ten things i love about dc
i’m so sick of hearing people talk about what they hate about dc. it’s so boring. no one is forcing you to live here. as the post’s j. freedom du lac said to one dc hater in his freedom rock chat yesterday: “don’t let the door to the beltway hit you on your way out.” ok, it was funnier in context, i swear.
i love dc. it’s not that i don’t have any complaints. but they come from a place of affection, not hate. hearing someone say they “hate” things about dc, or even dc itself, it’s like hearing someone insult your little brother. sure he may be annoying, and sure you tease him all the time. but if a bully starts calling him names, you are going to be the first to stick up for him.
so i decided to do a list of ten things i love about dc.
first, i should say that when i say i love dc i really mean “dc proper, takoma park, and the other parts of suburban maryland that i frequent.” (i don’t love northern virginia, but i’m willing to concede that it must contribute to the overall character of the region.) because dc is much more maligned than suburban maryland, i made sure my list focused on dc proper rather than “things i love about the dc area.” nonetheless, i’m sure some dc people will be pissed that i lump in parts of maryland when talking about dc. well, too bad. i work in dc and spend a lot of my free time here. my house is less than a half mile from the district line. i don’t go around thinking “oh now i’m in dc, oh now i’m in maryland.” it’s all just my home, and if i want to write about why i love my hometown, i’m not going to divide it up into separate regions, because that’s not how i experience it. for the record, it’s not like i live 30 miles away in gaithersburg, work in rockville, and only make it into “the city” (as many suburbanites like to call it) a few times a year. and that’s all the justification i’m going to give for referring to myself as being “from dc.”
also before i get to my list, i want to acknowledge that i do think that dc is an acquired taste. i’ve lived in takoma park for about 10 years, and i feel like this area is home in a way no other place has felt like home. but although i’ve always liked living here, i’ve really only fell in love with the area in the past 5 years or so.
i think that’s partly just because it takes a while to really start to feel at home in a new city. before i moved here, i hadn’t lived anywhere for more than a few years since i moved away from home to go to college. but i also recognize that there are other cities that are much easier to fall in love with at first sight. i loved austin from my first week there. after just a couple of days in portland, oregon i can understand why so many people are drawn to that city. but that’s actually one of the things i love about dc. i love that it plays hard to get. anyone can love living in san francisco or portland. they are like the homecoming queens doling out their affection to their many suitors. those of us who take the time to woo the wallflower are rewarded with a much more substantial and intimate relationship. after ten years, i’m still discovering the subtle charms the dc area has to offer and loving my life here more and more.
so, without further ado, ten things i love about dc, in no particular order:
1. the diversity, in every sense of the word.
2. the people. even when they annoy the heck out of me. was it mark twain who said, “if you don’t like the weather in new england, wait five minutes”? in dc it’s the same with the people. if you don’t like the people in dc, walk down the street five blocks. dc has a reputation for being overly status-conscious and obsessed with politics and power, and among a certain crowd the reputation is well-deserved. but that crowd is just one part of what makes dc. dc isn’t just the hill or K street. if you don’t like those folks, walk down the street five blocks and you’ll find plenty of other people to hang out with. i rarely cross paths with the stereotypical “dc” crowd.
3. great food from all over the world.
4. very vegan friendly. some of my favorite vegan spots include: java green, asylum for vegan weekend brunch and 75 cent vegan soft tacos washed down with shiner bock, ella’s for vegan pizza and sangria, sticky fingers, the black cat’s food for thought for late night cake, and the burrito cart at 15th and K.
5. dc has most of the benefits of living in a small town, combined with all of the benefits of living in an international city. in some ways, dc is a much smaller town than its actual size suggests. in part, this relates back to the second item on my list: dc is actually made up of a number of smaller communities, many of which are very tight knit. i see people i know everywhere. everyone knows everyone. on the other hand, when i start to feel trapped i can easily seek out new people and places and visit a completely different city without leaving dc.
6. ease of getting around. for a city of this size, dc is very manageable.
7. tons of stuff to do, often cheap or free. film festivals, concerts, art galleries… i think a lot of folks here take it for granted how lucky we are to have access to all of this stuff. in particular, i appreciate the cheap dance nights. i never pay more than $10 to go out dancing, and often much less.
