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some people hate when you to put down
their town. they take it all personally like
you are talking about them specifically.
Some people paint a picture of the DC area as a town full of soulless zombies where nobody laughs, smiles or has any fun, etc. It's just amazing that anyone could have a distorted view like that. Where's the credibility in that?
^ i guess you have to be able to compare dc to somewhere else
in america in order to understand another point of view. it's still
a free country out here for people to express themselves, whether
you like it or not.
There are a lot of trolls and negative people who post on websites. Just look at any site like this one, Yelp, or any other site you can post comments about different cities and venues. You get a ton of negative comments. I take negative posts with a grain of salt. Each person has their own agenda and ideas. I've been living in DC for 2 months now and I love it. There is a ton to do, I find it safe, I've met several new friends, and I find dating very easy here. I really don't have anything negative to say about the city. I think you'll find that most people who complain about DC would complain about any city or town they live in. It is what it is.
Figure 5.2 on page 64 is far more indicative of future alcohol problems in my opinion, since it's showing what percentage of respondents 12-17 are considered to be alcohol abusers. DC ranks low on that one.
Figure 5.4 on page 65 shows that DC is in the highest tier for alcohol abuse or dependence but the upper end of that tier is 'only' 8%. Figure 5.8 shows dependence was only up to 4.23% of the population aged 26 or older.
Quote:
The District of Columbia had the highest
rate of past year alcohol dependence or abuse among persons aged 26 or older (8.1 percent)
and the lowest rate among persons aged 12 to 17 (3.0 percent).
It also helps to know what they classify as dependence and abuse. They're not talking about immature 30 year old frat boys who love drinking Jagerbombs like a whale drinks water, they're talking about people who actually are suffering at home and at work because they're alcoholics.
Quote:
For each illicit drug and alcohol, a respondent was defined as having abused that
substance if he or she met one or more of the following four abuse criteria and was determined
not to be dependent on the respective substance in the past year:
1. Serious problems at home, work, or school caused by the substance, such as
neglecting your children, missing work or school, doing a poor job at work or school,
or losing a job or dropping out of school.
2. Used the substance regularly and then did something that might have put you in
physical danger.
3. Use of the substance caused you to do things that repeatedly got you in trouble with
the law.
4. Had problems with family or friends that were probably caused by using the
substance and continued to use the substance even though you thought the substance
use caused these problems.
Quote:
Specifically, for marijuana, hallucinogens, inhalants, and tranquilizers, a respondent was
defined as having dependence if he or she met three or more of the following six dependence
criteria:
1. Spent a great deal of time over a period of a month getting, using, or getting over the
effects of the substance.
2. Used the substance more often than intended or was unable to keep set limits on the
substance use.
3. Needed to use the substance more than before to get desired effects or noticed that the
same amount of substance use had less effect than before.
4. Inability to cut down or stop using the substance every time tried or wanted to.
Substances include alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, pain relievers, tranquilizers,
stimulants, and sedatives. 114
5. Continued to use the substance even though it was causing problems with emotions,
nerves, mental health, or physical problems.
6. The substance use reduced or eliminated involvement or participation in important
activities.
For alcohol, cocaine, heroin, pain relievers, sedatives, and stimulants, a seventh
withdrawal criterion was added. A respondent was defined as having dependence if he or she met
three or more of seven dependence criteria. The seventh withdrawal criterion is defined by a
respondent reporting having experienced a certain number of withdrawal symptoms that vary by
substance (e.g., having trouble sleeping, cramps, hands tremble).
As for comparing it to states, a Ctrl+F of "weighted" gave me something like 228 hits in that document. This is a debate on an internet forum so I'm not gonna trudge through all that, but from what I gathered I think they did use some sort of weighting for small population areas (let's not forget Wyoming is smaller than DC in population).
There are a lot of trolls and negative people who post on websites. Just look at any site like this one, Yelp, or any other site you can post comments about different cities and venues. You get a ton of negative comments. I take negative posts with a grain of salt. Each person has their own agenda and ideas. I've been living in DC for 2 months now and I love it. There is a ton to do, I find it safe, I've met several new friends, and I find dating very easy here. I really don't have anything negative to say about the city. I think you'll find that most people who complain about DC would complain about any city or town they live in. It is what it is.
It's because DC is so transient. A huge percentage of people living in DC weren't born and raised there. These recent transplants are proud to be from Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, the Bay Area, Chicago, Boston, New York etc. Many educated people from around the country have migrated to DC because of the job market. They really prefer where they are from, but there aren't nearly as many employment opportunities in New York, California etc. So in DC in 2012, you have thousands of recent transplants who dearly miss their home cities and states but live in DC for the often higher paying jobs. Also, DC is in some ways more cosmopolitan than other large world class American cities. In New York, natives make you feel like anywhere that isn't NYC is some unworthy backroad redneck town. DC is not like this. DC truly is becoming a collection of people from all over the country who act as ambassadors to where they are from. This is unacceptable in nearby cities like NYC and Philly where wearing out-of-town teams on your baseball cap or jersey might get you cold stares, rude comments or even beat up (the latter especially in Philly).
DC has come a looong way in the past 20 or so years. I am not a recent transplant. When I first moved to Maryland in the 90's, huge swaths of DC were much more ghetto, run-down and fairly dangerous. Today, DC is one of the fastest gentrifying cities in America. People who aren't from DC erroneously come to the conclusion that "DC has no culture". This is not true. It just so happens that the unique ghetto culture created by Black DC natives (i.e. Go-Go music, Mambo sauce etc.) is extremely insular and unwelcoming to outsiders; especially outsiders who are not Black.
