Transplants vs DC Natives

[Anonymous]

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?

[Anonymous]

Anyone who refers to DC as "the city" in any context ever is a raging transplant.

[Anonymous]

Native here. DC transplants to me seem unnaturally enthused with the city. I am 27 and when people find out I grew up here I get a lot "Wow!!!! Really?!! I can't imagine having grown up in DC!! OMG!"

I always kind of have to hold back laughter because it just seems so absurd to me.

I think many of the transplants see DC as some sort of Gotham/metropolis, which i can understand, since many came from small towns. But having grown up here, DC really feels like a small town to me, in many ways, so I don't understand the shock at people imagining kids growing up here.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Native here. DC transplants to me seem unnaturally enthused with the city. I am 27 and when people find out I grew up here I get a lot "Wow!!!! Really?!! I can't imagine having grown up in DC!! OMG!"

I always kind of have to hold back laughter because it just seems so absurd to me.

I think many of the transplants see DC as some sort of Gotham/metropolis, which i can understand, since many came from small towns. But having grown up here, DC really feels like a small town to me, in many ways, so I don't understand the shock at people imagining kids growing up here.

Really? Most of the transplants I know see DC as a small town with a correspondingly small number of natives--hence the surprise.

[Anonymous]

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.

I think that's something a native would say. My family has old money, but we're not particularly wealthy anymore. We are, however, well connected. My dad never worked in politics, and my mom was a SAHM, and we had lots of powerful friends, just from old connections.

Given the crowd we ran with, and the fact that we were certainly upper-middle class (would have been upper class in most other cities), I can see that people could have looked at our group and thought it was all about money/power. But that really had nothing to do with it.

It was all about shared history, that same social network. In that regard, most of my friends (who are natives) agree that DC has a small-town feel.

But it's something that transplants, looking in, can never understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Native here. DC transplants to me seem unnaturally enthused with the city. I am 27 and when people find out I grew up here I get a lot "Wow!!!! Really?!! I can't imagine having grown up in DC!! OMG!"

I always kind of have to hold back laughter because it just seems so absurd to me.

I think many of the transplants see DC as some sort of Gotham/metropolis, which i can understand, since many came from small towns. But having grown up here, DC really feels like a small town to me, in many ways, so I don't understand the shock at people imagining kids growing up here.

Really? Most of the transplants I know see DC as a small town with a correspondingly small number of natives--hence the surprise.

NP. I too have gotten a lot of surprise, that seems to be based off of DC as a "metropolis", as PP described.

Like "Wasn't it weird growing up here? Did you live in an apartment or have your own house? Where did you go to play outside?"

Those kinds of questions.

[Anonymous]

There are rich natives, middle class natives and poor natives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I a transplant? I've lived here since 1994. I'm 45. I sure feel like a native at this point.

Yes, you are a transplant. If you can't answer "where did you go to school?", then you are a transplant.

Transplant here, currently engaged to a Native.
I strongly agree, that school identity is a key distinguishing feature among my Native friends. Typical conversation: "Oh, do you know Tim?" "No - which high school did he go to?" "Oh, he went WJ, he ran around with James and the lacrosse guys." "Oh wow, small world!"
Even if you've lived here for 25 years as an adult, you're still a Transplant.


The Natives really stick together. They all grew up in the same neighborhood, attended the same schools, do favors for each other in business and real estate, socialize together (same country clubs, swim clubs, BBQs, etc.) and are raising kids together.

The only way to truly break in to their inner circle is to marry into it. The Natives I met through my fiancee are very lovely, kind, and genuine people. Many of them come from Old Money. Lots of business owners among the Natives. Lots of connections into the highest reaches of Federal government (usually through parents and close family friends).

I think you might be talking about suburbanites? Isn't "WJ" a high school in Bethesda? That is in no way analogous to growing up in the Marion Barry D.C.of the 70s-early 90s

NP. Kids in the close in suburbs, particularly the wealthy ones, socialized with the DC private school kids all the time. It's more analogous to a kid from St Albans hanging out with a girl from Stone Ridge- they may not be both in "DC proper" but they often run in similar circles and have similar socio economic backgrounds. I think that's what she was referencing.

Yes, as a Sidwell grad, I'm aware of this. I also understand that living in Woodley Park in 1979 was very different than living in Martin's Additions. The two weren't interchangeable in those decades.

Even if both sets of parents were journalists or lawyers, the day-to-day was different due to crime, grit, public transit and the AA culture that dominated Chocolate City after the riots. I miss old DC.

+1 = grew up in CP, 3rd gen. Went to a big three private in 70's early 80's. Spring Valley and Foxhall were the swanky DC neighborhoods back then, not CP or WP.

[Anonymous]

Native of several generations here. To me, the born-heres see the District as an extended part of their neighborhood, or even their backyard. Not in an entitled, brag wall sort of way, just that these people and places are woven into daily life. Sledding on the Capitol grounds, Easter photos on the White House lawn, and even shaking hands with the president (a great aunt simply showed up to a Johnson reception because she was curious) were regular stories and events growing up. I regularly went to Inaugural parades with high school friends, and I can see the spire of my family's longtime church in many city views.

But bear in mind, I'm white. So the way my family and I have experienced the city is in some ways unfortunately vastly different than African-American natives. I don't think their Thanksgivings include wistful stories about Glen Echo's heyday or the wonders of lunch at Garfinckels. And my family's memories of the March on Washington were all about how they stayed home because they were afraid of rioting. I am very glad some things have changed for the better.