8. the architecture. next time you are downtown, don’t worry about being mistaken for a tourist and look up. there are a million beautiful architectural details everywhere. there’s also the fancy townhouses near dupont, the old neon signs on georgia avenue, union station, the majestic old apartment buildings on connecticut avenue, the old bridges over rock creek park…
9. i know it’s obvious, but there is no better place to be in the spring than dc. the cherry blossoms are so beautiful they break my heart. but there’s also the magnolias, the azaleas, the dogwoods, the smell of the hyacinths…
10. it’s the frickin’ capital of the united states! my office is a couple of blocks from the white house! the original copy of the constitution is just a couple of blocks further than that! although it may not seem like it these days, we are living in the world’s epicenter of freedom and democracy. that’s pretty remarkable.
ok, you get the idea. i really believe that if you can’t find anything to appreciate about dc you haven’t put in enough time and effort to find your niche. so quit hating on dc.
I’ve gotta give it to ya…you can see the silver lining in a dark cloud. Kudos!
When I was living in DC (for three months) in college during my Library of Congress internship, I *loved* the fact that there were SO MANY things to do that were free or just a couple of bucks. I was constantly at a museum or a classical music concert or a concert at a museum or the beautiful flower gardens near the Capitol (can’t remember the name) or jogging around the reflecting pools or… well, you get the picture. I absolutely adored the Hirshorn museum, and I really, really missed the Metro when I returned to Portland.
Aside from the humidity, which I can’t deal with anywhere, I loved DC. Yeah, there were some negative aspects, but what city doesn’t have those?? (And why on earth would anyone drive into DC if they didn’t have to? The Metro makes it so easy there’s virtually no need, at least as far as I could tell.)
yes, the humidity is probably the worst thing about dc.
the metro is great, but i prefer driving in most circumstances. it takes a lot less time to get where you are going, especially evenings and weekends when there isn’t much traffic and it’s not that hard to find free parking. also if you go out late on the weekends, the metro doesn’t run that often, and i really don’t want to be walking home from the metro at 3 am.
but i try to take the metro to work as much as possible because i get free metrocards through work vs. paying $9-$15 a day to park.
i haven’t been to dc in far too long, but i really liked it. i’m still very bummed that i didn’t get to hitch a ride with stacey when she was in town. boo!
i didn’t know that hating dc was common. of course i know that loving portland is common, but i honestly didn’t know there was such fervor until i moved here. it’s completely overwhelming sometimes. and often without reason. i’ll be talking with someone who doesn’t live here, and i might mention going out for a donut and then it’s all “oh my god! i want to move to portland!” it’s silly. i love it here but jeez! and then people move here and expect it to be everything and it can’t be and so they move on. i really like it here, but it’s more like it was the right place at the right time for me, rather than “portland” itself.
portland’s like this little city and dc is all big and powerful and tough, so it’s funny that you used the homecoming queen/wallflower metaphor. to someone who doesn’t live in dc, she often appears kinda like a bully!
[hides]
michelle, keep in mind the actual residents of dc have no say in electing most of the people that you associate with the bullying that goes on in dc! but yeah, it’s interesting because to much of the world dc is synonymous with the bush administration, even though the entire region (even northern virginia!) is overwhelmingly liberal and dc most of all. ralph nader beat george bush in dc in the 2004 election, if that gives you any idea. even here, some people get stuck in this idea that dc = politics and power. that’s why i tried to emphasize that there is so much more to dc than what you hear about in the national news.
michelle, are you in Portland, OR? Just didn’t want to assume before I started jumping up and down and waving at you like a loon.
But if you are in Ory-Gun, HEY! [waves] (Oh, and for that matter, East-Coasters CANNOT pronounce our fair state. They say “or-eh-GONE.”
Ugh.
Zee, I once heard a college professor in Kansas pronounce it “argon.” I am from a state, not an inert gas, goddamnit!
I miss me some mountains, but I’m okay with D.C. thusfar. It’s sort of a lovable loony.
I lived in DC for 3 years and I must say i hated every miserable minute of it. I so disagree with your post that i feel you must not know how much better life can be and you have adjusted your standards accordingly. The food at all of the restaurants in DC (Cashions being the one exception) fall into three categories - 1. tooo disgusting to enter; 2. Huge eat palaces with no character for the power set; and 3. mediocre. Seriously, next to a real city like new york, DC restaurants are toilets.
