So tired of living in the DC area. So sick of it. Warning..negative VENT

[Anonymous]

PP, most of these people wouldn't know what to do if they met an educated person!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But I chose to be a "tool" and not be interested in cattle futures and whatever pro sports team is playing tonight. I choose to live somewhere where rush hour isn't over at 5:30. Besides, Grampa is a racist chauvinist pig who doesn't know whether to be embarrassed or proud that I make a lot of money.

Sorry you have such personality and family issues. Seriously, sorry. You seem like a miserable person who has to defend to the last even the crappiest parts of her existence (who "chooses" a bad rush hour?).

No, I'm not a miserable person, and I'm way too smart to sit in traffic for two hours every day just to commute to my job. I was using the "rush hour ends at 5:30" as an illustration of a place where not much is happening. Sorry I wasn't clear on that.

Wow. You have to be the most pompous, arrogant, self-important (and sorry, NOT intelligent-sounding) person I have had the unfortunate experience of 'meeting' in a long, long time. I do hope someday you realize what a complete and utter snob you are. yuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I doubt it. Most of the assholes don't make a lot of money. That is why they are pissed. And if you do, you are new money. The worst kind. You can't buy manners. And boy, this board hates the new vs. old money debate because there is so little old money (and manners) here!

I have NO money, and I have impeccable manners. Old money does not = manners. Damn, now you've sucked me into the debate.

[Anonymous]

Eh, this thread is making me ill. I personally love DC and believe it or not DC is not all about politics. There is a world of other people in DC that have absolutely nothing to do with that niche. I know loving, caring, nice, generous, smart people who live here. Yes, it's not Tokyo or London. Honestly I find it so annoying when people make those comparisons because DC is not a huge city like those cities or NYC. You're comparing apples to oranges because DC is a smaller residential city that still has so much to offer. I find when I smile at a stranger here, guess what, they smile back. If you're a sour person that's what you're going to get in return. Yes there are jerks here (as there are in any city) but there also is a world of great people here. I just don't experience the city the way a lot of the negative posters have here on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has more educated, intelligent and interesting people than large swaths of the midwest.

Sports and money aren't the only things people talk about.

My parents escaped the nosy, everyone knows your business syndrome in the midwest 50 years ago, and none of their descendants have moved back.

You say laid back, I say boring.

To themselves, more than folks in any other city I've lived in.

[Anonymous]

PP, I'm sure you're right. I find the people in DC interesting, so we stay. I hope those who don't find DC people interesting can find a way to make it back to someplace they'd enjoy more. I have no interest in dealing with people who'd rather be in New England.

[Anonymous]

I have learned not to bother reading this type of thread until it reaches 100 posts. Then I can skip to the end and find out if it's just a bunch of hens pecking at each other.

Yes it is. Glad I didn't get sucked in.

[Anonymous]

This politics loving, WOHM who bought a house in the 90's for a pittance and who has a 10 minute commute LOVES DC! My friends and family are nice, smart, laid back people who do interesting things and are engaged in the world around them. I live in a diverse neighborhood and every day run into people from all over the world. We go to museums, sporting events, concerts, and have frequent potlucks. My kids play local rec league sports with the kids of lots of nice people (with a few exceptions). And there are lots of other people like me who love it here. My advice: stay and learn to appreciate what's here (although that can be difficult if you live way out), or move. Either way, stop the whining.

[Anonymous]

DC proper and its close-in 'burbs are great places to live when you are young and single. Lots of interesting people in the area, many of whom are from somewhere else and are eager to meet people. Good restaurants, clubs, cultural attractions and lots of good entry- and low-to-mid-level job opportunities. You can live in a small apartment and walk everywhere or use public transportation.

When you get married, buy a house, have kids and start worrying about schools, the DC area doesn't compare as well to many others. Suddenly all the things that made living in DC great -- bars and restaurants, lots of young people, etc. -- don't matter so much because you are doing the home-job-home circuit and performing all the little chores ncesssary to make your household go. It's the same place; it's the people who change as they age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear ya OP! We moved a few months ago away from DC and while I miss some truly wonderful people we met, the list is VERY LONG of things I do not miss.

You couldn't pay me enough to move back. Visit? Sure. But I just can't stomach raising my kids in the area. The traffic and entitlement alone keeps me away.

Where'd you move to? Is your new locale supportive of the dual working parent lifestyle? How are the job and educational opportunities? Not being able to deal with the traffic is a truly wimpish reason to stay away from DC.

