Why do you care so much about seen as upper class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is unusual in that it has a great deal of affluence and education, but relatively little culture (aside from the awesome, federally-funded museums) compared to other major cities.

I think this is largely a result of the nature of most of the residents. Very career-oriented and competitive.

x2. And not very artistic. Free thinking is ostracized and looked down upon here, in contrast to cities that are cultural hubs/influencers

Native here, and this is exactly why I left - 25 year olds in DC are like 45 year olds anywhere else. Fretting about the perfect resume, being well-connected, mortgage, retirement. These are important considerations (I guess), but so many Washingtonians lack a creative or free-thinking bone in their body...

[Anonymous]

Because washington has been over run with millennials; Many millennials want everything without the hard work.

Personally, as an aging 50 something, I am happy with my solidly middle to upper middle class financial status (700K 401k, 350K equity in the house; 40K other debt; as 165K HHI doing a job I like).

I would trade everything for good health though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is unusual in that it has a great deal of affluence and education, but relatively little culture (aside from the awesome, federally-funded museums) compared to other major cities.

I think this is largely a result of the nature of most of the residents. Very career-oriented and competitive.

x2. And not very artistic. Free thinking is ostracized and looked down upon here, in contrast to cities that are cultural hubs/influencers

How long have you lived here? I'm guessing not very long.

I agree with the first 3 posts above. I have no knowledge of Dallas, so I'm excluding that from my opinion, but DC has way less of a creative soul than LA, Chicago, San Fran etc. Not completely devoid, but any creative class here is trying in spite of obstacles, and no one really moves here to further their creative ambitions. Look down upon other areas of the country all you want. I'm sure they are busy and happy enough that they aren't sparing us a second thought.

Los Angeles has a population of 4 million people. Chicago has a population of almost 3 million. San Francisco proper is half the area of DC but has almost a million people and the Bay Area has

So forgive me for not feeling too bad that the 600,000 people in DC don't include as many artists. Maybe if we had eight times the population, we'd have eight times the number of "cultured" people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because Washington is now a poser town like Los Angeles and Dallas.

Everyone wants to look like a player.

Please. Washington could never hold a candle to either of those places.

Washington is more like nerd/social outcast central.

LA and Dallas?? No way does DC want to be like with of them, nor do they hold a candle to us, in the eyes of natives.

We are wonks here (not nerds), and we like money and power. But we are ultimately intellectual snobs, and look down at LA and Dallas. Full of pretty but vapid people.

"wonks" is such an annoying term, and people who use it to describe themselves are pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, no one in Los Angeles gives Washington, DC a moment's thought in terms of comparisons.

However, the many intellectual, interesting, interested, informed, artistic, caring, concerned, involved people who live in L.A. do pay attention to international and national affairs and politics, and they are not impressed by what Washington and its overinflated egos have been up to.

I have a good friend in LA, and when I visit I'm stunned at how completely out of touch her circle is when it comes to current events and politics. They know exactly who was nominated for best documentary short subject -- and they have a strong opinion about who should win -- but they couldn't name their own member of Congress or discuss anything that happened on the larger world stage last week.

This is the way the entire country is. Maybe you know your congressman or can name one senator. Only in DC are politicians celebrities, or of any importance at all. Politics is theater in DC but only in DC. The rest of the country doesn't care. Pretty refreshing actually

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because Washington is now a poser town like Los Angeles and Dallas.

Everyone wants to look like a player.

Please. Washington could never hold a candle to either of those places.

Washington is more like nerd/social outcast central.

LA and Dallas?? No way does DC want to be like with of them, nor do they hold a candle to us, in the eyes of natives.

We are wonks here (not nerds), and we like money and power. But we are ultimately intellectual snobs, and look down at LA and Dallas. Full of pretty but vapid people.

"wonks" is such an annoying term, and people who use it to describe themselves are pathetic.

So true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is unusual in that it has a great deal of affluence and education, but relatively little culture (aside from the awesome, federally-funded museums) compared to other major cities.

I think this is largely a result of the nature of most of the residents. Very career-oriented and competitive.

x2. And not very artistic. Free thinking is ostracized and looked down upon here, in contrast to cities that are cultural hubs/influencers

Native here, and this is exactly why I left - 25 year olds in DC are like 45 year olds anywhere else. Fretting about the perfect resume, being well-connected, mortgage, retirement. These are important considerations (I guess), but so many Washingtonians lack a creative or free-thinking bone in their body...

I'm not now, nor was I at 25, creative or free thinking. If you are, I agree, live in a city with a creative class. Simple as that. Don't try to change the nature of DC - those of us who choose to live here like it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because Washington is now a poser town like Los Angeles and Dallas.

