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I have lived in Newark, NJ and Brooklyn New York, enjoyed the multicultural environment of the CITY. I work in Construction Management but I dabble in event planning, and other ventures. I just (2weeks ago) moved to DC, Eastern Market and My worries are DC is like a Newark, NJ or smaller City or Town that has too many EXSTREMES!!! That isn’t receptive to these sorts of things.
Second bummer, Capitol Hill is nothing like Park Slope, I don’t think real people actually live in the houses; they just decorate them and rent out there basements.
Or should I just pack it up after inauguration, what does the summer offer? Am I going to be forced to choose between summer street festivals/Go Go nonsense and stuffy, awkward government law fussy fu fu North West crap and lastly some college run off? Is there a culture here at all? Or is it a commuter town? Is Capitol Hill just the wrong neighborhood? Lots of question, just looking for feedback.
What do you want? You are a little vague about multiculturalism. If multiculti is what you want then what were you expecting? Why are so many people on these forums so confused? Just young I guess. (Although I don't recall my friends or myself being this bad when I was young.) Sometimes I think you get all of your ideas from popcult and women's studies. When life can't live up to these idealized versions you despair or get really, really angry. Where's the old spirit of putting one's head down and sucking it up? Who said life is supposed to be perfect? And I say this as a former A1 whiner. I finally got bored with it around the age of 40.
You want real problems, go live like 3/4 of the rest of the world. Go live with people who are happy to work for 50 cents an hour, 10-12 hours a day, six days a week, no pension, no unemployment comp, no paid vacation, no health insurance. You get to live in a concrete bunker in the sky if you're lucky. AND they can be some of the happiest people in the world.
Also, are you typing into some other program first?
no I can appreciate that. I really can, interms of multiculturalism I was thinking more of like a GAP commerical and a budwiser video. seriousely I know no place is perfect, it was more of me venting then anything else. but appreciate you comment.
At least you've got a sense of humor. That's more than I can say for some of our posters.
Right now I'm sitting here typing in a country half way round the world. I still have connections to DC though. I moved there in 1969 and lived in and around Washington for about 30 years, acquiring some property along the way. As I said, I'm well versed in whining but am kind of taken aback by the degree I've seen on these forums. Nothing seems to be good enough. And the anger! Try differing with someone convinced of their innate moral and intellectual superiority, my friend, and watch out! I can tell you this though, 35 years ago Washington was considered a rather conservative town. Old-fashioned and southern. John F. Kennedy quipped it had Yankee charm and Southern industry. Now I wonder if people can even get the joke - if there still is one.
Forums pretty much encourage whining---anonimity brings out the worst in certain people, and I've noticed it also encourages acting out (check out the [domain blocked due to spam] forum for some real mudslinging). Life is what you make it. I suspect that many of the people who have problems with their current city of choice will have problems everywhere. The operative word is "choice". If a city rubs you the wrong way, you have to ask yourself if it's really about your job, your neighborhood, your significant other, your own quirks, or a local culture that isn't a good fit. I lived in Oklahoma City for a few years (job related) and although I made good friends there, the overall culture of the area (fundamentalist, arch-conservative, parochial----I'm none of those things) eventually made me seek my fortunes elsewhere. Life's too short for that kind of aggravation. You have to live in a place where you feel at home, period.
First give DC a chance you've only been in the city for two weeks. You can't expect to fall in love in two weeks.
At the same time quit trying to compare DC to NYC. This is not New York! I'm sorry it's a pet peeve when people try to compare DC to New York. You're getting into apples and oranges territory. No city is going to be New York and that's not a bad thing. New York is New York, one of the most awesomest cities (yes I majored in English shut up) in the world. There's only one though, just like there's only one DC.
If being in New York is that important then move back. That's not to be ugly, just New York is a unique place and NOWHERE is going to be exactly like New York.
"People don't live in their houses" Well not sure what you mean by that statement. Do you mean that in Capitol Hill that you don't see people out and about at all hours like in NYC? Yeah it's a quiet area the solution to that problem might to move to a more livlier neighborhood like Dupont or Adams Morgan but you're going to pay more in rent. Also in my observation more people in that area tend to have cars. If someone wanted to live in the city but had a job in VA then Capitol Hill would be the spot. So if more people have cars then there's less walking. I'm no expert so don't quote me.
In my opinion this is a huge city. Another pet peeve New Yorkers forgetting that NYC is the largest city in the country no American city is going to be as a big or livlier due to lack of population. Wouldn't call it a commuter town though. Usually for a place to be a commuter town wouldn't one need a main city to commute to? DC is the main city. It is definitely more transient here than New York not as many natives. There's plenty of culture just look in the City Paper or the weekend section of the Post. Now as far as distinct only in DC culture that's here too but again, so many transients make things like distinct accents hard. It's like that in plenty of places like Florida. Not to mention DC is one of the most international places I've ever seen.
I think street festivals are fun. What do go go dancers have to do with them though? There's so many options for having fun in DC but the fun isn't neccesarily going to come to you though but that's with any city not just DC. So think about what you personally want from your experience in DC and make it work.
So again, you're not in New York, let it go. DC has plenty of faults that are certainly worth complaining about but at the end of the day DC will never be New York, thank God.
Whaa whaa whaa - another New Yorker leaving the cocoon and whining that it's different. I agree with the above poster. This is my biggest pet peave with New Yorkers. All they do is complain and tell you how much better New York is. I've lived in both and to say one is better is to miss the fact that DC is built on a fundamentally different philosophy. It was built to be a government city and that's what it is. New York emerged through markets and trading.
Look - you're probably very young. You probably only know what you were raised to know so this is mostly just culture shock of experiencing something different.
DC is not a commuter town. Spend time in Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Penn Quarter, U Street, Logan Circle, H Street, blah blah blah. So much energy you won't know what to do with yourself. DC is, however, a transient town. People come from all over and then go all over. You won't find the old neighborhoods like you do in NY.
DC is extremely multicultural. People don't live in ethnic neighborhoods, but they come from all over the world to be in the intellectual capital of the U.S. and the seat of global government. Find them.
I've known plenty of cosmopolitan, global people who have lived around the world and swear by DC as their favorite place because it's a concentration of highly educated and global people focused on the issues of the world. There is so much energy and vitality crammed into the relatively small city it's incredible. Find it.
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