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I honestly think some people only post here to bad mouth DC & probably have deeper issues.
Trust me. And this is a southern boy talking. DC is actually a really great place to live with some really cool & nice people if you're smart & go about it the right way. Sure it can suck, but so can just about any other big city out there if you screw it up & don't do your homework.
The only thing I truly have against DC is that I think its a bit too expensive for what it is.
Actually where most of the people on this board would live DC and its suburbs are extremely safe. They say Fairfax County VA right outside DC is the safest large county in America. 99% of the crime in DC is in tough African American neighborhoods I doubt many of us live in or would even visit.
Actually where most of the people on this board would live DC and its suburbs are extremely safe. They say Fairfax County VA right outside DC is the safest large county in America. 99% of the crime in DC is in tough African American neighborhoods I doubt many of us live in or would even visit.
I have lived and worked in the District east of Rock Creek Park for 25 years and I've never been mugged, robbed, or assaulted.
Statistically, DC does have consistently high crime. But in reality, its pretty contained/restricted/delineated to certain areas which makes it almost completely avoidable.
DC's overall crime rates have been dropping since the early 1990's. It used to be a high crime city, but it's about average for cities with 200K+ in population lately. Places like Topeka and Austin are pretty much as dangerous as DC...
Good for ambitious types, aweful for relational people
I think DC is a heaven for the ambitious driven people, but it is hell for the relationship centered people. I am a relational person and working in DC area feels like swimming in a pool of sharks as a dolphin.
It's actually "boldface," but that's beside the point.
DC really isn't a bad place. I've met decent people here and had many opportunities to do things that I couldn't have done in Buffalo. However, I'm not happy here. I've been street harassed too many times by no-class men, and I have not been on a single date since I've been here (three years this summer). If I could take the neighborhood I live in (which is quiet for the most part) and transplant it in a safer environment (I have to pass through the rough parts to get home) with warmer climate I would, but I cannot do that so moving is my ony option.
I concur, I can't stand the DC area. Notice area, as in Northern VA and parts of Maryland as well.
I've lived here for 27 years, left for several months/years, traveled the world, and was born here so I feel my perception is about as accurate as you can be for a subjective topic.
Here's an example of what I hate DC as summarized by my morning commute. I walked to Dupont Metro from 14th and U and got off at Van Ness. In this nothing "commute," I experienced the typical DC garbage that makes me loathe this city so much.
The train pulled up, I stepped to the opposite side anyone getting off would walk and patiently waited for all passengers to exit. Instead, someone decided to walk in before me and run into the people getting off. The person who was behind me waiting also decided that the line that had formed did not matter and she was going to get on before me. When I exited the train, someone of course stood on the left blocking the entire escalator. After reaching the top, an ipod head ran into me and didn't even say excuse me or sorry.
I then walked into my office building, only to have 2 people look directly at me from the elevator and let the doors shut in my face. When I finally did get an elevator after waiting forever, the people who had showed up cut me off while I was trying to get on and all reached over me to push buttons instead of either asking me to push something or saying pardon.
Perhaps it's just human nature, but having traveled extensively, I rarely see the same elsewhere. This is a typical DC day as far as I am concerned.
What I like:
-Woods available
-Random free space if you go out to the burbs to bike, rollerblade, whatever
-Metro has its issues but is better than most other places I've been minus NYC and Chicago
-Some architecture
What I hate:
-Attitudes of a majority of area residents. There is definitely the "I am more important than you" attitude. If you don't see this, you are probably one of those people. Ride the metro for a week or commute from DC to MD or VA for a microcosm of this.
-Housing and rent prices are a joke. For what? What grand attraction justifies higher rent than parts of NY, LA, and Chicago? Do I pay 1900 a month because there is a posh Mexican and Thai restaurant close to me?
-Cost of living in general. Besides the aforementioned rent, everything is hyper expensive for no good reason. Even places all the way out in Rockville or Arlington are expensive. There are hardly any truly world class restaurants, so why? How many "sushi" bars can we have? I suppose those stainless steel tables justify the $18 dishes? Our abundance of stores? There are barely any interesting stores left as the chains have swallowed this city.