I love DC. I like DC a lot better than Baltimore. I feel comfortable in DC because everybody minds their own damn business for the most part. I am not a drug dealer or a killer, so the police leave me alone in DC unlike the fanatical police state that is Howard County, Maryland where you will be pulled over and have your car thoroughly searched for playing Rap music too loud in your car. Downtown Baltimore doesn't even feel safe during the daytime. My car is not a cab, Baltimore, so don't wave your dirty fingers at me. I also don't shoot dope, smoke "wet" or pop "footballs" so don't offer me any, Baltimore. I don't owe you any money or know you from beans so don't stare at me menacingly while I'm driving by B-More. DC is infinitely more sophisticated, classy and refined as a whole than Baltimore and even Philly. Although DC can come off as uppity and pretentious, I'll take DC over Baltimore any day.
Last edited by goldenchild08; 06-13-2012 at 03:37 PM..
It's because DC is so transient. A huge percentage of people living in DC weren't born and raised there. These recent transplants are proud to be from Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, the Bay Area, Chicago, Boston, New York etc. Many educated people from around the country have migrated to DC because of the job market. They really prefer where they are from, but there aren't nearly as many employment opportunities in New York, California etc.
That's an interesting and different perspective for me. I'm of course aware of the massive influx of transplants to this area over the past 20 years. See, I'm a native of the D.C. area, I grew up in Prince George's County from a very young age. I did all of my education in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. This is the only place where I've ever worked or had a family.
I continue to live in the area because it has a strong and stable economy, lots of high-paying jobs, is the nation's capital region and one of its most important cities, and is an interesting place overall. I would think that if someone were to move to the D.C. area from another city, then it's because they value D.C. for reasons similar to these. How can anyone move to a city or region they feel negative about? That's what I don't get.
That's an interesting and different perspective for me. I'm of course aware of the massive influx of transplants to this area over the past 20 years. See, I'm a native of the D.C. area, I grew up in Prince George's County from a very young age. I did all of my education in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. This is the only place where I've ever worked or had a family.
I continue to live in the area because it has a strong and stable economy, lots of high-paying jobs, is the nation's capital region and one of its most important cities, and is an interesting place overall. I would think that if someone were to move to the D.C. area from another city, then it's because they value D.C. for reasons similar to these. How can anyone move to a city or region they feel negative about? That's what I don't get.
With the case of DC, hordes of people moved to this area in the past few years solely for a job. People go where the jobs are whether they like the area or not. You may not realize this but massive swaths of this country are mired in a deep hopeless economic depression. From California to Florida to Michigan literally millions of people are desperate for a good job. Many educated professionals are finding that job in DC these days as DC has the nation's strongest economy. People would rather live the good life in a city they don't like than be underpaid, underemployed or unemployed in a dying city or even state where police are being laid off left and right and gangs and criminals roam the streets unchecked and commit crimes that go unpunished. This is the reason why California and Florida are losing thousands of residents every year. DC is currently the leading city in the country in terms of attracting new residents.
But imagine if you moved to a far away city for a great job opportunity because there were very few good job opportunities in the city, state and even coast where you lived. But this far away city was 180 degrees opposite from what you are used to in terms of lifestyle, attitude, demographics etc. This is not far-fetched. DC, like anywhere else, has a very distinct cultural and social identity and overall vibe of life. New Yorkers are used to not having any personal space, having a much more enormous urban area to explore and dealing with up north type of folks that you don't see out here. Californians are used to milder year round weather, the freedom to smoke extremely potent weed out in the open and seeing arguably more beautiful natural scenery everyday.
Different people fit in better in different cities, period. Personally, I don't fit in too well in DC and I don't care. It's not hard as I was born and raised in the Bay Area. I am multiracial and look thoroughly racially ambiguous, I don't identify as Black or White, I was raised in a ghetto area in the Bay, but I don't look like I'm from the hood out here in any way shape or form. I dress, walk and talk different from DC Area natives of any race. My mere presence and existence in DC, PG County or Montgomery County is baffling to many lifelong DC Area natives. I stand out like a sorethumb in DC and it's okay! Being different is a good thing in my eyes. If the average Black person from DC moved to San Francisco, they would stick out like a sorethumb as well and hate it there because SF is a crappy city for Black people. Different strokes, different folks.
Last edited by goldenchild08; 06-13-2012 at 09:16 PM..
To all the people who disagree with me, do one thing. Go to your local Whole Foods or Starbucks. You will see rows of people sitting alone, by themselves, and staring out the window. This doesn't happen anywhere else... not even in NYC.
WTF? Obviously, you are only seeing what you want to see.
In Japan, some restaurants have library-style tables, with low dividers almost like study carrels, so that people can act like they can't see the people across from them.
In Chicago, I know of one bakery which has placed "This Is Not A Study Hall! You Can Talk!" signs on the tables. Nobody talks.
In Paris, the seats closest to the sidewalk are usually singles, facing out toward the walkway so that people can stare, alone.
New York City parks are famous for lining the walkways with benches such that the walks are lined with "rows of people, sitting alone, by themselves, and staring."
Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenchild08
I stand out like a sorethumb in DC and it's okay! Being different is a good thing in my eyes.
I like to say that I'm only comfortable if I'm slightly discomfortable. I've never been in a room full of people "just like me," and I honestly think I'd have a breakdown if I ever were -- I'd be too busy trying to find a way to not fit in with everyone else!
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