If you don't like DC, what prevents you from leaving?

[Anonymous]

That is a very nice response from someone from a much bigger city than DC ... NYC. Very good attitude that I implore others to adopt. I think positive people tend to try to like wherever they are and negative people will always complain. It's pretty much that simple. Just like work. Some people always complain. Others try to find something to like.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I dont live in DC anymore. Thank God. But I still reserve the right to snark on it, because it genuinely is a shitty place.

If you dont like it, don't open threads complaining about DC.

Why???

DC has interesting architecture
World class museums
Plenty of jobs
Inexpensive housing relative to salaries
Public transit (yes there are problems but many other us cities don't have any)
Lots of parks and green space
Two large airports
Train lines to other cities nearby
Not too far from the beach and mountains
Decent and improving restaurant scene
Plenty of events and things to do

Maybe it's because I live in DC and not the burbs, but I love it here. I'm often convinced that the haters live outside the district and spend a lot of time fighting traffic. In that case I would hate it too, but I wouldn't claim to live in DC.

Are you not originally from DC? You sound like one of those "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" types that arrive in the "big city" bright eyed and bushy tailed, convinced that this is truly the pinnacle of urban life and fascinated by every inch of city sidewalk.

For those of us who grew up in an urban area, you have to understand that we have different standards.

I grew up in NY. I don't think DC is the pinnacle of urban life, but I do think it has a lot to offer. however, I'm a very positive person and have lived a rather successful life so far. You won't get far in life with the attitude you exhibit. You only live once and you need to get excited about the life you're living and where you live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I dont live in DC anymore. Thank God. But I still reserve the right to snark on it, because it genuinely is a shitty place.

If you dont like it, don't open threads complaining about DC.

If you hate it so much, why are you on DCUMs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I dont live in DC anymore. Thank God. But I still reserve the right to snark on it, because it genuinely is a shitty place.

If you dont like it, don't open threads complaining about DC.

If you hate it so much, why are you on DCUMs?

Different poster here. The first PP on this post made perfect sense. The second PP is ridiculous. It's an anonymous site, and some people use it to vent. Get over it.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:^I mean, if you are sooooooo excited to live in DC, far be it for me to rain on your parade. The museums are great, absolutely. But the shittier and shittier with every passing year public transit makes it a hassle to get to, let alone the traffic

It's mainly the culture. There is such a dearth of creative culture in DC. Of course, it's a government center, so it's going to attract the wonk types, not the creatives, but still... for a large city the dearth of creativity on such a level is kind of remarkable.

Also the people. Again with the lack of creativity- it tends to attract many small minded rule follower types, whether liberal or conservative. It doesnt have the vibrancy of great world cities like New York, LA, San Francisco, even Seattle.

I think you'd be disappointed how uncreative NY and LA are. They are extremely expensive cities and many of the creative types are living off of their parents or trust funds. It's just truly not that creative. There are Starbucks and whole foods all over both of those cities.

Exactly. I don't think these people realize that the perfect place they left behind isn't anymore, if it ever was. My mother yearned for the city we moved away from for two decades. When they finally moved back, she discovered that either the city had changed, or she had, because it was not what she remembered.

FWIW, I know lots of creative people in DC -- noted sculptors, actors, etc. (and I'm a boring lawyer). Just because you don't know them, it doesn't mean they're not there. Maybe you're just not looking in the right place.

I'll say I could care less if a city has creative people in its culture or not. Just not important to me, compared to the things that matter: jobs, schools, well educated and interesting neighbors.

That's what I dislike the most about it: there are NO interesting neighbors, only a lot of people who think they are special. They're all the same -- same huge houses, same kitchens, same lawns, same furniture, same smell (air freshener). Their kids have a handful of the same names. And yet they all think they are unique. They may be well educated but they can't have an intellectual conversation.

Burbs.

So who are you living next door to them? What are your kids names? Why are some families living in a good neighborhood just trying to raise their families so repulsive to you?