Also - the people - I was never surrounded by a more homogenous group of kahki and blue shit wearing political nerds in my entire life. Seriously, DC could drop off the earth and the culture of this country would probably take a huge leap FORWARD. The most boring crowd ever! If you arent in politics or a lawyer - forget about having a conversation at a party. most people will just turn around and walk away.
I mean - Philly is a much better city than DC. At least thats a real city with a history and some grit. All DC has are big buildings, boring people and stifling heat. Nothing is finer than the news people telling you NOT to go outside during the summer because its too hot.
Its a cesspool. Get a clue. Try a real city like San Francisco or New york on for size. You’l finally see what you are missing.
hmm, i can’t imagine why someone would turn around and walk away from bob at a party! i’m sure it must be because he’s not in politics or a lawyer, it couldn’t be his sunny disposition.
There is more diversity in the suburbs these days — check our University Park MD and Falls Church VA. The food is cheaper and better, too, but don’t tell anyone, okay?
mike: i agree, there are a lot of great things about the maryland suburbs (and i actually liked falls church the times i’ve been dragged out there, even though northern va isn’t my favorite place in general). i just wanted to focus on the district itself for this post. i’ll have to do another one sometime about all the things i like about the ‘burbs.
The burrito cart at 15th & K is vegan? I always assumed those things were soaked in lard.
the burrito cart at 15th and K is vegetarian. you can get your burritos with or without cheese.
And there are things not to like about DC:
1. Enormous levels of incompetance and corruption at the city government level.
2. Great wealth gap between mostly white, affluent NW DC and mostly African-American NE and SE DC.
3. Stinking heat and humidity of the summer.
4. No tall buildings. What major city doesn’t have skyscrapers? Oh wait…some stupid height requirement in DC.
5. People are just ass holes here. I don’t mean the real locals who grew up here. It’s the ass hole transplants. I am talking about over-achiever Type A jack asses: people who strived to graduate as valedictorians in high school, getting a 4.0 GPA in all AP courses, getting into first choice schools in the Ivy League circle, Duke, UVA, and Michigan. These punks get into all kinds of social activites and they all pledge Greek. Once they graduate into the real world, they intern on Capitol Hill. Then comes law school. Then comes a plush Hill job or a corporate law associate position at some downtown law firm. These people have no social skills; they only care about building up a resume and a virtual rolodex in their Crackberries. $1,200 pin stripes suits and a Mercedes later…they are living the high life in DC. And they could give a shit about poverty, racism, disease and war. Those ass holes treat people like shit all of the time.
6. Number 5 was really exhausting to type…whew. I hate all of the local sports teams here. The fact that the DC taxpayers have to pony up $611 million for a new ball park in a future gentrified area of SW DC is a crime in my book. Oh yeah, there is an NFL franchise here that uses a racist team name. Ugly. Just ugly.
DC is better than Detroit, Cleveland or Indianapolis. That’s for sure. But DC is not in the same class of many great American cities: including NYC, Boston, SF, Chicago, Philly, San Diego, Portland, Denver or Seattle. Not even close.
Hey stumbled on your blog through a friend who linked to this entry. I really like it! It points out so many things I love about DC! I’d add that despite being a town that sometimes deserves the criticism that it “works too much,” DC also still has some remnants of the feel of the sleepy southern town it once was, and still sort of is. I love all the contrasts in DC!
I realize one shouldnt’ feel the trolls but I can’t help myself…
Bob,
Seriously. Calm. Down. As was even pointed out in this blog, if you spent three years surrounded by the kahki set who cared about nothing more than power and influence, than that was your own damn fault. If you go to the places frequented by such people, guess what? You’ll run into them. If you’d simply branched out a little you’d have found plenty of interesting people. I’ve lived in this area for most of my life and I almost never run into those people outside of work, and when I do run into one of them at a party, they usually look awkward and uncomfortable, and quickly isolate themselves from everyone else there who couldn’t give two shits about what anyone else does for a living.
