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He can easily keep his car and not be forced to live where the biggest nightlife happens at the 24-hour Walmart. Countless people have cars who live in or near the city.
No offense Bluefly, but your statement that idea that hanging out at Walmart is the only social outlet in Rockville, Germantown et al shows a profound ignorance of today's burbs.
It costs more to insure a car in the District, and there have been complaints on this forum about the parking situation in parts of DC.
If the OP has the money to keep a car in DC without being miserable, then fine, but I won't set someone up for failure.
No offense Bluefly, but your statement that idea that hanging out at Walmart is the only social outlet in Rockville, Germantown et al shows a profound ignorance of today's burbs.
It costs more to insure a car in the District, and there have been complaints on this forum about the parking situation in parts of DC.
If the OP has the money to keep a car in DC without being miserable, then fine, but I won't set someone up for failure.
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How about you, of all people, not accuse others of being ignorant, okay?
Funny you mention Rockville, which has gone to great lengths to create a walkable, urban environment, and Germantown, which is now undertaking similar efforts. These cities are not representative of the sprawling, big-box landscape you advocate. Another A for misdirective effort, though.
My boyfriend and I moved from Florida to DC about four months ago, and we LOVE it. Best decision I've made in years.
I was born in Florida and spent almost all of my life there, and I hear you about the lack of opportunity--I've been to grad school, and was still working as a receptionist. It's so much easier to find an interesting position here. And laugh if you want, but DC salaries--compared to the minimum wage + 10% BS doled out in Florida--are intimidatingly good.
Yes, it's more expensive than Tallahassee, though frankly not by much. You'll see it in rent, and also in groceries and drinking at bars. But it wasn't such a shock. The year I spent not living in Florida, I spent in London. Now THAT'S expensive. Yeah, if you have a chance to go to a foreign country while you're unsettled, you should go. But DC would actually be a great jumping off point for that. You can make good money here to save up for it, be close to a ton of international organizations to help you choose a place, and meet plenty of people from absolutely everywhere to network. Boyfriend and I are planning to head to Germany in about 2-3 years.
Make the jump and come on up here! It's much easier to find a job once you're here. And really, you don't have to live in Dupont to enjoy Dupont. I'm in Columbia Heights, and we walk to Dupont all the time. DC is actually disorientingly compact compared to Florida cities, especially South Florida. You don't have to live right next door to the clubs to enjoy them, and often it's easier when you have a little quiet to go home to.
I heartily encourage any Floridian with the gumption to get out of there, to come to DC! I love Florida, but moving to DC was like having a new lease on life after living in that floundering, stagnant state.
I think your post nails it. This is exactly the experience I would expect if had relocated to the DC area from most other places in the U.S.
I always thought of DC as a window to the world because it is so international, politically influential and people frequently converse about traveling to different places around the world. DC is also a big tourist city itself and architecturally similar to European capital cities, so I think it makes you feel closer to those places in that sense as well.
BTW, I sometimes question the conventional wisdom about setting off to travel the world while you're young and care-free. Ideally, I guess it would be a great thing. But realistically, you need a lot of money to travel well and that's hard to do in your 20s unless you luckily have money saved up or rich parents willing to pay for it. Even though I have my own family now, I actually travel a whole lot more than I did when I was single. I think it's much more rewarding this way.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 12-09-2011 at 10:47 AM..
How about you, of all people, not accuse others of being ignorant, okay?
Funny you mention Rockville, which has gone to great lengths to create a walkable, urban environment, and Germantown, which is now undertaking similar efforts. These cities are not representative of the sprawling, big-box landscape you advocate. Another A for misdirective effort, though.
The point is you can still keep a car there without it being a nightmare, financially or parking-wise.
I question how much time in or knowledge you have of DC's outer burbs to be making such broadbrush statements. Do you think every place outside the beltway is like the hick town in "Footloose"?
How about you, of all people, not accuse others of being ignorant, okay?
Funny you mention Rockville, which has gone to great lengths to create a walkable, urban environment, and Germantown, which is now undertaking similar efforts. These cities are not representative of the sprawling, big-box landscape you advocate. Another A for misdirective effort, though.
I've never been to Germantown. What are they doing to create a walkable urban environment?
Send the memo to West Springfield. I've never lived somewhere so car dependent but at least its virtually crime free and has lots of trees. So I guess one has to take the good with the bad.
The point is you can still keep a car there without it being a nightmare, financially or parking-wise.
I question how much time in or knowledge you have of DC's outer burbs to be making such broadbrush statements. Do you think every place outside the beltway is like the hick town in "Footloose"?
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Just like a vast majority of DC and the inside-the-Beltway communities. Most people own cars and handle them just fine in and around DC. It's not an either / or situation.
Regarding your second point, I will happily educate on this region. The suburbs of DC comprise some of the wealthiest communities in the the country and world, as well as some of the wealthiest counties in general. I'm not sure why you even think to label them "hick towns" (not that there'd be anything wrong with that if they were) or comparing them to a 1980s movie, but the fact is they're not. Lobbyists and lawyers do not deserve such misrepresentation.
What they are not, however, are destinations for regional nightlife and entertainment for young people that the OP claimed as one of his reasons for wanting to move here.
If you're young and single and claim you want to move here, then move here.
Regarding your second point, I will happily educate on this region. The suburbs of DC comprise some of the wealthiest communities in the the country and world, as well as some of the wealthiest counties in general. I'm not sure why you even think to label them "hick towns" (not that there'd be anything wrong with that if they were) or comparing them to a 1980s movie, but the fact is they're not. Lobbyists and lawyers do not deserve such misrepresentation.
Way to go, taking the point I made and trying to take credit for it. Talk about chutzpah. You were the one who tried to claim that the Walmart was the main attraction in Olney, etc., and I refuted that.
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