Existential crisis in downtown Bethesda

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why I could never live in a place like that. My OB-Gyn was in Bethesda and I witnessed stuff like this a lot. On the one hand, everything is very nice and shiny there and I get the appeal of things being so clean and convenient. But it does wind up feeling like living in Disneyland, and yes, the entitlement is off the charts. I was happy to drive back to my much less shiny and convenient neighborhood, where people are kind and much more varied and interesting. Sometimes "clean and convenient" isn't actually worth the trade offs.

OMG this post is so full of it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I could never live in a place like that. My OB-Gyn was in Bethesda and I witnessed stuff like this a lot. On the one hand, everything is very nice and shiny there and I get the appeal of things being so clean and convenient. But it does wind up feeling like living in Disneyland, and yes, the entitlement is off the charts. I was happy to drive back to my much less shiny and convenient neighborhood, where people are kind and much more varied and interesting. Sometimes "clean and convenient" isn't actually worth the trade offs.

OMG this post is so full of it

Disneyland is clean. Bethesda is not. Disneyland has paved roads with no potholes. Bethesda does not. Disneyland is safe. Bethesda is not (2x crime of Fairfax). Disneyland is fun. Bethesda is not. And shockingly, Disneyland probably has better food than Bethesda lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I could never live in a place like that. My OB-Gyn was in Bethesda and I witnessed stuff like this a lot. On the one hand, everything is very nice and shiny there and I get the appeal of things being so clean and convenient. But it does wind up feeling like living in Disneyland, and yes, the entitlement is off the charts. I was happy to drive back to my much less shiny and convenient neighborhood, where people are kind and much more varied and interesting. Sometimes "clean and convenient" isn't actually worth the trade offs.

OMG this post is so full of it

Disneyland is clean. Bethesda is not. Disneyland has paved roads with no potholes. Bethesda does not. Disneyland is safe. Bethesda is not (2x crime of Fairfax). Disneyland is fun. Bethesda is not. And shockingly, Disneyland probably has better food than Bethesda lol

Fairfax - LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I could never live in a place like that. My OB-Gyn was in Bethesda and I witnessed stuff like this a lot. On the one hand, everything is very nice and shiny there and I get the appeal of things being so clean and convenient. But it does wind up feeling like living in Disneyland, and yes, the entitlement is off the charts. I was happy to drive back to my much less shiny and convenient neighborhood, where people are kind and much more varied and interesting. Sometimes "clean and convenient" isn't actually worth the trade offs.

OMG this post is so full of it

Disneyland is clean. Bethesda is not. Disneyland has paved roads with no potholes. Bethesda does not. Disneyland is safe. Bethesda is not (2x crime of Fairfax). Disneyland is fun. Bethesda is not. And shockingly, Disneyland probably has better food than Bethesda lol

+1 Disneyland is next level municipal management. That place is extremely well kept and regulated. I visited back in April and came away very impressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I am sitting in downtown Bethesda on a Sunday afternoon, sipping my $5.50 iced coffee. I am looking around me at these three blocks of fancy chain stores, that are just like the fancy chain stores in the analagous parts of other upscale suburbs, and watching people pop in and out like automatons. It seems so pointless and empty. Is this what it's all for? Strive to live in a HCOL area and make a big enough salary to live there so you can go disburse your dollars among certain branded storefronts as if you are robot operating on preprogrammed instructions thinking that you "belong"?

As I got my coffee I witnessed a middle aged UMC (white) woman haranguing the (black) barista for ten minutes about how dishonest they and the business are for putting too much ice in her iced juice drink & how they are defrauding customers by putting in too much ice and not enough juice. Seriously? Work all your life for the privilege of raising your kids around people like this?

How old are you, OP? Ballpark.

Why do you ask?

Not the PP, but maybe mid-life crisis?

I was going to say teenager.

OP here. I am 50. Why would you think teenager?

Because you are just seeing this NOW?

I am actually not from around here and thinking of moving here. I have the money. I am just looking around and wondering about the value and purpose.

It's a bragging rights thing. The public school clusters there are like private schools. I decided against that area because of the entitlement behavior that the store patrons use leads to assumed contention from the store employees. That friction makes it difficult to do chores or errands without confrontation like what you described. I strongly dislike getting lumped in with people like that but it happens all the time when I shop there. I just don't like the NIMBYism even though I look like a NIMBY.