If you spent 3 years surrounded by people who would walk away if you weren’t in politics or law it was becuase you chose to.
thanks stephen! i know what you mean about dc having a laid back side. it’s all relative. i moved here from new york and when i came to dc for my job interview the thing i liked best about the city was that walking on the sidewalks was such a relaxing and pleasurable experience compared to fighting the crowds in mid-town manhattan. and while dc definitely has more than its share of workaholics, the work culture is much more laid back than what i saw in nyc.
ihateyuppies: i like that the skyline is low, that’s another thing i love about dc. that’s just a matter of taste i guess. but yeah, nobody dislikes those dc yuppie assholes more than me! i assure you, however, most people in dc are not like that. not even all of us transplants-who-graduated with honors-from-top-20-law-schools are like that! i agree with stephen that if you believe that all or most people in dc are yuppie assholes, then you haven’t put in the effort to meet the rest of us.
i really don’t want to get into fights with people, but the other thing is, i think a lot of people who complain the loudest about the people in dc being assholes are kind of assholish themselves. i was being facetious in my first reply to bob, but seriously people who have a big chip on their shoulder about being so disrespected because they don’t have a fancy job are just as boring and irritating as people who are obsessed with having fancy jobs. maybe bob did meet some non-asshole dc people and they didn’t want to talk to him, not because of his job, but because he’s the kind of mean, negative person who would cut someone down just for being happy! i think sometimes dc just becomes an easy scapegoat for people who are dissatisfied with their lives and rather complain and be negative than take constructive action.
Even Slaves got 3/5 voting representation. I tried to leave once but the uniformed secret service cut off my foot and told me my name was toby.
Jen, I also love the items on your list. I grew up in the area (maryland suburbs), moved away for college and several more years, then came back… have been back for 10 years and now I really only have two words for you:
1. Austin
2. Texas
There is nothing in DC comparable to Barton Springs. The cost of living here is high (not NY or SF, but close). Summer is too hot, winter is too cold. Spring is gorgeous, but that’s only 3 out of 52 weeks. There’s no Austin equivalent of Fort Reno (which would make my top 10 list of DC attractions), but I’ll trade that for lower overhead and no winter. I’ve told this story a zillion times, but why not once more:
Steve Earle was on Fresh Air and was asked why he went to Nashville to make his record instead of doing it in Austin. His response: “The dope is too cheap, the weather’s too nice, and the girls are too pretty. You can’t get any work done there.”
I’m choosing to be poor these days in order to spend time on music, so lowering my cost of living has great appeal. Austin (like Philly) has a much better culture as far as going out to hear music, see theater, etc. even though DC actually has better offerings (maybe not better than Philly… but equivalent at least) You always run into someone you know at the Black Cat because most people that live in DC will never set foot in there (even though the neighborhood is now fully gentrified). It’s a very small sub-culture in DC that actually goes out and does stuff.
But I do have mixed feelings about DC overall… and I think you’re right on with the wallflower metaphor. Maybe because I work in the arts I rarely come into contact with the fancy-job type-A people, although I probably should in order to beg for money, I mean “fundraise more effectively.” Oh wait, they don’t give a shit about art any more than they do about poverty, racism, etc… so I’m doing just fine avoiding them. What was my point again? oh yeah… must move to Austin.
jon: you know you aren’t going to get an argument out of me, you know i love austin. i think you and cameron and i even started to convince travis to move there, just around the same time i started to change my mind about wanting to move!
i think michelle is right about being in the right place at the right time for you. i acknowledge that a lot of what i like about dc is particular to the circumstances of my life and may not be so great for other people. i can totally understand why someone would prefer to live in austin or portland or somewhere else other than dc. but it works for me. that’s not to say i plan on living here forever. but for now i’m happy here.
i think a lot of being happy about where you live is just picking a place that suits you and building a life there. i would probably love austin if i moved back but it would take years to build the kind of life there that i have here. much of what i love about dc is not necessarily about dc but rather it’s the relationship i’ve developed with the place. the familiarity of knowing a place intimately and sharing a history together. seeing it change over time, for better and for worse. becoming a part of the community. a job i love. friends i love. a house filled with good memories. looking forward to the lilac tree blooming outside my front door each spring. knowing which chinese delivery is the best and which dance night will be the funnest. these are things that aren’t particular to dc, but come from investing time in one place. it’s my home.
we’ll be sad if/when you guys move to austin, but on the bright side it will give us a good excuse to visit more often!
zee — yep, I’m in Portland!
Ok, granted, you’re totally right about dc being more a host to politics and power than the thing itself. BUT BUT there’s no way I can see dc as a wallflower, either. Nor Portland a homecoming queen. I’m being picky now, so I’ll move on.
