If you left DC: are you happier?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were happy in DC but are now in Philadelphia and happier. It was a big quality of life jump. We love not having to deal with traffic, being able to get together spontaneously with neighbors/friends (I don't know why this never happened for us in DC, but it didn't), the incredible public schools, and having a good-sized house. The house size thing sounds materialistic but in DC we were obsessed with decluttering, storage, and plotting to build on, and now we just live our lives. It's liberating.

But you don't actually live in Philly, right? Main line or in NJ suburbs like Cherry Hill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been here for 10 years, had career opportunities that I couldn't have imagined where I am from. But I know that as soon as I move back, I will instantly regret the amount of time spent in DC being pretty lonely and letting work dominate my life. I came from a midwestern city with a very strong sense of community and so moving here was a very different experience. I am very much looking forward to moving back. Nothing matters expect family and friends, and for me, I haven't had hardly any of that here in DC.

My family is all over the country, ditto my friends. My experience in the midwest is that if you're not sports or fish fry crazy, you have a lot of free time and not much to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
NP here. If your idea of a perfect day consists of sleeping in and going out to brunch, hitting a world-class museum or two, and then having dinner at a really nice restaurant, Denver may not be your thing. If your idea of perfect day is getting up early, going for a hike, and then relaxing with a microbrew, you'll love it. The best thing about Denver, in my opinion, is the people. In general, they're happy and they love living there, and the positivity just kind of gets stuck on you. Other than the mountains, Denver is a little generic, but the happy, welcoming, laid-back people made it for me. Every city has a culture, and in Colorado, it's: "We live in Colorado; aren't we lucky?" There are plenty of nice people in DC, too, of course, but the overall culture here is a little more blase and even cynical.

Another NP. Agree with this. There are also a lot of parks and tons of trails. Has a much newer feel. However, it is kinda generic. The best places to live are west of Denver, but cost $$$. The jobs are in Denver, so it means you drive into the city looking into the sun, and drive out of the city looking into the sun.

The weather is really nice. People assume its cold and snowy. Yes, it snows. But then the sun comes out and melts it. You don't end up with the muddy mess you do here because the ground is dry and eagerly soaks in the moisture.

The poeple are super friendly and laid back. That's the best part.

[Anonymous]

The poeple are super friendly and laid back. That's the best part.

Yep, I miss that! Would give up some of the culture here for that and less traffic. Doing errands on Saturdays here takes all day...

uugh.

[Anonymous]

I would love to be near the mountains OR ocean. But in D.C., one's quality of life really is impacted by NOT being near EITHER - uuurgh! I don't think many even realize, as they know something is missing and do not know what.

D.C. does not have a skyline or that much culture (for example), so it really is blase, as PP said. But to many, it is better than where they came from, sadly. The people can also really make or break a place. I'm not easily impressed, so D.C. is not my thing. It doesn't mean I am less this or that, it just means I prefer other cosmopolitan places. Some do not care to be around others who seemingly want to argue all the time - it really gets old - the "[rove it" attitude. You are a lawyer, I get it - but so am I and I don't need to argue all the time. Chill out, people. That is my take.

Would love to hear from more who love their other cities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to be near the mountains OR ocean. But in D.C., one's quality of life really is impacted by NOT being near EITHER - uuurgh! I don't think many even realize, as they know something is missing and do not know what.

D.C. does not have a skyline or that much culture (for example), so it really is blase, as PP said. But to many, it is better than where they came from, sadly. The people can also really make or break a place. I'm not easily impressed, so D.C. is not my thing. It doesn't mean I am less this or that, it just means I prefer other cosmopolitan places. Some do not care to be around others who seemingly want to argue all the time - it really gets old - the "[rove it" attitude. You are a lawyer, I get it - but so am I and I don't need to argue all the time. Chill out, people. That is my take.