-The loft trend. DC's definition of a loft is hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, track lighting, and exposed ducts. Thus, this justifies an extra 200k per month or 400 per month in rent. All the buildings ruin the otherwise charming architecture in DC. Good idea to tear down 100 year old historic row houses and replace them with Chipotle housing.
-DC government. Needs no explanation. No, Adrian Fenty is not going to help when you still have guys like Marion Barry at the forefront. The so called reform in DC I think was brought about more by economic growth nation wide from tech and other areas. Combine this with lots of people riding the "cities are so cool" trend and you have lots of people buying property, setting up businesses, etc.
-Nightlife. IMO, it's largely a joke. I've lived in Adams Morgan, Dupont, and now U St. Saying a tiny strip of nothing bars is night life is insulting. I am someone who frequents all kinds of places from Blackcat and 9:30 to Pharmacy Bar and Wonderland. I used to DJ all over as well including places like Nation and Tracks. Chinatown? Come on, it's a strip of mainly chain restaraunts now with some bs meathead bars in the mix. Adams Morgan? One strip where 3/4 of the bars are almost the exact same, and the rest are trying to be overly posh. Dupont? JR's? Big Hunt? Apex? Please. Go to NYC or even LA if you want to see night life.
-Young Professionals, aka license to be an idiot. Same goes for Hipsters, only they dress better.
-Hours for public transportation. Metro is not 24 hrs? Great idea, close the trains when the bars let out. Good luck getting home after last call if you live in the burbs.
-DUI and traffic laws. No, I don't get tickets and I don't drive wasted. Every piece of suburbia is now loaded with cameras and speed bumps. Does this stop anyone who actually drives at unsafe speeds? I for one welcome our Orwellian overloads.
-DC police aka useless. These guys are usually too worried about standing around doing nothing or writing a ticket to care about actual crime. I've personally encountered this several times. For instance, one night walking home in Adams Morgan, a man crashed into another guy's car. The other guy started screaming at him. The idiot starts screaming back even though everything was clearly his fault. The idiot then gets in a fist fight with the guy he hit and the other guy pulls a knife. I quickly run to the police, having witnessed the entire thing and the policeman and his partner blow me off to write a ticket to some hipster girl on a bike without a light. I asked them if they were going to call anyone? Nope. I inquired if they wanted my statement. Nope. Another similar incident, a few months ago kids were throwing bottles into the road on 14th and my girlfriend told the cops and they ignored her because they were getting McDonalds and it was dinner time.
-Suburbanites. DC's suburbanites are the worst I have encountered. Stay in your McMansions with your SUVs. The sense of entitlement and naive statements that come out of their mouths blows my mind. This includes my coworkers who are some of the most educated people I've ever met. Something in the water here makes everyone intolerant and believe they are god's gift to this earth.
-Dating scene. Admittedly I've had great success, but only after going through so much garbage. I'm your typical DC hyper educated type and I meet a lot of those girls. You wonder if they were in a coma the entire time in school. If I meet another Lawyer, woman "exploring" the city, or trust fund baby, I will kill myself.
I could go on but my fingers are even hating DC for making me type this much. Before you flame away and say, "if you don't like it, leave," well, I am. As soon as my salary negotiations come through, I am. 27 years of hell resolved by one resume and cover letter. Thank god there are a lot of nicer places to live.
I really don't understand all this bile; every city is a balance of good and bad. A lot of the criticisms I've read would apply to any large urban area on the East or West coast. Cities like DC and NY attract ambitious people who come here mostly because of a job. I wonder if many of the people hate it here have not experienced another large city, or are just unhappy with their life and have focused their hatred on the place and not the underlying cause. I have lived in NY, Chicago and Seattle; each has its own advantages, but DC is not dramatically worse than any other large city--and better for me in quite a few ways. I don't miss the grime of the NY or Chicago subways (and Seattle doesn't even have a subway, just a tunnel); I love the job I do here (a job I could not do anywhere else), there are beautiful parks (Great Falls, Rock Creek Park) and plenty of restaurants and independent movies to go to (with or without the DuPont 5). Despite the cost of living, admittedly high (but after living in NY a bargain), you can build a reasonably urban lifestyle here as well as any other city I have lived in.
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Good for ambitious types, aweful for relational people