Do people there read firsthand news or get all their world affairs info from cable and the internet?

Smaller city in New England.

And I'm sorry, you're right it's not just traffic. It's world-revolves-around-DC people like you that encouraged us to move. We are rather happy with our balanced lifestyle of work and play with access to plenty of diverse learning opportunities.

I'm curious though, it's the digital age. How do we all not have access to "reading firsthand news?" And what is your point?

Ok, by your non response, I'm guessing you do not have a dual working parent lifestyle. And no comment on the job and educational opportunities in your New Englad town compared to DC either, huh? My point about the news is that trying to have a discussion with my Wisconsin relatives that involves actually knowing who some of the Cabinet level officers are in the current administration results in nothing but stares. Here you can discuss policy and who's doing what at the staff level and you feel right at home. And how are you loving that New England weather? Is it true you need to be third generation to even begin to be accepted by the locals there? How's the racial and ethnic diversity?

Yes. Those of us who hate it here would rather talk about something interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of Ohio is central.

LOL -You mean Indiana.

Bush killed that coolness.

[Anonymous]

Another Midwestern (small-ish town) transplant here. We've been in DC now for 13 years.

I have to say I agree with a lot of the points on both sides of the argument. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have the best of both worlds?

DC weather
Midwestern friendliness
DC intellectualism
Midwestern unpretentiousness
DC diversity
Midwestern cost of living
DC (OK, make that NoVA/MoCo) schools
Midwestern traffic
DC cultural opportunities
Midwestern work/life balance

Does such an animal even exist? Unfortunately, I don't think it does.

Every year I go home to the Midwest at Christmas and realize how much I miss the friendliness and that smaller town vibe. Then, after a week or so, I realize I don't really fit in with the people there anymore. It's sad when you can no longer feel truly at home in either place because each has spoiled you for the other.

[Anonymous]

17:01 - BINGO! D.C. is a great place to be in your 20's. After that, I'm very much over it! It seems to age people and make them very bitter. See how most people behave in public? No thanks. I don't want to stay until I become like them. If you are polite for the most part, it's f*ck you. You can't seem to give an inch without them thinking (quite an imagination, BTW) that they are a ruler. They are so GD delusional! That is what makes me tired of D.C. and I believe (by this thread, among many other ways) I am not the only one.

There is an over abundance of those who want all the credit, but have none (or not nearly enough) of the talent. Why do so many things have to be a pissing contest? There are so many other places where only the truly intelligent and useful survive, and yes they are much more pleasant places to live! Maybe D.C. is like a train wreck? We know how unpleasant it is, but somehow can't look away.

There are many good points, and some I might even miss when I leave. What I think OP is saying is that sometimes it just gets on my nerves, even though it shouldn't. Example: those with the "leave then" attitude. Exactly, a**hole. But then who would employ you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eh, this thread is making me ill. I personally love DC and believe it or not DC is not all about politics. There is a world of other people in DC that have absolutely nothing to do with that niche. I know loving, caring, nice, generous, smart people who live here. Yes, it's not Tokyo or London. Honestly I find it so annoying when people make those comparisons because DC is not a huge city like those cities or NYC. You're comparing apples to oranges because DC is a smaller residential city that still has so much to offer. I find when I smile at a stranger here, guess what, they smile back. If you're a sour person that's what you're going to get in return. Yes there are jerks here (as there are in any city) but there also is a world of great people here. I just don't experience the city the way a lot of the negative posters have here on this thread.

If DC is not a world-class city (and I agree that it is not), then why does it have world-class-city prices (especially wrt housing)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another Midwestern (small-ish town) transplant here. We've been in DC now for 13 years.

I have to say I agree with a lot of the points on both sides of the argument. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have the best of both worlds?

DC weather
Midwestern friendliness
DC intellectualism
Midwestern unpretentiousness
DC diversity
Midwestern cost of living
DC (OK, make that NoVA/MoCo) schools
Midwestern traffic
DC cultural opportunities
Midwestern work/life balance

Does such an animal even exist? Unfortunately, I don't think it does.

Every year I go home to the Midwest at Christmas and realize how much I miss the friendliness and that smaller town vibe. Then, after a week or so, I realize I don't really fit in with the people there anymore. It's sad when you can no longer feel truly at home in either place because each has spoiled you for the other.

Yes, in Pittsburgh (for example).

You can keep the DC weather. Ick.