Interesting article about D.C. (fit in, transplants, apartments)
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I agree with some of his points.
D.C. does seem like a fake city sometimes.
Wards 7 and 8 are the realest parts of D.C. since more people who live over there are natives or long time residents. In the other wards of the city its full of transplants in the 20-39 age range which most of whom have a douchebag mentality and a elitist attitude.
This brings to my next point, who do most people down here think DC is better than Baltimore. Bmore may have more crime and poverty but you can't tell me it isn't a real ****. I can't think of the last time I had a small talk conversational in D.C. but every time I chill in Bmore the people are ALOT friendlier, down to earth, and slower paced; D.C. on the other hand is the exact opposite of that. Its like every city in this country is more real than D.C. even SF.
DC reminds me of jail a little bit.
You have the:
-Natives
-Transplant Yuppies/Buppies
-Elitists
-Gays
-Thugs
-Latinos
-Hipsters
and for the most part is seems like these groups don't get along in one way or another.
Nobody like the thugs except the natives and even then theres tension between older natives and thugs. Latinos for the most part don't have a big issue with thugs either as long they aren't targeted.
Yuppies, Gays, Elitists, Hipsters are pretty much buddies for the most part and this is only because the majority of these four groups are white. The majority of that natives and thugs are black. Buppies can fit in either group for the most part they tend to stick to their own.
Yet another drama thread, but what the heck, why have a forum if you cant talk about stuff.......
DC is a tired city......the article is correct. I am native to DC (as opposed to 99% of the people that live here). I did not leave the DC area for the first 23 years of my life. I am like one of those folks in NYC that never left a bourough until they were old enough to drive :-).
My issues with DC:
1. DC is a city with no identity. In NYC you have people that are from Brooklyn and they love it, in Philly you have everyone that knows the Curse of Billy Penn, and Cheesesteaks. Boston, its the accents and Redsox/Fenway.....DC has nothing....there is no "Empire State of Mind" theme song for this city, there is nothing that binds this city together (other than bragging about salary and politics).
1a....DC has a bunch of clones:
"Oh you are a lawyer or work for a Non Profit org.....GREAT, or even better you work for the Government or Contractor X and *gasp* WOW you make $1__K a year......Ive never met anyone like you before. "
2. DC is apathetic in the face of success......DC has a somewhat delusional population of individuals that consider making between 100-200K to be the epitome of success. This is simply a city of worker bees. I absolutly do not fit in this area. This area has no billionaires, no major CEOs, and no HQs for major companies outside of government affiliation/leeching. Just cogs (reference section 1a).
3. DC is constantly loosing its good people......when one of the individuals in this area develops a truely innovative idea, they leave DC and go to an area (Silicon Valley for example) where they can truely cultivate their talents. Because of this DC faces a perpetual loss of IP through this --- which takes us back to problem #1. DC is like a giant R&D lab, and while we may churn out some cool ideas, other cities actually bring our concepts to market.
4. DC is too centralized -> which leads to traffic -> which leads to stress, and then you have the "lack of fun" that comes out of that. Who the hell wants to party or have a BBQ when you spent 2 hours in traffic.
Government Worker/Lawyer: "After work BBQ you say??? HECK No -- I have to get to the VRE! I spend my afternoons getting into commuteer-stress induced road rage incidents out in the quiet suburban parts of town. We could live in the city and avoid the road rage, but DC hasnt been [racially] gentrified yet."
5. DCs building height restrictions -- The building height restrictions speak to the lack of true growth in this city. When I go to freaking Tampa or Orlando, my jaw hits the floor at the view of a skycraper. DC has monuments, but no real skyline thats visible from < 5 miles off.
6. Lack of interesting local activities outside of work -- Just like DC lacks in professional innovation, the same is true from the social perspective. Kickball on the mall = COOL, but not original at all. There is nothing socially in DC that it can call all its own (maybe flashmob takedowns by overzealous park police at the Jefferson Memorial....but I digress).