And yes, Bethesda residents, I can afford to buy a house there. The realtor I worked with for a while was floored when I said this to him as one of the reasons for not buying there. I will admit that the houses I can afford there are not as new and nice as the houses where I ended up buying, but that's only part of the reason I decided against that area.

For people that aren't bothered by this dynamic, it's very nice. It's also not something that you deal with in every transaction. It just doesn't take much distance from that zip code to avoid that dynamic entirely.

Yes, the public elementary school that has 28 kids per class with one teacher, and trailers in the back to house the overflow, and has an "art cart" because there are too many kids to fit in the art classroom ... just like a private school. Same with once a week PE for 30 minutes and lunch eaten at 10:30 am because of scheduling.

Give me a break. I actually went to a private school and my kids at Bethesda Elementary are doing fine but a private school it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I could never live in a place like that. My OB-Gyn was in Bethesda and I witnessed stuff like this a lot. On the one hand, everything is very nice and shiny there and I get the appeal of things being so clean and convenient. But it does wind up feeling like living in Disneyland, and yes, the entitlement is off the charts. I was happy to drive back to my much less shiny and convenient neighborhood, where people are kind and much more varied and interesting. Sometimes "clean and convenient" isn't actually worth the trade offs.

OMG this post is so full of it

Disneyland is clean. Bethesda is not. Disneyland has paved roads with no potholes. Bethesda does not. Disneyland is safe. Bethesda is not (2x crime of Fairfax). Disneyland is fun. Bethesda is not. And shockingly, Disneyland probably has better food than Bethesda lol

Fairfax - LOL!

Great argument, Bethesda socialist

[Anonymous]

I heard fairfax county has a trash pickup problem. Bethesda is well run and nice.

[Anonymous]

Wow, can’t believe the dark spiral of this thread! I love Bethesda and enjoy Bethesda Row. Like the theater, mon ani gabi, the fro-yo place, Bethesda bagels, Quatermaine, that new taco place. All great stuff.

Plenty of great places in the region, but I’m happy to live in Bethesda!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sitting in downtown Bethesda on a Sunday afternoon, sipping my $5.50 iced coffee. I am looking around me at these three blocks of fancy chain stores, that are just like the fancy chain stores in the analagous parts of other upscale suburbs, and watching people pop in and out like automatons. It seems so pointless and empty. Is this what it's all for? Strive to live in a HCOL area and make a big enough salary to live there so you can go disburse your dollars among certain branded storefronts as if you are robot operating on preprogrammed instructions thinking that you "belong"?

As I got my coffee I witnessed a middle aged UMC (white) woman haranguing the (black) barista for ten minutes about how dishonest they and the business are for putting too much ice in her iced juice drink & how they are defrauding customers by putting in too much ice and not enough juice. Seriously? Work all your life for the privilege of raising your kids around people like this?

How old are you, OP? Ballpark.

Why do you ask?

Not the PP, but maybe mid-life crisis?

I was going to say teenager.

OP here. I am 50. Why would you think teenager?

Because you are just seeing this NOW?

I am actually not from around here and thinking of moving here. I have the money. I am just looking around and wondering about the value and purpose.

It's a bragging rights thing. The public school clusters there are like private schools. I decided against that area because of the entitlement behavior that the store patrons use leads to assumed contention from the store employees. That friction makes it difficult to do chores or errands without confrontation like what you described. I strongly dislike getting lumped in with people like that but it happens all the time when I shop there. I just don't like the NIMBYism even though I look like a NIMBY.

And yes, Bethesda residents, I can afford to buy a house there. The realtor I worked with for a while was floored when I said this to him as one of the reasons for not buying there. I will admit that the houses I can afford there are not as new and nice as the houses where I ended up buying, but that's only part of the reason I decided against that area.

For people that aren't bothered by this dynamic, it's very nice. It's also not something that you deal with in every transaction. It just doesn't take much distance from that zip code to avoid that dynamic entirely.

Yes, the public elementary school that has 28 kids per class with one teacher, and trailers in the back to house the overflow, and has an "art cart" because there are too many kids to fit in the art classroom ... just like a private school. Same with once a week PE for 30 minutes and lunch eaten at 10:30 am because of scheduling.