Would love to hear from more who love their other cities

This is great! A lawyer who doesn't want to argue all of the time. Hooray for you!! I run into so many here who seem to have a bone to pick or who want to argue. I am not argumentative, hate conflict and so on. So, I don't do too well here, I'm afraid. I find all of the aggressive arguing distasteful here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In these threads, many of the people who have left DC and now regret it have moved to some place drastically different. Like a small town or a very car-oriented bigger city without a lot of culture. So this miss DC.

The thing is, there are many cities where you can get the culture, food, diversity, etc of DC but in a smaller package. I know of several cities that fit this bill.

Please share - we are always in search of the perfect smaller town to decamp too while keeping much of what we live for DC but with a smaller cost of living!

Yes, please do share. I am PP who moved back and am much happier. Please don't say Charlotte (hated it) or Denver (zzzzzz) or Austin (ok, it may be the closest but still the driving!) because we have lived in all of them and still came back to DC.

I've always thought I would like Denver. What didn't you like? Was it really boring? Are you a skier? That's part of what appeals to me. What do you do here in DC for fun tht didn't translate to Denver?

ANd I agree, Charlotte is horrid.

Weather in Denver is great. Gorgeous setting and year around outdoor activities. People are very nice. I am not a skier but married to one. I like to sit in the lodge. Problems: Lack of diversity. We moved from a DCPS to a completely white public school. Downtown Denver is like one big strip mall. Not a great downtown and most restaurants are chains. Finding Ethiopian or ordering in? Not great choices. You have to drive everywhere and are landlocked. You can drive for hours and still be in Colorado.....or Nebraska or Kansas. It is just very vanilla which I guess is fine if you like that.

[Anonymous]

"Of course, all this is the result of DC being "the federal city." DC has been heavily subsidized over the last 200+ years by taxes paid from the rest of the country. We really do live in the Rome of our time."

Hum, someone needs to relearn her history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Of course, all this is the result of DC being "the federal city." DC has been heavily subsidized over the last 200+ years by taxes paid from the rest of the country. We really do live in the Rome of our time."

Hum, someone needs to relearn her history.

LOL. I agree. And notice she says nothing about lack of voting representation, or the fact that DC residents pay federal taxes for no reason.

[Anonymous]

What about the common defense?

And someone needs to look up the definition of the word blase.

[Anonymous]

Reading this thread makes me grateful to live in a country with such a diversity of great cities and towns- there is something out there for everyone. It also makes me think how lucky all of us on this thread are to be able to move about freely and try out living in different areas of the country. It is a real blessing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We left for a NY suburb a few months ago and we are thrilled! I have made more friends here in the past few weeks than I did in my 10 years of living in Washington DC. I can actually see some of these friends becoming very close and I love how many casual last minute get togethers we have. It just seemed so difficult to penetrate the surface of people in DC.

Did you move to Rye from McLean, by any chance?

No, we lived in DC before and are living in a NY suburb in Southern Westchester now. I really can't explain the reason but I have just really clicked with so many people here. I LOVE being back in the Northeast and this is the happiest I have been with my social life since I had kids 4 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Jealous 19:28 - NE'ers get a bad rap, but at least they know what is what. People really have no concept here. It's embarrassing for them, but they are too stupid to know it.

[Anonymous]

We moved from DC to a pretty beach town somewhere between LA and San Diego. Yes, we are happier.

[Anonymous]

They don't know GOOD FOOD in DC. ANd I don't mean ethnic food. Yes, that's great here in certain areas. I mean good solid DINER FOOD. DINER FOOD with huge menus. Good and plentiful and clean diners like in New York or Long Island. Open 25 hours or until very late where you can get a quick bite or dinner for the family when you are too tired to cook. These are lacking in Montgomery County. I'm not talking about Silver Diner either.

My husband and I travel to New York and part of our enjoyment there is the variety of food and the quick and efficient service. I guess they need a large Greek population to run that and that is lacking in DC.

NO FOOD!!