Last edited by vicnice; 06-05-2011 at 06:37 AM..
Reason: Clarity
I'm an Orlando resident, and I've never been to DC. However, the things I hear about DC makes it better than Orlando in the regards of culture and identity.
Here is why
DC is diverse. There are West Indian, Hispanics, and Africans who bring their culture to the city. There are countless restaurants nightclub that cater to that crowd.
I don't buy that DC is not a cultural epicenter at all. Hell, you guys beat Atlanta by far in that regard.DC is far more dynamic than Atlanta.
You guys might not have a skyline, but you're in a cosmopolitan metro.
Vicnice, I do agree to an extent with some of your points, particularly point 1. I think that might be why I claim Maryland and DC (and I'd say I have a right to do both), because I think people have a stronger idea of Maryland's identity (and even MD has a bit of a problem with knowing what it is).
I'm not sure how that's any different from any other city. Silicon Valley is tech land. LA is entertainment land. NYC is finance land. Also, I don't think apathetic is the right word. More like "don't need to make a million a year to be happy." And a lot of counties in the area, as well as the state of Maryland, have the highest median incomes in the nation. There may not be many billionaires or millionaires, but there sure are a hell of a lot of high earners.
I have no knowledge of this alleged brain drain so I'll defer to someone else on that. As for being too centralized, eh. Everything is in NoVA, DC or MoCo. I feel bad for people in PG County in that regard. And maybe it's just cos I'm young so I don't really care, but I don't find that there's "too much traffic" to be able to have BBQs and whatnot. I also find it amusing that you think a person won't live in the city because it hasn't been "racially gentrified." More like it's really expensive if you wanna live somewhere safe with lots of amenities. Which may be tied in to the height restrictions. I like the somewhat small, European feel of DC compared to other big American cities, but it sure would help a little if there were some giant apartments and condos.
Now as for local activities, I'm not sure what you mean. Can you name some "local activities" from other cities? The closest things I can think of are checking out all the coffee shops in Portland and surfing in SoCal.
The height restrictions don't deter people from living in the city. Even in NYC, most people aren't living on the 120th floor. DC has up to 13 stories, and very few buildings seem even remotely close to that. If the entire city were filled were 13 story blocks of buildings everywhere, than I can see an argument that you need a few to go above that. But it's nowhere even remotely near that.
I also don't think DC loses its good people. I think it takes them from everywhere else. Business isn't the only way to make a lot of money. All those many NGO's and contractors and everyone else, there are a gazillion money makers throughout all of that. Tons of genuine people changing the world. I think that since they are supposedly suppose to be 'altruistic' (as a perception) rather than 'crazy made money-bag successful', than they try to downplay the wealth they are accumulating.
I can't really comment on the others, except that the other observations are quite interesting to read about.
So you are saying that people posting on Yelp.com is indicative of demographic trends in The District?
I can only offer an anecdotal rebuttal. When I walk down 14th Street, around Logan Circle, and then up to Adams Morgan. I see a lot of well-dressed white people walking on the sidewalks and dining at the restaurants. Georgetown ditto. Penn Quarter ditto x 2. Capitol Hill, yup--white people galore.
I didn't see many Asians or "Middle-Easterners" shopping, dining or strolling in some of DC's most toniest hoods. In fact, I think Asians stand out because they are surrounded by white people and it was much easier to count the number of Asians as a result. White people all look alike after a while anyway.
Don't worry bro. The Azns are not taking over the DC Yuppie Circuit yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene80
Not true. The current generation of yuppies/elitists is non-white "ethnics". i.e. Asians, Indians, Middle-Easterners.
Go on Yelp.com, which is yuppie central, and find me at least one white poster there.
LOL, the more people bash DC the more people move from NY, or some other place move to the District. Home prices aren't eve off much here. An 80 year old home with no updating just sold in a week near me. I think they got >$800k and it's going to need all new windows, bathrooms, kitchen, a/c, etc.
Maybe it's envy that makes them write these articles.
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DC is a tired city.......
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