Transplants vs DC Natives

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm a transplant. IME, people from D.C. generally seem to: have a high opinion of themselves, be very concerned with appearances, always be networking, place their career above all else in their lives. whereas transplants generally seem to: be insecure about their social position and/or about their educational or professional accomplishments, complain a lot about the cost of living here and about the people here, pretend not to care about climbing the ladder socially or professionally when they clearly do care about that very much, like to talk about how their hometowns are so much better than D.C.

I think this is a great summation.

The funniest part is the transplants who complain that DC natives seem "smug" and "insular", and profess that they really could care less about fitting in. Meanwhile, they're researching the best private schools and trying to go to all the hip parts of town.

HILARIOUS.

See, I think this has to do with the industry you're in. I don't really see this in my circle of friends.

Lemme guess- you hang out with a lot of other transplants?

I'm not sure which post you are referring to as to the poster hanging out with other transplants. However, I am the first poster quoted above and yes, I do hang out with a lot of other transplants for a couple reasons: one is because almost everyone I meet here (through work or otherwise) is not originally from this area, another reason is that most of the D.C. natives I've met already have their circle of friends and they don't seem as interested as other 'transplants' in making new friends. But I know plenty of both natives and transplants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in Bethesda in the 80's. No one lived in dc during the crack Marion Barry era. So native is a little...not the right word. It is pretty easy to tell who is from here and who isn't. But if you don't like it, move. Problem solved.

Really, no one lived in DC back then? The streets and houses were empty? Maybe you could rephrase this...

[Anonymous]

I find that transplants complain about how they long for their hometown (I can't lie, I'm one of them) but they are also most of what makes DC feel unwelcoming and annoying. There is a population of power hungry, smug, status obsessed jerks who come here to try to be the next big thing. I have never found natives to be particularly smug or unfriendly. I come from a state where transplants are not welcome, I know it when I see it. I never see "NATIVE" or "NO OCCUPANCY" bumper stickers on cars here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm a transplant. IME, people from D.C. generally seem to: have a high opinion of themselves, be very concerned with appearances, always be networking, place their career above all else in their lives. whereas transplants generally seem to: be insecure about their social position and/or about their educational or professional accomplishments, complain a lot about the cost of living here and about the people here, pretend not to care about climbing the ladder socially or professionally when they clearly do care about that very much, like to talk about how their hometowns are so much better than D.C.

I think this is a great summation.

The funniest part is the transplants who complain that DC natives seem "smug" and "insular", and profess that they really could care less about fitting in. Meanwhile, they're researching the best private schools and trying to go to all the hip parts of town.

HILARIOUS.

See, I think this has to do with the industry you're in. I don't really see this in my circle of friends.

Lemme guess- you hang out with a lot of other transplants?

I hang out with teachers, students, researchers, social workers, non-profit staff, Feds, among others - a lot of transplants but some folks who are natives. I don't really see a lot of the behavior that either pp describes. FWIW, I moved here in 1991 and I love it here - but now that I think about it, I didn't love it till I moved out of Georgetown. Just wasn't for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What strikes me is the number of posters from DC who assume "transplants" have a "hometown". There is such a thing as a nomad you know, people who move from one city to another without some hucky hometown to go back to.

Los Angeles, London, New York, Paris. These are my cities, and Washington DC comes in last on every level.

+1

D.C. people need to get over themselves. They are making asses of themselves, in the meantime.

What's keeping you here? So you are trying to make us believe that you are from NYC, Paris, LA, and London. O-Kay. Btw, I lived in Anaya's for many years of course it was during the time when Times Square was a cesspool and not the Disney Land shit it is now, but really once you go North of 125th street it was a dump. And, much of Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island was suburbian. Most of the professional people didn't even live in the city. They were commuters from Jersey, Philly, and Connecticut.

Los Angelas sucks. London is cold and rainy. Now Paris, I love Paris. That is a city full of wonders, but the quarters are a bit small.

Yikes you have been slumming it. Manhattan and Beverly Hills do very nicely thank you. And to the person who mentioned New Jersey, I have never set foot there in my entire life, nor do I plan to, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think transplants seem more infatuated with the area in general. They seem to view the city through perpetual rose colored glasses.

On the other hand, natives don't seem all that impressed. They don't seem to have the same thrill or appreciation that the transplants do, when seeing monuments or Dupont Circle other "DC" things

I think it's the opposite. Natives have a warped view of DC and think it is great because they don't know anything else.

Transplants have seen better and are not impressed. They are here for their jobs.

They'll never get it.

Interesting that they consider themselves so worldly, so important, yet they have the biggest case of "flyover" mentality I've ever seen.

[Anonymous]

Native here. Just today while at the Museums with the kids I pointed out how beautiful it is, and why people travel from all over the world to enjoy DC. (it was surprisingly jam-packed at the Mall today, but we even got a parking space at the National Gallery) Which reminds me, I will never, ever tire of the NGA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a really stupid thread. So far all we've learned is that rich, spoiled, sheltered kids in Upper NW and Montgomery County who grew up and went to school together tend to stick together. How does that differentiate them from rich, spoiled, sheltered kids in any other suburb anywhere else?

