Is DC on the way to being San Francisco ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, definitely if the Feds don’t return to work at least 3 days a week the hospitality industry will collapse and the tax base along with it. DC will be just like San Francisco in 2-3 years if work from home continues.

Well, guess what? It won’t continue. Feds are going back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These discussions about how an entire city are doing miss a lot of subtlety. In SF, like DC, the downtown business district is suffering but many of the outer neighborhoods are thriving with work from home. I've heard that many new businesses are opening in the Sunset (which had been a sleepier part of SF), and I'd guess places like Pacific Heights and Forest Hill are also thriving. In DC, Logan Circle and SW Waterfront are incredibly vibrant. Dupont and Upper NW seem tired, but that was true before COVID as well. Again, it's really the CBD that is suffering not the city as a whole.

Upper NW is tired because of the death grip from a bunch of homeowners who bought in the 80's and 90's and are riding the property value wave but wanting to "preserve the character" of the neighborhoods at all costs. Any change put forward is met with swift resistance.

Translation - Wah, I can’t do what I want with other people’s stuff and the homeowners like living in the areas they live in. The nerve of those people wanting to enjoy the neighborhood as it is!

*tantrum*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These discussions about how an entire city are doing miss a lot of subtlety. In SF, like DC, the downtown business district is suffering but many of the outer neighborhoods are thriving with work from home. I've heard that many new businesses are opening in the Sunset (which had been a sleepier part of SF), and I'd guess places like Pacific Heights and Forest Hill are also thriving. In DC, Logan Circle and SW Waterfront are incredibly vibrant. Dupont and Upper NW seem tired, but that was true before COVID as well. Again, it's really the CBD that is suffering not the city as a whole.

Upper NW is tired because of the death grip from a bunch of homeowners who bought in the 80's and 90's and are riding the property value wave but wanting to "preserve the character" of the neighborhoods at all costs. Any change put forward is met with swift resistance.

The SFH streets throughout Ward 3 are gorgeous as ever, richer than they have ever been. Tons of investment and pride of ownership. Nothing 'tired' once you turn off Connecticut/Wisconsin/Mass Ave.

Few who are lucky enough to live as we do really care that FH development is taking forever or that the Cleveland Park commerce is raggedy. We uber to wherever we feel like dining and have everything delivered to us, anyway. And we're 10-20 years past the thrill of bar-going

[Anonymous]

We’ll put pp.

[Anonymous]

Well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These discussions about how an entire city are doing miss a lot of subtlety. In SF, like DC, the downtown business district is suffering but many of the outer neighborhoods are thriving with work from home. I've heard that many new businesses are opening in the Sunset (which had been a sleepier part of SF), and I'd guess places like Pacific Heights and Forest Hill are also thriving. In DC, Logan Circle and SW Waterfront are incredibly vibrant. Dupont and Upper NW seem tired, but that was true before COVID as well. Again, it's really the CBD that is suffering not the city as a whole.

Upper NW is tired because of the death grip from a bunch of homeowners who bought in the 80's and 90's and are riding the property value wave but wanting to "preserve the character" of the neighborhoods at all costs. Any change put forward is met with swift resistance.

Translation - Wah, I can’t do what I want with other people’s stuff and the homeowners like living in the areas they live in. The nerve of those people wanting to enjoy the neighborhood as it is!

*tantrum*

It's not their stuff. It's public space. It's zoning ordinances. It's them blocking everything with endless fervor with their listserves and lawsuits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These discussions about how an entire city are doing miss a lot of subtlety. In SF, like DC, the downtown business district is suffering but many of the outer neighborhoods are thriving with work from home. I've heard that many new businesses are opening in the Sunset (which had been a sleepier part of SF), and I'd guess places like Pacific Heights and Forest Hill are also thriving. In DC, Logan Circle and SW Waterfront are incredibly vibrant. Dupont and Upper NW seem tired, but that was true before COVID as well. Again, it's really the CBD that is suffering not the city as a whole.

Upper NW is tired because of the death grip from a bunch of homeowners who bought in the 80's and 90's and are riding the property value wave but wanting to "preserve the character" of the neighborhoods at all costs. Any change put forward is met with swift resistance.

The SFH streets throughout Ward 3 are gorgeous as ever, richer than they have ever been. Tons of investment and pride of ownership. Nothing 'tired' once you turn off Connecticut/Wisconsin/Mass Ave.

Few who are lucky enough to live as we do really care that FH development is taking forever or that the Cleveland Park commerce is raggedy. We uber to wherever we feel like dining and have everything delivered to us, anyway. And we're 10-20 years past the thrill of bar-going

Look ma, one of them in the wild!

[Anonymous]

I feel like the city can be propped up pretty well by wards WOTP because if you look at maps at all the carjackings and shootings, there are very very few west of the park. Anecdotally I see less extreme antisocial driving over there too. Those people aren’t the ones hearing gunshots daily and choosing to vote with their feet and leave. It’s the high income people in the previously gentrifying areas. The city will lose part of its tax base and I think already is, but will get by with some belt tightening due to the absurd amount of wealth that will stay in WOTP completely unbothered. Their taxes may go up some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, you do realize that real estate is subject to the laws of supply and demand. The reason both DC and San Francisco are so expensive to live in is because lots of wealthy people and other people want to live there! If no one wanted to pay high rents for those places, the rents would not be so high.