[Anonymous]

My grandparents were born/raised in DC and owned a restaurant on Capitol Hill for decades. My father was born and raised in DC too....rode the streetcar out to Glen echo, walked the exorcist stairs to get to elementary school, worked for the FBI when Kennedy was shot...met my mom and was married in DC. My siblings and I were all born in DC, but we moved away when I was 5. We visited relatives yearly, but I didn't move back until I was 23 and then stayed until I was 40. What am I? Native or transplant? And to answer the question, I never saw any distinct differences between the two groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My grandparents were born/raised in DC and owned a restaurant on Capitol Hill for decades. My father was born and raised in DC too....rode the streetcar out to Glen echo, walked the exorcist stairs to get to elementary school, worked for the FBI when Kennedy was shot...met my mom and was married in DC. My siblings and I were all born in DC, but we moved away when I was 5. We visited relatives yearly, but I didn't move back until I was 23 and then stayed until I was 40. What am I? Native or transplant? And to answer the question, I never saw any distinct differences between the two groups.

To answer your question, you are most definitely a transplant.

[Anonymous]

Native. Before I was born (in the 70s) my parents had been here for over 20 years. My kids were born in DC too (Sibley second generation).

I agree with the comment that natives aren't as impressed with DC. I think that is probably true for natives of any city. I love DC and seeing its sights but seeing them everyday when I worked downtown meant that it lost some of its power. I don't agree with previous comments that natives don't say "the city." We do. People from New York like to correct us that "the City" is New York. To me, it is DC. Because that is the closest City--not because I don't think NY is important. Transplants from the NY area are desperate to show their dominance and superiority and correcting me on my use of "the city" is one example. I also use downtown to refer to the area around the White House and K Street and the all the business and agencies around it. I know it initially referred to the geographically lower part of Manhattan. I KNOW!
Georgetown is Georgetown, Dupont is Dupont, U Street is U Street. Downtown is around the white house and K street and would probably include everything between GWU and Capital Hill. I never refer to any of that as the Mall. The Mall is the grassy part surrounded by museums.

To Natives, the Metro is the Metro. Not the subway or the underground. The Zoo is the National Zoo. Period. Reagan is still called National and not because we are anti-Reagan. It is habit. Natives remember how scary DC was and still get a little nervous in parts that are now generally safe. 14th street was for hookers. U Street was literally boarded up from the Riots.

I find that the biggest difference is that people from other places that come here are always commenting on how competitive it is. I don't really see it.

I grew up in Bethesda and I guess it was competitive but growing up it was just my life. We did lots of activities, college was expected, doing well was expected. Didn't always pan out but it was what most parents expected because most parents were successful. I went from public to private school and the expectation was even more acute. Not bad but just ever-present. People from other places who seem to have been the rockstars of their school/town and have succeeded and are excited to be in Bethesda or you name it prestigious suburb are often really trying hard. I don't feel the same burning desire. My spouse is not a native and he sees the difference. I was always a medium fish in a huge competitive pond. Lots of people who transplant here were the big fish in a small pond and they don't adjust well. They either overdo it with their kids (swimming competitively at 5 and you name it with tutors) or they give up and tell their kids to be happy (but totally take the pressure off their kids in terms of achievement.

I am sure I will piss someone off. Whatever. I am native and probably won't move. Most of you will move at some point. People who grew up here know that for sure--lots of people move here and then move away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Native. Before I was born (in the 70s) my parents had been here for over 20 years. My kids were born in DC too (Sibley second generation).
a
I agree with the comment that natives aren't as impressed with DC. I think that is probably true for natives of any city. I love DC and seeing its sights but seeing them everyday when I worked downtown meant that it lost some of its power. I don't agree with previous comments that natives don't say "the city." We do. People from New York like to correct us that "the City" is New York. To me, it is DC. Because that is the closest City--not because I don't think NY is important. Transplants from the NY area are desperate to show their dominance and superiority and correcting me on my use of "the city" is one example. I also use downtown to refer to the area around the White House and K Street and the all the business and agencies around it. I know it initially referred to the geographically lower part of Manhattan. I KNOW!
Georgetown is Georgetown, Dupont is Dupont, U Street is U Street. Downtown is around the white house and K street and would probably include everything between GWU and Capital Hill. I never refer to any of that as the Mall. The Mall is the grassy part surrounded by museums.

To Natives, the Metro is the Metro. Not the subway or the underground. The Zoo is the National Zoo. Period. Reagan is still called National and not because we are anti-Reagan. It is habit. Natives remember how scary DC was and still get a little nervous in parts that are now generally safe. 14th street was for hookers. U Street was literally boarded up from the Riots.

I find that the biggest difference is that people from other places that come here are always commenting on how competitive it is. I don't really see it.

I grew up in Bethesda and I guess it was competitive but growing up it was just my life. We did lots of activities, college was expected, doing well was expected. Didn't always pan out but it was what most parents expected because most parents were successful. I went from public to private school and the expectation was even more acute. Not bad but just ever-present. People from other places who seem to have been the rockstars of their school/town and have succeeded and are excited to be in Bethesda or you name it prestigious suburb are often really trying hard. I don't feel the same burning desire. My spouse is not a native and he sees the difference. I was always a medium fish in a huge competitive pond. Lots of people who transplant here were the big fish in a small pond and they don't adjust well. They either overdo it with their kids (swimming competitively at 5 and you name it with tutors) or they give up and tell their kids to be happy (but totally take the pressure off their kids in terms of achievement.

I am sure I will piss someone off. Whatever. I am native and probably won't move. Most of you will move at some point. People who grew up here know that for sure--lots of people move here and then move away.

This is all so true.