Everyone wants to look like a player.

Please. Washington could never hold a candle to either of those places.

Washington is more like nerd/social outcast central.

LA and Dallas?? No way does DC want to be like with of them, nor do they hold a candle to us, in the eyes of natives.

We are wonks here (not nerds), and we like money and power. But we are ultimately intellectual snobs, and look down at LA and Dallas. Full of pretty but vapid people.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HHI is low to mid $100k. We say upper middle class because the people who make more don't want to admit they are UPPER CLASS not UPPER MIDDLE CLASS. The posers making the truly big bucks just can't accept that, and so they can cry poor every once in awhile and relate to the common people.

Upper class is based on generational net worth, not income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing else to bank on. Low self esteem

So it's better to bank on looking good or having beautiful houses and cars like the people of Dallas and LA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, no one in Los Angeles gives Washington, DC a moment's thought in terms of comparisons.

However, the many intellectual, interesting, interested, informed, artistic, caring, concerned, involved people who live in L.A. do pay attention to international and national affairs and politics, and they are not impressed by what Washington and its overinflated egos have been up to.

I have a good friend in LA, and when I visit I'm stunned at how completely out of touch her circle is when it comes to current events and politics. They know exactly who was nominated for best documentary short subject -- and they have a strong opinion about who should win -- but they couldn't name their own member of Congress or discuss anything that happened on the larger world stage last week.

Movies, money, looking good and cars. That's LA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, no one in Los Angeles gives Washington, DC a moment's thought in terms of comparisons.

However, the many intellectual, interesting, interested, informed, artistic, caring, concerned, involved people who live in L.A. do pay attention to international and national affairs and politics, and they are not impressed by what Washington and its overinflated egos have been up to.

I have a good friend in LA, and when I visit I'm stunned at how completely out of touch her circle is when it comes to current events and politics. They know exactly who was nominated for best documentary short subject -- and they have a strong opinion about who should win -- but they couldn't name their own member of Congress or discuss anything that happened on the larger world stage last week.

This is the way the entire country is. Maybe you know your congressman or can name one senator. Only in DC are politicians celebrities, or of any importance at all. Politics is theater in DC but only in DC. The rest of the country doesn't care. Pretty refreshing actually

The rest of the US cares about shallow, superficial, materialistic crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is unusual in that it has a great deal of affluence and education, but relatively little culture (aside from the awesome, federally-funded museums) compared to other major cities.

I think this is largely a result of the nature of most of the residents. Very career-oriented and competitive.

x2. And not very artistic. Free thinking is ostracized and looked down upon here, in contrast to cities that are cultural hubs/influencers

Native here, and this is exactly why I left - 25 year olds in DC are like 45 year olds anywhere else. Fretting about the perfect resume, being well-connected, mortgage, retirement. These are important considerations (I guess), but so many Washingtonians lack a creative or free-thinking bone in their body...

I'm not now, nor was I at 25, creative or free thinking. If you are, I agree, live in a city with a creative class. Simple as that. Don't try to change the nature of DC - those of us who choose to live here like it!

Yep. This is why it's nerd/bore central.

DC is unique in that it's a city that is filled with extremely uncosmopolitan people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is unusual in that it has a great deal of affluence and education, but relatively little culture (aside from the awesome, federally-funded museums) compared to other major cities.

I think this is largely a result of the nature of most of the residents. Very career-oriented and competitive.

x2. And not very artistic. Free thinking is ostracized and looked down upon here, in contrast to cities that are cultural hubs/influencers

Native here, and this is exactly why I left - 25 year olds in DC are like 45 year olds anywhere else. Fretting about the perfect resume, being well-connected, mortgage, retirement. These are important considerations (I guess), but so many Washingtonians lack a creative or free-thinking bone in their body...

I'm not now, nor was I at 25, creative or free thinking. If you are, I agree, live in a city with a creative class. Simple as that. Don't try to change the nature of DC - those of us who choose to live here like it!

Yep. This is why it's nerd/bore central.

DC is unique in that it's a city that is filled with extremely uncosmopolitan people.

Yeah, when I think about Chicago, I think "What a cosmopolitan city." And Dallas--such cultural influence!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing else to bank on. Low self esteem

So it's better to bank on looking good or having beautiful houses and cars like the people of Dallas and LA?

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I've lived in DC for over a decade. If I thought that LA was superior to DC (it isn't--save the weather), I would live there now. I'm amused that Dallas has even been mentioned. Why in the world would anyone want to live in that cesspool of petroleum and Texas humidity? Anyone who prefers Dallas over DC, is more than welcome to it.