I get what you say about…
(I’ll be back tomorrow — I just learned we’re leaving work early! Woop woop!)
DC is great? Do you clueless people read the newspaper? If you think DC is great, I’ve got free plane tickets to a cozy town in Iraq calld Ramadi. Spend some time there and tell the liberal media how great things are going there too.
My god, please don’t ever run for public office. I could hear it now: “Citizens! Stop complaining about bad schools. If you don’t like it, just move!”
Add Marvelous Market brownies and the Smithsonian Complex! I love DC.
Jen wrote: “i think a lot of people who complain the loudest about the people in dc being assholes are kind of assholish themselves. i was being facetious in my first reply to bob, but seriously people who have a big chip on their shoulder about being so disrespected because they don’t have a fancy job are just as boring and irritating as people who are obsessed with having fancy jobs.”
I don’t see it that way. I don’t want to be a fucking lawyer, a doctor or a corporate CEO. I would be the same guy whether I am making $200,000 per year or just $20,000. It’s not about money or status.
If someone of power kicks another person who has less power…the less powerful person should fight back with anger and conviction. For too long in this country, the poor and minorities have taken abuse from the affluent class who has control over our economy, our laws, and our political system. Everything is tilted against the people of lower income. The rich are getting richer because of tax cuts and IRS loopholes. The poor left to rot withouth health insurance, without adequate job training or advanced education. It’s not a fair system.
Yeah, I can be an ass hole at times. But I am sure as shit not going to be polite to people who espouse stupid ideas in defense of the affluent elites in this country. You have to be a feisty prick to fight the ignorance and hate coming from the other side of the fence.
ihateyuppies: i wasn’t referring to you in making that comment. i don’t think it’s assholish at all to stand up against class inequality and ignorance and all that. in fact, i agree with almost everything you said.
but my statement you quote has nothing to do with any of that. it refers to comments like bob’s that basically amount to “boo hoo those people aren’t nice to me at parties.” as you point out, there are a lot more serious problems arising out of the affluent class’ domination of our economy (lack of healthcare, educational opportunities, etc.) than who is popular at parties.
to the extent that the affluent and political elite in dc are a great deal of the problem in this city and this country, i don’t see that as a reason to hate dc. they are only a small part of what dc is about and if we don’t like what they are doing we can stand up to them without it becoming about dc sucking. in some ways it’s actually another good thing about dc — you know that old saying “keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer”?
with regard to captain kangaroo’s comment, i wonder who he’d want to run for office? someone who saw all these problems around her and did nothing but bitch about it? i never said we should accept the things that are wrong with dc or our country. anyone who knows me knows that is not something i’d ever say. if we hate things that are happening around us, like the poverty that is a huge problem in dc, the solution isn’t to bitch how awful dc is. the solution is to do something to fix it. there are a lot of serious problems in dc, like there are in every US city. i don’t see how that means we shouldn’t appreciate the good things about the city. it is the people who love dc who are most motivated to fix what is wrong with it.
i’ve been pissing off a lot of people lately (and not just on this issue) for basically telling them to stop complaining. i’ve been accused of being a pollyanna who only sees roses and sunshine everywhere she looks. anyone who knows me knows how ridiculous that is. it’s not that i don’t care about the problems, it’s just that my attitude is, you either address your concerns in a way that is going to help solve the problem or shut up about it. pointless whining is boring and dumb. and getting pissed off at someone just because she appreciates the good things about an admittedly flawed place is mostly just sad.
I enjoyed reading this, Jen! You made some great points. I like your list.
I liked the lists you linked to, too — it made me homesick for my house in Shaw. Saint Ex opened just before I moved away, and the chef/owner is someone Jill knew from high school (in Fairfax County). Mmm, good beer list and good food. And Coppi’s! One of the places I miss the most.
For me, one of the most difficult and unpleasant things about DC is that there is a core of political workers who spend most of their conversational time trying to figure out whether you are important enough for them to spend time talking to you. If you move to DC for a political job, those are the kinds of people you often meet first, and if you don’t find ways to meet other people, it’s easy to think that DC is full of horrible people.
Unfortunately, the DC metro area cost of living is high high high, so we will probably not be moving back. Even though we miss it.