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"Chicago doesn't have the diversity"??
Chicago is one of the most diverse cities in the US and is more diverse than DC. You obviously haven't spent much time in Chicago.
2010 census
Chicago is: 32.9% black, 31.7% non-hispanic white, 13.3% white hispanic, 5.5% asian, 13.4% other races
DC is: 50.7% black, 38.5% white, 9.1% hispanic (either black or white), 3.5% asian, 4.1% other races
But then again, how many different type of nationalities? In other "diverse" cities, the Hispanics usually consist of mostly Mexicans, the Blacks usually consist of Africans, the Whites usually consist of Germans, etc. You get my point.
Where as NYC the Hispanic population has large amounts of Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Ecuadorian, Cubans, etc. The Whites have large amounts of Italians, Russians, Polish, Germans. Blacks have large amounts of Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Barbadians, etc. Asians have large amounts of Chinese, Koreans, etc. I mean c'mon. No other city is as diverse racially wise and nationality wise than NYC.
People can talk about neighborhoods in other cities being more vibrant or urban or having more culture than their counterparts in DC. And we can argue about those things forever.
But there's one thing that's not being talked about here, the big elephant in the room. DC is the capital city of the greatest nation on earth. This is where the most powerful government of the world is, the headquaters of its defense and its secret service and the highest court in the nation. The U.S. president once made a phone call directly to the first astronauts ever to walk on the moon congratulating them from the Oval office.
Let's not overlook the singular uniqueness of DC when we're comparing relatively mundane things like neighborhoods and theater districts.
I just don't agree, bajan. You can rag on Columbia Heights like everyone does but reality is its main commercial district fills a critical role of everyday middle/working class retail in the middle of the city that was missing for many years. That place was dead for decades and now has sidewalks full of people of all different backgrounds. Its outlying commercial areas (like Park or 11th Street) also have a great deal of restaurant and nightlife offerings going for them.
No one will dispute that. But Columbia Heights is not a "showcase" neighborhood by any means. It's one of the better neighborhoods in DC, but that's because so many areas in Northwest (Shaw, Petworth, Ledroit Park) are so lacking in amenities. People in some of these neighborhoods get super excited when a 7-11 or Five Guys opens up. Is Columbia Heights better than what can be found in cities like Knoxville, Dallas or Minneapolis? I'd say so. But does it nudge DC any closer to being a "world class" city? In my opinion, no.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluefly
More isn't better and I'd take the character of our Eastern Market with all its local flavor any day over the tourist mecca that is Quincy Market.
What local flavor? To be honest, the place with the most "local flavor" in DC is the Wharf. I'm not sure how much longer that will last though seeing that DC seems determined to wipe away all of the local character in neighborhoods in favor of shiny, cold condo development.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluefly
The Freedom Trail just doesn't inspire me as much as DC's museums and monuments.
The Monuments are my favorite thing about DC. It's just too bad that they're segregated from the rest of the city. But my fiancee always thought that was a good thing because it keeps the tourists away from the places she wants to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluefly
I don't think it's fair to compare Adams Morgan and Gallery Place to basically all of Boston's central offerings. They fill very different roles. Kind of gets back to the core issue of your cherry-picking aspects of DC to compare to all of other cities.
I didn't cherry-pick anything. For the most part, those are all considered the "desirable" neighborhoods in both cities. I just don't see how Georgetown or Dupont Circle could match up to Beacon Hill or Back Bay. Those neighborhoods (Back Bay/BH) have an elegance to them that really can't be found anywhere else. And they're denser than G-Town and Dupont and generate more pedestrian traffic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluefly
I think we can all agree that DC's Wilson Building is undeniably far superior to the brutalist Boston City Hall and expanse of empty space surrounding it.
People can talk about neighborhoods in other cities being more vibrant or urban or having more culture than their counterparts in DC. And we can argue about those things forever.
But there's one thing that's not being talked about here, the big elephant in the room. DC is the capital city of the greatest nation on earth. This is where the most powerful government of the world is, the headquaters of its defense and its secret service and the highest court in the nation. The U.S. president once made a phone call directly to the first astronauts ever to walk on the moon congratulating them from the Oval office.
Let's not overlook the singular uniqueness of DC when we're comparing relatively mundane things like neighborhoods and theater districts.
that's kinda cool but it doesn't really add to one's enjoyment of the city IMO. it's not like I'm walking around all giddy knowing i'm only a couple miles away from the oval office.
that's kinda cool but it doesn't really add to one's enjoyment of the city IMO. it's not like I'm walking around all giddy knowing i'm only a couple miles away from the oval office.
True, but to me DC just feels more important than the other cities brought up in this thread. I like that feeling and I don't think it's something that can be ignored in the assessment of a city.
Plus, there's plenty of vibrancy in DC neighborhoods in addition to that. So it's all good.
D.C. is too small of a place to ever be the next NYC or Chicago or LA or even Atlanta. Maybe the next Boston or St. Louis (just being a little facetious).
D.C. is too small of a place to ever be the next NYC or Chicago or LA or even Atlanta. Maybe the next Boston or St. Louis (just being a little facetious).
DC is bigger than ATL in population and ATL is country....
DC bigger than Boston in land miles.
Dc is bigger than St. Louis in population as well.
St. Louis is on the same level as Baltimore and ATL is more comparable to Charlotte, Houston, New Orleans, and other country southern cities.
Chicago and LA aren't as important as DC
Washington is basically a nerd city that's trying hard to be cool, which is perfectly fine, unless it tries too hard and calls undue attention to itself, in which case it gets reminded that it wears thick policy glasses and doesn't get to sit at the lunch table with the rich, artsy city (NYC), the jock city (Chicago), the intellectual city that read Sartre and Camus in middle school (Boston) and the other cool cities, even if it has a high GPA.
But there's one thing that's not being talked about here, the big elephant in the room. DC is the capital city of the greatest nation on earth. This is where the most powerful government of the world is, the headquaters of its defense and its secret service and the highest court in the nation. The U.S. president once made a phone call directly to the first astronauts ever to walk on the moon congratulating them from the Oval office.
Let's not overlook the singular uniqueness of DC when we're comparing relatively mundane things like neighborhoods and theater districts.
DC was also the capital of the most powerful nation on earth during the Marion Barry days. And during the Walter Washington days. And during the Sharon Kelly days. Yet there are few people who would say that DC was a "world class" city during those times. When the U.S. emerged from WWII as a superpower, Washington, DC was known as a backwater, southern town. So the presence of the federal government alone doesn't confer DC "world class" status though it will absolutely play a major role in earning the city that title in the years to come.
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