC in Northeast and Southeast. Gentrification has slightly whitened many formerly all-black areas in NW, NE and SE DC in recent years.
People in DC can be very antisocial. The first thing yuppies will ask you is "what do you do?", if they don't like the answer, they might just turn around in your face or show silent disdain. DC people are very pretentious. Everyone thinks they're some big shot because they have a college degree from a name brand school and that they have a stable government job with a slightly above average income. But most DC people who have good jobs aren't actually rich like they would like to believe. You have a bunch of 30K millionaires in clubs trying to pop bottles like celebrities. DC people often come off as being soulless and reek of affluenza.
DC people often tend to be extremely judgemental. Your race, where you went to school, what you do for a living, what neighborhood or suburb you live in and whether or not you're a DC native determines who you are allowed to associate with. Whites stick with whites with some token whitewashed blacks and Asians for good measure. Blacks stick with blacks. Even upper middle class black folks with good jobs would rather not associate with whites outside of work. If you are non-black and try to talk to the average black person in DC, they will look at you like you're crazy. If you are black and try talking to the average white person, they will show the utmost nonverbal indignation as if they think they could buy or sell you.
Crime in DC has reached historic lows, but the District is still a place you need to be careful because robberies and assaults are an everyday thing. I think you are much more likely to get robbed for your fresh sneakers in DC compared to NYC. Even though many areas are gentrifying (i.e. Georgia Ave corridor), these areas are still very much ghetto and I wouldn't fall into a false sense of security just because there are so much more white people around than there was 10 years ago.
Yuppies in DC live to work. DC yuppies are obsessed with being "professionals". They always look like they came from the office wearing a tucked in oxford shirt and slacks even on weekends and holidays. DC yuppies tend to be very boring people who lack excitement and personality. Yet these people are still snobby. DC is not like NYC where work is work and play is play. White yuppies in DC look down on black culture. If white people in DC appreciate black culture, it's in a Stuff White People Like kind of way (i.e. listening to black music black people don't like anymore like Wu-Tang). They think wearing fitted baseball caps and fresh sneakers is childish. Unlike NYC, other races besides blacks and some token Salvadorans and first generation African immigrants who can pass as American black generally do not embrace black urban culture.
The black population in DC is very insular and not welcoming to outsiders. Black people from DC generally don't like anyone who isn't black and wasn't born and raised in DC or bordering PG County their entire life. Black DC natives go out of their way to disown other black DC natives who haven't lived there everyday of their lives. Notably, black DC natives go out of their way to disown the DC area's most successful crossover Rap star, Wale, because he moved away to Montgomery County as a child. You don't see black folks from Compton trying to disown Serena Williams despite the fact that she also moved away as a child. You don't see Oaklanders trying to disown Tupac Shakur despite the fact that he was from Harlem. DC's black culture is very unique. Black DC has it's own local musical genre called Go-Go music which can be described as live banging on a garbage can call-and-response funk. Black DC's fashion sense is highly unique as well. Black DC natives style is very colorful. Local clothing brands like Solbiato which feature odd things like lightweight hooded t-shirts with primary color-blocking are popular. Gray New Balance sneakers, Nike Foamposites and Flightposites as well as Helley Hansen ski gear in the Fall/Winter are all popular. Mixing high end streetwear with high fashion is also popular among this set.
Much of DC's current culture revolves around bars. U Street, Adam's Morgan and H Street are all very bar-centric. U Street runs along the segregated dividing line of 13th Street. The bars before 13th Street are predominantly black in patronage and play classic Hip Hop, R&B and Reggae. The bars west of 13th tend to be waspier. DC is a big drinking town. DC ranks among the top ten drunkest cities. This is because culturally, DC is very conservative and alcohol is both legal and socially acceptable. There are DUI enforcement signs plastered all over the beltway. DC has one of the highest concentrations of Alcoholics Anonymous in the nation which is telling. Recreational marijuana smoking is a more underground phenomena and many people with government jobs aren't allowed to smoke anyway. Weed is something many DC yuppies did back in high school. Cocaine is big among DC area folks with decent money.
DC traffic is among the worst in the nation. Any hour can be gridlock bumper to bumper traffic on the beltway. People drive like they are the only car on the road in DC. But unlike NYC, DC drivers don't sit on their car horns, cuss people out or want to fight people in the middle of bumper to bumper traffic.
DC people tend to be well-mannered though. It's not like NYC where everyone is impatient and ready to cuss someone out at the drop of a hat. People tend to be more passive aggressive in behavior in DC. Money talks and people don't. People on the street make much less eye contact in DC compared to NYC where you have a sea of eyes on you everyday.
Last edited by LunaticVillage; 05-12-2015 at 12:30 AM..
Whites stick with whites with some token whitewashed blacks and Asians for good measure. Blacks stick with blacks. Even upper middle class black folks with good jobs would rather not associate with whites outside of work. If you are non-black and try to talk to the average black person in DC, they will look at you like you're crazy. If you are black and try talking to the average white person, they will show the utmost nonverbal indignation as if they think they could buy or sell you.
I'm one of those judgmental educated upper middle class white guys. And my best friend is from Deanwood which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. I can assure you he's not whitewashed.
I actually have more black friends than white friends.
Bitter much?
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