Give me a break. I actually went to a private school and my kids at Bethesda Elementary are doing fine but a private school it is not.

All the Bethesda elementary schools are run by lunatic principals. Well, Bethesda Elementary, Chevy Chase (not North Chevy Chase) and Bradly Hills anyway. Truly crazy ladies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sitting in downtown Bethesda on a Sunday afternoon, sipping my $5.50 iced coffee. I am looking around me at these three blocks of fancy chain stores, that are just like the fancy chain stores in the analagous parts of other upscale suburbs, and watching people pop in and out like automatons. It seems so pointless and empty. Is this what it's all for? Strive to live in a HCOL area and make a big enough salary to live there so you can go disburse your dollars among certain branded storefronts as if you are robot operating on preprogrammed instructions thinking that you "belong"?

As I got my coffee I witnessed a middle aged UMC (white) woman haranguing the (black) barista for ten minutes about how dishonest they and the business are for putting too much ice in her iced juice drink & how they are defrauding customers by putting in too much ice and not enough juice. Seriously? Work all your life for the privilege of raising your kids around people like this?

How old are you, OP? Ballpark.

Why do you ask?

Not the PP, but maybe mid-life crisis?

I was going to say teenager.

OP here. I am 50. Why would you think teenager?

Because you are just seeing this NOW?

I am actually not from around here and thinking of moving here. I have the money. I am just looking around and wondering about the value and purpose.

It's a bragging rights thing. The public school clusters there are like private schools. I decided against that area because of the entitlement behavior that the store patrons use leads to assumed contention from the store employees. That friction makes it difficult to do chores or errands without confrontation like what you described. I strongly dislike getting lumped in with people like that but it happens all the time when I shop there. I just don't like the NIMBYism even though I look like a NIMBY.

And yes, Bethesda residents, I can afford to buy a house there. The realtor I worked with for a while was floored when I said this to him as one of the reasons for not buying there. I will admit that the houses I can afford there are not as new and nice as the houses where I ended up buying, but that's only part of the reason I decided against that area.

For people that aren't bothered by this dynamic, it's very nice. It's also not something that you deal with in every transaction. It just doesn't take much distance from that zip code to avoid that dynamic entirely.

Yes, the public elementary school that has 28 kids per class with one teacher, and trailers in the back to house the overflow, and has an "art cart" because there are too many kids to fit in the art classroom ... just like a private school. Same with once a week PE for 30 minutes and lunch eaten at 10:30 am because of scheduling.

Give me a break. I actually went to a private school and my kids at Bethesda Elementary are doing fine but a private school it is not.

All the Bethesda elementary schools are run by lunatic principals. Well, Bethesda Elementary, Chevy Chase (not North Chevy Chase) and Bradly Hills anyway. Truly crazy ladies.

Also Rock Creek Forrest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, people are heartless and rude -- you can see that all over DCUM. They're dead inside.

Actually what the cranky woman was saying is true. I stand by the post above, but she was right -- we are constantly being ripped off by businesses.

Also the race comments were unnecessary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I could never live in a place like that. My OB-Gyn was in Bethesda and I witnessed stuff like this a lot. On the one hand, everything is very nice and shiny there and I get the appeal of things being so clean and convenient. But it does wind up feeling like living in Disneyland, and yes, the entitlement is off the charts. I was happy to drive back to my much less shiny and convenient neighborhood, where people are kind and much more varied and interesting. Sometimes "clean and convenient" isn't actually worth the trade offs.

OMG this post is so full of it

PP doesn’t actually live in Bethesda. Everyone in our neighborhood is lovely. And like other PPs have started take two steps off of Bethesda row and visit the tons of independent shops in woodmont triangle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best way to get out of an existential funk is to look outside yourself and help someone!

Consider helping to stock the Bethesda Little Free Pantry - you can put non-perishable donations directly in it.

http://mapping.littlefreepantry.org/pantry/2137

We’re going to need a lot more of those in downtown.

[Anonymous]

Bethesda is gonna Bethesda.

I grew up there and don’t desire to move back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, people are heartless and rude -- you can see that all over DCUM. They're dead inside.

Actually what the cranky woman was saying is true. I stand by the post above, but she was right -- we are constantly being ripped off by businesses.

+1 I get ALL my iced drinks WITHOUT ice and then ask for a cup of ice.