The burbs are the burbs everywhere you go. If you want the interesting culture and character neighborhoods you have to live IN dc.

I just don't really believe that Belleview or Santa Clarita are that much different then McLean and Bethesda.

Yes, that's the thing I don't get. There are many different kinds of neighborhoods here. If you don't like your neighborhood with the huge houses and the neighbors who think they're special, there are neighborhoods where the houses aren't huge and people don't think they're special and if you try hard enough you can find something interesting about them.

That is, I understand hating your neighborhood but take responsibility for your own inertia. I don't understand blaming this city for your lack of willingness to move to a more interesting neighborhood.

When we bought our house, the neighborhood was very different than it is now. Do you really not understand that it's a big deal to sell a house ad move somewhere else, when you've lived in it for so long and your kids are attached to living there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Military moved us here. We would never, ever choose DC unless the alternatives were somewhere like a city in the deep south or midwest.

I can't deal with the weather. It wasn't this awful ten years ago.

Feel fortunate that you're not at Leavenworth or Hood. Could be worse.

Seriously, the military is a bad career choice if you don't want to live in DC, the South or Midwest. Even the Navy -- everyone can't be stationed in San Diego.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^I mean, if you are sooooooo excited to live in DC, far be it for me to rain on your parade. The museums are great, absolutely. But the shittier and shittier with every passing year public transit makes it a hassle to get to, let alone the traffic

It's mainly the culture. There is such a dearth of creative culture in DC. Of course, it's a government center, so it's going to attract the wonk types, not the creatives, but still... for a large city the dearth of creativity on such a level is kind of remarkable.

Also the people. Again with the lack of creativity- it tends to attract many small minded rule follower types, whether liberal or conservative. It doesnt have the vibrancy of great world cities like New York, LA, San Francisco, even Seattle.

I think you'd be disappointed how uncreative NY and LA are. They are extremely expensive cities and many of the creative types are living off of their parents or trust funds. It's just truly not that creative. There are Starbucks and whole foods all over both of those cities.

Exactly. I don't think these people realize that the perfect place they left behind isn't anymore, if it ever was. My mother yearned for the city we moved away from for two decades. When they finally moved back, she discovered that either the city had changed, or she had, because it was not what she remembered.

FWIW, I know lots of creative people in DC -- noted sculptors, actors, etc. (and I'm a boring lawyer). Just because you don't know them, it doesn't mean they're not there. Maybe you're just not looking in the right place.

I'll say I could care less if a city has creative people in its culture or not. Just not important to me, compared to the things that matter: jobs, schools, well educated and interesting neighbors.

That's what I dislike the most about it: there are NO interesting neighbors, only a lot of people who think they are special. They're all the same -- same huge houses, same kitchens, same lawns, same furniture, same smell (air freshener). Their kids have a handful of the same names. And yet they all think they are unique. They may be well educated but they can't have an intellectual conversation.

Burbs.

So who are you living next door to them? What are your kids names? Why are some families living in a good neighborhood just trying to raise their families so repulsive to you?

The burbs are the burbs everywhere you go. If you want the interesting culture and character neighborhoods you have to live IN dc.

I just don't really believe that Belleview or Santa Clarita are that much different then McLean and Bethesda.

Yes, that's the thing I don't get. There are many different kinds of neighborhoods here. If you don't like your neighborhood with the huge houses and the neighbors who think they're special, there are neighborhoods where the houses aren't huge and people don't think they're special and if you try hard enough you can find something interesting about them.

That is, I understand hating your neighborhood but take responsibility for your own inertia. I don't understand blaming this city for your lack of willingness to move to a more interesting neighborhood.

When we bought our house, the neighborhood was very different than it is now. Do you really not understand that it's a big deal to sell a house ad move somewhere else, when you've lived in it for so long and your kids are attached to living there?

Yes its a big deal but kids adjust! We moved a couple times when I was a kid locally.

