Washington Revisited

Washington stands out mostly positively in two categories: How pretty it is, and how many friends and loved ones I have in the area.

DC is full of pretty buildings, and due to building height restrictions, there are no skyscrapers, which makes for a brighter landscape and better views. There is also a large amount of parkland, ranging from the Mall, to the Rock Creek park for hiking and biking, to little parks scattered all over the city. The national monuments add to the beauty and provide a place to go when you want some exercise or a romantic stroll.

Having said that, the last several years have seen the beauty of the city decline. After September 11, 2001, barriers went up all over the city, including around some of the most iconic Washington buildings that traditionally were quite accessible. For example, the Capitol's steps, which I have walked on many times, are now closed, blocked by ugly metal fences. This is both an eyesore and an ugly way to treat people. (Congress works for us and we should be able to walk on their steps if we want to.) Elsewhere, giant concrete sewer pipes block roads, and Jersey barriers are everywhere, again creating ugly views and decreasing accessibility for both vehicles and pedestrians, further increasing DC's traffic problems, which in turn create crabby people and pollution.

As for the terrain, DC is not bad. It's mildly hilly; not enough that I'd be out of breath just walking to work, but hilly enough to provide some exercise and visual interest. DC is 3 hours from the ocean, but the Chesapeake Bay is closer, if one wants the water. No mountains nearby, but a few hours' drive can get you to some small ski slopes or some hiking in the Shenandoah.

So while DC has a very nice base of attractiveness, it has lately been diminished both in aesthetics and in inconvenience and shabby treatment of DC's residents.

As mentioned above, I have lots of friends in the area. Many from work, some from college, even some from elementary school! My sister and her husband live there too. I would never be without friends if I returned to DC. But despite knowing I have this core group of friends in DC, I find the "mob" in DC less that friendly. For example, I lived in the same large apartment building for 10 years. And when I moved out, I could name only 3 of my neighbors by name. Everywhere else I've lived I've known the names of a significant number of neighbors. And sometimes their pets' names, too! Since I've known neighbors in other places, but not in DC, I fault DC and not myself.

This woman loves Washington!

I am also turned off by this weird snobbishness I perceive in DC. Keep in mind that everyone works for the same company, really. They either work directly for the government, or work in an industry that serves the government. I exaggerate here, but the government is the largest employer in the region. So nearly everyone is a bureaucrat, yet a large number of people have this attitude that what they do is more important than what you do, and in turn that they more important than you. Just watch an ambulance try to navigate downtown traffic. About 20% of the drivers will make an effort to get out of the way; the rest just try to beat the next light, ambulance be damned.

Now, the masses in DC aren't all bad. Certainly, many individuals are great people (I felt fortunate that where I worked so many people were cool and nice). But even generally there are good qualities among the DC "mob": People are generally well-aware of current events, and I like that. There are very few, if any, backwards notions like women or minorities shouldn't be treated fairly. I fully expect to be treated fairly in hiring and promotion decisions in DC. The area is pretty liberal, as am I. I'm certainly not considered weird or bad because I don't go to church, for example. Or that I'm /gasp/ 37 and not married. I also like that when people approach each other on the sidewalk, most people slide to the right (as if they were cars). Surprisingly, people don't do this in most places, so there's a lot of weaving back and forth on the sidewalk, or those little pedestrian dances. This sounds like a silly reason to like the people of DC, but as someone who's really bothered by other people a lot of the time, it's nice knowing I won't be annoyed just walking down the sidewalk.

Things I like about DC:

• A lot of my friends live there. At this point in my life, I probably have more friends and family in DC than anywhere else, even Cleveland. Friends matter to my happiness.
• There's a lot to do and so much of it is free. Really, people in DC are spoiled by how much is free. Museums, military concerts, movies on the Mall, etc. I'll add there is a lot of nightlife too, including lots of dining options (although the price of dining out in DC seems higher than elsewhere).
• There are several places where I could make a mini-ciy within the city, making it a more comfortable place to live. And doing without a car, as well! That's what Dupont Circle was like, in fact. I lived and worked there and it was close to public transportation and fairly easy to reach by car, too. It made my part of the city seem manageable, even if the city itself is way too big. Which brings me to...

The now annual college bowl game in D.C.  One of many things to do!

Things I don't like about DC:

• It's too big. Getting anywhere outside of about a 1-mile radius from your home, or anywhere not on the Metro, is a huge pain in the butt. Things are either close in, but there are too many people and not enough parking. Or things are someplace less crowded, but are out in the suburbs and a real drag to get to (and depending on the suburb, there might still be too many people and not enough parking).
• As mentioned above, I never took to the people. Too many people give off a strong “me first” attitude. Someone suggested to me, when I commented that people in their neighborhood were pretty friendly, that maybe I just lived in the wrong place. That's possible. I also know that the further away I get from the “hip” (and maybe less friendly) parts of town, the worse my commute will be, as the less likely I'll find a mini-city within the city. So escaping the snobbery could reduce my quality of life.
• Taxation Without Representation! In case you are one of the many people who do not know this, DC has no Senators and no Congresspeople (not ones that are permitted to vote, at least). DC meets all of the requirements to be a state, yet repeated attempts to somehow get voting rights in Congress (whether by being a state or being assigned voting slots or even being subsumed into a neighboring state) have been for naught. DC residents, unlike residents of U.S. territories, pay federal income taxes. Yet because it is the home of Congress, and there is no one in Congress to stand up to it, Congress dicks around all the time with D.C.'s laws. This is an indignity that doesn't happen in any other place in the U.S. It's really shameful that such a large percentage of U.S. citizens are not represented in Congress.