This is 100% true in this town.

- A native

Unlike other cities such as Boston and Baltimore, DC natives don't form closed off social circles. Social mobility is purely based on money (or political power since it's usually monetized later)
That's not necessarily a virtuous thing: it's just more of a user culture. If you can help me, you're in.

Native here (Capitol Hill, age 29). This is my impression of transplants in general: they're here to advance their career and make connections, not to form community nor improve the city at large. Very exploitative.

What the hell would a transplant ever (ever) need from a local who could never (ever) afford to live here, had they moved here now?

Oh, honey.

Who do you think makes up the rank and file at Chevy Chase, Congo, and the other country clubs? Who do you think is sending their kids to the best private schools?

Hate to tell you, my friend- it ain't transplants.

But maybe if you repeat it a few more times it will come true!

Are you talking to yourself? You sound crazy. Let it go. Everything will be alright for you, someday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think transplants seem more infatuated with the area in general. They seem to view the city through perpetual rose colored glasses.

On the other hand, natives don't seem all that impressed. They don't seem to have the same thrill or appreciation that the transplants do, when seeing monuments or Dupont Circle other "DC" things

I think it's the opposite. Natives have a warped view of DC and think it is great because they don't know anything else.

Transplants have seen better and are not impressed. They are here for their jobs.

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think transplants seem more infatuated with the area in general. They seem to view the city through perpetual rose colored glasses.

On the other hand, natives don't seem all that impressed. They don't seem to have the same thrill or appreciation that the transplants do, when seeing monuments or Dupont Circle other "DC" things

I think it's the opposite. Natives have a warped view of DC and think it is great because they don't know anything else.

Transplants have seen better and are not impressed. They are here for their jobs.

Exactly. But transplants could never talk any sense into a tunnel vision native. LOLZ. Why bother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm a transplant. IME, people from D.C. generally seem to: have a high opinion of themselves, be very concerned with appearances, always be networking, place their career above all else in their lives. whereas transplants generally seem to: be insecure about their social position and/or about their educational or professional accomplishments, complain a lot about the cost of living here and about the people here, pretend not to care about climbing the ladder socially or professionally when they clearly do care about that very much, like to talk about how their hometowns are so much better than D.C.

This is more a reflection of the company you keep than real Washingtonians, who in no shape or form resemble the characterization you post. If anything, PP, you're describing nothing more than earlier transplants in that first sentence.

Have you actually met anyone FROM DC, as in born-and-raised here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in Bethesda in the 80's. No one lived in dc during the crack Marion Barry era. So native is a little...not the right word. It is pretty easy to tell who is from here and who isn't. But if you don't like it, move. Problem solved.

Really, no one lived in DC back then? The streets and houses were empty? Maybe you could rephrase this...

She means no white people, the only ones whose lives matter to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in Bethesda in the 80's. No one lived in dc during the crack Marion Barry era. So native is a little...not the right word. It is pretty easy to tell who is from here and who isn't. But if you don't like it, move. Problem solved.

Really, no one lived in DC back then? The streets and houses were empty? Maybe you could rephrase this...

She means no white people, the only ones whose lives matter to her.

I know. That's what bothers me about the transplant discussion. There are lots of people in DC who were born and raised here and they look nothing like the picture described by some of the pps. I wouldn't mind it if people clarified that they're talking about white people. But it bothers me a lot when they talk as if other people don't even exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a really stupid thread. So far all we've learned is that rich, spoiled, sheltered kids in Upper NW and Montgomery County who grew up and went to school together tend to stick together. How does that differentiate them from rich, spoiled, sheltered kids in any other suburb anywhere else?

This is 100% true in this town.

- A native

Unlike other cities such as Boston and Baltimore, DC natives don't form closed off social circles. Social mobility is purely based on money (or political power since it's usually monetized later)
That's not necessarily a virtuous thing: it's just more of a user culture. If you can help me, you're in.

Native here (Capitol Hill, age 29). This is my impression of transplants in general: they're here to advance their career and make connections, not to form community nor improve the city at large. Very exploitative.

What the hell would a transplant ever (ever) need from a local who could never (ever) afford to live here, had they moved here now?

Oh, honey.

Who do you think makes up the rank and file at Chevy Chase, Congo, and the other country clubs? Who do you think is sending their kids to the best private schools?

Hate to tell you, my friend- it ain't transplants.

But maybe if you repeat it a few more times it will come true!

Are you talking to yourself? You sound crazy. Let it go. Everything will be alright for you, someday.

Sure, ignore everything else the PP said, that's a great strategy....

Talk about crazy...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find that transplants complain about how they long for their hometown (I can't lie, I'm one of them) but they are also most of what makes DC feel unwelcoming and annoying. There is a population of power hungry, smug, status obsessed jerks who come here to try to be the next big thing. I have never found natives to be particularly smug or unfriendly. I come from a state where transplants are not welcome, I know it when I see it. I never see "NATIVE" or "NO OCCUPANCY" bumper stickers on cars here.

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