And I'd take a 6 month disruption to my family's life over years of living in bitter misery any day of the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Military moved us here. We would never, ever choose DC unless the alternatives were somewhere like a city in the deep south or midwest.

I can't deal with the weather. It wasn't this awful ten years ago.

Feel fortunate that you're not at Leavenworth or Hood. Could be worse.

I get that.

That there are worse places to be is not exactly a ringing endorsement of DC though. I think what's most shocking is that none of our family or friends are all that interested in visiting us here. No one wants to take vacation days only to "waste" them in DC, so we're really lonely and homesick.

I think that says more about your family than DC. My family has lived and traveled all over the world, and they enjoy visiting DC very much. In fact, DC is the epitome of "it's a great place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^

It's mainly the culture. There is such a dearth of creative culture in DC.

I just fell off my chair.

Pray tell, how creative are you yourself? I'm willing to bet you stopped at the 5th grade art exhibition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Military moved us here. We would never, ever choose DC unless the alternatives were somewhere like a city in the deep south or midwest.

I can't deal with the weather. It wasn't this awful ten years ago.

Feel fortunate that you're not at Leavenworth or Hood. Could be worse.

Seriously, the military is a bad career choice if you don't want to live in DC, the South or Midwest. Even the Navy -- everyone can't be stationed in San Diego.

Well we didn't realize that we wouldn't fit in with DC when he signed up 14 years ago ...

I think that says more about your family than DC. My family has lived and traveled all over the world, and they enjoy visiting DC very much. In fact, DC is the epitome of "it's a great place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there."

To be fair, they visited us when we were stationed here 10 years ago.

They just have no desire to come back this time around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^

It's mainly the culture. There is such a dearth of creative culture in DC.

I just fell off my chair.

Pray tell, how creative are you yourself? I'm willing to bet you stopped at the 5th grade art exhibition.

Nice. Keep 'em coming, PP. You will certain win people over to the wit and charm DC has to offer with these kinds of zingers.

Not the PP you quoted but I have a BFA and I totally agree with her.....

[Anonymous]

As I've posted elsewhere, I work in foreign affairs (not Foreign Service), which is a career I love but isn't really transferable to other places.

I don't hate DC or think it's a shitty place, but I don't particularly like it either. I guess the best I could say about it is that it doesn't suck. I grew up on the West Coast, and the culture is just different out there. Not better or worse - simply different. I feel like I fit in better and find the lifestyle more comfortable out West.

[Anonymous]

Arthritis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I dont live in DC anymore. Thank God. But I still reserve the right to snark on it, because it genuinely is a shitty place.

If you dont like it, don't open threads complaining about DC.

Ah, wondered why the aura had changed. And the odor, that unpleasant odor has gone.

Case in point.

+1. LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't leave because of DH's job. Not convinced where my family lives is any better. The grass is not always greener. All you have to do is look up a city data forum of a place you want to move to, and you will find a thread about how that place sucks.

This. I left an area many people probably think they might love to live in (SoCal) to move to DC. DC is not perfect, but there are many aspects of living here that I prefer over SoCal. Not the weather, tho.

+1

The worst thing about SoCal is the distances involved in driving. Going from my grandmother's house in Orange County for lunch to grab dinner with friends in West Hollywood is a 60 mile drive that takes nearly 2 hours.
All your errands - even to your local grocery - ends up being a 20-25 minute drive one-way.
Oh your best friend lives in The Valley while you live in West LA? You'll only see them 3 or 4 times per year. No one ever wants to leave the radius more than 30 minutes from their house.
That gorgeous beach? You won't go to the beach if you live more than 5 miles from it.

Been there, done that.

Nope, can walk down the street to my grocery store. That's why you live in LA proper and pick your apartment for walkability. It's not that rare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For chrissakes didn't we just have a post like this?
How are people so dense?
J-O-B-S JOBS JOBS JOBS

+1