Second, SF ranks 40th among the top 50 cities for murder rate (in 2022 so don't tell me things have changed). Well below DC, so if we are headed in the direction of SF, it is the right direction! Of course SF's murder rate is well below such liberal bastions as Indianapolis, Nashville and Tulsa.

Third, for the above reasons (and many others) you should not believe what you see on TV about these things. There are homelessness issues in many places and there may be reasons it is more visible in some places, including SF. That is something that people of good will can try to address through policies. It is plain that retail in downtown areas is having issues, but those issues are arising in almost all cities with remote worker issues, including but not limited to DC. Again, those are things to work on. But generally, except for in the world of Fox News, SF remains one of the most desired (and rich) cities in the country (and one of the big cities where you are least likely to be murdered).

Yes, retail in SF and DC is definitely having “issues.” Blaming it on remote work is . . . . curious though:

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/smash-grab-robbery-looting-spree-bay-area-timeline/

[Anonymous]

It’s not just feds going back in person. A lot of law firms are upping their in person requirements, from 2-3 days a week to more like 4. And lawyers DO spend money in the city. They are paying for parking, food, drinks, plus with fuller offices it will be a boon to catering and similar services. This is already happening.

The lobbying industry and media are both big in DC and have already come back pretty much full time in person except some print media and I think even that is changing.

With hybrid and flex schedules, it may never be quite as busy as before Covid, but that opens up other opportunities for creating more public gathering spaces that can help drive commerce. With fewer cars coming into DC daily, the city can experiment more with getting rid of street parking and pedestrian-only zones. Would be great to see some of the unused office space going to services like healthcare that are often high demand, low availability in the city.

Real estate in DC is more expensive than ever. There are still adjustments to be made, but I’m not that worried about it. I’ve seen major improvement on the homelessness issue in my neighborhood just in the last few months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These discussions about how an entire city are doing miss a lot of subtlety. In SF, like DC, the downtown business district is suffering but many of the outer neighborhoods are thriving with work from home. I've heard that many new businesses are opening in the Sunset (which had been a sleepier part of SF), and I'd guess places like Pacific Heights and Forest Hill are also thriving. In DC, Logan Circle and SW Waterfront are incredibly vibrant. Dupont and Upper NW seem tired, but that was true before COVID as well. Again, it's really the CBD that is suffering not the city as a whole.

Upper NW is tired because of the death grip from a bunch of homeowners who bought in the 80's and 90's and are riding the property value wave but wanting to "preserve the character" of the neighborhoods at all costs. Any change put forward is met with swift resistance.

Translation - Wah, I can’t do what I want with other people’s stuff and the homeowners like living in the areas they live in. The nerve of those people wanting to enjoy the neighborhood as it is!

*tantrum*

You own the property you own (if you own property). You don't own other people's property. You don't own public property. You don't own the neighborhood.

So if you want to "enjoy the neighborhood as is", that's fine, you can want whatever you want. If you want to believe that everyone who supports things you oppose is a jealous tattooed ageing millennial who lives alone in a studio apartment with 14 cats, again, you can want whatever you want. If you want to stop change from coming to the neighborhood, you can want whatever you want, but it's not possible for anyone to stop change. Your neighborhood is going to change. That's not a threat, it's just a statement of fact. The only question is how it will change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These discussions about how an entire city are doing miss a lot of subtlety. In SF, like DC, the downtown business district is suffering but many of the outer neighborhoods are thriving with work from home. I've heard that many new businesses are opening in the Sunset (which had been a sleepier part of SF), and I'd guess places like Pacific Heights and Forest Hill are also thriving. In DC, Logan Circle and SW Waterfront are incredibly vibrant. Dupont and Upper NW seem tired, but that was true before COVID as well. Again, it's really the CBD that is suffering not the city as a whole.

Upper NW is tired because of the death grip from a bunch of homeowners who bought in the 80's and 90's and are riding the property value wave but wanting to "preserve the character" of the neighborhoods at all costs. Any change put forward is met with swift resistance.

CT Ave redesign, Foxhall Elementary, Palisades Trolley Trail, Palisades Rec Center . . . What else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tech is moving out of SF but DC will always have the federal government.

Yes but high earners left DC for Virginia and
Maryland and I don’t think federal workers can maintain DC to the same level.

No the hell we didn't. We didn't - nor did our friends. I don't see the real estate moving slower in DC than in DC and MD.

[Anonymous]

According to DCUM, DC has been dying for 40 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tech is moving out of SF but DC will always have the federal government.

Yes but high earners left DC for Virginia and
Maryland and I don’t think federal workers can maintain DC to the same level.

Ah right, all those low earners buying up the obscenely priced rowhouses and WOTP homes.